Re: Letters of Recommendation

[Deborah Ray <debray -at- RAYCOMM -dot- COM>]

Hi, Robert,

Thanks for your detailed reply. Very interesting points
you raise.

>   By the way, I question your presumption that the applicant requested
>frequent time
>   off.  You could just as easily conclude that both writers were impressed
>by the way
>   that nothing interfered with Jane's punctuality except for things she
>scheduled in
>   advance (the first letter was explicit on this point; the second was
>ambiguous).
>   While the rest of us suffer from oversleeping, car breakdown, heavy
>traffic, and
>   other sources of delay, Jane seems miraculously immune.


Excellent point. I wonder, though, if that is the case,
then why wasn't Jane's excellent punctuality stated as
that, rather than cast (as I consider) more negatively.

>
>2. There's no correlation between the quality of writing and the sincerity
>of the writer. ... Some people whose judgment I value very highly can't
>write their way out of a paper bag.

Agreed. But that was kind of my point. For example,
one of my very best references is from a former boss
who (admittedly) can't write. His verbal recommendation
of me is stellar (subsequent employers mentioned this),
but the written recommendation didn't at all reflect
what he was trying to convey.

Or, apply the same logic to performance reviews, where often
a written evaluation is required for the employee's file.
A stellar employee might appear average just because
the writer can't express what he/she means. This is why I
ask whether we should perhaps consider the author's writing
capabilities as well as the actual words written. Personally,
I'd hate to have someone look in my employee file and check out
my performance based on something written by someone who
admittedly can't write or express him/herself on paper.

Many people
>who do write them aren't very enthusiastic about the employee, and it shows.
>On the other
>hand, many people can't sound enthusiastic in their writing no matter what,
>so this doesn't
>get much weight.

Uh huh. Another thing, too, is that some people don't really
know what content to put in. For example, in the sample letters,
the content was so superficial, the authors may as well have been
talking about the weather. But, does this mean the authors had
nothing to fabulous to say or, perhaps, that they just couldn't
articulate things on paper or convey more valuable information?

>But remind yourself, both before and after, that you're the one whose
>impression counts.

Yes. The other detail about the letters that I should have
mentioned is that the letters--seemingly so blah--didn't match
the personality we met. Her specific work habits aside, she in
person was enthusiastic, perky, seemingly bright, and confident.
I think that's why I began to wonder about the usefulness of
letters, considerations about the authors' writing
capabilities, and the value of between-the-lines messages.

Thanks again for your posting, Robert. I've received
lots of offline replies and might summarize for the
list if there's interest.

Deborah


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