at the same time, both as someone who writes letters and someone who has seen an applicant move from the "ah, whatever" to the "let's talk" pile based on a good letter of reference, I would encourage all of you to keep writing & keep reading.
On Thu, Aug 31, 2017 at 8:55 AM, Fidele Bognounou < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi Brian, > Very good point! > There are even potential candidates that will not apply for a position > because they don't want to keek annoying the providers of the letters. > > Fidele > > On Wed, Aug 30, 2017 at 9:27 PM, Patrick, Brian <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Dear colleagues, >> >> >> >> I have noticed over the years a significant increase in the number of >> position announcements that state that full applications must include three >> letters of reference. As someone who has been on numerous search >> committees, has written a fair number of letters of recommendation, and has >> applied for a fair number of jobs, I can honestly say that this is >> exceptionally inconvenient to applicants, to those writing the letters, and >> not necessary for an initial application. A list of at least three >> references should be sufficient for an initial application. >> >> >> >> Let’s be honest, in a large stack of applications, only a few tend to >> bubble to the top, and they extremely-rarely-to-virtually-never do so >> because of their recommendations. Search committees, please do NOT require >> three letters up front. It is largely unnecessary and extremely >> inconvenient (for the candidate and letter writers) to provide this >> information if the candidate doesn’t even make the cut for a phone >> interview. It’s a wasted effort for the vast majority of job applicants >> and for those writing those letters for the vast majority of job applicants. >> >> >> >> In short, ask for a list of references only. If letters from those >> references are needed from a few candidates for whatever reason, then make >> the request after making the initial trim of the pool to the candidate list. >> >> >> >> If you do not have a choice whether or not this is required, then it >> needs to be explained to the HR person or whoever makes that call that it >> is largely an inconvenient waste of many people’s time to provide the >> letters up front. It is always better to ask for a list of references. >> >> >> >> Thank you for your time and for letting me express my opinion on this >> topic. Too many young scientists are put in awkward positions because they >> have to ask for 14 letters from the same few people. Personally, I try to >> personalize each letter I write to the institution or type of job for which >> the candidate is applying. It gets very annoying to have to provide this >> when a colleague applies for a job that may be a stretch for them (but they >> should still apply!). I think they should apply, and I want them to >> apply—my ire lies with the committees that make that up-front request for >> all applicants. >> >> >> >> Thank you again for your time! >> >> >> >> Best regards, Brian >> >> >> >> ----------------------------------------------------------- >> >> L. Brian Patrick, Ph.D. >> >> Associate Professor of Biology >> >> Department of Biological Sciences >> >> Dakota Wesleyan University >> >> 1200 W. University Ave. >> >> Mitchell, SD 57301 USA >> >> Office: 605-995-2712 <(605)%20995-2712> >> >> >> > > -- John Anderson W.H. Drury Professor of Ecology/Natural History College of the Atlantic 105 Eden St Bar Harbor ME 04609
