Writing letters of recommendation is a relatively new responsibility for me, and it is one of the central duties of my profession. When requesting a letter of recommendation from me, please consider the fact that unlike more senior mathematicians who have done this hundreds of times, I am new to this game, and, following Ravi's advice, it is in your best interest to make my job as easy as possible. 

Procedural aspects:

• Contact me via email to request a letter of recommendation at least 5 weeks in advance of your first deadline. 

• Shortly after this, we will meet, either in person or over phone, to discuss if I am a good choice for you. If I feel that I am not able to write a strong or compelling letter, I will tell you as much. This reinforces the 5 week deadline above - you will want to have ample time to find a replacement. 

• If I agree to write a letter please send all supporting documents and a list of programs/jobs where you will apply with deadlines (I used a two column list to do this as an undergraduate) one month before the deadline. Please also give me a heads up about non-standard letter procedures, such as having to send things via physical mail or special websites. 

• In a single PDF file, please send me the following documents and answers to the questions.

Questions:

• What is your name and preferred personal pronoun?

• In what capacity and for how long have we known each other? 

• What aspects of yourself should the letter address? What do you self-assess as your strengths as a mathematician?

• Are there highlights on your CV that I should pay special attention to? Are there non-standard circumstances I should be aware of in reading your file?

• What are your long term goals? If you are applying to graduate school, do you have an area of mathematics that you are especially interested in? 

• If you are applying for an industry job, what aspects of your being should I address?

Documents:

• CV

• Undergraduate Students: transcript (an unofficial one is perfectly fine)

• Undergraduate Students: a list of your mathematics classes and a short description of the classes themselves (i.e. don't make me look up what Math 380 at your university is, just tell me you took abstract algebra)

• Research statement.

• copies of any papers or theses you have written, or working links.

If your letter has not been submitted within 24 hours of a deadline, please send me a reminder. Also, sometimes graduate school applications do not request letters from recommenders until the applicant has submitted the application. Do not put me in a situation where being away from email for 24 hours will make me miss a deadline. Corollary: The problem does not arise if you submit your application more than 24 hours before the deadline.