How to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation?

If you want to increase your chances of being accepted to a new job, college, program, or event, you need a letter of recommendation written by someone who knows your skills and proficiencies. However, asking someone to write a recommendation letter for you can be uncomfortable. Don't worry, we've got you covered.

In this article, we will explain the steps you need to follow to request a letter of recommendation.

TL;DR - Summarized by TextCortex

• If you want to increase the chances of your job or program application being accepted, you need a letter of recommendation.
• However, asking someone for a recommendation letter can be uncomfortable and nervous.
• It's helpful to learn how to ask for a letter of recommendation to reduce your nervousness.
• To request a letter of recommendation, you must first select a suitable person.
• If possible, do it in-person. If not, send an email with your resume attached. It's also a good idea to attach a template in case the person might not have an idea about the format of a recommendation letter.
• If you are looking for support to assist you throughout the entire process of your letter of recommendation request, you can use TextCortex AI.

What is a Letter of Recommendation?

A letter of recommendation is a useful document that confirms your skills and qualifications and can be used as a reference. Depending on your needs, a letter of recommendation can often be written by different people. For example, if you need a letter of recommendation for an academic subject, it will be more useful to have one written by your professor, teacher, or academic mentor.

Why do you need a letter of recommendation?

A letter of recommendation is important to increase your chances of being accepted to the program you want to join or the job you want to get. The main reason for this is the positive impact that a person who knows your skills and vouches for you will have on the evaluation commission. In addition, someone who writes a letter of recommendation for you will explain your achievements and skills better than you.

Types of Letters of Recommendation

Although there are several types of letters of recommendation, they all have the same goal: to present the candidate as the ideal match for the position or program. The most common types of recommendation letters include:

• Academic Letter of Recommendation
• Professional Letter of Recommendation
• Home Rental Recommendation
• Personal References

Letter of Recommendation Format

Regardless of which type of recommendation letter it is, they are all written in a specific format:

• Greeting
• Introduction
• Overview
• Personal Story
• Closing Statement
• Signature

Although each step of the format has its own importance, the part that will introduce you the most is the overview and personal story. In these sections, the person who wrote the recommendation letter will talk about your skills and achievements.

How to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation

Asking for a letter of recommendation may make you feel uncomfortable and nervous. But you need to understand that this is a normal part of the application process. Once you know how to request a letter of recommendation, you can reduce your tension.

Choose someone to write a letter for you

When choosing someone to write a letter of recommendation for you, you must first choose someone who can write a letter that suits your purpose. After all, it would be absurd to ask your coworker to write a letter of recommendation for your academic applications. 

If you are applying to college, you can request a letter of recommendation from your teachers or mentors. If you are applying for a job, you can ask your professors, colleagues, current manager, or supervisor to write a letter of recommendation. No matter who you request a letter of recommendation from, you should make sure that it is someone who knows your skills well.

Provide Your Resume 

If you think that the individual for whom you are requesting a letter of recommendation does not have sufficient information about your skills and achievements, you can send them a copy of your CV and resume. This way, the person who will write the recommendation letter for you can use reliable data, and you will also make the process easier for them. If you don't know how to prepare a CV or resume, you can create one in minutes using TextCortex AI.

Ask in Person if Possible

If you can contact the individual from whom you will request a letter of recommendation in person, we recommend that you request it face to face. This way, you can show both your sincerity and seriousness. After all, social communication platforms are not enough to reflect your emotions.

Send a Letter of Recommendation Request via Email

If you cannot communicate in person with the individual whom you will ask to write you a letter of recommendation, you can choose to send an email, which is one of the most formal communication methods. However, you should make sure that your email is easy to read and formal. Luckily, with ZenoChat, you can generate a formal and warm email template in seconds!

Attach a Letter of Recommendation Template to Your Email

It is normal that the person you will ask for a letter of recommendation does not know how to write a letter of recommendation. For this reason, you can make things easier for them by attaching a letter of recommendation template to your email. You can utilize ZenoChat to create personal and unique letter of recommendation templates.

Send a Follow-Up Email

Since everyone is busy with the responsibilities of daily and professional life, you may consider sending a follow-up email to remind them of your letter of recommendation request. If there is only a week or two left until the due date, you can ask about the status of the letter by sending a follow-up to the person to whom you asked for the letter of recommendation.

Don’t Forget to Say Thank You

Considering that no one is obligated to write a letter of recommendation for you, don't forget to thank the person who wrote one for you! This way, you can show your gratitude and give them the thanks they deserve. If possible, it wouldn't hurt to buy them a coffee!

TextCortex – Your AI Assistant

You can use TextCortex for a variety of writing tasks, such as generating a recommendation letter template. Since TextCortex can generate perfect output in 25+ languages, you can also use it in your multilingual jobs. TextCortex is available as a web application and browser extension. Its browser extension is integrated with 4000+ websites and apps, so you can generate text with it anywhere and anytime.

ZenoChat – All-in-One Conversational AI

ZenoChat is a conversational AI designed to complete a variety of text-based tasks and is available on over 4000 web pages. To activate ZenoChat, all you need to do is install our browser extension and click on the purple bubble that appears in the lower right corner of your browser.

ZenoChat has been trained to understand the user's prompts and generate the most useful response possible. In addition, thanks to its conversational memory, it self-trains from the conversations it has with you, becoming more useful and effective in every subsequent conversation.

Thanks to our Individual Personas and Knowledge Bases features, ZenoChat is a fully customizable conversational AI. With our Individual Personas, you can set ZenoChat's tone of voice and personality. With our Knowledge Bases, you can upload or connect the datasets that ZenoChat use while generating output.

Letter of Recommendation Request Template via ZenoChat

ZenoChat analyses users' prompts and provides them with the information they need. For example, you can get a generic request format by entering the “Create a Letter of Recommendation Request Template” into ZenoChat.

If you detail your prompt, you can get a more personalized template, for example:

How to get started with ZenoChat

To use ZenoChat, all you need to do is create your free TextCortex account. Afterwards, you can experience all the advantages of TextCortex, including ZenoChat, by using your 10 free creations per day. Click here to create your freemium TextCortex account.