Companies invariably require prospective candidates to furnish them with recommendations from prior employers in order to confirm both their professional as well as personal attributes. These are generally taken very seriously. A candidate who can provide recommendations from his/her
previous employer(s) stands a better chance of being selected compared with someone who cannot. Hence, a past employee may approach the HR department of his/her former company and request a recommendation email. This becomes even more crucial where the reasons for the separation were beyond the employee’s control. The basic intent of this email is to indicate that the person in the question was a bonafide employee with a good record in terms of personality, skills, qualifications, goal orientation, etc.
A few essential elements of such an email are:
● A brief statement of the writer’s current designation and relationship with the candidate in question.
● An overview of the applicant’s strengths as experienced by the writer.
● Mention of a few personal anecdotes that highlight some particular traits of the applicant.
● A concluding remark summarising why the individual would be a good fit for the opportunity.
● An invitation to the reader to contact the writer in case of any need for clarification.
● A signature, full name, designation, and contact details.
● Optional: The recommendation email may focus on the kind of role the applicant would be performing in the future organization if preferred.
SAMPLE
Subject: Letter of recommendation
To whomsoever, it may concern,
I am writing this email to discuss [applicant name], who has applied for a job at your organization.
I am [name], [designation] at [company name]. I have known [candidate’s full name] for [number] years. During [his/her] tenure with us, I worked closely with [candidate’s first name]. [He/she] consistently used [his/her] skills and knowledge to deliver the results that were expected from [him/her]. [His/her] conduct and behaviour was always impressive. I am confident that [candidate’s
the first name] would be able to meet the expectations you would have of [him/her].
When [candidate’s first name] was working as [designation], [he/she] once [an incident critical to the role].
Further, on another occasion, [he/she] [second incident].
[Candidate’s first name] was a genuine achiever for us, and I can state without a doubt that [he/she] would be an asset for your organization as well. Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions regarding [his/her] work with us.
Warm regards,
[Name]
[Designation]
[Company name]
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