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"I Can't Recommend the Candidate Too Highly": an Ambiguous Lexicon for Job Recommendations (by Robert J. Thornton, professor of economics at Lehigh University)

Letters of recommendation are becoming increasingly unreliable as a means of evaluating candidates under consideration for academic employment. The chief reason is that the contents are no longer strictly confidential. In all but the rarest of cases a letter is apt to be favorable, even when the writer knows the candidate is mediocre or unqualified. This is so because the writer fears the candidate may later exercise the legal right to read the letter, and perhaps even sue if the contents are not to his liking and are insufficiently substantiated.

While abolishing the practice of requiring letters of recommendation may at first seem like a good idea, there is really no better way to get reliable information about a candidate's qualifications than to ask the people who have had close contact with him or her. What is needed is a means by which the letter writer can convey unfavorable information in a way that the candidate cannot perceive it or prove it as such.

To this end I have designed the Lexicon of Inconspicuously Ambiguous Recommendations, or LIAR. Here are a few samples:

To describe a candidate who is woefully inept: "I most enthusiastically recommend this candidate with no qualifications whatsoever."
To describe a candidate who is not particularly industrious: "In my opinion, you will be very fortunate to get this person to work for you."
To describe a candidate who is not worth further consideration: "I would urge you to waste no time in making this candidate an offer of employment."
To describe a candidate with lackluster credentials: "All in all, I cannot say enough good things about this candidate or recommend him too highly."
To describe an ex-employee who had difficulty getting along with fellow workers: "I am pleased to say that this candidate is a former colleague of mine."
To described a candidate who is so unproductive the position would be better left unfilled: "I can assure you that no person would be better for this job."


Letters of Recommendation?

"I Can't Recommend the Candidate Too Highly": an Ambiguous Lexicon for Job Recommendations (by Robert J. Thornton, professor of economics at Lehigh University) Letters of recommendation are becoming increasingly unreliable as a means of evaluating candidates under consideration for academic employment. The chief reason is that the contents are no longer strictly confidential. In all but the rarest of cases a letter is apt to be favorable, even when the writer knows the candidate is mediocre or unqualified. This is so because the writer fears the candidate may later exercise the legal right to read the letter, and perhaps even sue if the contents are not to his liking and are insufficiently substantiated. While abolishing the practice of requiring letters of recommendation may at first seem like a good idea, there is really no better way to get reliable information about a candidate's qualifications than to ask the people who have had close contact with him or her. What is needed is a means by which the letter writer can convey unfavorable information in a way that the candidate cannot perceive it or prove it as such. To this end I have designed the Lexicon of Inconspicuously Ambiguous Recommendations, or LIAR. Here are a few samples: To describe a candidate who is woefully inept: "I most enthusiastically recommend this candidate with no qualifications whatsoever." To describe a candidate who is not particularly industrious: "In my opinion, you will be very fortunate to get this person to work for you." To describe a candidate who is not worth further consideration: "I would urge you to waste no time in making this candidate an offer of employment." To describe a candidate with lackluster credentials: "All in all, I cannot say enough good things about this candidate or recommend him too highly." To describe an ex-employee who had difficulty getting along with fellow workers: "I am pleased to say that this candidate is a former colleague of mine." To described a candidate who is so unproductive the position would be better left unfilled: "I can assure you that no person would be better for this job."