I recently sent out several job applications that required letters of recommendation from a professor. The professor's secretary sent me a box of letters that were sealed, mail-merged, and addressed to each recipient, with the intention that I drop the letter inside the application package. (This is standard operating procedure, as far as I know.) I ended up not sending a few applications for which I received letters because the recipients later indicated that no positions were available. The application period is now over and I was not offered a position. I will not reuse these letters in the future. May I ethically open the remaining sealed envelopes and read the letter?
comment posted at 6:38 AM PST on Jan-11-06 (omie) -No, I'm sorry, it's unethical, which does not necessarily mean that you shouldn't do it. There is no damage done to anyone, there may be huge benefits to knowing what's in the letter, and we are talking about your future. If you aren't comfortable opening the letter anyway, then I would follow gleuschk's advice.
comment posted at 6:45 AM PST on Jan-11-06 (omie again) -there is an ethical problem with opening a letter that seems to have been written in the expectation that you would not read it

-In a similar situation, though he knew it was unethical, a, uh, friend of mine read his letter. No one died. heehm. posted by fidelity at 7:39 AM heehm.