next »

[frogfactory]

Sysadmins or server admins can do that, I think, but not regular users without server privileges.

[mystictechgal]

Outlook allows a user to recall a message--at least from another user of Outlook (don't know if it works cross-platform), but it only works if the person hasn't opened it yet.  If they're using a view function that shows the first couple of lines as a preview it's considered opened and you can't recall it.  Consequently, the function, while nice, isn't always terribly useful.

[mountainguy]

IIRC, gmail has a "retract e-mail" option that will delay delivering a message for something like 5 minutes, thus giving the sender the chance to rescind the message if they so choose. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but then again, I'm not on the gmail bandwagon (my hotmail account works just fine, at least for now).

[frogfactory]

It's two minutes.  I have more than half a dozen various email addresses, which I use for different purposes!

The student emailed back and said she'd still like me to write the reference anyway.  *sigh*

[mountainguy]

FF, this would be a case where I'd let the student see the letter. In general, I don't believe in sealed recommendations, but I feel especially strongly about this when it involves a lukewarm letter. My experience has been that most students are appreciative, even if the reference isn't as glowing as they had hoped.

[history_grrrl]

FF, I'm thinking you may want to further clarify your intentions with the student. On the one hand, you say you can write a "100% positive letter" -- and this is probably what the student is focusing on. On the other hand, your message suggests that you can only do that if you leave out some very important stuff.

It's not unusual for a letter-writer to be limited in what she can discuss. For instance, maybe she supervised a candidate's research but knows nothing about his teaching. Fine; she writes about research and refers readers to other letter-writers who can speak to the candidate's teaching.

The difference in this case is that the OP does know about the student's lab work -- in fact she supervised it -- and what she observed isn't good. If I were reading a letter from someone who supervised an applicant's lab work yet doesn't talk about it, that would be a red flag. I think that in this case, the student will not be helped -- and may be harmed -- by a "100% positive letter" that doesn't reflect what the OP observed in her capacity as supervisor. FF has made clear that the letter would be glowing, not lukewarm -- but it will be selective, and people reading the app will know that, and therein lies the difficulty.

A student recently approached me about writing her a letter for grad school. She's a terrific person, dedicated, etc. (founded the Amnesty chapter on campus, that sort of thing), but she received Cs in my classes. I told her it would not help her -- and might hurt her -- to have a letter from me that praised her for her activism but didn't speak to her academic abilities. After all, the only reason I know her is that she took classes with me.

[ptarmigan]

But in a situation like this, you might still be the student's best option.  I had to get a recommendation last semester from a professor who I was only then taking my first class with.  I mentioned it early in the semester and she seemed amenable, and I did my best to impress her over the semester, but nothing happened that would have let me really stand out.  (I got an A+ in the class but it was basically just exams.)  And yet she was my best option; there simply wasn't another professor available who would remember me and be at all appropriate, and an application with the required three letters is better than one with two letters, even if the third only says that I was a good student in a class.  So just keep in mind that the student may not be wrong in requesting a letter despite that it will lack enthusiasm.

[conjugate]

Well, I was once asked to write a letter on behalf of someone I hadn't seen in several years, concerning a class we'd had together.  He was applying for a job that would require a security clearance.  So I wrote a letter addressing what I knew of him, and addressing how and to what degree I was confident of it.  Then I forwarded to my friend a "copy" of this letter that included such gems as:

I was truly surprised to find that <Friend>, the young firebrand I recall from years ago calling for the destruction of all Federal authority in blood and fire, has now mellowed to the point of desiring a position with the same government agency that he once decried as "all that is wrong in Amerikkka."  By all means, you should hire him....

Fortunately, my friend knows me well, is still speaking to me, and (I think) got the job.

FrogFactory, just write the best letter you can concerning what you know about her. 

[frogfactory]

I will.  The problem is that she doesn't really have anyone else to ask - she's only a sophomore right now, and the PI of my group declined, citing too many deadlines to meet, and time is limited.

She's a nice kid and I feel bad for writing a letter that might harm her.  However, a big problem, I think, is that our interactions in the lab were always quite informal, and she had a tendency to say things to me that were outside friendly professionalism, like that she hated [technique], didn't like to read papers, and that the main reason she wanted a summer position was to stay away from her family.

I'm finding it hard to start this letter.

[melba_frilkins]

Outlook allows a user to recall a message--at least from another user of Outlook (don't know if it works cross-platform), but it only works if the person hasn't opened it yet.  If they're using a view function that shows the first couple of lines as a preview it's considered opened and you can't recall it.  Consequently, the function, while nice, isn't always terribly useful.

The Outlook recall feature does not work at all on our campus. All it does is serve to highlight the fact that the sender did not want you to read the original email. Sometimes the recall is of the "never mind" variety, but other times it's more sensitive. (Like the time a faculty member accidentally invited the entire campus to a party and then attempted to recall the invitation. I thought that was kind of tacky. I mean heck, once the invitation is out, just go for it. Not that many extraneous people will show up anyway.)

[phlegmatic]

Sorry again for the OT post, but it seems we have accepted this thread as 1/2 "what to do" and 1/2 "email tips."

I didn't see anything as awesome as the "retract email" on gmail that MG mentioned, but this is what I have from the gmail labs:

Undo Send

Oops, hit "Send" too soon? Stop messages from being sent for a few seconds after hitting the send button.

It really is just a few seconds--but they're helpful and I have definitely used this more than once!

[ptarmigan]

My "email tip" is that when I am writing the draft of an email that might be sensitive, I don't put the recipient's name in the "To:" field.  I either leave it blank or put my own name in there.  That way if I accidentally send it, it doesn't go anywhere.

[bud04]

Hi everyone. Sorry to just be getting back to this thread.....

We have recall abilities for any e-mail at my university that has not been viewed yet. But it seems that the student has already seen the e-mail sent now and that it wasn't a problem. 

[voxprincipalis]

she had a tendency to say things to me that were outside friendly professionalism, like that she hated [technique], didn't like to read papers, and that the main reason she wanted a summer position was to stay away from her family.

Well, the main reason I wanted a TT job was to be able to pay the bills. I mean, knowledge is power and all that, but VISA doesn't accept payment in ideas. So I don't think you can really hold that against her. She's a sophomore, so she's what, 20? Hold her to standards appropriate for her level in school.

VP

[scampster]

My "email tip" is that when I am writing the draft of an email that might be sensitive, I don't put the recipient's name in the "To:" field.  I either leave it blank or put my own name in there.  That way if I accidentally send it, it doesn't go anywhere.

This is what I do.

Gosh, this thread is bringing me back to the first time I had to ask for recs for a summer research program (when I was a sophomore I think). I was a pretty mediocre student in chem lab, but by sophomore year at my undergrad, I had had very few small classes where I knew the prof. So I asked my chem TA who probably wrote me a letter like the many people have complained about writing here. Really I just needed her as filler though (3 recs). My other two must have been good enough since I got the fellowship. Anyway, listen to VP. I can sympathize with your student. As long as she doesn't do crappy work, you should be able to muster up something. Hopefully she has some other letters that will be stronger.