To those who wish to get a reference letter from me:

When and if you apply for a job or for graduate programs, you will be asked to provide reference letters written and sent by your professors. Below I will share how you can get it. Whatever written below are my own policies and may differ from person to person, but I believe that the essential ideas remain the same.

First off, you should ask a reference letter from those, who were impressed by your performance in some way. Hence you should invest ahead to get one. Personally, I expect students to impress me within one of the following:

• One of my courses: Get a high grade (AA or BA) AND make yourself visible either by active participation in class, top grades from an assignment/exam, excellent presentation/project.
• Internship at KOVAN/ROMER: Go beyond the tasks that are defined for you. Excellent presentations, volunteering to lead tasks in the lab, impressive results. Follow the announcements at Cow.
• CENG 488 course: Follow the anouncements on Cow, and contact me if you wish to work with me on a CENG488 project around November..
• CENG 491/492 project: Follow the anouncements on Cow, and contact me if you wish to work with me on a CENG 491/492 project at the beginning of Summer. Ideally, you should get started with an internship.
• Research at KOVAN/ROMER: We have active research projects, and may employ you to work in some of them. An internship is preferred as a first step.

Once you've impressed me in some way, you should let me know of your reference letter requests in advance (4 weeks for the first letter), and send to me your CV, statement of purpose, transcript, and a draft letter in which you write "what you've done with me, and how you impressed me". Note that writing a reference letter for someone takes time, and I need it. Subsequent letters are easy to produce. You should always let me know in advance and remind me if I haven't submitted it 3-4 days before the deadline.

Finally please note the following: I can only write about things that you've impressed me, in terms of work, personal qualities such as:.

• Good technical skills: Can you carry out your work in an excellent way, without bringing simple technical problems on the table.
• Enthusiasm: Are you excited about the work that you do? Do you go out on your own to look for and read and share new information with me?
• Inquisitive: Do you actively question and actively participate? Or are you a passive listener?
• Hard-working: Do you put the necessary effort to get things done in time?
• Produce impressive results: Impressive results speak for themselves!
• Writing: Can you write your report/notes/article well, iterating over it?
• Reading: Can you read and understand a document well?
• Presentation: Can you present well? It can be a paper that you've read, or your ideas.
• Communication: Do you communicate well with me and with other members of the lab?
• Reliable: Can I trust that you will get things done in the best way before the deadline?
• Team work: Can you work in a team? Performing well in a team requires you not be selfish and put the team's benefit in front of your own. Can you lead?
• Take resposibility: When and if an extra work shows up, do you step forward and volunteer, or do you sit back silently and wait for someone else?

If you've only taken a course and got an AA from the course, then I can only mention your ranking within the course among your peers. If you were actively participating, asking questions that enrich the course, then I will be happy to mention that. In an internship, if you just do whatever given to you and not taken it a bit further then I will just be able to write that in a neutral tone. If, however, you've gone beyond what is assigned to you, lead your team, actively followed up your tasks with suggestions, then I will be happy to mention them as well. However, I cannot write things about that I am not impressed.

Erol