Have you been asked to write a reference letter? Most of us will be asked at some point; it might be a former employee or student, or even a family friend. And it may be for a job, a scholarship, a grant, or some other opportunity. Regardless of the purpose are are some key points you will want to make when writing your letter of recommendation.

But what is a reference letter? A reference letter is usually written to testify to a person’s skills, character and/or achievements. It is also known as a “recommendation letter”.

When asked to write a reference letter you should ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you know the candidate? The candidate should be someone you know reasonably well. For example, you cannot comment on the ability of a person who you never worked with and only met you once.


• Do you know the candidate in relation to the specific request of the reference? You should know the candidate in a capacity which gives you the ability to write about their capabilities. For example, if you have worked with the person, it would be appropriate for you to write a reference letter to a prospective employer for them but if you have never worked with them can you truly know their day to day character in the workplace.


• Can you provide an honest and positive reference? If you truly feel that the candidate has no good qualities for you to emphasis, or if you have not had a good working experience with them in the past, you should not provide a reference letter for them. It is not professional to slander previous and current co-workers, it will make you look worse than them.

If the answer to all those questions were ‘NO’ then you may need to ask the individual to seek a letter from someone else.

Structure of the letter

What goes into a reference letter? The exact structure of a reference letter will differ depending on the type of reference but guidelines are detailed below:

• Use a business letter format: put the recipient’s name and address, if known, then start the letter with “Dear [name]”. If the recipient is currently unknown you may use “Dear Sir/Madam” or “To whom it may concern”.


• Introduce yourself in the first couple of lines: just give two sentences explaining your position and your relationship to the candidate.


• The next paragraph should confirm any facts which you know the candidate will be supplying along with your letter; such as:
  
  
  
  • the job title and role.
  
  
  • the company where they were last employed.
  
  
  • the dates which the person was employed from and until.
  
  
  • their academic qualifications
  
  
  
  


• In the third paragraph, you should provide your judgement upon the candidate’s capability, skills and qualities. If you recall any exceptional qualities that the candidate has include them– perhaps their drive and enthusiasm, their attention to detail, or leadership skills.


• The next paragraph can be used to give a concrete examples of times when the candidate excelled beyond the expectations of the job. For example you may want to ask the candidate to tell you about any projects that they have been involved in.


• Close your letter on a positive note, and if you are willing to receive further correspondence about the candidate’s application, make this clear. Include your contact details too.


• End the letter appropriately; “Yours sincerely” when you are writing to a named recipient, and “Yours faithfully” when you do not know who will be receiving the letter.

Things to avoid

• Mentioning any weaknesses the candidate has.


• Saying anything that could be construed as discrimination.


• Writing in an informal manner: keep the letter in a business tone.


• Including personal information not relevant to the application i.e. political stance, religion, age or health is usually inappropriate.


• Spelling mistakes and typos: make it look professional.

Examples of reference letters

A reference letter is a formal document, and should be typed and written in a serious and business-like style.

• When a candidate applies for a job, they may need a reference to support their application.

Dear (Insert Name),

I confirm that (Insert Candidate Name) is/was employed as (Insert Position) with (Insert organisation Name) from (Start Date) to (End Date/the present day).

The position they held/hold consist of the following responsibilities (Insert brief description of job/role). (Insert Candidate Name) is skilled in (Insert skills and other details and examples of special projects) and is also (Insert characteristics – e.g reliable dependable, a good communicators, capable leader, etc).

I would re-employ (Insert Candidate Name) as I consider him/her to be a valuable member of the team, who consistently achieved good results and exceeded expectations.

Yours faithfully,

(Insert Your Name)

(Insert Your Signature)

• When a candidate applies for a job, they may need a character reference to support their application.

To whom it may concern,

I confirm that I have known (Insert Name) for (Insert Number) years.

(State relationship with candidate- social, business, social club, sports activity, project, etc.)

At all times I have found (Insert Name) to be (state characteristics - eg, dependable, reliable, hard-working, conscientious, honest, peace-loving, courteous, etc and give specific examples of times when they displayed this characteristics).

Do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information.

Yours faithfully,

(Insert Your Name)

(Insert Your Signature)

Keep these tips, techniques and templates in mind when writing your reference letter. This will ensure that you, the candidate and the prospective employer will be satisfied.