Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!mcnc!ecsvax!uccjcm
From: uccjcm@ecsvax.UUCP (Jonathon C. McLendon IV)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: recommendations from teachers
Message-ID: <3568@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 18-Jul-87 14:27:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: ecsvax.3568
Posted: Sat Jul 18 14:27:55 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 19-Jul-87 01:08:16 EDT
References: <6633@mhuxu.UUCP>
Organization: UNC Educational Computing Service
Lines: 30
Summary: How do you know what they said?

In article <6633@mhuxu.UUCP>, davims@mhuxu.UUCP writes:
> My boyfriend is a May 1987 graduate in CS.  He asked some of his former
> teachers for recommendations, and they said they'd be happy to oblige.
> When my boyfriend received his letters of recommendations from the teachers,
> they turned out not to be "recommendations" at all.  They said some pretty
> nasty things about him that outweighed any good points.  
> 
> Has anyone out there ever heard of something like this happening?  Why did
> these teachers even bother to write their so-called "letters of               
> recommendation" if they were just planning on saying nasty things?  
>   
> To the professors out there: Personally, what do you do if a student you
> don't have a high opinion of asks you for a letter of recommendation?

  How exactly did he know what they said? There are two kinds of
  recommendations: open and closed, that is, those that are open
  to the recommendee and those that are closed to the recomendee.
  As someone who interviews and hires CS grads, I usually place
  little or no weight on an open recommendation. 
  I suspect that 'boyfriend' knew he was going to get a crummy
  rec and that's why he got an open recommendation. Additionally,
  I have nothing but empathy for a professor who has to put up
  with a student who is a pain in the a**. (whether your boyfriend
  is or is not one, I do not know) I presume he wanted an honest
  rec, and I suppose he got one. In any case, I wouldn't place too 
  much emphasis on it. I'm on my third job in this industry, and
  only one employer actually bothered to check my references,
  and when they did, because they couldn't reach the prof, they
  talked to the secretaries! (I always knew all that sweet talking
  would pay off)