It might be that time for you to start thinking about your next step as a dietitian or a dietitian-to-be, either graduate school or a dietetic internship. The application process is serious! Included in that process are the required letters of recommendation (and those thank you letters for recommendations).

Your letters of recommendation should be from those who know you well enough to write about your strengths, your achievements, your qualities that will make you professionally successful.

Less talked about are the thank you letters for recommendations. We've got some helpful insight on that too.

How important are Letters of Recommendation ... really?

But just how important are those letters? Is there a right way and a wrong way to submit them? Yes! But not to worry - we are here to help and make you standout during that application or interview process.

To answer that question (something I've always wanted to find out too) I went to one of my favorite Admissions expert for the answers. Meet Shawnee M. Kelly, MS, RDN, LDN, Assistant Teaching Professor & Coordinator, MPS in Nutritional Sciences at Penn State World Campus.

I asked her lots of questions. Here's what she shares. You can also watch our interview live on YouTube here.

Download the Letters of Recommendation Checklist

NutritionJobs: Are Letters of Recommendation really an important element of the graduate school application?

Shawnee M. Kelly, MS, RDN, LDN: Yes, for our program it is a really important element. There are several pieces to the application, including transcripts, GPA, the Personal Statement, and the resume. But since we are an online graduate program, and we can't always connect with students in person as you would expect in a traditional program, the letters of reference or recommendation really help us get to know the candidate from another perspective, from someone they've worked with closely.

"Our admissions committee does really rely heavily on those letters of recommendation when evaluating applicants for the program. So it's a really important piece."

NutritionJobs: How many Letters of Reference should an application include?

Shawnee M. Kelly, MS, RDN, LDN: Most programs require several reference. Our program at Penn State requires three references but we don't define who they need to come from. We don't require that they come from a faculty member from school.

What is most important is that the letter writer knows that person well. People that have been out in the workforce will probably want to have a reference from an employer, a supervisor, a manager, or someone they've directly worked with recently rather than trying to go back five or ten years to a professor.

"What is most important is that the letter writer knows that person well."

NutritionJobs: When should you start curating Letters of Reference or Recommendations?

Shawnee M. Kelly, MS, RDN, LDN: It all starts with networking and curating your relationships with your professors or with your boss at work now. It's never too early to network and maintain connections. I love when students stay connected with me and tell me what they're doing five years down the road - I think sometimes students think we don't want to hear from them because they think we're too busy but hearing from a past student is so rewarding.

Just keep networking and don't lose touch with your professors. Also, don't be afraid to meet with your boss once or twice a year and just talk about your performance, outside of an official review. Think about how you can improve upon that relationship so that when it does come time for a letter of reference you will already have that relationship there. It will probably result in a higher quality letter.

"Just keep networking and don't lose touch with your professors."

Thank You Letters for Recommendation

It's a great idea to take the time to send thank you letters for recommendation or reference letters. It's also great practice to stay positively connected with professors or managers throughout your career. That's the backbone of networking!

What to include in your thank you letters of recommendation

Like any letter or pitch, a formula for how to structure your words always helps. With a thank you note, or a cover letter, or a pitch, start with a greeting. If you are emailing your note, you can start with a simple greeting with a checkin, "I hope this note/email/message finds you well". Otherwise, if you are sending a written note, you can skip that greeting and dive right into the gratitude.

Then add your personal connection on the next paragraph. Perhaps you can reference your work together on a project, maybe they have a tie with the Internship you are applying to that you can reference. Or maybe you can just say how important their words are to you as a mentor.

The next paragraph can be your closing. This is where you can repeat your thanks and appreciation for their time and effort (everyone is so busy!). You can also add that you will keep them posted on your progress, whether you accept the job offer, if you are accepted into the dietetic internship, etc. Then finish with a professional "Sincerely". Be sure to include your full name, first and last, so the professor or manager knows who the letter is from.

Sample thank you letter for recommendation

Here's a sample format of a thank you letter for recommendation or reference letters.

Dear [Reference],

[Greeting + Gratitude] I want to thank you for taking the time to write the letter of recommendation for my Dietetic Internship applications.

[Personal Connection] I have had a wonderful time in your economics class and have learned so much from your lessons. I have also really appreciated working in your fungi lab and implementing your economic strategies to increase global consumption of various fungi.

[Closing] Again, thank you for your time and effort in writing the recommendation. I look forward to keeping you posted on my progress.

Sincerely,
Judy Mushroom, CDE

How to Prepare Your Recommendation or Reference

There are a few items you should share with your reference person for them to be able to accurately and successfully write the letter. You should also provide all of the items in just one email, rather than batching out the information (so nothing gets missed!).

Here's what you should provide:

• Transcripts
• Courses you've taken with each recommending professor
• Copy of the application recommendation forms (if a paper/hard copy letter is required and if the forms are provided by the institution)
• List of programs to which you are applying
• Current resume with your:
  • work experience
  • professional goals highlighted
  • Internship and other applied experiences
  • Research experience
  • Honor societies to which you belong
  • Awards you've won
  • Extracurricular Activities
    
• Due date/s for the application
• Highlights specific to a program that the reference person would need to know
• Copy of Personal Statement or Personal Letter or other admissions essays
• List of your strengths and weaknesses
• Give your reference at least 1 month to work on the letter

Want to learn more about the graduate programs at Penn State World Campus? They have an online Masters of Professional Studies. The program is tailored towards nutrition and dietetics with a focus on advanced practice skills. It is industry oriented with an emphasis on leadership. Learn more here.

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About the Author

Stacey Dunn-Emke, MS, RDN, is the Founder Owner of NutritionJobs and an established dietetic career expert. She helps steer dietetic and nutrition professionals to a successful job search process with the top-ranked dietetic job board platform, NUTRITIONJOBS. Stacey is the author of The Dietetic Resume Guide and numerous dietetic career actionables. She gives the tools to create a modern standout dietetic resume to land that job interview, help with job interview prep, and with creating All-Star LinkedIn profiles. Stacey has interviewed and hired many dietitians and in running NutritionJobs since 2000, she has reviewed thousands of dietetic resumes. She works closely with dietetic hiring managers and recruiters to know what standout resume elements land a job interview.