The topic of Letters of Reference seems to pop up rather often in the e-mails I get from readers, no matter how much I have already written about this topic. I get questions about writing them, reading them, asking people to write them for you.. The number of ways that this topic is fraught with anxiety and pitfalls is truly impressive.
I seem to have written 29 (now 30) posts on the topic in the past 5+ years. Or, at least, I have labeled 30 posts as such. Previous reference-letter-centric topics have included:
- How (whether) to compare the individual in question with others: peers, people with the same gender, the most brilliant people on the planet in a particular field..
- The most difficult types of letters (for me) to write, and the ones I most enjoy writing;
- The strangest (and most inappropriate things) I have read in letters of reference (I hope I have not written anything that would show up in someone else's list of such things);
- How to assemble a good list of people to ask to write letters of reference for a tenure case;
- How much I hate filling out the forms for grad applications that involve my comparing the applicant with the top 1%, 2.5%, 8%, 25%, 50%.. of students I have ever taught, or that have applied to grad school, or that I can remember, or something, not to mention also having to 'grade' the applicant on a host of Important Skills, from writing to ethics to working well with others. And yet, as much as I hate the ones with 57 categories, I also hate the ones with too few; e.g., I saw a recent one that lumped writing/speaking ability and wanted a single rating for this category.
- Writing letters (as a student) for an advisor, past or present;
- A plea for those who ask professors and others to write (many) letters of reference to send a brief e-mail telling them how things turned out, what you decided etc. Maybe the letter-writer doesn't care, maybe they do, but if someone took the time to help you out, even if you consider it "part of their job", at least have some brief communication with them later.
- What to do if a letter-writer asks you to write a first draft of the letter? (do it, it's just a draft);
- A classification of Letter Writer Types, from most obnoxious to most helpful;
- and let's not forget the Letter of Reference writing contest of December 2009.
That's a lot, and is just a partial list. Is there anything else? In fact, there is. Has anyone else encountered this situation that recently came to my attention?:
You are looking at the application (doesn't matter for what) from someone who worked in industry for a few years. The applicant worked for a small, specialized company in or near their hometown, and has a very positive letter from a top executive in that company. The applicant and the executive share the same last name; it is not an unusual name, but it is also not one of the most common ones. There is no mention in the letter or anywhere in the application that the applicant and the letter writer are related. What would (did) you do?
(1) Assume they are not related and take the reference letter at face value.
(2) Strongly suspect that they are relatives and dismiss the letter as possibly more unobjective than most such letters.
(3) Not care either way; letters are mostly filled with partial truths anyway.
