When it comes to writing a letter of recommendation, it is normal to be nervous and not sure where to start, especially if it is your first time. Writing a recommendation letter for a candidate can be a tense and challenging process. However, if you know what steps to follow and read the sample letter of recommendation, you can easily get through this process.

In this article, we will explain the letter of recommendation format and provide you with generic examples.

TL;DR - Summarized by TextCortex

  • For an effective recommendation letter, you need to use a formal format.
  • The recommended format for creating a recommendation letter includes a greeting, introduction, overview, personal story, closing statement, and signature.
  • You can examine this format by reading recommendation letter examples.
  • If you're looking for an assistant to help you complete all your text-based tasks, including recommendation letters, TextCortex is the way to go.

Letter of Recommendation Format

When writing a letter of recommendation, you must use a formal format to indicate the candidate's skills and qualifications. This way, you can ensure that the team evaluating your candidate can easily read your letter and influence them to evaluate your candidate positively. Let's take a closer look at the letter of recommendation format.

letter of recommendation

Greeting

It would be a professional step to start each letter of recommendation with a strong and kind greeting. You don't need to be creative in this section, you can start by writing the name of the recipient or, if you don't know the name of the recipient, with sentences such as "To whom it may concern", "Dear Recruiter" or "Dear Hiring Manager".

Introduction

In this section, you need to clearly state the name of the candidate and mention the position or task you recommend him/her for. This is the part where you briefly explain to the recipient who the recommendation letter is for and its purpose.

Overview

One of the most critical sections of a letter of recommendation is the overview. In this section, you need to introduce the attributes, skills and qualifications that make the candidate suitable for the target position. Depending on the purpose of your recommendation letter, you can list the candidate's personality traits and skills or professional skills and achievements in this section. For example, while you focus on the candidate's skills and technical professionalism in a job recommendation letter, you may need to focus on the candidate's personality traits for a student exchange program.

Personal Story/Anecdote

This section is where you introduce the candidate's previous achievements and prove that you observed the candidate personally. In this section, you can highlight the candidate's skills and traits and consider them from your personal perspective. This way, you can offer the recipient both an honest and objective perspective. In this section, you can describe the candidate's personal achievements, projects, and cases in which they used their skills.

Closing Statement

As in every letter, you need to write a kind and strong closing in recommendation letters. In this section, you can reiterate your recommendation and use a call-to-action sentence. This way, you can increase the candidate's chances of being accepted.

Signature

The section located at the end of the letter is often overlooked; however, it is an important section that contains professional information about you. Therefore, instead of just signing your name, it is recommended that you also include your contact information and title. This way, the recipient can evaluate whether you are competent to recommend the candidate and contact you for more information.

Letter of Recommendation Examples

Now that we have examined the format required to write a letter of recommendation, it is time to examine examples that will enable us to put our theoretical knowledge into practice. Let's take a look at generic examples for letters of recommendation.

Example #1

In this example, let's assume that we wrote a recommendation letter for our friend who recently graduated from university.

Letter of Recommendation Examples

Example #2

In this example, there is a recommendation letter was written to the current company for the former colleague.

Letter of Recommendation Example 2

Example #3

There is an example recommendation letter written by a former professor for a former student who is applying for the Visual Effects Designer position at XYZ Company.

Letter of Recommendation Example 3

Example #4

In this example, there is a letter of recommendation from a team leader or boss to the current employee for a social media management position in another company.

Letter of Recommendation Example 4

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how to write a letter of recommendation

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