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So I’ve told you how to get started on scholarships, but let’s not overlook how essential (and pesky) that letter of recommendation can be.

Most local scholarships will request at least one letter of recommendation, usually more. Some college applications want them. So before you even get to that point, it’s always great to make sure you have a healthy supply in your arsenal.

You always want the letter of recommendation to show you at your best, so it’s crucial to do your best to get a great one.

Ask the right people.

This is the most important part of receiving quality letters of recommendation. I can’t stress this enough.

This letter is a reflection on you. Whatever this person writes can make or break your chances.

So ask someone qualified to write. Don’t ask Billy Joe Bob down the street who can barely write. Just because he’s a nice guy and thinks you’re “the most rootin’ tootin’ thing ’round” doesn’t mean that his letter will be quality. Ask somebody who can write at least at average level. Here are great choices of who to ask:

• Teachers. Choose teachers you get along with exceptionally well or whose class you’re exceptionally good at.
• Family friends. If they’ve known you for a while, they can definitely shed some light on your better qualities. Of course, only ask adults.
• Employers. If you have worked for more than one person, ask the one who you think will give you a better recommendation. Your current employer will be seen as the most important, however, so definitely ask your supervisor there nicely for a letter or two.
• Any community-related person. If were part of an organization, played on a sports team, or involved with a community service project, ask some of the people who were in charge. Try to ask ones who knew you best.
• Ask influential people. Try to go as high up on the food chain as possible. Maybe instead of asking your boss, ask his boss. Ask your high school principal instead of your teacher. And so forth. These letters will hold more weight. However, only go up higher if the person know you personally! If you barely know the person, he or she will be less inclined to write a well thought out letter!
• If at all possible, ask someone related to what you need the letter for. For example, if you need the letter for a farming scholarship, ask a farmer to write you one. That reflects very well on you, but again, it should be somebody that you know personally.

Once you’ve decided who you’re going to ask, try to stick with these tips:

Give plenty of heads up.

Always give as much time as possible for the author to write your letter. So far as I know, there isn’t any ‘rule of thumb’ on how early to ask a person, but it is a major courtesy thing. He or she might only need one evening to write it, but who knows how busy his or her schedule could be. Some people are overwhelmed with requests at the same time. Requesting a letter at the last minute will only aggravate the author.

Asking early makes sure that the author has plenty of time to write you a good letter. Personally, I would recommend always asking at least three weeks before you need it completed, if not more.

Make sure that you actually do ask

Ask politely. Pull the person aside and ask if he or she would be willing to write you a letter. Explain why you need one, and explain why you chose him or her to write it. A little bit of flattery never hurts, so long as you aren’t too obvious.

When you do ask, have everything ready that the author might want. Be ready to give him or her a deadline, any additional forms you may need filled out, and a brag sheet. Ask if he or she would like any additional information. Show this person that you are prepared.

Prepare a ‘Brag Sheet’.

A brag sheet, sometimes called a student resume, is a list of all of your accomplishments that the writer might want to take into account when writing your letter of recommendation. List school accomplishments, community accomplishments, personal accomplishments… whatever you might want him or her to be aware of. Some letters will mention what you’ve done, others will ignore it. Personally, I recommend asking if the author would like a brag sheet. From my experience, not everyone does.

For some ideas what to put on a brag sheet, read my post about student resumes.

Ask for copies.

You never know how many letters you’ll need, so ask for at least 5 or 6 copies. It’s not hard for the person to print extras and sign them really fast, and it beats having to come back and ask later because you didn’t realize how many you would need.

Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.

Ask a variety of people. Even if you only need one letter, you should always ask several people at the same time. This way, if one person cannot find the time to write you a letter or you realize one letter was terrible, you can resort to another instead.

I always enjoyed letters of recommendation because it was neat to see what other people thought of me for a change. I also liked for once not having to do the writing :]