Student perspective
"He has helped me extensively with applications by writing references, improving my personal statements and by giving me interview tips. This is much more than I was asking for. All I needed was references!"
Students can expect to name their personal tutor as a referee on job applications and/or applications for further study, and this can continue long after a student has graduated. Students should contact you in advance to ask if you are willing to provide a reference.
Reference-writing tips
"Get hold of (and give feedback on!) their CV as early as possible, so when the reference request comes through, you’ve got something on record already." (Department of Life Sciences)
Find out what they are like as people. You are likely to be asked to write a reference at some point, and it should be more than their degree transcript written longhand:
- What are they interested in?
- How did they come to be at Imperial?
- What do they hope to do when they leave?
- What are they doing to make this happen (applications, internships, UROP...)?
If you have meetings with them regularly, you have good evidence for whether the student is reliable, punctual, and responsive to email.