Timeline for How to write a reference request for a candidate that I see unfit for the application?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
26 events
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| Apr 13, 2017 at 12:49 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
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| Apr 22, 2015 at 8:37 | comment | added | Pandora | @aparente001 I think that the problem with your idea is less that it's "nonsensical", as was suggested, but more than it's simply unfair to the student. I've encountered similar situations (both as an outside observer, and involved once myself, as the student), and in all those cases the student would have been much better off if they knew exactly what the professor thought, which would have allowed said student to look for alternative options, instead of wasting time hoping for something which, based on the information on their hands, is going to happen at some point. | |
| Apr 22, 2015 at 2:17 | comment | added | JeffE | @LorenPechtel Right. That doesn't mean he has to write a reference. | |
| Apr 21, 2015 at 21:35 | comment | added | Loren Pechtel | @JeffE He's the only possible reference because everyone else has already seen he's unsuitable and won't write a reference. | |
| Apr 21, 2015 at 21:32 | history | edited | Memming | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
grammar fixes
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| Apr 21, 2015 at 10:10 | answer | added | Ian | timeline score: 0 | |
| Apr 21, 2015 at 6:41 | comment | added | smci | @aparente001 that sort of behavior is well-known and is called passive-aggressive. IMO it's nonsensical to do that instead of just talking to the guy. | |
| Apr 21, 2015 at 4:36 | comment | added | ceoec | @aparente001, haha I like your idea... | |
| Apr 21, 2015 at 4:34 | comment | added | ceoec | @smci, the post need patient, not an abnormal level but need it, I wrote the student a good reference before because the other post he applied do not need patient. | |
| Apr 21, 2015 at 4:21 | comment | added | aparente001 | @ceoec, this might be a good time for you to do some serious procrastination! Normally, I wouldn't recommend this, but in this case, it might buy you some time. Maybe while he is waiting, your student will come across another opening that is more suitable, and he will get so excited about it too that he will have an easier time listening to your point of view about the position that requires patience. - - - Note, you can also point to his impatience and pressuring of you, as evidence that a position requiring patience would not be the best fit for him. | |
| Apr 21, 2015 at 4:21 | vote | accept | ceoec | ||
| Apr 21, 2015 at 1:03 | comment | added | JeffE | I cannot turn down his request because he said he could not find anyone else. — This is simply not true. Being his only possible reference is not sufficient reason to provide a reference. | |
| Apr 21, 2015 at 0:59 | comment | added | smci | e) Is their unfitness something you were already aware of when you became their supervisor? How is it that it's never come up in the years you've been their supervisor/senior colleague? Basically: did you lead them to believe/rely upon/depend on this job and you writing a recommendation for it? If yes, at what point did you change your mind? | |
| Apr 21, 2015 at 0:58 | comment | added | smci | Other important missing information: a) What does "I know the student well" mean? Are you their supervisor, in any position of responsibility wrt their work, or their senior colleague? Or you just play squash with them once a week. b) How long have you been their supervisor/senior colleague? c) Is this for a permanent position, or just a summer job/ internship/ research contract? What is the foreseeable career damage of writing a lukewarm/ negative letter? d) Do they need this job or money? | |
| Apr 20, 2015 at 23:43 | answer | added | Wolfgang Bangerth | timeline score: 3 | |
| Apr 20, 2015 at 23:23 | comment | added | Count Iblis | See the last part of this paper. | |
| Apr 20, 2015 at 22:34 | comment | added | Kevin | Is the skill he's missing a character trait, such as being impatient, or a nonmoral technical skill, such as knowing a particular programming language or being familiar with a particular research technique? | |
| Apr 20, 2015 at 21:53 | answer | added | smci | timeline score: 38 | |
| Apr 20, 2015 at 21:21 | comment | added | smci | Do you mean that this particular position requires an abnormal level of patience, or simply that he is in general abnormally impatient? Those are two utterly different scenarios warranting two different courses of action. You're not being clear. | |
| Apr 20, 2015 at 21:05 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/#!/StackAcademia/status/590259912531378176 | ||
| Apr 20, 2015 at 19:35 | comment | added | Compass | I never read a poor reference You never read a poor reference because people choose not to write one as opposed to writing a poor one. If you don't think he should go, then your writing a letter to help him go, despite your better judgement, is a disservice to him. | |
| Apr 20, 2015 at 19:04 | answer | added | Anonymous Mathematician | timeline score: 45 | |
| Apr 20, 2015 at 18:46 | answer | added | Tobias Kildetoft | timeline score: 3 | |
| Apr 20, 2015 at 18:34 | comment | added | ceoec | the skill is a bit specific -- let's say he is not patient, the post he wanna apply for need lots of patience... | |
| Apr 20, 2015 at 18:20 | comment | added | user2562609 | What is the skill that he lacks | |
| Apr 20, 2015 at 17:47 | history | asked | ceoec | CC BY-SA 3.0 |