Advice for contacting old prof for LOR

[nathanielmark]

i have been out of school for 4 years.  this is the department head.  i got an A in his class and we were on friendly terms, he def knew my name and called on me from time to time in class.  though we never exactly sat down and had a serious discussion or anything.

he is a very laid back, cool guy and i want to hit him up for an LOR.  campus is too far away to show up at his office, so i thought i would call.  email is probably a bad idea right?  Obviously, that would be the easy way, but maybe not the most effective....

anyway, presumably, i am more likely to get his voicemail then him on the phone, since it is summer and he does not have office hours posted.

do i leave a detailed message telling him exactly why i am calling, or do i just try to remind him of who i am and say something vague like "i wanted to speak to you about something"?

How would you guys handle this?  advice please!

[dsong02]

exact message.  you dont want to be vague when contacting someone from your past that you havent kept in touch with.  they might wonder if there was something wrong and not call you back.

[nathanielmark]

so i probably want to just stick to the point right?  dont need to give him my salespitch for why he should write my letter on his voicemail?

exact message.  you dont want to be vague when contacting someone from your past that you havent kept in touch with.  they might wonder if there was something wrong and not call you back.

[dsong02]

so i probably want to just stick to the point right?  dont need to give him my salespitch for why he should write my letter on his voicemail?

exact message.  you dont want to be vague when contacting someone from your past that you havent kept in touch with.  they might wonder if there was something wrong and not call you back.

dont try to force him to write one.  just let him know the situation and ask.  its up to him if he wants to do it and how he wants to handle it.   

but definitely stick to the point and leave a detailed message. 

you might also want to try to call his dept to see if he 1) still works there and 2) if he is out for the summer and if so where he can be reached.

[nathanielmark]

now i just have to grow some balls and make the phonecall...

so i probably want to just stick to the point right?  dont need to give him my salespitch for why he should write my letter on his voicemail?

exact message.  you dont want to be vague when contacting someone from your past that you havent kept in touch with.  they might wonder if there was something wrong and not call you back.

dont try to force him to write one.  just let him know the situation and ask.  its up to him if he wants to do it and how he wants to handle it.   

but definitely stick to the point and leave a detailed message. 

you might also want to try to call his dept to see if he 1) still works there and 2) if he is out for the summer and if so where he can be reached.

[jacy85]

Yeah, I second calling the dept or his secretary or whatever.

And i'd be direct, and to the point in the message, but you don't have to go in great detail, otherwise he'll get bored.

I'd say something like "hi, this is GreenEqsnHam, I graduated from School Univ in 2000, and I took your class "education101".  I received an A.  I am applying to law school in the fall, and was wondering if you could write a recommendation for me.  I would greatly appreciate it if you could give me a call at your earliest conviencence to discuss futher.  Thanks very much, and I look forward to speaking with you."

Or something along those lines: short, direct and polite.

[nathanielmark]

Thanks Jacy, i may print this out and read it off when i call, LOL... 

Yeah, I second calling the dept or his secretary or whatever.

And i'd be direct, and to the point in the message, but you don't have to go in great detail, otherwise he'll get bored.

I'd say something like "hi, this is GreenEqsnHam, I graduated from School Univ in 2000, and I took your class "education101".  I received an A.  I am applying to law school in the fall, and was wondering if you could write a recommendation for me.  I would greatly appreciate it if you could give me a call at your earliest conviencence to discuss futher.  Thanks very much, and I look forward to speaking with you."

Or something along those lines: short, direct and polite.

[jacy85]

lol, glad I could help.    Good luck when you call!

[RockyMtnHighMama]

But what if it's been 18 years? That's a couple of thousand students under the bridge, if you know what I mean.

[BFranklin_fan]

If you email your old prof and ask for a rec, be careful not to spell his name wrong...
That's what I accidentally did today.