Writing the first draft of your own letters of recommendation?

[neptune]

Is it common place to be asked to write the first draft of your own letter of recommendation?

I have asked a former F-16 pilot, a former airline pilot, and a current experimental pilot/aviation lab director (all of whom I have worked closely with) to write me letters of recommendation, and they all agreed!  That is great. However, two of them said they would like me to write the first draft, and send it to them.  They will then make any changes they would like, and approve/sign it.

This is a tricky situation, since now I have to write two completely separate letters of recommendation for myself, and make sure neither of them sound similar.

I just wanted to see if this is common place, and if anyone has any tips on this process.  Thanks!

Edited February 5, 2017 by neptune

[pawnman]

37 minutes ago, neptune said:

Is it common place to be asked to write the first draft of your own letter of recommendation?

I have asked a former F-16 pilot, a former airline pilot, and a current experimental pilot/aviation lab director (all of whom I have worked closely with) to write me letters of recommendation, and they all agreed!  That is great. However, two of them said they would like me to write the first draft, and send it to them.  They will then make any changes they would like, and approve/sign it.

This is a tricky situation, since now I have to write two completely separate letters of recommendation for myself, and make sure neither of them sound similar.

I just wanted to see if this is common place, and if anyone has any tips on this process.  Thanks!

I've written the first draft of every letter of recommendation I've ever used.

[tk1313]

1 hour ago, neptune said:

Is it common place to be asked to write the first draft of your own letter of recommendation?

I have asked a former F-16 pilot, a former airline pilot, and a current experimental pilot/aviation lab director (all of whom I have worked closely with) to write me letters of recommendation, and they all agreed!  That is great. However, two of them said they would like me to write the first draft, and send it to them.  They will then make any changes they would like, and approve/sign it.

This is a tricky situation, since now I have to write two completely separate letters of recommendation for myself, and make sure neither of them sound similar.

I just wanted to see if this is common place, and if anyone has any tips on this process.  Thanks!

Exactly what @pawnman said. Luckily, one of the guys I sent my draft to ended up completely re-writing the letter... And to this day, I'm pretty sure that's the best letter of recommendation that has ever existed. I figure I owe him a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue.

[Bobsan]

pawnman and tk, do you proactively offer to write a draft when you first ask someone for a LOR? There's an tough conflict between staying humble and writing praise about yourself.

[tk1313]

8 minutes ago, Bobsan said:

pawnman and tk, do you proactively offer to write a draft when you first ask someone for a LOR? There's an tough conflict between staying humble and writing praise about yourself.

I offered because I finished my TBAS about a week before an application was due. I definitely didn't sell myself short. Maybe it's because I have to do a lot of "self-evaluations" at my current job, but I never tend to leave paper evidence that I'm anything less than perfect. 

[08Dawg]

I had to write my own, as well, and I hated it.  Just how it is, unfortunately.  If you're already on active duty, pillage your squadron drive for other letters that other people have used, and then modify it with your information.  Otherwise, Google is your friend. 

[pawnman]

3 hours ago, Bobsan said:

pawnman and tk, do you proactively offer to write a draft when you first ask someone for a LOR? There's an tough conflict between staying humble and writing praise about yourself.

I jettisoned any compulsion to be humble in my writing when I started writing the first drafts of my OPRs.  You're just giving these people a draft...put in as much detail as you can (actual qualifications, actual numbers, etc), but your opening line should be "Bobsan walks on water" and your closing line should be "Bobsan is the best officer, pilot, and person I know".  Let the person signing it make the changes.

[tk1313]

2 hours ago, Kiloalpha said:

I never offered in the beginning. I do now.

Understand that it's perfectly alright to feel uncomfortable writing about yourself. What helped me is pumping myself up beforehand. That could be watching an Eagle demo on YouTube or going for a run. Understand that you deserve that letter. This is your shot, and you're going to take it, humility be damned.

Worst case, they tone it down. Best case they sign it and say to go kick some ass.

I have to do this now :)

Listen to Eminem's Lose Yourself 2X, then Rap God 1X, then shadow box in the mirror for 5 minutes... Then break out the agility ladder from high school football and do various drills for another 5 minutes. Next, watch your favorite GoPro cockpit footage video (make sure there is cool music playing in the background and tons of high-G maneuvers to pump you up). Next, do as many pushups as you can in 1 minute with more cool music playing in the background. After that, pull yourself to your feet and wipe the sweat from your brow while simultaneously drinking half a bottle of cold Gatorade with the other first firmly planted into your hip bone--once roughly half of the bottle is empty, briskly slam the bottle down onto counter top, making sure that at least some of it splashes out of the bottle. FINALLY, sit down and write the best letter of recommendation for yourself. You won't be disappointed in the results. :)

[neptune]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

If I may ask, I have done a lot of searches on google for guidelines that can be used to write OTS/ANG specific letters of recommendation.  From what I can tell, the format is as follows:

Paragraph 1:  Establish credentials of author, establish purpose of this letter.  

Paragraph 2:  Describe the character/qualities of the applicant.  Give specifics.  

Paragraph 3:  Tie it all together.  Speak about how the qualities in paragraph 2 mean that the applicant is exceptional.

These are just guidelines I have found online.  I am tempted to follow them, but I don't want to come off as sounding to scripted either.  Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

[argo]

That's the general format that I've always used as well. For specifics in describing qualities, use examples of work you've done or volunteering you've done to back up those qualities. My 0.02

[tk1313]

7 hours ago, neptune said:

Thanks for the advice everyone.

If I may ask, I have done a lot of searches on google for guidelines that can be used to write OTS/ANG specific letters of recommendation.  From what I can tell, the format is as follows:

Paragraph 1:  Establish credentials of author, establish purpose of this letter.  

Paragraph 2:  Describe the character/qualities of the applicant.  Give specifics.  

Paragraph 3:  Tie it all together.  Speak about how the qualities in paragraph 2 mean that the applicant is exceptional.

These are just guidelines I have found online.  I am tempted to follow them, but I don't want to come off as sounding to scripted either.  Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

That's about right. I would mix in how the author met, and now knows, the applicant in the second half of paragraph 1. This will directly relate to the specific examples of character/qualities in paragraph 2, which set up the foundation for exceptional officer/pilot qualities in paragraph 3.

As for how to not sound scripted, I would focus on the personal encounters that you had with the person who is "writing" (editing your draft of) the letter. Basically, I don't think some random guy/gal on the internet should be able to take your letter, change the name and a couple of words, and pass it off as their own.

[ImNotARobot]

Another item that greatly helps me write an letter of rec for someone is a current resume. Agree with everything above about writing a first draft too...but include a current resume (the exact one you have on file for the job you want!), and maybe the author of the rec letter can glean some additional info about what your greatest hits/accomplishments. 

If the guy is taking the time to write the letter, he wants it to be the best product possible. Give him the tools to make this happen.

[neptune]

Alright guys, one last question.  Since I am planning on applying to both guard units and OTS, would you guys recommend having a separate letter for each?  I'd imagine somewhere in the letter, it will say "and for these reasons, so and so would be a great choice for OTS" or ""and for these reasons, so and so would be a great choice for X guard unit" (not exactly that, but you get the idea).  I could probably have each of the people writing the letters just swap out key words so that I have letters for OTS and letters for guard units.

[mb1685]

I've used the same letters for both and managed to get a couple of interviews so far. It wouldn't be a bad idea but I didn't want to bother the writers of my letters too much, especially since I'd already had them write once before for Navy OCS. Technically you'll go to OTS either way (AMS is no more), so it still makes sense for them to say "I recommend so and so for Officer Training School".

Edited February 8, 2017 by mb1685

[neptune]

8 minutes ago, mb1685 said:

I've used the same letters for both and managed to get a couple of interviews so far. It wouldn't be a bad idea but I didn't want to bother the writers of my letters too much, especially since I'd already had them write once before for Navy OCS. Technically you'll go to OTS either way (AMS is no more), so it still makes sense for them to say "I recommend so and so for Officer Training School".

Thanks for the reply.  ANG pilots are still technically officers, correct?  Are they technically part of the USAF?  I read that the ANG is only a part of the air force once they are "activated" (I believe they mean deployed).  Correct me if I am wrong.  I'd hate to have someone write me a ANG letter, and say "Neptune would make a great officer in the USAF" if I technically would not be a part of the USAF by being an ANG pilot.

Edited February 8, 2017 by neptune

[matmacwc]

34 minutes ago, neptune said:

Thanks for the reply.  ANG pilots are still technically officers, correct?  Are they technically part of the USAF?  I read that the ANG is only a part of the air force once they are "activated" (I believe they mean deployed).  Correct me if I am wrong.  I'd hate to have someone write me a ANG letter, and say "Neptune would make a great officer in the USAF" if I technically would not be a part of the USAF by being an ANG pilot.

100% officers in the military. 

Edited February 8, 2017 by matmacwc

[neptune]

15 hours ago, matmacwc said:

100% officers in the military. 

Out of curiosity, are ANG pilots considered officers in the USAF?  Or just ANG officers? 

[argo]

25 minutes ago, neptune said:

Out of curiosity, are ANG pilots considered officers in the USAF?  Or just ANG officers? 

Just officers who happen to be in the guard component of the usaf. 

[Dynamite]

On 2/7/2017 at 9:46 PM, neptune said:

 I'd hate to have someone write me a ANG letter, and say "Neptune would make a great officer in the USAF" if I technically would not be a part of the USAF by being an ANG pilot.

It is ok to have that sentence in your letter of recommendation. Active duty, Reserves, and Guard are just different components that make up the entire U.S. Air Force.

[neptune]

Alright, so I did a little more research just to be thorough.  I am finding conflicting information.  On one hand, the wiki page for the USAF states "The USAF, including its Air Reserve Component (e.g., Air Force Reserve + Air National Guard)...", clearly implying that, as many of you suggested, the Guard is a component of the USAF, therefore being a guard pilot makes you a USAF officer.

However, on the other hand, looking at the Air National Guard wiki page, I find the following:  " When Air National Guard units are used under the jurisdiction of the State Governor they are fulfilling their militia role. However, if federalized by order of the President of the United States, ANG units become an active part of the United States Air Force".

I'm sure this is just a technicality, but it would be nice to get this right so that my letters of recommendations don't contain errors. 

Thanks for all the comments so far everyone. 

[tk1313]

7 hours ago, neptune said:

Alright, so I did a little more research just to be thorough.  I am finding conflicting information.  On one hand, the wiki page for the USAF states "The USAF, including its Air Reserve Component (e.g., Air Force Reserve + Air National Guard)...", clearly implying that, as many of you suggested, the Guard is a component of the USAF, therefore being a guard pilot makes you a USAF officer.

However, on the other hand, looking at the Air National Guard wiki page, I find the following:  " When Air National Guard units are used under the jurisdiction of the State Governor they are fulfilling their militia role. However, if federalized by order of the President of the United States, ANG units become an active part of the United States Air Force".

I'm sure this is just a technicality, but it would be nice to get this right so that my letters of recommendations don't contain errors. 

Thanks for all the comments so far everyone. 

Like others above have said, you're a USAF officer regardless. No ifs/ands/buts--you're an officer.

The Governor/President just determine whether you're on guard duty, or are "activated" as an active duty component of the USAF. But that is all separate from being an officer.

Officer - who you are
Pilot/job - what you do
Active/Guard - who you work for

[08Dawg]

9 hours ago, neptune said:

Alright, so I did a little more research just to be thorough.  I am finding conflicting information.  On one hand, the wiki page for the USAF states "The USAF, including its Air Reserve Component (e.g., Air Force Reserve + Air National Guard)...", clearly implying that, as many of you suggested, the Guard is a component of the USAF, therefore being a guard pilot makes you a USAF officer.

However, on the other hand, looking at the Air National Guard wiki page, I find the following:  " When Air National Guard units are used under the jurisdiction of the State Governor they are fulfilling their militia role. However, if federalized by order of the President of the United States, ANG units become an active part of the United States Air Force".

I'm sure this is just a technicality, but it would be nice to get this right so that my letters of recommendations don't contain errors. 

Thanks for all the comments so far everyone. 

You're reading too much into it.  Active duty, AFRC and the Guard are all part of the Air Force.  What it really comes down to is who's signing your paycheck at any given moment.