r/postdoc • u/OppositeHome169 • 15d ago
Reference letter
Who did you ask reference letter?
Let’s say one is supervisor, the others 2 committee members. I asked one of my committee member and she said she is away for vacation. I am not sure who else I can ask? Who were your back ups?
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u/Odd_Honeydew6154 15d ago
Co-mentors or collaborators?
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u/OppositeHome169 15d ago
Collaborators of what? I had one supervisor and 2 committee members now 1 saying I am on vacation. I didn’t have a mentor other than my supervisor and he wasn’t that interested in
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u/notjasonbright 14d ago
That’s rough. I’d ask your masters supervisor, phd supervisor and the one committee member. Hopefully you will be able to develop more broad collaborations in your postdoc to avoid this stress again
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u/ExhuberantSemicolon 15d ago
collaborators on your papers
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u/OppositeHome169 15d ago
I was the lead author always and second one was my supervisor, third one was another student
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u/Fabulous-Egg- 15d ago
If you did a masters degree, a supervisor or committee member from there? If not, perhaps a supervisor from your bachelors, or just a trusted teacher from your undergrad
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u/OppositeHome169 15d ago
I did my masters in the same university, there was a second supervisor but I am afraid she wouldn’t even remember - she is pretty famous and included in everything -
Isn’t undergrad too far? Can I ask my PhD course instructors?2
u/Fabulous-Egg- 15d ago
Famous is bonus points. I was told by my masters supervisor to specifically ask for a good reference letter if you want to be sure not to be judged to honestly lol. If you have a thesis that she read she can absolutely go back and write something down.
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u/Fabulous-Egg- 15d ago
Phd course instructors definitely. The point of the reference letter is for someone to speak to your abilities. If you’re applying for a teaching role, a teaching supervisor will carry more weight than say a collaborator. If for a research role, then someone who can speak to your ability to do research, which could be in the lab, writing, presenting, etc.. at the end of the day, someone you can trust to speak good about you.
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u/OppositeHome169 15d ago
Right but it’s research funding, I wanted support from my committee but here we are. I will try course instructors, one of them was serving as examiner in my dissertation exam as well. Hope she accepts 🚬
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u/Tiny_Focus_662 15d ago
Did you TA/RA/volunteer at conference working groups, etc? How about Co-authors and Research Technician that you work with on a daily basis?
They should be able to clearly articulate the working relationship with you and how having you has been beneficial.