Request a Letter of Recommendation on Behalf of an Applicant
Committee Managers and Administrators can request confidential letters of recommendation directly from recommenders on behalf of an applicant. This allows, for instance, a committee to request recommendations from a list of potential recommenders suggested by the applicant without involving the applicant in the request process.
- Please note that reminder emails only go out to letter writers when the request is created by the applicant. Reminder emails will NOT go out when the request is created by the institution.
- Please note that due dates added to letter of recommendation requests sent by the institution are hard deadlines. Letter writers will NOT be able to upload their letter after the deadline has passed.
Check out this article on how to Submit a Letter of Recommendation Requested By a Committee to get a view of this process from the perspective of an evaluator receiving the request.
Request a Letter of Recommendation
- Click Positions on the navigation bar.
- Click the hyperlinked Name of the desired position.
- Select the Applicant Name link from the list of applicants.
- Select Request recommendation from the Actions dropdown in the top left-hand corner.
- Fill out the Recommendation Request form. Letter writers will receive the message created here along with instructions for submitting the recommendation. The request will display under the Requested Recommendations section that appears under Internal Documents once a recommendation is requested.
Edit, Cancel, or Resend Request
| Status of Request | Description | Possible Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | The request has been sent and the letter writer has neither accepted or declined the request. | Pending requests can be canceled, edited, and resent. |
| Accepted | The request has been sent and the letter writer has accepted the request but has not yet uploaded a letter. | Once a letter writer has accepted a request, the request can only be edited and resent. The request can no longer be canceled. |
| Declined | The request has been sent and the letter writer has declined the request. | No actions can be taken once a request has been declined by the letter writer. |
| Received | The letter writer has accepted the request and has uploaded their letter. |
The letter can be viewed and downloaded but cannot be deleted. Neither an administrator or the letter writer can update a letter once it has been received. |
Letters of recommendation can be requested from more than one letter writer at a time. When requesting recommendations from multiple writers, use text variables to automatically fill in the first and last name of each letter writer.