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Before writing a letter
1. Agree to write a letter only if you can write a supportive, detailed letter. Writing a short, unspecific letter for a person you do not know very well could hurt rather than help the person.
2. Gather information from the person, including the job posting, their resume/CV, and the specific dates of when they worked for you or were in your class. If the recommendation letter is for a university or a graduate program, also get a list of all the schools they are applying to, how to submit your letter for each school, and their academic transcript.
3. Consider meeting with the student to discuss their career and education goals, previous experience, and why they believe you are qualified to write a letter for them. Discuss any reservations you might have in writing a letter for them.
4. Deciding whether or not to write a letter for someone a. Think about the experience you have had with the student. Letter writers who have worked with the
student in a research or teaching assistant capacity will write a more personal, detailed letter than a letter writer who only had the student in a class. A good grade in a class is not enough information to write a quality letter of recommendation.
b. Consider your own schedule. Do you have time to write a letter for the student? Has the student given you enough time to write a quality letter, or is the due date less than a month away?
c. Your qualifications. Can you judge the student’s art ability as a psychology professor? Perhaps not, but you can speak to their communication and organization skills, which will be relevant.
Writing the letter
1. Never ask someone to write the first draft of their own letter or use templates to write your letter. This will not give an accurate portrayal of the applicant and is potentially harmful to their future in the job/program.
2. If the job or program provides a form or specific questions to answer, provide additional information in the form or a letter if possible/asked for. This will give them more information about the student outside of the form, which they will get for every applicant.
3. Be careful to avoid revealing possible discriminatory information about the applicant, such as age, disability, race, marital status, etc.
4. Discuss your position, how long you have known the person, and how well you know them. 5. Be honest and balanced. Do not exaggerate someone’s abilities to make them look good. If someone has a
particular weakness they will need to address to work in the position/program, address this in the letter. Also address how the person has improved on any weaknesses since you started working with them, if applicable.
6. Avoid ambiguous and generalized language. 7. Consider the job/program the applicant is applying for and what kinds of skills will be necessary. 8. Give anecdotes and be specific. You want to give the reader the sense that you know the applicant well and are
qualified to recommend them. Anecdotes also give the employer/program concrete examples of the applicant’s skills.
“Sam demonstrated his excellent organization and presentation skills when he put together a poster presentation…”
9. Mention specific projects the person worked on, the skills they used, and how the applicant contributed to the project’s success.
10. Use active verbs rather than descriptors, and numbers when possible. “Joe managed an SPSS database with over 1,000 variables…” “In her role as teaching assistant, Jenny liaised between me and 35 students...”
11. Discuss the applicant’s potential and how you see their future based on their past successes and experiences. 12. Include personal achievements that may demonstrate positive qualities, if you know them. This information will
not be on a resume, but will round out the applicant and show that you know them well. “Sally also demonstrated this fierce determination out of the classroom when she completed her first marathon...”
13. Share your contact information and offer to answer any follow up questions. 14. Keep a copy of the letter for future reference. 15. Possible topics to discuss in a letter:
a. how long and in what capacity you have known the candidate b. general duties, responsibilities, or assignments of candidate c. specific accomplishments or achievements d. knowledge of subject matter e. competence f. organizational skills g. problem solving ability; judgment h. initiative, creativity, resourcefulness, leadership i. ability to relate to and work for and with others j. ability to communicate both oral and written k. work attitudes such as commitment, dependability, enthusiasm, integrity, motivation, potential for
success and growth l. how the candidate compares to others you have known in similar positions m. your work or educational background, if relevant to the student’s major
Letter formatting
1. Keep formatting simple and organized. 2. Keep your letter between 1-‐3 pages, as reviewers have a lot of letters to go through. 3. Use paragraphs to make the letter easy to read and to organize ideas. 4. Address your letter specifically to the person or institution. Use “To Whom it May Concern” only as a last resort. 5. Address any particular requirements the company or institution asks for in their instructions.
Additional Resources
Rejecting a Reference Request
10 Sample Recommendation Letters
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