Sometimes, mostly when least expected, I have brilliant ideas. Like on the bus. Or in the bathtub. When I’m not even trying to control my brain but am simply staring at the world passing by, when I’m almost falling asleep and just letting it happen. Lots of ideas are irretrievably lost, but every now and then I hold on to it and get to my laptop or tablet. I work it all out. First this fellowship, then that committee role and organising that event. Et voila, my career is fixed for the next hundred years.
(and yes – if you thought I was thinking about brilliant scientific ideas, yup, they happen too in the bathtub, but those are not what this post is about)
Sometimes, after waking up from my trance where everything is rosey, I wonder whether the path I envisioned is realistic, whether things I’d like to apply for are too ambitious. Or may not fit my supervisors expectations. Like a few months ago, when I asked him to back an application for a teaching role – “you sure you want to do teaching?”…
Yes, I do. But maybe I do not always want to tell the entire world. Maybe I just want to try on a new role, see how it goes. Or just see how far I can get with the application procedure, without having to admit that I’m actually as arrogant to believe my chances are good enough to apply for THAT job.
Impossible, no secrecy permitted here. I’ve asked both my PhD supervisor and my current postdoc supervisor for at least 5 letters of recommendation so far this year. And the end is nowhere near in sight. Travel money. Teaching positions. Research Fellowships. All kinds of things really.
I like applying for stuff. Maybe I’m a bit mad. However, I like to write applications as I simply like writing and think it’s good practice. Especially when, like now, they are not absolutely necessary for jobs I need to live, but are merely extracurricular functions. I’m nosey, curious and restless and I know it, so I would simply like to use that energy for something useful.
But do I really have to admit that to my boss, with every thing I apply for?! Even though he says he doesn’t mind writing letters, he has to start wondering at some point when I actually get to do all these things, whether it doesn’t interfere with my work? It doesn’t interfere with it, but sometimes I’d rather have he didn’t know about everything I get up to.
Besides that, I feel guilty for claiming so much time. Some roles require three letters. Even if some of them have asked me to write the letters for them, they still edited them and wasted time on it. And then the search committees, who have to get through so many letters…
So my plea, arising from a tiny frustration… Could we please stop asking for letters of recommendation up front?! Make a shortlist, ask them for references, but don’t ask them from everyone immediately. I always wonder what the added value is anyway, does it every happen that are not absolutely positive?! It might make a difference maybe when you have two very good candidates, but like I said, it should do then to request more information only about the people you’re actually interested in!
(the actual trigger for this post btw… I sent off an application for something with deadline tomorrow. Warned the beloved letter-writers well in advance. Sent them a subtle reminder last weekend. To get a panicky reply from one of them: “I forgot! And I’m on holidays in Uzbekistan now with my laptop locked away in a safe at home! How can we solve this?” *facepalm*)
Dr.K. 