Recommendation letters can be used in a number of different ways. For instance, grad schools and many employers require recommendation letters from trustworthy references who know you well. Also, many types of people are qualified to write a recommendation letter. Employers, professors, and advisors are great resources that can recommend you for a job or grad school. Here are some pointers about whom and how to ask for recommendation letters.

I recently wrote a series that described the whole application process for graduate school. If you didn’t catch the series, you can read the introduction to the series here. In that series, I wrote a little about the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and how you need to earn the best score possible on this test to get into your desired grad program. Whether you are an…

I recently wrote about the whole process of applying for graduate school. If you didn’t get a chance to read it yet, you can read the introduction to the series here. In that series, I wrote a little bit about the essays that may be required for applying to graduate school. Depending on the type of grad program you’re interested in, or the school you want…

Welcome to my newest series of blog posts about procrastination. If you’ve read the other 2 posts before this one, you’ve now found out if you classify as a procrastinator, and you’ve received tips from me about avoiding procrastination. If you didn’t catch the previous posts, there are links to them at the bottom of this blog entry. This part of the procrastination series has to do with deciphering when…

Some people procrastinate more than others do, but everyone could really use some help in the procrastination area. Procrastination is not prejudiced, and people of all ages, ethnicities, and genders struggle with this issue. In the first post in this series, you learned if you are classified as a procrastinator and you learned about the symptoms of procrastination that you possess. After reading this post, I hope you walk away…

Procrastination can be a serious issue, especially for PhD students. If you avoid writing your dissertation or even starting on your dissertation, then you might end up not doing your best work towards the end of your journey because you’ll rush through the rest of it. This series is about identifying and avoiding procrastination. The first step to ending procrastination is examining yourself and identifying the symptoms you possess. Here…

Are you a procrastinator? Maybe you’re even procrastinating right now by reading interesting blogs and articles about PhD students and the everyday issues they face. These online resources are helpful to you, and they’re certainly a more applicable procrastination than Facebook or YouTube, but you could probably get ahead on some work right now by writing a chapter of your dissertation or reading an important book/article assignment. However, it is…

I’ve talked a lot in this series about proofreading your applications and making sure there aren’t any mistakes in them, but I’m not done talking about the importance of perfecting your grad school applications. I also wanted to bring up other issues that you can easily avoid and things that you should keep in mind when reviewing your grad school applications before submitting them. Imagine reading through a published novel…

Graduate school applications aren’t easy to complete, especially if you apply to more than 3–5 schools. It can be difficult to organize the different requirements for each application and to keep track of your specifications of the right school for you. I’ve already written about the elements of a grad school application that you should include, such as showing professionalism and following directions. Now, I want to touch on a…