Ten simple rules for navigating the reference letter seeking process

• Published in: PLoS computational biology 2022-05, Vol.18 (5), p.e1010102
• Main Authors: Peña, Courtney, Steele, Latishya J, Karhson, Debra S, Ned, Judith T, Botham, Crystal M, Stratton, Miranda B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Advisors; Bias; Biology and Life Sciences; Discrimination; Engineering and Technology; Gender; Human bias; Letter writing; Methods; People and Places; Proposal writing; Social Sciences; Web sites; Writers; Writing
• ISSN: 1553-7358; 1553-734X; 1553-7358
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010102

Introduction Letters of recommendation, also called reference letters, are a qualitative metric used to evaluate a candidate during an application process. Once you have an idea of the requirements and timing, start mapping out when you will contact your letter writers to ensure that they will have enough time (1 to 3 months depending on the nature of the application [3,5]) to write and submit the letter. Use the Who do I know table to identify potential letter writers. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010102.t001 A Who do I know table should include important information about what the application calls for, specific qualities about each potential letter writer, the nature of your relationship, how long you have known them, whether they are familiar with your work, and what materials could help them to write a strong letter. Additionally, given the ample research documenting racial/ethnic and gender bias in letters of recommendation [1,13–19], which contribute to the many disparities present in academia [20–23], cowriting your letter is one way to reduce the potential for gendered and/or biased language (see Avoiding Bias for Letters of Recommendation [12] and Ten simple rules for writing compelling recommendation letters [3] for tips on avoiding racial/ethnic and gender bias) or other errors in your letter which could negatively influence the reviewers [3].