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On-line letter submissions, once again

Brian Leiter

We've touched on this topic before.  Philosopher John Doris (Wash U/St. Louis) writes:

As we again enter letter writing season, I'm reminded of how onerous are the "efficiencies" of the new electronic submission  culture/disaster.

There really ought be serious efforts at standardization.  Repeated uploads for each candidate, often requiring entering and re-entering personal information and reformatting letters, is not only  unnecessarily time-consuming, but also maddeningly tedious.  I don't care if it's Interfolio, but let it be something. Sooner rather than later.

Thoughts from readers? Solutions or strategies? Is the APA on this?

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16 responses to “On-line letter submissions, once again”

  1. Tyler Hildebrand

    As an applicant, I'd love it if everyone used academicjobsonline.org.

    In my experience, this is easily the best system. It is very easy to use. It is free. The most tedious parts of the application process–for applicants, references, or others managing confidential dossiers–need to be completed only once.

    I'm not in the position to say whether it increases the burden for search committees or HR departments, but, if it does, I can't imagine that it does so by much.

    Reply
  2. Helen Yetter-Chappell

    What Tyler said. There already is a tool that provides the solution to this. Schools just have to opt to use it. Academic Jobs Online is a non-profit and free to applicants. Applicants upload their materials and type in their personal information ONCE. Then they simply click boxes for what material should be made accessible to which jobs. It's utterly baffling that hiring departments aren't all using this, and that the APA endorsed the collective use of the for-profit (and still costly to applicants) Interfolio, rather than Academic Jobs Online.

    Read more about it here:
    https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo?doc-2

    Reply
  3. Mark Murphy

    I would like to join the chorus. I chaired a search committee for Georgetown last year using Academic Jobs Online, and it was smooth and trouble-free. It is free for applicants, and departments that want to try it out can do their first search for an introductory price of $75.

    Reply
  4. Michael Weisberg

    I assume that many of your readers know this, but for those that don't, the choice of application system is rarely made by departments. At Penn, it isn't even a choice made by the School of Arts and Sciences, but by University-side HR (handling 20,000+ employees). If anyone has actionable intelligence about disciplines who have successfully organized their searches in such a way to subvert HR departments, that would be welcome information! Otherwise, letter writers can insist that their candidates use Interfolio (or some such) that handles this problem. Interfolio's instructions:

    http://help.interfolio.com/entries/24062742-Uploading-Letters-to-an-Online-Application-System

    Reply
  5. Brian Weatherson

    When Michigan Philosophy used AJO last year, the department contacted AJO directly, set up an account, and used it. I assume this wasn't a *violation* of UM policies, but it certainly wasn't something that was suggested by the university, or that we did through the university.

    That's not obviously helpful in how to go around a HR department though.

    Reply
  6. Elizabeth Harman

    Pretty much all mathematics departments use mathjobs.org, regardless of what their university's HR department thinks it can require of them. (academicjobsonline is simply an offshoot of mathjobs.org)
    So I recommend that philosophers talk to math professors at their school about how they got around the HR requirement.
    Of course, math departments can argue that this is what everyone does in math, so they have to do it too. Philosophy departments can't say that yet. But hopefully soon!

    Reply
  7. kurt

    John Doris is correct. Period.

    Reply
  8. Branden Fitelson

    Amen.

    Reply
  9. Anon Job Seeker

    What is really frustrating for me this time around is the mounting number of requests to send your whole portfolio in one PDF file. This has been frustrating because I do not have the full Adobe suite, and everyone knows what Word/OpenOffice does when you cut and paste. I end up sometimes spending an extra two hours on just trying to get these documents to format right! Help!

    Reply
  10. Jonathan Birch

    To Anon Job Seeker: If you have a Mac, you can merge PDFs using Preview. On a PC, there is a free utility you can download called PDFRedirect. There is also a free online PDF merging service at http://merge.smallpdf.com

    Reply
  11. Anon Job Seeker #2

    What especially annoys and baffles me is the occasional requirement that applicants upload their confidential letters of recommendation on the University's HR Jobs site.

    Reply
  12. Anon Job Seeker

    Jonathan Birch! You saved my life.

    Reply
  13. Anon Job Seeker

    Anon #2

    You can get your letters uploaded to interfolio, which then assigns it an email address, and requests from online job apps then go to interfolio. I NEVER ask my letter writers to upload letters to these sites.

    Reply
  14. M. B.Willard

    For those needing to merge PDF files, PDF Binder is very useful (and free!)

    Reply
  15. Anon Job Seeker #2

    Anon @13:

    I know that typically HR Jobs sites supply spaces to enter email addresses for letter writers, in which spaces one may enter the designated Interfolio email addresses for one's letters. But have you never encountered an HR site that requires just what I said? It happens about five times a year (it's happened to me once already this year, with a fairly prestigious university not to be named), in which case I always email the HR contact asking what I should do and the contact usually apologizes and tells me to have Interfolio email the letters to him or her.

    In any case, in the spirit of doris, we should agree that resolving these sorts of confusions are a waste of everyone's time and energy.

    Reply
  16. Another Anonymous Job Seeker

    I've noticed that several jobs listed on PhilJobs require Interfolio submission, but state in the job add that there is "no charge for creating this account." So far as I can tell, this is not accurate, as Interfolio charges $19 to maintain an account for one year, plus an additional $6 per electronic delivery of materials. Do the advertising departments not realize that Interfolio charges for account creation, or is there some work-around for applicants to create a free account?

    Reply

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