They make me feel uncomfortable. First off, I don’t think any of my past supervisors would be thrilled to be asked, “Hey, could we keep in touch so you can write me letters every once in a while?” and additionally, they hardly saw me work, so what do they know? A current supervisor might be alright, but it’s even more awkward to be like, “Hi, I’m actively looking for a new job. Would you like to be a critical point in that decision process?”
And even if that went well, doesn’t it just feel like they’d be bullshitting? Not that I think they think I’m a bad worker, I just don’t understand what one would write in a letter of rec. It should be a yes/no “Do you recommend The\_Mundane\_Block,” checkbox.
I believe common practice now a days is to pump out as many applications as you can and see what sticks. But I don’t think it’s viable to ask for 17 different letters of rec. The process feels stacked against the workers tbh.
by The_Mundane_Block