[wittgenstein]

Matt, What would you suggest I do in this case:

I graduated in May 2009 and have been working in the industry for 2 years. I worked with a professor for my senior project. I recently emailed said professor asking for a letter of recommendation, and I received no response. It's very hard for me to know whether he ignored the email because he was not enthusiastic about writing the letter, or because he forgot / did not receive it / whatever. What do you think is the best course of action here? Wait for a week and then send another email? What if he doesn't reply again?

[mattmight]

Resend after a week, with the first email below.

If that fails, try again a week later with a fresh email.

Lots of profs (myself included) have a crushing inbox overload. We expect to be re-emailed with critical stuff.

Never take radio silence as a sign of malice when it comes to email. Doubly so with profs.