Career Services - Student Links:

Reference File Service

Please note: As of July 1, 2007, all reference requests must be submitted online.

• Establish a Reference File
• Reference Requests
  • Access Online Reference Request Service / Check File Contents
• Tips for Asking Someone to Write You a Recommendation Letter
• Tips for Writing a Letter of Reference
• Reference File Policy

Career Services staff encourage students and alumni to keep letters of recommendation current. A letter that is older than three years is unlikely to reflect the candidate's current strength and abilities.

To establish a reference file: Print and submit the following to the Career Services Office:

1. CANDIDATE REFERENCE RECORD: The Candidate Reference Record form (PDF (78KB) or Word (79KB)) is used for signature verification and must be completed and returned to the Reference Office, 270 Capen. Upon receipt of a reference, this form will be placed in your file to record various transactions. Please complete all information at the top of the form.
2. REFERENCES: Candidates may use the Reference Forms in PDF (122KB) or Word (71KB) provided by this office or stationery of the person writing the reference. References are usually secured from teachers, past/present employers or people related to other practical experiences. References are generally returned by the author to Career Services. You may wish to provide a stamped envelope with our address for this purpose. (Please complete the candidate section at top of form, prior to submitting to authors.) It is recommended that 3-5 references be included in your file. Please note: As of July 1, 2007, all reference requests must be submitted online.
   • WAIVER OF ACCESS: Under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, a candidate has a right to see his or her letters of recommendation unless that right is explicitly waived in writing in which case the letter becomes "Confidential" and is stamped as such. (If the Waiver of Access statement on a Reference Form has been signed, Career Services will not show a confidential letter to a candidate nor advise a candidate of its contents.) All reference letters containing a signed Waiver of Confidentiality must be enclosed in a sealed envelope with the author's signature across the seal of the envelope. Confidential letters not received in this manner will not be accepted by the Reference Office.
3. As of July 1, 2006 there is no fee required to start your file. A $5.00 fee is required to send each set of references except to those that are being sent to departments at the University at Buffalo.
4. REFERENCE REQUESTS: Files are sent ONLY at the request of a student or graduate from the State University of New York at Buffalo. We do not respond to requests from employers or graduate/professional schools. You must make a request online.

   When requesting to send your file, please allow two (2) weeks in advance of deadlines.

   • Transcripts, diplomas, resumes, cover letters, evaluations and certificates are not part of the Reference File. Transcripts are disseminated by the Student Response Center.

   It is your responsibility to Contact the Reference Office in 270 Capen, 645-2232 x 112, to inquire whether reference materials and reference forms have been received well in advance of application due dates and prior to submitting Reference Requests for graduate/professional school or employment.

   NOTE: Reference files may be destroyed after three (3) years of inactivity. Please contact this office in writing every year if you have not used your file and want it to remain active.

5. Tips for Asking Someone to Write You a Recommendation Letter

   It is very important to have strong letters of recommendation attesting to your academic achievement and potential. Ideally, letters should come from faculty members, not teaching assistants. While your supervisors can attest to your work ethic and conduct, admissions committees for graduate and professional schools (composed of faculty members) generally look to other faculty to assess your academic potential. When you ask for letters of recommendation, go in person to see your teachers; do not email or leave notes or phone messages. Your professors may want to meet with you to discuss your career goals and review your previous work. While you cannot suggest what they write about you, you can suggest topics they might cover. Academic integrity and initiative, spoken and written language skills, analytical ability, and resourcefulness are examples of topics about which you might ask your professors to write. By asking them if they feel they could write you a strong letter of recommendation, you leave them an "out" to say no if perhaps they feel they don't know you well enough. A mediocre letter of recommendation will not help your application. Generally, you will need 3-5 letters.

   Don't make the mistake of waiting until just before your applications are due to start asking for references. It may take your reference writers days or weeks to write your letters. Also, start cultivating your references early by letting them know your intent, participating in class, going to office hours, doing extra credit work or other things that might get you noticed and help you establish a relationship with your teachers.

   We suggest that you open a Reference File with Career Services. You can then ask your professors to write one letter of recommendation and forward it to our office. We will open a file for you to store your academic (as well as your work related) letters for future use. We will mail them for a fee, at your request, to graduate schools or potential employers. This saves your references from having to recreate letters for multiple applications.

6. Tips for Writing a Letter of Reference
7. Reference File Policy