Reply #20: Keep nagging them [View All]

[ForrestGump]

I've lost shots at several grant and job opportunities solely because promised letters never showed up on time (or at all). Faculty are busy, but many seem to have forgotten what it was like to be a student and be dependent in that way -- when I'm asked to write letters of recommendation, I do it ASAP, regardless of how many other projects I've got going on.

Asking for letters of recommendation was and continues to be the bane of my existence, career-wise. Sometimes I don't even go for certain opportunities because letters are so hard or impossible to get on time. :-(