Shikha Jain, Associate Professor of Medicine, Associate Director of Oncology Communications and Digital Innovation at University of Illinois Cancer Center and Founder of Women in Medicine, shared on LinkedIn:
“Your letter might be the reason she didn’t get the job.
A classic study of 300+ recommendation letters for medical faculty applicants found that letters for women were more likely to lean on effort words. Hardworking. Dedicated. Conscientious. Those words tell a committee she tried. They don’t tell anyone she’s exceptional.
So I tried the formula on my own bio.
First I wrote it the way most letters get written: passionate, dedicated, tireless advocate, a pleasure to work with. Every word is true, and none of it makes a committee stop and read.
Then I rewrote it using five lines. Outcome. Scale. The work nobody asked for. The level you’re already working at. What recognizing her would unlock.
Writing the second version was uncomfortable. It felt like bragging. Notice that feeling, because it’s the same one that makes us write ‘dedicated’ instead of ‘built a national organization.’ Push past it. She deserves the second version.
Swipe to see both versions, and screenshot the template on slide 10.
Thursday, September 17, is the first National Women in Medicine Day.
Here is my ask: pick one woman whose work deserves a bigger room. Write her five lines. Send them to her chair, her society, a search committee, or post them and tag her.
The free toolkit is here for Sep 17.
I’m an oncologist and the founder of Women in Medicine. I talk about how medicine actually works and how to change it.”
Other articles featuring Shikha Jain on OncoDaily.
