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[Left]

I got a rejection today from a school I applied to in December. It was the typical "thank you for letting us review your application and we have filled our position" type of rejection with one major difference.  It was printed on a POSTCARD. I am glad that they have the presence of mind to send it to my home address. My non-academic spouse found it beyond rude. This is a first for me.

[Anon 2]

Well to put a positive spin on it...at least they informed you that you'd be rejected.   Many institutions I've applied to haven't even bothered with that (and I know I'm not alone with that).  

However, I'd be willing to bet that the department that you applied to didn't generate that postcard, because that smells of a HR type thing.  My friends who work outside of academia have gotten the postcard treatment, and unfortunately it appears, that it usually happens when their resume never made it outside of HR.

[Professor 7/7]

I've gotten some downright rude rejections, ones that actually had the words "there were stronger applicants."  I really wanted to make a note of these particular institutions and send them copies of my offer letters from two superior college/universities.  Incidentally, the mean ones came from Human Resources assistants, who are in no position to evaluate an applicants relative strengths, anyway.

Thanks for letting me vent.

[Left]

Anon 2 wrote:

> Well to put a positive spin on it...at least they informed
> you that you'd be rejected.   Many institutions I've applied to
> haven't even bothered with that (and I know I'm not alone with
> that).  
>
> However, I'd be willing to bet that the department that you
> applied to didn't generate that postcard, because that smells
> of a HR type thing.  My friends who work outside of academia
> have gotten the postcard treatment, and unfortunately it
> appears, that it usually happens when their resume never made
> it outside of HR.

You may consider me odd but I would rather not getting a letter than getting one for the WORLD to see. I knew I was not getting an offer from this particular place since the conference interviews were over 6 month ago and I wasn't invited for that. They might as well saved the reduced postage on postcards.

Incidentally, this one did come from the hiring department. At least that is what the return address said. The search committee, department name, and university name were proudly printed on the middle of the postcard with size 18 font.

I just think this is very funny and want to share.

[anon ii]

Anon 2 wrote:

>at least they informed you that you'd be rejected.  


I agree.

In January, I had a phone interview with a large state school. At the end of the interview, and in a follow-up email from the chair of a search committee, I was told that they would get back to me before the end of the month.

I'm still waiting…

Maybe I should have asked them which month they were talking about.

[2 More Cents]

I will say that I generally appreciate receiving rejection letters because then I know that I am no longer being considered.  (Although, I have never gotten one on a postcard and I agree that that shows, at best, a complete lack of class on the part of the school  sending them out.)  After a long enough wait, of course, one does not really need a letter.  However, I have on a couple of occasions "written off" a school which later contacted me -- in one case with an offer.  

I would think that a school would at least notify those whom they interviewed on campus but chose not to hire that they had chosen someone else.  But I had an on-campus interview the first week of March from which I have yet to hear a response.  I am not losing sleep waiting for it, but I think it is a breach of etiquette for them not to send something.

[Nardo]

Time to say it again . . . many applicants, little time, and the search process is not about you, it is about the needs of the department.  It is not their job to counsel your delicate feelings in the process of informing you that they don't want you . . . it isn't a courtship until you get an offer . . .

[Annie]

The applicant should be considered. Applicants are an important part of the process.  What kind of a search would you have if nobody bothered to apply?

Annie

[Left is Right]

To all the people telling Left that he should be thankful he got any response at all:

Left's complaint is not that he expected or wanted a personally addressed letter that coddled his feelings.  Rather, it's that the rejection came on an open postcard, which by its very nature could be read by anyone.  Recall that he said it's a good thing the college had the sense to send it to his home address and not his work address.  

Correspondence regarding Left's application should be sent in a sealed envelope.  For pete's sake, even college students' grades are protected from their own parents by the Family Privacy Act.  Should not faculty be afforded similar privacy regarding their employment searches?

Sorry, but on this matter Left is Right.  The college that sent the open postcard announcing ANYTHING about his application violated his privacy and could even, in fact, have endangered his current job.  In this case, no correspondence at all (boorish, but typical) would have been preferable to an open postcard.

[Marlene]

Having been on several search committees, I know that rejected applicants complain if they are notified, if they are not notified, if they are notified by phone call, email, letter, or postcard. There is no method that pleases everyone. Some are upset if we don't specify who got the job. Others find it rude if we do. Some want specific reasons for why they didn't make the cut, which would require us to point out something negative about the applicant or something positive about the successful hire.  We can't win.

I am not making excuses for harsh rejection letters, but please try to keep in mind that there is not method for letting down applicants that will keep them all happy. Here we are trying our best to be respectful, but find it near impossible avoid upsetting people.

[Marlene]

I forgot to mention that in searches that routinely get 100 to 200 applications, we cannot provide personalized responses to each application. Some applicants have complained in this forum about getting form letters rather than one that addresses their specific application. We do appreciate the applications and interest in our program but individual responses to everone is just not possible for us. The form letters are not meant to be an insult in any way.

[Martin]

Your response here ignores the original "complaint." It has nothing to do with the content of the rejection notice, but that it was sent on a postcard. As others have said, whatever you write, you should at least make it private. Anything short of this is discourteous and possibly illegal.


Marlene wrote:

> I forgot to mention that in searches that routinely get 100
> to 200 applications, we cannot provide personalized responses
> to each application. Some applicants have complained in this
> forum about getting form letters rather than one that addresses
> their specific application. We do appreciate the applications
> and interest in our program but individual responses to everyone
> is just not possible for us. The form letters are not meant to
> be an insult in any way.

[All Rejections]

So far, I have received at least 3 rejections on Postcards.
So the mailman knows that I am looking for academic job.
There is another letter of rejection from a State college saying I am "no longer" to be considered for the XXX position."

It is really discouraging.

[%sig%]

[Quixotic]

Is it too starry eyed  to ask search committee members and personnell offices to at least pay lip service to the idea of the "community of scholars"?

Yes, search committees get dozens if not hundreds of letters/takes lots of time/ it's not about the applicants/ and on down the line.  

No, not everyone will be happy with any rejection method, but a bland form letter (in a sealed envelope) or even an  e-mail should be generally acceptable.  Heck, even if it just said "You didn't get the job, sorry."  that's enough.  Snide comments need not be included.   There are legalities AND COURTESIES that should be considered even for those that are deemed "not worthy" of hire at institution X.

Why be nice to the rabble that you are rejecting?  Well gee, aren't they your future colleages?  Might you not run into them at conferences, labs, archives or even maybe collaborate on future efforts?  Who knows, maybe they'll be on hiring committees for senior positions wherever they land.    A little unexpected retrenchment here and there and the search comittee members may find themselves back on the market.  

Kharma, folks, Kharma.

[second place]

Dang!  I've gotten my share of rejection letters, but they always come in a sealed envelope, often with "Confidential" stamped across the seal.  Sending a postcard is hugely unethical, especially if it's not for an entry-level position.

On the subject of form letters, I really don't mind them.  I know that they aren't directed at me, so I just file them and move on.  The only ones that have "hurt" were in a couple of cases in which I got a form letter signed by a friend -- it wouldn't have killed him to have penned a short note.

What I really hate, especially after an interview, is to hear things like, "You were our second choice," "There was a huge argument in the department, and a lot of people wanted you instead of Dr. X," etc.  I think these are meant to be encouraging.  However, I have been postdoc-ing for 7 years, and have heard this at least 20 times.  I am having a harder and harder time restraining myself from saying, "If you like me so much, offer me the job.  Otherwise this is bs!"