getting LORs after lay-off from work

Graduate School
1

<p>I was recently laid-off due to getting my interim clearance denied, not due to job performance. In fact, my manager even said he really liked my enthusiasm and work ethic. Anyways, I heard that its a good idea to get references and LORs from the managers and co-workers I just worked with, even though I worked there for just a month and a half. So how would I go about this? Should I ask them for the reference and LOR and THEN add them as a connection on linkedin? Or add them on linkedin first? Or do I not even have to add them to linkedin?</p>

<p>Also, for the LOR, I was also thinking of using it for grad school applications, since I may now apply to MS and phD programs. Since those require electronic LORs from them and I can't submit it for them, should I also ask my recommenders to save a copy of their LORs on their computers? So when I apply to grad schools, they can submit those LORs electronically?</p>

<p>Also, is it better to use them for LORs or a professor I did research with for 2 months for an REU two summers ago?</p>

2

<p>If the managers liked you, just add them to LinkedIn anyway- their offer of support suggests that they want to help you find a job. And LinkedIn is about connections so you can look up their connections and get introduced. That’s the point of that site.</p>

<p>Don’t use this manager’s for grad school though unless you did research (In this case, your REU professor may be better person). In general, LOR writers write up a document on their computers and upload it to the server when they get a notification from you to submit their LORs. Not generally a one-time sitting process, I think.</p>

3

<p>Well, if I apply to grad schools I only have fairly strong LORs, from professors I did research with. I have two options for a professor for that 3rd LOR:

  1. I could choose is a prof I took a course with almost 3 years ago. I got an A in his class and visited him in OH a few times. I’ve already asked him for LORs for REUs and other programs, and kept in touch with him to ask for advice.
  2. I could choose a prof I took a course with 6 months ago. But I never went to his OH or had questions about concepts in class. I mostly just asked for advice about how to
    engineering jobs since he also works for a company I wanted to work for</p>

<p>Perhaps I should ask my managers or co-workers instead of these profs for grad school LORs?</p>

<p>Anyways, about my recent managers and co-workers. I got hired by a manager in dept A but I did all of my work in that month for dept B (because I had shown alot of interest in dept B and because I had to wait for my clearance anyways to work in dept A). The manager for A doesn’t use linkedin. So how can he write me a LOR to post on linkedin? Manager B uses linkedin, so I’ll try to add him. Should I ask one of these managers for a LOR instead of the profs above for grad school LORs?</p>

4

<p>For graduate programs, it is advisable to use LORs from academics only, although there are some exceptions. For professional master’s programs, work-related recommendations are fine, as long as at least one academic is included. From what I can hear, international relations, engineering, and business master’s programs are fine with this kind of reference. The references must be directly related to the field you want to study.</p>

<p>For PhD programs, work-related LORs are rarely acceptable.</p>