Writing recommendation letters

By Casey Lartigue Jr.

I haven't been a student in many, many moons, but every year I know when university application deadlines are approaching. That's because I start receiving requests to write recommendation letters and to review statements of purpose (SOP) as part of applications.

I can only blame myself for many outstanding people asking me to vouch for them. In the last nine years, more than 1,200 volunteers have tutored and mentored North Korean refugees in English and public speaking in the organization I co-founded with South Korean researcher Eunkoo Lee.

After writing many recommendations and reviewing SOPs over the last nine years, I have a few observations for applicants.

First, build life-long relationships with supervisors and mentors as you go through your career. There have been cases that I have been blind-sided by requests from people who had not contacted me in years. I need to have an interview with them or have them draft some notes to refresh my memory. On the other hand, there are some other volunteers who keep me so updated that I can write their recommendations on the spot and submit them immediately.

Request a recommendation letter when you move on to a new opportunity and document your volunteer or employment time. It is easier to update a previous recommendation letter rather than starting from scratch with someone you haven't seen in years.

Second, decide how you want to present yourself ― and make it the most active version of yourself. Many people in society will discourage you from bragging, but your statement of purpose is the time to show that you are special. Instead of worrying about being humble, I suggest seeing the SOP or recommendation as informing admissions committees or potential employers about your track record, skills and potential.

There's an old saying that there are three kinds of people: people who make things happen, people who watch things happen, and people who ask, "What happened?" There are many people in their SOPs who sound like they are observers in their own lives.

I have read some SOPs and cover letters that were so carefully constructed that it seemed that the applicants were afraid to say something that would upset an admissions committee or potential employer.

Admissions committees reading thousands or even hundreds of thousands of applications of strangers can probably tell which ones are written out of fear. Are they more likely to prefer applicants willing to be on the offense or the defense when it comes to presenting themselves? If you can't be an advocate for yourself, then why should someone on the admissions committee fight for you?

Many South Koreans focus on getting the best grade point averages and test scores, apparently with the defensive strategy of, "How can they reject someone with these grades and test scores?" Well, they can. Even the elite universities in the U.S. are not complete meritocracies.

William Fitzsimmons, the head of admissions at Harvard College, has noted that about 70 percent of students accepted are "great all-arounders" with great grades, achievements or extracurricular activities. Only about 15 percent of the students that Harvard accepts are academic or test-taking geniuses.

That means some very good students with greater all-around backgrounds get accepted over students with better academic-only backgrounds. Strong recommendations from people who know the applicants well can be helpful because universities are businesses engaged in education. Choosing between great students and great graduates, universities would probably prefer great graduates who can make the universities look good and who could be in positions to make huge donations one day.

Third, decide if you want to present yourself as being successful or great in the future, and present a track record as evidence. By success, I mean that you make a lot of money or achieve status in society or your field. Greatness means that you improve the lives of others or help others in some way. There can be an overlap between success and greatness and you can present yourself as achieving both success and greatness, but be prepared to show what you are doing now to achieve either one.

Many applications these days require recommenders like me to compare applicants to their peers or to declare if they are within the top 10 percent of a peer group. Even when I'm not asked, I will highlight those who have done something extraordinary or demonstrated potential excellence and will mention when some are within the top 10, five or 1 percent.

If you build up mentor-mentee relationships, actively present yourself in applications, and build up a track record demonstrating your achievements, then many, many moons from now, you will be able to look back at those statements of purpose and letters of recommendation that got you on the path to success or greatness.

Casey Lartigue Jr. is co-author along with Songmi Han of the book "Greenlight to Freedom" and co-founder along with Eunkoo Lee of Freedom Speakers International (FSI).