Advantages of a Recommendation Letter

Recommendations are frequently used in both business and academic situations to assess the abilities of a candidate. As making recommendation is ideally a formal gesture, it is always preferred to give it in writing than verbally. For this purpose, people write recommendation letters, also known as the letter of recommendation. It is a letter that gives an overall feedback about the candidate based on his past performance. The person or organization with whom the candidate had earlier worked writes these letters. It is also used as a second opinion by the recruiter who wants to appoint the candidate.



Recommendations can be positive or negative. Generally, positive recommendations are given. They should be genuine, professionally-worded, and clear. It should focus on the candidate’s professional role than what he is in his personal life.

There are two types of recommendation letters:

1. Employment letters - The ex-employee usually requests his boss or the human resource manager to write the letter on his job performance and attitude. The writer can also add his comments on the employee’s individual traits such as sincerity, work ethics, and motivation level. Sometimes, the recruiter uses it to testify the character of a person.

2. Academic letters - Letters of recommendation are submitted as a part of the admission procedure to a post graduate or any higher learning program. The ones used here have a structured format citing the headings such as academic performance, awards, ability to work in a team, and so on. They are usually written by a faculty member, academic advisor, or an administrator.

Advantages

3. It is a snap shot of the candidate’s abilities and helps the recruiter to quickly screen the candidate. It is also used by the candidate to prove that he had resigned and was not terminated from his previous company.

4. The recruiter may use it as a reliable tool to judge the candidate instead of grilling him through several interview rounds. For example, the recruiter may skip the personality test if the letter convinces him of the candidate’s abilities.

5. From the candidate’s point of view, getting the letter in advance eliminates the risk that his reference might be unavailable when contacted by the recruiter. Moreover, he may fail to give an effective feedback if he is busy.

6. For the candidate, it eliminates the uncertainty revolving around his feedback. He already knows what the reference has to say about him.



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