Application question re:recommenders

[southbaynic]

I just secured my last recommender for my apps, and found out that he recently lost his job (not at the same company where I worked for him). On all the online recommendation forms, there are required fields for title and company for the recommenders that I need to enter. When you submit the form, the information you enter goes to the recommender. My question is, what should I enter for him? Should I just enter "unemployed" in each? N/A? Something else? Seems like a silly little question, but I want to make sure I'm entering accurate info for the school and don't inadvertently offend my old boss.

[Tani]

You might ask your recommender what he/she would like to see. If that individual is consulting while job hunting you may be able to use that information. If not, you may want to call or email the admissions department at your target schools and ask what they recommend. People recognize that talented and hard-working individuals are out of work around the world today so that alone should not devalue your recommendation. You simply don't want to be guilty of supplying inaccurate information.