Help for every stage of your veterinary career
You would think a letter of recommendation (LOR) is a simple thing. You ask someone to write it for you when you apply to vet school, they do so, it is read, and that contributes to your evaluation. All of that is true, and I want to drill down on the details of the letter
Applying for an internship or residency can be stressful. Ideally, you made decisions throughout vet school to improve your chances, and hopefully you have followed the suggestions I have on how to be successful. You have asked for letters of recommendation, which are probably the most important part of your application packet. But what do
I realize that social media is in a constant state of flux, much like the internet itself. Sites come and go (who remembers Myspace?) and user interest ebbs and flows. Since you are a veterinary professional, I think you should create a professional profile on LinkedIn or a similar system. Here are some reasons why.
A theme we have encountered before is individuals unable or unwilling to ask mentors for letters of recommendation or for help with their professional progression. This is evidently true for so many applicants because I STILL get applications that are just Not Good. The applications clearly haven’t been vetted by a mentor. Why in the
I have already advised you to make sure you ask for a GOOD letter of recommendation. The problem is, you usually can’t see the letter before it is submitted, so it’s impossible to know if it is good or not. Nonetheless, there are some features of letters of recommendation that you want to make sure
As we’ve discussed before, people seem to have some anxiety around asking a potential mentor for a letter of recommendation. I used to teach a undergraduate seminar course in clinical research, and one of the assignments was for the students to write an email asking for a letter of recommendation. I was surprised at the
Last week we did a whole series on letters of recommendation. One of the most complex is for those applying for internships. Therefore, I created a (relatively simple) flowchart to help you decide what letters of recommendation you should get for internship applications. Core disciplines are internal medicine, surgery, and emergency/critical care. Ancillary disciplines
Aim for zero. Seriously. The faculty selection process is largely based on the interview. All of your written materials are designed with only one goal: to get you an interview. Once you interview, all of your written materials will be of minimal value, unless those materials “ding” you. Therefore, your strategy is simple: aim for
The letters of recommendation for a residency is key. These people will hopefully not only write you a letter but advocate for you in the residency selection process. Fortunately, the strategy for this letter is simpler than the strategy for letters of recommendation for an internship. I really have only two guidelines: 1) All of
You want to get a great internship and you need letters of recommendation. Hopefully, you have followed the advice already given to let potential letter writers know of your interest and asked them ahead of time. In addition to strategizing your clinic rotation selection, you need to strategize who should write you letters of recommendation.