When approaching the people who will write recommendations for your nominee:
- Give a definitive deadline.
- Give them ample time to complete the letters (about two or three weeks).
- Give yourself a “cushion” of two or three days prior to the final submission deadline to review the letters and follow-up with anyone who had not responded.
- Ask for more letters of recommendation than you think you will need. Some people don’t respond (too busy, didn’t work with them daily, etc).
Recommendations for the Nominator’s cover letter:
- There should be a personal aspect to the cover letter emphasizing how the nominee has impacted the nominator’s work life.
- Be very specific by mentioning real examples demonstrating the nominee’s impact on the campus and his/her department. Generalities are great, but are hard for the reviewers to discuss and evaluate. Specifics get attention.
- The cover letter must conform to the guidelines of the award. Review them on the website before turning in the nomination package.
- Use the cover letter to prepare the reviewers for the strengths of the nominee. Take notable comments from some of the recommendation letters and use them as quotes in a section of the nomination/cover letter. This will help reviewers identify what makes the nominee truly stand out among the other applicants.
