Job Recommendation advice

[asterroc]

So I'm applying for a dean position at a nerd camp for this summer, where I'd supervise and support the teachers of various subjects, about which I may or may not have any language. I have taught at this nerdcamp before, 2004-2005, but since there's been a gap (to 2009) I expect that I should fill out a full application. A full application includes 2+ letters of recommendation, one of which should speak to my work with children. So I'm looking for advice on who to ask for these. Application is due Jan 5.

For the "works with children" first letter the deans I worked under at this nerdcamp would be the most recent (call them collectively Choice A). They do not currently work there anymore, they knew me briefly and superficially, and I have not remained in contact with them in any form. I had two people I used in this role the last time applied (2004); of those two I am not in contact with one (but T$ is, call her Choice B), and the other is on my once-a-year mass email list (and I have an old copy of his letter that I could send back to him for revision, call him Choice C). A new option is a colleague of those two with whom I have been in more frequent contact with since then (Choice D). And a last choice (Choice E) is one of my undergraduate advisors with whom I subsequently worked in 2006 at Astrocamp (their mini-nerdcamp, I was nominally a peer of his though of course in practice he was still a mentor); I also have his old letter of recommendation that I could send back for revisions. What's y'all's opinions?

For my second letter I plan to ask my current dean in my current job.

I am considering adding a third (optional) letter from my union president. The plus is that it would paint me in a VERY good light as a person who takes responsibility, provides guidance to near-peers, and could possibly show my abilities to act as an intermediary between faculty and administration. The problem is that it's a union person, and what employer wants to have a union activist in their midst. Should I include this one or no?

Comments

[jrtom.livejournal.com]

Summary: Definitely E and A and the union president. Possibly others (C, D) depending on how much they can actually speak to your qualifications.

Quasi-briefly:

(1) Never hurts to have more letters of recommendation than the minimum, AFAIK.
(2) I doubt that the camp would be that worried about you unionizing their camp over the summer. :)
(3) Excellent recommendations are always handy.
(4) I generally try to optimize for the following factors (not necessarily in this order):
* personal connection if any to the people and/or organizations doing the hiring (e.g. I made a point of getting professors at the U of O who'd got their PhD at UCI to write recs for my UCI application)
* prestige of the recommender
* likelihood of very positive recommendation
* recommender's ability to be specific and clear about your qualifications (vague recs = applicant couldn't get anyone who knew them well to write a rec)

Not clear on how much D knows about you.

"about which I may or may not have any language"?

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm not even entirely sure I need ANY recommendations since I've worked for them before, though it IS a new position and three years later. I'm leaning towards Choice E, my current dean, and the union president makes only one extra rec.

[jrtom.livejournal.com]

Hey, it's up to you; I just said what I'd do if I were in your shoes. :)

I'd assume that your application will not be looked upon as kindly if you don't supply any recommendations, especially given the time gap and the new position, but you know the people involved and I don't.

[cartoonmayhem.livejournal.com]

I would just to have the person singing your praises. If they discriminate because they are union, that would paint them in a bad light, not you.