A Note about Reference Letters and Other Forms of Recommendation

Important Note: As of October 1, 2022, I'm not able to provide reference letters except a few rare cases. Feel free to contact me to check if there could be an exception in your case, but please note that it is quite likely that I will not be able to respond affirmatively.

I frequently get requests for reference letters and other forms of recommendation from current and former students seeking employment, internships or further educational opportunities. While I gladly act as a reference for my current and former students, I have several policies in place. Please keep the following points in mind when you request that I act as a reference for you. Please note that I may choose to make exceptions to any and all of these policies solely at my own discretion.

- As of September 2021, I can only serve as a reference for students who fall in at least one of the following categories:

• Individuals who worked under my direct supervision as a GA, TA, UTA, grader, or in some other comparable role or capacity;
• Individuals who AMP’ed a course I taught and worked closely with me;
• iSchool undergraduate students who took a course I taught, and received a final numeric score that was within the top 5% of the class;
• Graduate students who took a course I taught, and received a final numeric score that was within the top 20% of the class.

- You must inform me that you are listing me as a reference either before, or as soon as you give my contact information to potential employers and other relevant parties. If you do not, and I get a phone call or an e-mail asking for information about you, I will have to turn down the request, since I need your consent prior to giving out information about you.

- I need at least a full week’s notice to write a reference letter. I may ask for more time depending on how busy I am at the time of the request.

- I do not give, mail or email letters to current or former students to be delivered to potential employers or academic institutions. I either mail hard copies, or e-mail soft copies directly to the person(s) addressed in the letter. I reserve the right to use whichever of these two methods I choose.

- I normally do not submit reference letters and other forms of recommendation, if the candidate in question has, will have, or may have access to the recommendation that I submit. Consequently, if you do not waive your rights of access to my recommendation, I probably will choose not to submit a reference letter or some other form of recommendation about you.

- I do not provide public recommendation or endorsements, such as those published on LinkedIn or similar websites. If you ask for one of those, I will categorically turn down your request. However, fell free to add me as a contact on LinkedIn.

- I cannot guarantee that the letter I will write for you is going to be strong or even positive. You need to choose your references wisely.

- Finally, I request that you inform me about the result of the application, for which you use my recommendation.

Vedat Diker