Hi everyone, I am applying to grad school soon and I wanted to know if it would be looked down upon to get my letter of recomendation written by my post doc that I have worked closely with in research. The reason I especially wanted her to write one for me is because I have a published paper with her and she knows my work ethic well, whereas the professor knows me but has not had much communication with me.
Thank you!
I assume there will be multiple letters and some should be from faculty. Postdoc can write one also, but that shouldn’t be the only one.
Have you talked to the professor? Maybe he/she wants to write you a letter.
In some labs with famous busy professors, the post-doc/grad student who supervised the undergrad student will draft the letter and then have a chat with the professor about the student. The professor then modifies/personalizes the letter and sends if off with his/her signature. Depending on where you’re applying for grad school and who your other letter writers are, this can be more effective.
Another deciding feature - In your published paper, is the professor the corresponding author? If not, then it’ll be totally ok to just have the post-doc write your letter. (Though you really do need faculty writing your other letters.)
It would look a lot better coming from the professor, especially if they are well known in the field. They will probably consult the post-doc anyway.
Yeah, I agree with the above two comments. While you can get a letter from a postdoc, the letter will look better coming from the professor. And if you ask the professor, they’re likely going to at least consult with the postdoc anyway - if not simply have the postdoc draft it and then sign their own name with some edits.
You should ask the professor if they can write a letter supporting your application.
Thank you all for your replies! I think that I will speak with my professor and ask him if he will write one. But yes I am definitely having faculty write my other two!
Late to respond, but chiming in to say, whether it’s graduate school applications, job applications, fellowship applications - I discount recommendation letters provided by postdocs. They are rarely provided because they are rarely considered. A letter from a postdoc rather than the official faculty supervisor hints at possible issues with the faculty supervisor that the applicant is trying to hide. Also, most postdocs do not have the years of supervising many students to provide a letter that provides reliable perspective - e.g. how does the applicant rank among his/her peers?
And those who wrote that often faculty will consult with the supervising postdoc/grad student/senior tech for information in composing his/her letter are correct. I do this routinely for undergrad students in the lab since I do not see them daily in action.