Letters of Recommendation
A time in your life may come when you may need a letter of recommendation to secure a specific job or academic goal, or be asked to write one yourself. Employers use letters of recommendation to help assess the abilities of a potential employer. A good recommendation letter should verify employment experience and credibility of the person the recommendation is written for.
The intro of the letter should introduce you as the reference, state your relationship to the candidate (Supervisor, coworker), and other information you may need to verify you are a credible source. In this paragraph, you should also write a general overview about the applicant. If you honestly have nothing positive to write about this candidate, you should not agree to be a reference in the first place.
The body should be kept to at least two or three paragraphs, and describe strong, specific examples of the person being referenced. Such examples could be classroom experience, professional skills, or a particularly difficult situation you have faced with this person. When writing out examples, be careful to not write any information that could give away the applicant religion, race, gender, handicap, age, and other protected groups of people.
In the conclusion, leave information for the potential employer to contact you, and personally sign your name. The conclusion should also confirm that the person you are writing for is a qualified candidate.
Most of all, remember to check your work carefully once and maybe twice more very carefully. Someone is not only depending on your word to help them get a job, but also respects your opinion enough to have you as a reference. Good luck!!
Great post! Letters of recommendation are very important! I landed my current job by taking advantage of these and was able to get a good word in for myself.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post!
ReplyDeleteRemember to put your headline then by your name! :)
This is a very good post. When it comes to applying for Secondary schools or a job, a letter of recommendation can be very important. This is something that could seperate you and another person that is tied for a position. I really think that this is a post that everyone should keep in mind. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteGreat job, you hit on all the big issues!
ReplyDeleteGood, but bring more you into your posts. I don't hear your voice.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! I am able to understand why the recommendation letters I have had written for me are structured the way they are.
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