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A Recommendation Letter

Recommendation letters differ according to what they are for, i.e. their purpose, and from whom they are, i.e. HR, direct manager, colleagues (in not-so-common cases).

Such letters may be requested for a variety of reasons including a new job, a graduate degree application package or membership to a professional association. 


A recommendation letter would typically include the following: 

  • The employee's full name.
  • The name of the company.
  • His/her job title.
  • How long s/he have been working at the company.
  • Other positions held in the company and their time period.
  • What his/her responsibilities include.
  • The strong points in this employee.
  • Some of the employee's achievements.     

There are many other items that may be included.

In some cases, as proof of employment, a simple reference letter may requested. A reference letter just gives facts and dates, with no narrative about positive points and achievements.

Sample Recommendation Letter

Dear (Name),
(Full Name of Employee ) has been an employee with (Company Name) since November 1999 when s/he was hired as (Position/Job Title 1).In December 2000, he was promoted to (Position/Job Title 2), which is his current position.
His responsibilities as (Position/Job Title 1) included (Job Responsibility 1), (Job Responsibility 2) and (Job Responsibility 3). After becoming (Position/Job Title 2), his/her job responsibilities changed to include (Job Responsibility 4), (Job Responsibility 5) and (Job Responsibility 6). 
S/He is a very cooperative, dedicated employee. His/Her strengths are most apparent in his/her learning ability, team player and leader qualities and commitment to deadlines. 
Some of his/her achievements include: (Achievement 1), (Achievement 2) and (Achievement 3). 
(Employee's Name) is a skilled (Position/Job Title), and comes highly recommended for such a position. 
Sincerely, 
(Name)
(Position

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