Penn State U, Abington - TT Open

[info]

I emailed their HR department directly and they said that there is no alternative way to submit letters of rec, and that uploading your own is the only way.

[booooo]

That's ridiculous! How are you handling this?

[Nuts]

As much as I would like a job in the Philly area, this place sounds ridiculous. I am happy I avoided it.

[qwerty]

Sept 18, 2014 16:57:46 GMT -5 booooo said:

That's ridiculous! How are you handling this?

I don't know. On one hand a job is a job, and it is not like I have many offers waiting on me. On the other, it is certainly strange to have a position where the ad explicitly says not to contact anyone at the department and then makes a highly unusual request like that. Not that I am implying anything shady, just that they don't seem to be fully functional. So I don't know if it worth any awkwardness that this would generate with my letter writers. I am not trying to discourage anyone from applying, and philly is lovely. I am just not sure if making this sort of request of my letter writers is worth it just so I can apply to 51 jobs instead of 50.

[fwiw]

I ended up sending all my stuff without the letters. I would imagine that at some point actual sociologists/ search committee people will see the application and, if they are interested in my candidacy, will ask for the letters again in a way that makes more sense.

If we all did it this way they'd have to...

[yeah]

The whole "don't contact the department" thing is so weird. Every other ad tells you to please contact the department if you have questions. I sent a message to HR, but if they aren't helpful I'll probably do the same, fwiw.

[yepps]

Sept 19, 2014 5:58:20 GMT -5 fwiw said:

        

I ended up sending all my stuff without the letters. I would imagine that at some point actual sociologists/ search committee people will see the application and, if they are interested in my candidacy, will ask for the letters again in a way that makes more sense.

If we all did it this way they'd have to...

Ditto. 

[ditto]

ditto 3.
Can I add that the whole Penn State application portal (which is not exclusive to Abbington - Ogontz) is clunky and counter intuitive as hell?
First, you don't pick a username, they pick one for you. Then they have the "apply yes/no" before you submitted any materials, and then you have to go on "candidate history" to actually upload the stuff. Finally, it only accepts rtf or pdf documents. Not as bad as academicjobsonline.org, but close.

[email refs]

Following this thread I opened an account and got to the application page for the sociology job - I saw this instruction for the submission of reference letters " In addition, three letters of recommendation should be sent to Beth Montemurro, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology, Penn State Abington, 1600 Woodland Road, Abington, PA 19001. Email: [e-mail]." Is this the same job you're all discussing?

[good]

I just went into my account and I see that now, too. I'm pretty sure it wasn't there before! I wonder if they just changed it after getting lots of disgruntled emails.

[info]

Funny. Yeah, I am pretty sure that wasn't there on monday when I emailed the HR person and they said that there was no alternative.

[Ridonkulous]

When I emailed the HR people, the person who responded said to send the letters to Beth M. This was last month.

I totally screwed up with the application portal, though, and now get emails about every job Penn State has to offer.

[yeah]

I inquired and was given that eam15 email.  I told my referee folks to email that same address, so do the same my job competitors?...I agree, though, they don't seem to have their stuff together over there.

[lol]

I'm not applying but as someone who knows the area well, these stories that combine the Penn State arrogance with the Philadelphia incompetence are cracking me up

In any event, good luck candidates.