Sample letter of recommendation to consultant. How to write a letter of recommendation for a company (form, template). Letter of recommendation - what you need to know about the rules for drawing up the document

Letter of recommendation for an employee - a sample business document in which the employer provides complete and objective information about the employee. This is a review containing characteristics of the employee’s professional and personal qualities. A letter of recommendation from an organization is an evaluation of an employee, which can serve as a competitive advantage in employment. An employee usually requests such a document before dismissal in order to attach it to his resume as proof of professional success.

The document is drawn up in any form, but usually contains the following points:

• Last name, first name, patronymic of the employee.
• List of duties that he performed.
• Description of personal qualities, professional knowledge and skills.
• Recommendations.
• Position, full name recommender, his phone number, email.
• Name of organization (name of employer).

It is advisable that the text of the letter of recommendation for an employee fits on one A4 sheet. The recommender should be the immediate supervisor, as he can best characterize the employee. It is important that the person who wrote the letter of recommendation for the employee can confirm the recommendation by phone or email.

It is not advisable for the document to describe the employee’s skills and knowledge in a generally accepted form. It is best to indicate specific achievements (for example, increased sales by 10%).

In addition, a sample letter of recommendation for an employee should describe the qualities of a specialist that help him achieve success in his professional activities. For example, for a cashier - attentiveness, responsibility, accuracy, for a sales manager - communication skills, stress resistance.

The letter of recommendation contains brief description professional skills, achievements of a person, his main successes during study or work, strengths. With the help of recommendations, the employer can see a clearer picture of the candidate’s professional activities and find out the opinion of people who worked or studied with him as an employee. Not all employers require a letter of recommendation, but when searching new job It’s better to take care of its presence and, like , attach it to it - this will give greater credibility to the applicant’s candidacy.

For a university graduate, a person without work experience, the recommender can be a teacher, head of the department, dean of the faculty, for a person with work experience - his immediate supervisor, director of the organization or a colleague (occupying a higher position) at a previous workplace.

First, the title of the document is indicated.

After this, you can indicate the appeal if the letter of recommendation from work is drawn up for a specific employer. The appeal need not be used if it is made for any potential employer.

This is followed by information about where and when the applicant worked (studied), and who he was related to the recommender. For example, if the recommender is an immediate supervisor, you can indicate: “Mr. Komarov worked at Lavanda LLC under my leadership from May 12, 2011 to August 10, 2013,” if a colleague, then: “I collaborated with Mr. Komarov from May 12, 2011 to August 10, 2013, etc.

Then we talk about positions held, functional responsibilities, professional skills, achievements and successes, and personal qualities of the applicant.

The next part of the letter directly presents the recommendations and wishes of the recommender (example text of a letter of recommendation: “Mr. Komarov’s professionalism allows us to recommend him for further work in a similar position. I hope that the acquired knowledge and skills of working in our company will allow Mr. Komarov to be a sought-after employee. I wish him further success and prosperity in creative activity”).

Whenever possible, this letter is certified by the signature of the head of the company or personnel department and the seal of the company.

Every person has to look for a job at least once in their life, and modern world you have to do this more than once. Find Good work not easy, since employers are demanding and selective, and competitors are not asleep. In such circumstances, it is necessary to use all possible tools that can persuade the employer to accept your candidacy. One of these tools is a letter of recommendation.

What is a letter of recommendation and how can it help with employment?

Letters of recommendation came to Russia from Europe, where they were in use several centuries ago. At that time, a letter of recommendation was actually used as a resume, and without this document there was no way to get a more or less decent job, not only in a government or commercial enterprise, but even a maid or cook needed recommendations to work in good home and with a decent salary. IN Soviet time The tradition of providing recommendations when applying for a job has changed. Recommendations have been replaced by characteristics that, in principle, can be considered identical to letters of recommendation in their purpose. IN last decades In Russia, the tradition of providing recommendations for employment is being revived. Having references (oral or written) allows the candidate to confirm to a potential employer that, firstly, his resume is truthful and, secondly, his past workplace was abandoned not due to conflict or dishonest performance of duties.

• to the bank when applying for a loan or mortgage;
• to higher education educational institution to consider the possibility of providing a grant for study;
• to government agencies to apply for benefits.

Recommendations can be requested verbally or in writing. The recruiter can receive verbal recommendations from the person specified by the applicant through a telephone conversation or in a personal meeting. Most often, the applicant himself should be tasked with preparing written recommendations in a timely manner. Most often, the applicant himself draws up this letter, and the manager only reads the already completed document, and then confirms with his signature that he agrees with everything stated.

My experience shows that in some companies even PR specialists are tasked with writing letters of recommendation. In this case, the employee should not leave everything to chance and hope that a kind PR person will write “as needed.” It is better to take the initiative and prepare at least a template of a text about yourself, even if you are deprived of the gift of writing. The PR specialist will correct punctuation and grammatical errors in the letter, the essence of which will convey what you need.

As such, there are no formal requirements for the preparation of letters of recommendation; however, there is a set of basic principles, the observance of which will facilitate the creation of the document and its subsequent use. A letter of recommendation should traditionally be issued on company letterhead. In a free business style, it tells about the employee and those qualities that he would like to highlight. At the conclusion of the letter, the signature of the person composing it, his surname and initials are placed. It is also necessary to indicate the position of the compiler and contact information (telephone and email address). It is also important to indicate the date of writing in the letter. Letters from ten years ago are unlikely to serve as a convincing argument for employment. The company seal may not be placed on such a letter if the seal does not exist in principle.

The letter must begin with a title, namely the words “Letter of Recommendation.” Further in the text you can reflect, for example, the following points:

• confirm the fact that the submitter of the letter actually worked in the designated company during such and such a period of time together with the person who is now making the recommendation;
• describe the employee’s job responsibilities, the nature of the work he performed, and his success in this matter;
• characterize the employee’s professional qualities, achievements, promotions, thanks;
• identify reasons for leaving;
• formulate your recommendations and express your opinion about the person, his talents, skills and prospects for further professional development.

The letter is drawn up in free form

How to write a letter of recommendation in English and when it may be required

When writing a letter of recommendation in English, you must adhere to the rules of business English correspondence. If the letter of recommendation is drawn up in in paper form, in the header of the document you must indicate the contact information of the originator, as well as the date of compilation. The document itself can be printed on a printer, but the signature at the bottom of the page must be written by hand.

If the document is sent by email, you do not need to include a header, but in the subject line of the letter, be sure to indicate the full name of the candidate, the position for which he is applying, as well as the purpose of your letter. Contact information can be indicated at the end of the letter itself after the signature.

Otherwise, the requirements for the content of an English-language letter of recommendation are identical to the requirements for a letter written in Russian. The ideal length of a letter of recommendation does not exceed one page.

I had to prepare letters of recommendation in English for admission to a foreign university. To write my letter, I first looked at several examples of letters from the Internet, and then composed my own version. If your level of English is far from perfect, it is better to seek help from more knowledgeable friends and colleagues. In the future, when studying, mistakes in spoken language will be forgiven as a foreigner, but errors in the text of a letter of recommendation will not work in your favor at all.

As a rule, the letter of recommendation must be certified and signed by the manager on whose behalf the document is being drawn up. This can be the head of a department or branch, or himself CEO. Students may obtain a signature from the dean of the faculty or the head of the department for their letters of recommendation.

Strictly speaking, there are no specific requirements and rules for writing letters of recommendation, so it is difficult to make a mistake when writing such a letter. However, if we take into account that the purpose of the letter is to help a former employee find a job, following certain canons when drawing up a document, this goal can be either delayed or brought closer. Thus, a letter based only on personal impressions of the employee, but not affecting the professional qualities and relationships of the person with the team, is unlikely to help in getting a job offer. The recruiter cannot take into account a letter written by a person who has not had experience of direct interaction with the applicant. Thus, a human resources manager cannot provide an adequate description of an advertising specialist. In order for the document to influence the recruiter’s decision, it must be drawn up by the employee’s immediate supervisor. Recommendations in vaguely formulaic formulations will also be of little help to the HR manager of a future employer when making a hiring decision. A good letter should be short and to the point.

The presence of recommendations from former employers is not yet a guarantee of successful employment, however, in modern conditions, when searching for your dream job, you can not disdain any auxiliary tools. It is quite possible that well-written recommendations will be the decisive straw that will tip the scales in your favor when making the final hiring decision.

In some cases, for a successful transfer or employment to a new job, it may be important for an employee not only a personal portfolio, but also a letter of recommendation, the sample of which depends on the specific situation. It is impossible to give a general formula for drawing up such documents of a largely creative nature, however, there are a number of features that should be taken into account when drawing it up in any case.

Currently, such a document is not quite common in the practice of business correspondence between companies or government agencies, to argue that there are some standards for its composition. Of all the documents, along with a resume, a letter of recommendation can be considered the most creative in nature, therefore it is advisable to compose it in conditions of a sufficient amount of time, and not a quick fix. In addition, the psychological attitude is important - the better the text is thought out and felt, the more it reflects the real achievements of the employee, the more benefits it can give him.

It is initially compiled as a positive review of an extended nature, which is devoted to:

• employee (in most cases);
• the entire organization or its department.

1. A header indicating the full name of the organization, its details, contacts, and also (if available) its logo - most often companies have letterheads on which all official correspondence is printed, including letters of recommendation to employees according to established templates.
2. Last name, first name, patronymic, contact details and position of the person to whom the recommendation was given.
3. An introductory part, which indicates in what period of time and in what position the employee worked in the company (links are provided to the relevant internal regulatory documents - orders).

EXAMPLE. Anzhelika Viktorovna Lagutina worked at Aldi LLC for 4 years (from May 212 to November 2016). Initially, she was approved as a sales manager, then in September 2015 she was transferred to the position of deputy head of the sales department due to the conscientious performance of her duties and the constant implementation of the sales plan (Order No. ABV-32 dated 09/05/2015).

1. Information about the person or company or department to which the recommendation is given. In relation to the employee, personal data is provided here (education, work experience, qualifications, personal and professional qualities that allowed him to achieve specific success). The employee’s job responsibilities and what projects he participated in, including on personal initiative, are also described.

During the entire period of work, the employee showed himself to be exceptionally good. Lagutina was responsible in the sales department for achieving sales targets for the time periods established by internal regulations: month, quarter and year. Even during a difficult economic situation in the segment, the employee demonstrated himself as an effective manager who was able to find the right solutions in non-standard situations.

During her work, the sales plan was constantly exceeded by an average of 25%, in which the management of the department and the company sees, first of all, the personal merit of the employee. Lagutina has demonstrated her ability to accurately comply with internal standards and regulations. No cases of lateness or violation of labor discipline were recorded.

Lagutina has a higher education professional education with a degree in organizational management (2008), took part in many seminars to increase the level of sales within our company, for which she has the appropriate certificates. Owns English language at the Intermediate level, therefore in August 2014 she was sent to represent our company at a meeting with foreign (Canadian and Finnish) suppliers, for which she also has relevant supporting documents.

1. Reasons for dismissal from position. As a rule, the company willingly gives recommendations to an employee if his dismissal is due to exceptionally unfavorable economic circumstances: bankruptcy of the company, optimization of staff. In other cases, especially when an employee leaves for a competing company, a request to draw up a letter of recommendation for the employee even if he has finished sample, which simply needs to be filled out, may be rejected.

Lagutin's employee is leaving due to staff reduction. The decision to optimize staffing was made at top level company, therefore this moment it is not possible to revise it. In this regard, the company is forced to part with some employees, including Lagutina.

It should be understood that under labor law the employer is not required to draw up such documents. In addition, in order to inspire the trust of the future employer, it is better for the employee to indicate some objective reasons for dismissal:

• moving to another city/new place in the city due to personal circumstances;
• loss of interest in work due to the fact that functional responsibilities do not change for a long time, and prospects career growth virtually absent;
• impossibility of continuing work due to changes in personnel, economic policy company due to which the employee cannot perform his previous job, etc.

1. The final part of the recommendation should directly indicate recommendations that relate to the personal and business qualities of the employee. It is best to directly answer the question of why, in the opinion of authorized representatives of the company, the employee is suitable for the position for which he is currently applying.

We recommend Lagutina A.V. for the position of sales manager of the Blagodar company and ask special attention regarding her candidacy. In our opinion, she has a number of competitive advantages that allow her to stand out from most other candidates.

1. Finally, in the complementary part of the letter, the employer can, if he wishes, indicate how grateful he is to the employee for the efforts and specific results that he has achieved throughout the entire period of cooperation.

At the end of the letter, as usual, the contact information of the organization and the person who compiled and signed the document is indicated, dated, stamped and signed.

NOTE. The presence of contact information in the letter is a fundamental requirement, since without specifying information about the organization, a justified mistrust almost always arises in the letter: an unscrupulous employee could falsify the company data and write the text himself. Therefore, it is best to provide the contact (including personal) of the employee who knows you well and who took part in drafting the letter, so that a potential employer can easily and at any time contact him to confirm the specified information.

Sometimes the employees and employers who draw up such a document do not take it seriously, believing that the new employer is able to independently give objective assessment whether the candidate is suitable for him or not, based on an analysis of his work book, a portfolio with documents confirming personal achievements, as well as during an oral examination or testing.

However, as practice shows, some employers themselves directly indicate that they would like to see recommendations from a previous place of work. Therefore, the employee and his company should take a closer look at how to correctly compose a letter of recommendation, understanding the fact that it is not enough to simply download a sample and fill it out.

• unlike a work book, a letter can reflect in more detail and informatively (rather than formally) the employee’s experience in a given position and his specific work achievements;
• a letter of recommendation can reflect the personal and business qualities of an employee that are not indicated in certificates, diplomas, etc.;
• finally, a recommendation can be made specifically for the desired situation: a specific employer, a specific vacancy and a specific set of job responsibilities.

1. The text of the letter must be in a formal business style.
2. At the same time, you should avoid a large number of bureaucracies and cliches - “dry”, unnatural expressions.
3. It is better to draw up a letter on personal letterhead, and if the company does not use one, try to give the document a more official character using artistic elements.
4. In terms of text volume: it should not be too large (2 or more pages) and too small (less than half a page). Visually it should resemble a regular statement, and in text it should take about a page.
5. The letter should be printed in a clear, readable font: neither large nor small.
6. Long, dense sentences that are difficult to read should be avoided.
7. The letter should include as many specific numbers and statements about the employee as possible. It should be assumed that the recommendation essentially provides a detailed and complete answer to the question of why this particular employee is optimally suited for this position.
8. In the text, it is better to avoid banal statements, common expressions and epithets, for example “hardworking”, “not afraid of difficulties”, “effectively copes with his responsibilities, etc.).
9. If the letter is addressed to a foreign company, you should take care of a competent, professional translation of the text by contacting a competent translator.
10. Finally, you need to understand that a recommendation is not a boast. Here it is inappropriate to use too lofty words, as well as constructions that clearly exaggerate the qualities of an employee: “very good”, “excellently copes with his duties”, “irreplaceable”, “excellent, wonderful”, etc. Such statements will, at the very least, cause distrust or even a negative reaction.

In fact, a letter of recommendation is quite simple to write for an employee who has managed to retain a good relationship with the employer and does not leave for direct competitors, but chose to change his field of activity or leave for a new position based, first of all, on the motives of personal development. However, you can convince your employer of such honest intentions only if you have established a truly trusting relationship with him.

In general, no extensive practice has developed regarding the business turnover of letters of recommendation, so the real statistics of their use by employees can only be judged on the basis of individual Internet surveys, which, of course, do not reflect the full picture, but nevertheless serve as a definite a reference point.

A letter of recommendation to an employee is an assessment of the employee’s professional qualities, skills and abilities by his former boss or colleague. This document is usually used when looking for a new job and is attached to the resume. Availability good recommendations increases the attractiveness of a resume and increases the applicant's chances of finding a job.

How to compose

The text should fit on one sheet of paper. You should avoid general and “standard” phrases – executive, reliable employee, etc. (such a letter will still not be remembered and will not make the right impression). It’s better to just list the facts - participated in the project..., increased sales... by 20%, successfully negotiated... etc. (see sample letter of recommendation).

It should be written on official letterhead unless it is a recommendation specific person on my own behalf.

The document must contain information: in what period and where (specific company name) the employee worked, his achievements - what specific duties he performed (should give an idea of ​​his professional level). At the same time, strive to characterize the result of your work in numbers (maybe as a percentage). This is the most significant part of a letter of recommendation - look at the example given to see how you can be creative in the writing process.

The letter of recommendation is usually signed by the immediate superior (head of a structural unit) or the head of the company where the employee worked. People who know him and, if necessary, are ready to confirm all the information contained in the letter of recommendation.

The information must be as truthful as possible - very often people contact us to clarify and verify information by calling the telephone numbers indicated in the letter.

Accountant