Would you write a letter of recommendation?

[DisneyFan32WI]

I was asked to write a letter of recommendation by someone who I really didn't directly supervise. Her direct supervisor quit, so she was hoping I would write one for her. Although I oversee the department, I really didn't supervise her. It takes a very long time for me to write a letter of recommendation which I think is a very personal thing.
I am actually a little bit upset that she felt I would take the time to write one for her since I didn't even get to know her well during her time that she worked here. (She asked for it by the end of the week...and the e-mail was sent on Tuesday).
I understand she needs to find a job, but is it necessary for me to help her with that?
Would you write one?
If not, how would you tell her "no thank you?"
If so, how would you write it if you didn't get to know her well enough to evaluate her performance?
Thanks for your help!

 

[Frankiesmom]

I would;everyone right now who's looking for a job could use all the help they could get!

Unless, it's to the FBI,IRS, or the CIA...I would help the young lady.
Good Luck with whatever you decide!

 

[Pakey]

I guess I don't understand why it has to be a personal thing or take that long.

My letters of recommendation include their dates of employment and their duties while they worked there, nothing about them personally. I never go into how well they did a job or not, if they left without getting fired, I just end it with "xxx has decided to leave our company to pursue other interests and I wish him/her well".

As long as the employee left on good terms, I certainly would do one. You never know when that good deed may come back to help you in the future.

If they were fired, then no, I would never, under any circumstances, sign anything that could be construed as a recommendation.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

"I was her second level supervisor. Since she left, her direct supervisor has also left. As I did not directly supervise her I am not aware of any problems related to her performance; however if there had been any more than likely I would have been aware of them. She is eligible for rehire here."

Honest, truthful, consise and accurate, as well as very brief.

 

[waltsgirl]

I would write the letter. I agree that the letter does not have to be long or detailed. To be honest if the letter is too long, too detailed no one is going to read it, people don't have time.

I think Tuesday to Friday is plenty of time to write the letter.

 

[Northstar]

I think you might be a little behind the times in what you think a letter of recommendation should be.

These days, when employers/professors are afraid of getting sued if they write anything less than a glowing recommendation, and when prospective employers take glowing recommendations with a grain of salt anyway because they think it might be an "outplacement," I see a lot of letters of recommendation that are basically a record of employment, a statement that the employee left in good standing, and maybe a summary of any outstanding accomplishments. Three or four sentences. Very impersonal.

The thing is, this person may really need the recommendation... not a glowing, "I know this person well and she is a fantastic worker, just what you need" recommendation, but just something from a former employer that shows she didn't leave under a cloud.

If you have any kindly feelings at all towards her, I'd email back saying that you can't say much in the recommendation because you didn't supervise her and don't know her work well, but would something very skeletal be helpful. And if she says yes, I'd do it for her. Who knows when you might need a return favor!

 

[mom2boys]

I would give her something perhaps not a full fledged glowing recommendation but at least a verification of employment type letter.

I see nothing wrong with asking the former employee to draft the letter. Let her know what you are willing to sign your name to - such as period of employment & whether she is eliglbe for rehire. You can tweek it as you see fit and sign it if appropriate.

I understand that you don't feel you have the information or time to write a personal recommendation but I would definitely at least "verfiy" her employment if she is eligible for re-hire I would explicitly state that. Stick to the facts & only the facts - no subjective opinions (which you aren't really in a position to make anyway).

Jobs are few & far between these days. I would help anyone in any way I could - unless I had personal knowledge that they would not be a good employee.

 

[mom2boys]

I would;everyone right now who's looking for a job could use all the help they could get!

Unless, it's to the FBI,IRS, or the CIA...I would help the young lady.
Good Luck with whatever you decide!

Gotta know, why wouldn't you help someone get a job with the FBI, IRS or CIA? They are good stable jobs with good benefits.

 

[rie'smom]

I'd write the letter.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Gotta know, why wouldn't you help someone get a job with the FBI, IRS or CIA? They are good stable jobs with good benefits.

I assume that she was worried that if she recommended someone to one of those places and it didn't work out it might come back to haunt her -- that she would only recommend someone she has a lot of confidence in.

 

[Keli]

Yes, I would write one for her. It obviously won't be detailed since you didn't directly supervise her but I am certain that someone who was overseeing her department you did have some level of knowledge about her work ethic and abilities overall.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

Thank you everyone for such quick replies! I need to act fast since the e-mail was sent on Tuesday. My out-of-office assistant was on all this week, so hopefully she received the computer generated response that I would be gone.
I guess I may in fact be a bit behind the times. I always felt that than an actual letter of recommendation is something personal I would write if I actually wanted to recommend someone for a position. I don't do that often for just anyone.

I think that more of a generic letter using the feedback you gave me might be just as fine! Keeping it simple & sweet would be more of my comfort level.

I am so glad I posted this question today. Thanks.....

 

[PrincessKitty1]

My letters of recommendation include their dates of employment and their duties while they worked there, nothing about them personally. I never go into how well they did a job or not, if they left without getting fired, I just end it with "xxx has decided to leave our company to pursue other interests and I wish him/her well".

If I read a letter of recommendation like this, I would think of it as a "damning with faint praise" kind of letter. It might be worse than no letter of recommendation at all.

OP, I would not feel obligated to write the letter if you really don't know what kind of an employee she was. If you heard from her supervisor at the time that she was a good employee, I'd go ahead and write a letter for her. The fact that it takes you a long time to write the letter is not a good reason (to me) not to write one.

If you don't feel comfortable writing the letter, can you still be the formal reference for her job, or would that be somebody in Human Resources? At least let her know. Many job applications want a contact person for each previous job.

 

[Floridagal23]

It sounds like she asked you because her supervisor isn't there anymore, and you are the closest substitute. I would just go ahead and write a quick letter explaining the capacity in which you know her and that after looking at her employee file, there aren't any problems with her record and that she's doing a good job.

I have refused to write recommendations for people (character references) because they were applying to a position that required a really high security clearance and I just didn't know them well enough. But - it seems like in your case - her supervisor isn't there and you're the next best thing.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

Yes-that is exactly why she came to me. Her direct supervisor left the job so I was the next person she could turn to.
She only worked part-time sporadic hours. She was very quiet, and I really couldn't rate her performance fairly because of the lack of interaction I had with her.
I am really struggling with this letter now. All it will look like is this:
April 5, 2009

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this letter to verify the employment of Jane Doe. She worked part-time as a _______ at the ________from April 2008 until February 2009. Her job responsibilities included______and _______. She resigned from her position to puruse employment in the field of her education. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at ( ) _____.

Is that enough?

 

[Kit'smommy]

I would write the letter but do not believe you should if you cannot find anything favorable at all. I would rather not receive a recommendation letter than receive one of the example here. They sound like "if you can't say anything nice..."

I would think about any favorable traits the employee had and just included those in the letter. It doesn't have to be wordy, or say you would trust her with your life savings... just that she was a dependable employee.

 

[Disney Doll]

Is she detail-oriented, good customer interactions, a team player, handling the transtion period of having no boss well, conscientious????? You have to know something about her that can personalize the letter just a little.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

I love the idea of "transitioning through a period of having no immediate supervisor well" line.
Thanks!!!

 

[Disney Doll]

See bolded for an addition that would personalize it more, as long as it is true that you found her to be a good worker. I would assume if she wasn't fired, and if you have reviewed her employee file and not found any gross infractions, that you could consider her a good worker.

Yes-that is exactly why she came to me. Her direct supervisor left the job so I was the next person she could turn to.
She only worked part-time sporadic hours. She was very quiet, and I really couldn't rate her performance fairly because of the lack of interaction I had with her.
I am really struggling with this letter now. All it will look like is this:
April 5, 2009

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this letter to verify the employment of Jane Doe. She worked part-time as a _______ at the ________from April 2008 until February 2009. Her job responsibilities included______and _______. I only became responsible for directly supervising X near the end of her tenure with our company. I found her to be willing to put in good effort to do her job, even as a part-time worker. I am delighted to hear that she is taking the intiative to pursue employment in her field of education. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at ( ) _____.

Is that enough?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I still think there should be something specific to the extent that she is eligible to be rehired at the company.