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Thread: Letters of Recommendation (rant and question)

  1. #1
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    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?! 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. #2
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    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.

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    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.

  4. #4
    Senior Member crunchycon's Avatar
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    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.

  5. #5
    Senior Member herbgeek's Avatar
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    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.

  6. #6
    Senior Member reader99's Avatar
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    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

  7. #7
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    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!

  8. #8
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    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...)

  9. #9
    Senior Member mtnlaurel's Avatar
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    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.

  10. #10
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    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.

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