Writing a letter of recommendation for a friend is the best way to help your friend when he/she has been looking for a job. You can recommend their good work to prospective companies through this letter. In the letter of recommendation, you should highlight their characters, capabilities and qualities regarding the specific task.
What is a letter of recommendation for a friend?
As its name implies, this letter states your friend’s qualities and character attributes relevant to the field he/she is applying for. The letter is basically written to a hiring manager. You write this letter for your friend and it is different from professional reference letters. This is because professional reference letters are written by a person’s former or current employers, business acquaintances, clients, and professors.
What to include in a personal letter of recommendation?
The components of a personal reference letter are crucial. You should handle them with utmost care. Your main purpose is to get your friend hired by making sure you provide important and specific details to the hiring manager. You must include a few things in the letter;
Introduce yourself
Giving information like your name, qualification, and the workplace informs the hiring manager gets wind of who you are. If this is clearly stated and in an orderly manner, they will take your document seriously.
State your relationship with your friend
You should clearly state that how you two are associated and you have definitely written this letter due to the close and good relationship you have with them.
Specify your friend’s unique qualities
You should mention their unique talent that the employer will find it suitable to meet their application requirements. Aside from this, specify their training experiences and the vast knowledge they have.
Specific skills of your friend
You can state what they are good at on the basis on how well you’ve known your friend. By mentioning their expertise in specific fields makes sure that they are on the priority list when it comes to being shortlisted for the job.
How to write a letter of recommendation for a friend?
The format of this letter is similar to the documentation of a normal letter or piece of writing. Since it’s geared to a working environment, it takes the outlook of a formal letter. Follow the below steps in order to write an effective letter of recommendation;
A brief introduction
At first, write the date in which you wrote the letter. Then, followed by a clear salutation like To Whom It May Concern, sir, Mr., Mrs. or Ms. You should just state a single title in case you are sure that the individual who’ll be reading it will be who you think they are.
The body
In the body of the letter, write the aim of the letter and state the name of your friend as the referred person. After that, provide the reasons that why you are recommending your friend as well as state the ability that you know them. Finish this section by stating their most applicable qualities.
Closing remarks
Conclude the letter by recommending your friend for the work offered. You should make sure that you are sure of what you listed on the body in order to ensure that you write a successful conclusion. In the end, write sincerely and then your name and signature.
The length of the reference letter:
Your letter of reference should be precise but clear. Your letter should contain three or four paragraphs. In these paragraphs, describe how well you know your friend and how best their character features will benefit their working requirements. Make sure that your letter has short and distinct sentences. Moreover, the whole entire work sums to a single page.
The letter having two paragraphs indicate that how less you know your friend. On the other hand, hiring manager also don’t like to read too wordy letter.
Which font to use in the letter of recommendation?
Using the right fonts that are easy to understand is the key of a good presentation. Usually, traditional fonts are used like Arial, Calibri, and The New Times Roman. Due to their modest form, these are highly preferred by employers. Employers won’t impress with fancy writing, particularly when it’s about personal preference. For your texts, use the black color that is a neutral color used in the professional industry. Font sizes should be in between 10 and 12 points for easy visibility.
Do you have to sign a letter of reference?
When writing this type of formal letter, signing is a tradition for formality purposes. If you are writing online then use applications such as Adobe Document Signing. Online signing indicates that you have access to your friend’s signature. It also shows your approval to the letter, before reading it, make the employer contented.
Should I have hire a qualified professional to write a reference letter for my friend?
It isn’t important as you are just information the hiring manager regarding your friend’s character not working experiences. This is crucial while writing a professional reference letter for someone who you have a professional relationship.
