FREE 17+ Sample Recommendation Letter Templates from Employer in MS Word | PDF

Employer Letter of Recommendation in DOC

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Basic Employer Recommendation Letter Template

General Information about Letters of Recommendation

When a former employee or student starts asking you to write a basic recommendation letter for his/her future studies or new work, it would be a great idea to ask for a copy of his/her resume. Even though you might seem familiar about the character and work ethics of your former employee, you still want to ensure that you have a good sample reference about what you are about to write. You want to base everything you are going to say on facts and a resume would be a good start. One more thing that you may want to do is to actually set a meeting with the person who requested for you to write a recommendation letter. Remember, you really want to make sure that you are writing about your former employee in a very specific manner rather than writing a vague and insincere-sounding recommendation letter.

Why Write a Letter of Recommendation?

Letters of recommendation are used by organizations and institutions to get a better picture about who the candidate is and what he/she has to offer. It provides a detailed yet candid write-up about your former employee. It should mostly talk about the candidate’s personality, characteristics, performance, professional experience, strengths, and other professional aspects about the candidate. More often than not, a school’s admissions board/committee or the employer of a company rely on letters like these especially when it’s time to make a final decision.

One more thing about why recommendation letters from employers are trusted by organizations and institutions is because it is deemed that purpose statements from employers can definitely be trusted. This is for the reason that employers have seen how employees or former employees behave in professional situations, which makes employers qualified individuals to write about the candidates.

What to Write in a Letter of Recommendation

Typically, since you have been in a supervisory/managerial relationship with the candidate, you are one of the most ideal and most qualified person to write a recommendation letter. Generally, generic recommendation letters are about one page long and have three main parts: the introduction, the body, and the concluding paragraph/s.

Opening Paragraphs

This is the part of the letter where you will state to what capacity and how long you have known the candidate. Since you are a former employer, let the reader know about the terms and conditions of employment, the nature of the candidate’s work, any projects and tasks that they have led, and other achievements they had while working with you. Mentioning the industry the company is in and what the company does on a regular basis. You may also state a few statements about what you think about the individual/candidate you are writing about.

Body (Second and/or Third Paragraph)

This is the part of the sample letter where you will get specific about your former employee. You will write a detailed evaluation about the person based on your own observations. The information you might want to include in this part are the following:

• Personal characteristics
  • Confidence
  • Dependability
  • Patient
  • Creative
• Strengths and specialties
• How he/she works with teams (if applicable)
• Exceptional strengths—i.e., great communication skills, very sociable, etc.
• Specific areas of knowledge
  • Strong background in marketing
  • 15 years experience in content and SEO writing

Closing Paragraph

This is a sample brief summary of what you have mentioned in the introduction and the body. In short, this is the key takeaway part. State that you are recommending the person for whatever purpose the recommendation letter is for (employment, academic, or scholarship). This is also the part of the letter where you will leave your contact details to make it easier for the reader to get in touch with you should there be any clarifications and additional questions regarding the person you are recommending.

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Important Things to Keep in Mind about Recommendation Letter

To end up with a good recommendation letter, check out these simple tips to writing recommendation letters that work analysis.

Be honest and sincere.

You have to make sure that the information you are sharing with the reader is based on facts. Be ready to answer any questions that the reader might have about the candidate. More often than not, an employer or a school representative will get in touch with you to ensure that what has been stated in the recommendation letter is true.

Concentrate on the aspects of the candidate. 

Employers and a ton of different institutions will want to take in candidates who are well-rounded and can easily adapt to certain circumstances. Specify his/her unique skills, strengths, personal attributes, and the like. Give specific examples as these give the reader a better perspective about the candidates.

Present the recommendation letter in a neat manner. 

Follow the proper recommendation letter format to ensure that you are able to present the recommendation letter in the most professional manner possible. Just like the content, the appearance of the recommendation letter is also important. You can also make use of a letterhead or a stationary if you have one available

Do not forget to leave all your primary contact information.

Contact information will include your mobile/telephone number, address, and email address.

Common Mistakes to Avoid Regarding Recommendation Letter

Do not assume that you can write a recommendation letter all the time.

There will be times when a former employee or two will ask you to write a recommendation letter for them where you will feel uncomfortable about doing so. If you feel like you cannot write a sincere sample recommendation about a particular employee, do not force yourself to say “Yes.” You will end up with a recommendation letter that is mediocre and will not show the best side of the employee, which is what you actually want to avoid.

Know the deadlines and the requirements.

Again, never assume that you already know all the things about sending that recommendation letter. Never assume that you can just send it via email without knowing the proper instructions. Always ask the requesting person all the instructions about the letter format as well as the other things that you need to know about the letter.

Do not be scared to say no.

It is never wrong. In fact, you are helping them out. Again, mediocre recommendation letters are a big no-no for whatever purpose they are intended for. More about refusing recommendation requests below.

When Not to Write a Letter of Recommendation

There are a lot of reasons when there will be a need for you to deny someone’s request for a recommendation letter. One of the reasons might be that you do not know the employee as much. Even though you have been working with the employee for quite some time, you might not know the employee on a level where you can talk about him/her honestly. Another would probably be that you do not have enough time to write one. You might be busy with other things. Whatever your reason(s) may be, try to be as honest as possible to the person who requested for the recommendation letter writing. Explain it clearly to the individual as it is important to let them know. Make sure that you also let them know early on to give them more time to look for an alternative.

Now you have a better idea about the key features of an effective recommendation letter for employment, it is high time you apply everything that you learned about these letters to good use. You can even check out the samples that you can find here and use them as a reference should you be having a hard time about what you should write or how to start writing one. Good luck with writing one and take your time.