MOVING TO FRONT FROM YESTERDAY, TO ENCOURAGE MORE DISCUSSION--THIS IS A DISASTER IN THE MAKING, WHERE IS THE APA ON THIS?
John Martin Fischer (UC Riverside) writes:
I'm now getting requests for letters of recommendation for job candidates from individual hiring depts. That is, in addition to the letter I send to the candidate's designated individual (to send out packets of letters), I am getting requests via email for letters. This just seems crazy. Students often apply to 30 to 50 jobs (or maybe more). If one is writing say for a half dozen students or more advanced job candidates, this can easily result in hundreds of letters! It would be a full-time job to keep track of all of these requests and send the letters out. There must be a better way!
I have to say this is the first year I've noticed a lot of requests of this kind as well, suggesting to me that it is becoming more common. What are reader impressions on this score? Is the APA aware of this looming disaster? Is the departmental dossier sent out to hiring departments becoming a thing of the past?
