Dissecting DIY Letters of Rec
21/02/12 21:52 Filed in: GenomeWeb Daily Scan
Submitted by S. Pelech - Kinexus on Wed, 02/01/2012 - 21:52.
I am one of those bosses that occasionally ask my employees and trainees to provide me with their own letters of recommendation to support their applications for awards or jobs. I don't do it, because I am too busy, nor because I have no interest in their future careers. If I do request such a draft letter, it is because it often provides a useful self-assessment by the person for their own benefit, so they can appreciate the amount of time that it takes to produce a good letter, and to improve the prospects of including points that I might have over looked that could benefit the individual. I use this as a starting point to prepare a much expanded letter, which also includes the kind of embellishments as appropriate that a modest employee or trainee might feel uncomfortable writing. Usually, recommendation letters are confidential and not provided to the employee or trainee. However, if I cannot provide a good to excellent letter of support, I will not at all. After all, it is supposed to be a letter of recommendation.
Link to original blog post.
I am one of those bosses that occasionally ask my employees and trainees to provide me with their own letters of recommendation to support their applications for awards or jobs. I don't do it, because I am too busy, nor because I have no interest in their future careers. If I do request such a draft letter, it is because it often provides a useful self-assessment by the person for their own benefit, so they can appreciate the amount of time that it takes to produce a good letter, and to improve the prospects of including points that I might have over looked that could benefit the individual. I use this as a starting point to prepare a much expanded letter, which also includes the kind of embellishments as appropriate that a modest employee or trainee might feel uncomfortable writing. Usually, recommendation letters are confidential and not provided to the employee or trainee. However, if I cannot provide a good to excellent letter of support, I will not at all. After all, it is supposed to be a letter of recommendation.
Link to original blog post.