info for letter writers

[TMI]

I have confused my letter writers with too much information. How do you provide your letter writers with the necessary information to write letters for jobs on time? I learned that my updates for them were more from my point of view that led to some confusion on their part - In one case where one almost didn't send a letter and another almost sent two!

Any suggestions are welcome.

[yeah]

Yeah, I've kind of struggled with this a bit, too. I've asked them for their preferences, which has helped. But I, too, have been a bit concerned that a few are bound to go unsent.

I created an excel spreadsheet that listed each position and, in this order, the due date, the school name, whether it's electronic or paper, instructions or an address, and the ad itself. I've sent an updated excel file every couple weeks. One of my references likes to do everything himself, and the other two like to have departmental staff take care of them. So, I'm dealing with a few different people. But, so far, everyone has been immensely helpful and understanding, and, to my knowledge, there have been no missing or late letters.

My advice -- just find out what you can do to make it as easy as possible for them.

[unclekarl]

This is bound to happen. Some people ask four people to write letters to make sure three get there, and still only have two arrive. My experience is that departments will email the applicant and ask for missing letters, if applicant sent in their stuff. Departments are fairly understanding of this, as they know the applicant has to do some delicate balancing acts with their writers.

[drbearjew]

For this year, I developed a spreadsheet.

I used the following columns:

Type of Job (Asst Prof, TT, etc)
Institution
Specialization #1, #2, #3 (sometimes there are less than three areas an ad calls for, so I leave some spaces blank)
Letter Writer #1, #2, #3 (I have five writers, and I have tried to divide the process up equitably).
Job Ad (I inserted a hyperlink for each job ad)
Cover Letter (I inserted a link to each of my cover letters)
Contact Information (where/who they should send letters to)
Due date
Date I submitted my materials.

My writers have found this extremely beneficial. Each week or two, I update it and re-send it out, with specific due dates in my emails. They have told me this has streamlined the process because they can find all of the information in one place.

Hope this helps.

[whatsupwithsecuritycheckword]

I have used dossier service (interfolio.com). Many people oppose to it because the letters are standard and not tailored for each position. Yet, when you apply to many positions, I wouldn't expect my recommenders to go crazy writing different letters to every place anyway (except maybe for one or two specific places for whatever reason).

With interfolio, they upload one generic letter (which you can't see), and then you place orders to submit it to all the places that require them (either as part of your application package or separate). It costs money but, you don't bother busy people, and you have control. Those for me are huge advantages.