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What do job search committees for tenure track jobs think of applicants using a service like interfolio? Using such a service, you don't have to bug recommenders for each place you apply and, instead, enter a special email address generated by interfolio on application forms.

Is this a good idea?

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    Never heard of it. Is this advertising? @anonymous555, What is your relation to this company?
    – Federico Poloni
    Oct 27, 2013 at 16:45
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    I have no relation to this company. I heard about it because some universities recently started to require using it. Example: apply.interfolio.com/23031 It then seemed convenient to use it for all applications.
    – anonymous555
    Oct 27, 2013 at 17:05
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    Can you even use interfolio unless the university with the job ad puts it on interfoliol to begin with?
    – DJBunk
    Oct 27, 2013 at 18:54
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    Yes, when using it you don't enter a recommender's email address, but rather something like <[email protected]>. Then interfolio checks that the request is legit and sends the recommendation letter on their behalf.
    – anonymous555
    Oct 27, 2013 at 19:00
  • @anonymous555 thanks for the answer - sorry for being aggressive and asking, but we have already had some cases of blatant self-advertising on this site.
    – Federico Poloni
    Oct 28, 2013 at 10:43

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Speaking as someone running a faculty search committee, I doubt we'd even notice, as long as your application materials and recommendation letters are properly entered into our own application system.

On the other hand, many faculty recruiting processes (including mine) only request recommendation letters after applications have passed the first round of reviewing. In that case, I would be a little suspicious of an application that suggested using [email protected] instead of [email protected] to request a letter from a well-known professor at MIT.

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    I agree. If a former student requests a letter after making the first round (i.e., medium list) then I will send a customized letter to the employer. But many low-level non-tenure-track, visiting, adjunct, and other positions ask for letters up front. In those cases, I feel less bad asking the student to use the interfolio service.
    – RoboKaren
    Jul 13, 2014 at 22:09

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