Letters of Recommendation (rant and question)

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2-12-12, 8:38pm
frugalone

Letters of Recommendation (rant and question)

I am applying for a part-time job at my alma mater, in the library. In my more than 2.5 years of job-seeking, I've never had anyone ask for a letter of recommendation, but they want THREE.

It's like pulling teeth. I finally had to send my cover letter & resume and say I'll forward the letters by separate cover. I've asked 5 or 6 people, and gotten ONE so far. Two or three people (no, make that four) have promised they would write one, and it's been nearly a WEEK.

WTF?!:confused: I mean, these are people who KNOW I am in dire straits, and I've e-mailed them or texted them several times already. One guy is in out of town and "away from his computer files" (whatever does that mean in this day and age? He had a Blackberry before I'd even heard of them). I did let them know I needed it this weekend. One woman said she has to wait till she puts her baby to sleep for the night. Understandable. But these other people? One of them is one of my best friends for more than 30 years. I'm a bit surprised at her. One of her comments was, "I'm confused by why they want letters like this for a pissant job of this kind."

Should I have had "generic" recommendation letters sitting around? The only time I've ever done this before was when I applied to grad school.

What's your take?

Thanks for listening.
2-12-12, 9:19pm
rosarugosa

LIB: I've been asked for letters of recommendation before, and I always complied with the requests promptly. I did find them to take quite a bit of care and thought, and therefore time, so I wonder if people are daunted by the idea of preparing such a letter? I wonder if you could find some generic samples online and provide them, along with your request, to be used as a guide? I've always found it to be a good strategy to make it as easy as possible for people to give me what I need.
2-12-12, 11:35pm
Zoe Girl

that is horrible. I know my daughter needs 3 professional ones for a first job really. It is super hard, and people are not answering.

I am very careful to get them right away to people. I guess other people have not looked for a job lately? I am so sorry they are being pains, I would just be honest that you have asked X number of people, you have this one, are expecting another, etc.

After this happened to me (actually child custody and my friends who thought my ex was not a safe parent still drug their feet) I started getting letters of reference whenever I moved around job-wise. Even volunteer work I got letters within a month of leaving. You never know.

I am sending super good vibes, big hope, and I wish I was one of the people you needed a letter from.
2-13-12, 6:37am
crunchycon

Best of luck with obtaining your letters (and the job!). And, yes, it's a good idea both to have a reference list attached to your resume with contact information and some "letters of recommendation" that you've obtained from prior bosses as you switch jobs in your resume file. That way, you can quickly respond to the request for letters. I think we're seeing more and more of these requests as jobs are harder to find - employers are looking for ways to skinny down the applicant pool.
2-13-12, 7:23am
herbgeek

I understand your frustration, but I think more patience might be in order. People are busy, and writing a letter is a daunting task, no matter how much they might want to help you. In the past, when I've needed recommendations, I've provided a letter to the person I'm asking, with the caveat that they should feel free to edit it or use their own words. They rarely change what I've written. I've seen letters of recommendation asked for in academic settings, but not for other jobs.
2-13-12, 12:21pm
reader99

Okay, you pushed my letter of reference button. For 15 months after my husband died I worked for free for a charity my pastor is leader of. He forwarded me an email about a job opportunity. It required 3 letters of reference. I asked him if he felt able to give me one. He said Yes! and then didn't do it. Over a period of three months I reminded him 4 times.

Finally I googled letter of reference example, copied one down, changed it to suit my situation and so it wouldn't look "canned", and put it in front of him for him to sign, which he did without reading it.

So yes, I got my reference letter, and no, I didn't feel he appreciated my months of work.

It address your situation, you might make it easier for your referrors by sending them a link to example letters, to get them started.

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/refere...ce_Letters.htm
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/employ...mmendation.htm
2-13-12, 1:57pm
Mighty Frugal

I agree with others that you should send these folks a generic letter and ask them to sign/approve or modify.

People are busy and generally, people hate doing extra work. They may have the best intentions but life gets in the way of writing reference letters. They are difficult to write and I understand why these people are avoiding it.

So, my suggestion is to take the bull by the horns, write a few yourself, send to the gang and ask them if it is ok to use this.

Then, once you get it, save it for the next job in case this one doesn't pan out!
2-13-12, 5:01pm
JaneV2.0

Perfect solution. Unfortunately, it seems there is no end to the BS involved in getting a job these days; sometimes I think the real test is to see how far you'll go, how much you'll grovel for a paycheck. Yes, do write a few generic puff pieces and make it easy for your correspondents. You'd think people would be happy to help a friend and turn something out immediately, but apparently that's too much to ask. (Now I'm amusing myself with the idea of whipping up multiple-choice boilerplate, so people could just tick off adjectives...)
2-13-12, 5:18pm
mtnlaurel

It's too bad we haven't worked with you - I could crank one out in 30 min. or less.
Just know we are rooting for you lib64.... your time is coming soon, I just feel it.
2-13-12, 6:00pm
redfox

Keep a file of those you end up getting. And yes, send a generic one along with the job description, and ask the reference person to please these three specific points that you name, from the JD. Ask each reference person to mention different points for the JD.

In my life of work, I just provide the names & contact data, and the references are called by the potential employer. I know I am being considered when my reference people tell me they've gotten a call.
2-13-12, 6:31pm
Bastelmutti

I wish we had the same system as in Germany - you automatically get a reference letter every time you leave a job. The trick there is that there is a list of stock phrases used & if you know the key, you can tell if that positive sounding letter was actually positive or not so much.
2-13-12, 7:11pm
Zoebird

Typically, when I ask for one, I send one that is basically "hand written" based on the evidence/experience that that person would have of me and say "as a template or for the idea, or you can just sign this one and send it to me." And usually, they do just that.

But I also have friends who love to write, so it's not hard for them to write a new one -- but I just want to provide for them just in case.

I'm also a reference for several people -- i have a "canned" letter in my "drop box" or "cloud" online, so that I can access it pretty much anywhere. It's been helpful, btu I've only needed to use it once.
2-13-12, 7:20pm
ApatheticNoMore

No I have *NEVER* been asked for a letter of recommendation in my life! And remember I was job searching not that long ago.

Quote:

And, yes, it's a good idea both to have a reference list attached to your resume with contact information and some "letters of recommendation" that you've obtained from prior bosses as you switch jobs in your resume file.

Well from what I've been told attaching a reference list to the resume is not a good idea (because noone really wants it when they are first getting a resume, they may well want some references later but they will ask - and they have). As for "letters of recommendation": who would even HAVE ANY IDEA whatsoever to even get them from past bosses? Especially as I've never heard of them being asked for before and I've job searched a few times in my life.

I agree people are probably just being lazy in writing these, so yea making it easier for them will help ....
2-14-12, 8:05pm
frugalone

Thank you, ZG--I wish you were one of those people too!

I have found in life that there are some people who either have not looked for a job lately, as you pointed out, or who have never been "let go" from a job. Ever. I remember a pen pal asking me the week after I was let go from my job of 7 years, asking "hey, any leads yet?" I was tempted to say, "No, Jim, I'm too busy crying my eyes out every day to pursue any leads." Oy vey.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoe Girl

that is horrible. I know my daughter needs 3 professional ones for a first job really. It is super hard, and people are not answering.

I am very careful to get them right away to people. I guess other people have not looked for a job lately? I am so sorry they are being pains, I would just be honest that you have asked X number of people, you have this one, are expecting another, etc.

After this happened to me (actually child custody and my friends who thought my ex was not a safe parent still drug their feet) I started getting letters of reference whenever I moved around job-wise. Even volunteer work I got letters within a month of leaving. You never know.

I am sending super good vibes, big hope, and I wish I was one of the people you needed a letter from.
2-14-12, 8:06pm
frugalone

You know, we could learn a lot here from Europe's policies of employment. Especially the long vacations and leave permitted for parents, and health care, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bastelmutti

I wish we had the same system as in Germany - you automatically get a reference letter every time you leave a job. The trick there is that there is a list of stock phrases used & if you know the key, you can tell if that positive sounding letter was actually positive or not so much.
2-14-12, 8:08pm
frugalone

Get this one: Three of the people are professional writers! So what is the excuse?

Update for everybody: I did get one (today) from my former boss, on official "I am the VP of this place" letterhead so I sent that. Yesterday, I sent three others: one from a former co-worker (same company as the veep), one from my former supervisor at the job I had prior to my last one (she is the one with the baby so I totally understand how busy she is), and the third from a friend I've known since the late 1970s. It may help that she is an attorney.

It is for an academic job.

I should now work on getting "generic" ones so I don't find myself in this position again. Sigh.

Thank you all for your good wishes, too!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoebird

Typically, when I ask for one, I send one that is basically "hand written" based on the evidence/experience that that person would have of me and say "as a template or for the idea, or you can just sign this one and send it to me." And usually, they do just that.

But I also have friends who love to write, so it's not hard for them to write a new one -- but I just want to provide for them just in case.

I'm also a reference for several people -- i have a "canned" letter in my "drop box" or "cloud" online, so that I can access it pretty much anywhere. It's been helpful, btu I've only needed to use it once.