Recommendations: What You'd Really Like to Say

Here's a really funny draft of a recommendation letter from John L. Jackson Jr., an associate professor of communication and anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dear Search Committee:

Are you bleary-eyed and exhausted from all the applications you’ve received and read thus far? Hey, have you already decided on your choice for the position? Is there an inside candidate I don’t know about, somebody who effectively makes my reference letter a waste of everyone’s time?

I usually don’t ask such questions when I start recommendation letters for graduate students, but I’ve decided to cut to the chase this year. I want the skinny. There are so many credible candidates for your advertised post (I know of at least 10 folks, and I’m writing reference letters for three of them); I can’t imagine that the process will be easy.

Read more of Dear Search Committee at the Brainstorm blog