Sample Recommendation Letters Employer [Your Name] [Street • City • Province • Postal Code] [Phone # • Fax phone # • Messages phone # • Email] [Date today] [Name of Employer] [Company name] [Address] [Address] [Address] Dear [Name of Employer]: This reference letter is provided at the request of (or with the written authorization of) [name of former employee]. It is my understanding that [name of employee] has applied for the position of [job title] with your organization. The information contained in this letter is confidential and should be treated as such. It should not be disclosed to anyone within your organization who would not be involved in the hiring decision regarding this individual. Moreover, it should not be disclosed to anyone outside of your organization without the written consent of [name of employee]. [Name of employee] has been employed by our company since [date] and has held the following position(s): [list positions and salary in each position]. In [his/her] most recent position, [he/she] had responsibility for [explain the person’s main responsibilities in this position]. [State your estimation of his/her performance, based upon performance appraisals or other work records that would support your evaluation.] [Name of employee] interacted well with co-employees, was reliable, and showed good judgment. [Give examples.] If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, [Signature] [Typed Name] [Title] Academic [Name of Reference] [Street • City • Province • Postal Code] [Phone # • Fax phone # • Messages phone # • Email] [Date] [Name of Employer] [Company name] [Address] [Address] [Address] Dear [Name of Employer]: This reference letter is provided at the written request of [name of student], who has asked me to serve as a reference on [his/her] behalf. It is my understanding that [name of student] is being considered by your organization for the position of [job title]. Please be advised that the information contained in this letter is confidential and should be treated as such. The information should not be disclosed to [name of student, if student has waived access] or anyone in your organization who would not be involved in the hiring decision regarding this individual. Additionally, the information should not be disclosed to anyone outside of your organization without the consent of the student. I have known [name of student] for the past [number of months, semesters, years] as [he/she] has taken the following courses which I teach: [list courses, give brief description of content of
course]. As [his/her] professor, I have had an opportunity to observe the student's participation and interaction in class and to evaluate the student's knowledge of the subject matter. I would rate the student's overall performance in these subjects as average. This is evidenced by [his/her] grades--[state the grades]. [One or two specific examples of the student's performance may be appropriate.] As part of [his/her] grade in [name of course], the student was required to prepare a paper. The paper was designed to measure the student's ability to research, to analyze the results of the research, and to write. [Discuss how the paper submitted by the student indicated to you the student's skills in these areas.] Based upon this, I rate the student's skills competent but not excelling. The one area in which the student performed above average was in oral communications. [Give specific example to support this.] Based upon the student's academic performance and my understanding of the position for which the student is applying, I believe the student would perform (place overall evaluation here). If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, [Sign here] [Your name, title] cc [Names for copies]