Letter of Recommendation

[Catholic]

Is it inappropriate to give a resume to a person who will be writing a letter of recommendation for you? It seems a bit dishonest, in that the recommender pretends to know more about you than he or she really did. I did this as part of the application process for a generous fellowship which I was eventally offered, but wondered whether it was ethical or not.

 

[Seeks_God]

I don’t think there is an ethical dilemma here. The person does know you right? Allowing them ‘notes’ in the form of a resume doesn’t seem as if they are portraying you in a false light. I think if the person lied about you or wrote about you in some way to deceive others, then it would be a problem.

 

[Pumpkin]

Catholic:

Is it inappropriate to give a resume to a person who will be writing a letter of recommendation for you?

I would think that it would help the individual remember your accomplishments and focus their letter on the qualities that they know about you that will help you the most. As an example if a former boss or professor was writing the letter they may know that you worked on a specific project but they may not have remembered it or realized how it may apply to the current position.

People should focus their resume to the specific position for which they are applying. Therefore, I would think as long as you were not lying or inflating yourself in your resume then they can use the resume as a good guide.

 

[ktm]

I don’t see why there is even an ethical question here.

I write recommendation letters on a regular basis for my students, current and former. I can’t possibly know all the relevant details of why they are good students. All I know is that they did well in my classes and that they are generally good students. I usually ask for a resume or summary of their accomplishments so that I can write something intelligent in the letter.

Unless you passed your resume to a stranger who knows nothing about you, or who doesn’t even know you really, then I don’t even see a single problem here.

Keep in mind you are the only person who could really write a “perfect” letter of recommendation for you, since you know the most about your positive qualities!