Need advice- letter of recommendation for former client

[gertdog]

I'm in a bit of an awkward situation and could use some advice on how to handle it.

I currently work as a education research consultant. Prior to that, I worked at a museum.

One of my current clients chose not to renew the contract for one of their project managers this spring. While I am not officially privy to the reasons, I am certain it was due at least in part to personality conflicts with her supervisor. On the other hand she had a great work ethic and always met deadlines, etc. The project she worked on has been moderately successful (I am the external evaluator for the project).

A position has opened at the museum, my previous employer. This woman has asked me if I could give her a positive recommendation for the job. I left the museum on very good terms and am pretty sure a recommendation from me would carry a lot of weight with the director.

If this was any other position, I would feel comfortable writing a letter that spoke to her strengths, because she does have many, and omitted the interpersonal issues as, technically, I'm unaware of the reasons she was fired, and my own interactions with her were reasonable.

But because I am SO familiar with the position she wants to apply for, I feel certain that she is not a good fit because the supervisory situation would be VERY similar to the one she just left, and I think the same issues would likely arise. I also feel like my professional reputation is involved here, if I recommend her to my former colleagues and they hire her, and it turns out badly. (There are a lot of contingencies there, I know). I think she could be a very good employee in the right situation; I just don't think this is the one.

What would you do? Would you tell her that you don't think this position is a good fit and so can't recommend her, but you'd be willing to write letters for other positions as appropriate? That's what I'm leaning towards, but I'm not sure I'm seeing the situation as clearly as I might.

Sorry this is so long, and thanks for any insight!

[gertdog]

Anyone? Anyone? Phooey. :( I was hoping someone would come up with some brilliant solution. Ah well.

I love writing letters of recommendation when I can give a completely positive endorsement. And I've had the experience of telling someone I couldn't recommend them, but nothing quite like this specific situation.

[Cookin4Love]

Actually, I've been thinking about this since I read your post awhile ago. I don't have a good answer--that's why I haven't responded yet.

I think the best course of action is to talk to her and tell her why you won't recommend her for this job. While I think that's the best, I'm too much of a wimp to do it myself, so I hesitate to recommend it to someone else! I think the conversation should include some dialogue about why you don't feel this position is a good fit for her. You could tell her that you think your recommendation would sway the job in her favor, and you'd just feel terrible knowing you were wedging her into a job where she would most likely be unhappy. After all, you know the company and position better than she does--convince her of your superior judgment. I would also reassure her that you would be more than happy to write the recommendation for a position that you felt would be a better fit.

Ultimately, I think your professional reputation is more important than making her feel good. After being burned so many times, I will no longer recommend anyone for a position unless I'm absolutely, 100% sure, they won't cast a negative light on my judgment for recommending them. Once bitten, twice shy and all that. (Or about 5 times bitten and 500 times shy!)

[Canice]

Sorry, no brilliant solution.
I read your post earlier and it reminded me of times I was asked to recommend people I didn't think too highly of (or at least not for the available position) and I, well...forwarded their résumé stating some of the person's strengths but didn't outright recommend them. Sort of "you might be interested" and let them decide for themselves. That way I hadn't hosed the person but hadn't given a false presentation. Tactful but maybe not the most professional. I didn't post earlier because of the fact that you're intimately familiar with the open position: you can't really claim, "not sure if this exactly what you're looking for...." Hope someone has a helpful suggestion for you!

[Molli526]

I agree with Cooking.

I would talk to her about *why* her contract didn't get renewed - you acting as if you don't know anything. Then be honest and say why you don't think she would be a good fit - as Cooking said - wedging her in a new position which would end up like the last.

This is tough, but in the end, you need to protect your reputation.

[ellielk]

I think I have to agree with Cookin4love. If you tell her that you don't thing she'll be happy there and that's why you don't feel comfortable writing a recommendation, she shouldn't take it as criticism but rather, as you said, you don't feel it's a good fit.

You might tell her that in other circumstances you'd be open to writing a recomendation.

[Canice]

My problem with that is doesn't seem very honest at all. Unless I misunderstood Stephanie, she's not concerned about this woman's happiness in the position - she's afraid she would be a bad hire, and that it would reflect badly on her, Stephanie. If I asked someone to write me a reco for a job I was enthusiastic about, I can only imagine my reaction if they said, "No, I won't write it because I don't think you'd be happy there." That would strike me as incredibly condescending and insulting - like I don't know what jobs I want to pursue. It would sound like a weird power play.

[gertdog]

Thanks all for the replies- I really, really appreciate it. DH and I talked about this for an hour last night and couldn't come up with a good solution.

Molli, I do know both the official reason she lost her job (lack of funding for the project) and the unofficial reason (interpersonal issues). Unfortunately, I don't think I can talk with her about the unofficial reasons because I learned of them "off the record" via an offhand comment from her supervisor, and I'm concerned that bringing it up with her would open a whole new can of worms involving confidentiality etc., plus her former supervisor is still my client. It was in poor judgment for him to tell me, but I think it would be even worse if I repeated it. I can't tell you how much I hate situations like this! :rolleyes:

Canice, I agree- I don't want to be dishonest but at the same time feel like my hands are tied in terms of what I *can* say to her.

One thought I had today is that I might have a conflict of interest in recommending her, as there is a good chance the museum may become one of my clients in the near future, in which case I'd be working directly with the person in the position this woman wants... hmm.

I'm going to try to decide something by the end of the day today so I'm not stewing over it all weekend. Thanks again for everyone's thoughts on the matter!

[Beth]

You can try to find a back door. Ask her how happy she was in the previous position and what about it was good and what was not. You could then ask some more pointed questions about the working relationships, supervision, etc.

I think I would tell her that you are comfortable with her skills, but that you would like to make a rec specific to the situation. I think there is a way to tactfully draw out of her what you need to know but shouldn't hear from third parties. Once she tells you, you can mention your knowledge of that position and the similarities. If you can't get to that point, maybe you can be the imformational side of the interview and tell her what you know about the position and the supervisory status.