Sample Recommendation Letter

If you need to write a letter of recommendation, it is essential to review a sample recommendation letter. This is a document with information that assesses the characteristics, capabilities and an individual’s qualities to carry out a specific task. Remember, your main purpose when recommending a person is to provide support by offering positive information. This also should be done with honesty and authenticity.

It is also imperative to remain positive and balanced in your recommendation especially on qualities and skills of the candidate. The experience of writing the letter can be challenging but with the following tips and sample recommendation letter, the process will be more exciting.

Sample recommendation letter content

The rule of thumb when it comes to creating content for a letter of recommendation is to plan what you want to say. Take some time to plan and review sample of a recommendation letter content to get started. It is always essential to

• Introduce yourself in the letter and state your position
• State the relationship between you and the candidate. This includes how long you have known the candidate.
• Focus on the candidates skills, outline them clearly and state why they are relevant to the position being advertised.
• Offer a brief description on the candidate’s personal skills. When you go through a sample recommendation letter, you will find descriptions such as calm or helpful among others.
• State how the candidate relates with other people for example, Sam is considerate of his colleagues or is a good team player.
• In your opinion, state why the candidate is the most ideal for the advertised position
• State why the candidate should be given a chance in the organization and this should be in your opinion.
• Emphasize on outstanding characteristics of the candidate for example, specific talents that will be beneficial to the potential employer
• Last but not least, mention any important gap in skills and knowledge of the candidate. This is very important when recommending a candidate because every individual has his or her area of weakness.

With the above content from a professional sample recommendation letter, you can be sure to recommend a candidate positively.

Sample recommendation letter to strike a balance in your writing

A good recommendation letter is written in a balanced manner. Many people often focus on good and positive things about the candidate. It is easy to forget that a person being recommended needs help in other areas. Therefore, it is important to review sample recommendation letter to draft an honest and positive recommendation. Do not fret to state areas where a candidate needs to improve but stay positive when highlighting such points.

By striking a balance in your letter, you will help the candidate and also maintain your reputation for giving an honest recommendation.

Sample recommendation letter format

With a sample recommendation letter and having an idea of what to include in your recommendation, you need to have a good format. The recommendation should be written as a standard formal letter that includes

• Your contact details and date at the top of the letter
• Use Times New Roman font as it looks professional at all times
• Use a font size of 11 or 12
• Address the letter correctly for example, ‘‘To Whom It May Concern’’. The candidate should give the right contact details of a potential employer to help you address the letter directly to him or her.

It is equally important to professional and straight to the point in your writing by;

• writing an excellent introduction that states your relationship with the candidate
• referencing your job title
• Write the body of the letter by focusing on areas of knowledge of the candidate, skills, qualities and any other useful information. You can start by writing on the strengths you would like to convey in the letter. Most importantly, emphasize on each quality or skills to help the future employer understand more about the candidate.
• Similarly, state the candidates’ qualities by order of importance
• Be precise and straight to the point.
• back up you assertions and specific examples of instances where you have personally taken note of the candidate’s skills
• Close your letter with a remarkable statement. Closing a recommendation letter is always an effective way to help a candidate standout. In this case, state why you believe that the candidate is the most suitable candidate to be incorporated in their organization. you should also close the letter by encouraging the employer to contact you for any information he or she may need concerning the candidate.

Why review sample recommendation letters

When asked by someone to write a recommendation letter, you may not be sure of what to write. In this case, you do not have to decline such a request. You need to review professional sample recommendation letter including academic letters of recommendation, recommendation for employment, personal reference letters or character reference letters.

A sample recommendation letter will help you draft a compelling recommendation and to strongly endorse a candidate.

A recommendation letter sample will also enable you to maintain a positive and professional tone.

You will also be in a position to write a letter that is easy to read and is clear in meaning

A recommendation letter will help a potential employer to learn more about your approachable character. He or she will as a result feel free to contact you whenever additional information of the candidate is needed by the organization. Therefore, with a sample recommendation letter, you will learn how to close your letter by including your contact details and a sentence such as ‘‘please feel free to contact me for any further information’’ or ‘’ do not hesitate to call me for further information’’.

Other tips to remember when writing a good recommendation letter

• Always clarify the contributions, accomplishments and abilities of the applicant
• Use a professional tone
• Avoid being over complimentary to a point where a potential employer will doubt your authenticity
• Customize the letter to a given situation and to a specific person
• Use the appropriate format as reviewed in sample recommendation letter format
• Keep the letter active by ensuring the paragraphs are catchy or punchy and offer active affirmation of the candidate’s character or qualities.
• Don’t vague about the letter; be direct, clear and authentic

Ensure the letter is professional and free of grammar, spelling and typo errors among other inaccuracies

Use a closing tone that is professional and sign your name with, yours sincerely, thank you or best regards among others

Recommendation letter samples

Sample recommendation letter for employment

Date……..

Re: Recommendation for Peter Brown

Dear Sir

I was personally impressed with the work of Mr. Peter Brown. His communication skills, enthusiasm and professionally demeanor are amazing. When he worked for my organization JRC Communications as a public relations officer, he delivered exemplary performance.

He is a hardworking, top performing and dedicated professional. He has my highest recommendation and I am happy to provide more information about him when necessary.

Yours Sincerely

Pederson Steve

Head of Public Relations Department

JRC Communications

The above sample includes an introduction and a closing statement of a recommendation letter. Read the whole letter here.

Sample letter of recommendation on character reference

Address the name

Dear Madam……

I have been a business associate of Miss Sharon Garcia and a close friend for more than six years. We worked together successfully at United Way Campaign. Sharon planned volunteer programs including everybody Wins and Walk for Hope among others with no supervision.

At the organization, Sharon was a positive, enthusiastic and loyal employee. She relates well with other people, a fact that made her even more successful at work. Sharon is also highly professional work and works extra hard to beat deadlines.

She has strong professional ethics and even so, she still finds time to visit the less fortunate in the society and her elderly grandparents.

For the above reasons, I strongly recommend her for the mentoring program. Kindly contact me for any information you may need.

Yours Sincerely

Fredrick Goodman

View the whole example here.

Sample recommendation letter from manager

Address…….

Title……….

Company……

Phone……

Email……

To Whom It May Concern

I have personally known Adrian Smith for the past six years while he worked as an Accounting Assistant in the Accounting department. I have been impressed consistently with the attitude of Adrian towards work and his performance.

Adrian has amazing communication and interpersonal skills. These have enabled him to deliver great results during tax seasons in his department. He works well under pressure but also with minimal supervision.

Without any reservation, I recommend him for employment. Please contact me in case you need further information about Adrian.

Best Regards

Jane Green

Retrieved from jobsearch.about.com

The above examples of recommendation letters feature important elements of a recommendation letter. They have been written professionally to help candidates get the necessary support.

For more tips to writing a recommendation and samples of the same click here.

It’s our hope that the above guidelines and samples will help you write great recommendation letters.

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Sources

http://career-advice.monster.com/resumes-cover-letters/cover-letter-samples/sample-letter-of-recommendation/article.aspx

https://www.e-education.psu.edu/writingrecommendationlettersonline/node/141

http://www.scribendi.com/advice/employee_recommendation_letter.en.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Letter-of-Recommendation