A letter of recommendation is a one-page letter in which someone who has seen your work vouches for a specific application, using concrete examples. A good one names the relationship, describes two or three things the person actually did, and ends with a clear endorsement and contact details. This guide covers both sides: how to write one, including four sample letters, and how to ask for one so the writer can say yes easily.
Letter, reference or reference check?
People use these terms loosely, and the difference changes what you need to do.
| What it is | Who writes it | When it is used | What the requester provides |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter of recommendation | A manager, professor, colleague or client who knows your work | Applications that ask for a letter, such as some jobs, graduate programs, scholarships and fellowships | Job or program details, deadline, submission method, resume |
| Reference list | You | When an employer asks for names to contact | Names, titles and contact details, with each person's permission |
| Reference check | The employer calls or emails your references | Usually late in hiring | A heads-up to your references about the role |
If an employer only wants names, see how to format a reference list. If you need someone to agree to take calls, our guide on how to ask for a job reference covers that conversation.
For the writer: decide before you agree
Say yes only if you can write something honest and positive. The Mayfield Handbook guidance reproduced on University of Washington computer science professor Michael Ernst's advice page puts it plainly: if you cannot portray someone positively, decline. A lukewarm letter can hurt more than no letter. A kind way to decline:
"Thank you for thinking of me. I don't think I saw enough of your work on [skill the role needs] to write the strong letter you deserve. [Name] supervised that project and may be a better fit."
If you agree, ask the requester for what that guidance recommends: a current resume, the full description of the job or program, and any accomplishments you might not know about. Add the deadline and how the letter must be submitted.
The structure of a strong letter
| Part | What it does | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Names the person, the role or program, and your recommendation in one sentence | 1 to 2 sentences |
| Relationship | How you know them, for how long, and in what capacity | 1 to 2 sentences |
| Evidence | Two or three specific examples tied to what the role needs | 1 to 2 short paragraphs |
| Comparison (optional) | Where they stand among people you have worked with, if you can say so honestly | 1 sentence |
| Close | A clear endorsement and how to reach you | 2 sentences |
Keep it to one page. Specific beats glowing: "She rebuilt our intake checklist and cut errors on new accounts" is more useful than "She is detail-oriented and a hard worker."
Four sample letters
These are samples with invented names. Replace every bracketed detail and every example with what you actually saw.
1. For a current or former employee
Dear Hiring Committee,
I am pleased to recommend Dana Ruiz for the Operations Manager position at [Company]. I was Dana's direct supervisor at [Company] for three years, from 2023 to 2026, while she worked as an operations coordinator.
Dana's strength is turning messy processes into reliable ones. When our vendor invoices were regularly paid late, she mapped the approval steps, removed two redundant sign-offs, and set up a weekly aging report. Late payments became rare within one quarter. She also trained four new coordinators, and two of them now lead their own vendor accounts.
Among the coordinators I have managed, Dana is one of the two I would most want to work with again. I recommend her without reservation and am happy to talk further at [phone] or [email].
Sincerely,
[Name], Director of Operations, [Company]
2. For a former intern
Dear [Name or Hiring Manager],
I am writing to recommend Jordan Lee for the Junior Data Analyst role at [Company]. Jordan interned on my marketing analytics team for ten weeks in summer 2026, and I supervised his work day to day.
We asked Jordan to clean a customer survey data set that three people had started and abandoned. He documented every change in a short log, flagged 200 duplicate records, and built a simple dashboard that our team still uses for monthly reporting. He asked good questions early instead of guessing, and he presented his findings to our department director with clear slides and no jargon.
Jordan is ready for an entry-level analyst role, and I would hire him back. Please contact me at [email] with any questions.
Best regards,
[Name], Marketing Analytics Manager, [Company]
3. From a colleague (peer recommendation)
To the hiring team at [Company],
I recommend Priya Shah for the Senior Customer Success Manager role. Priya and I worked side by side as customer success managers at [Company] for four years. I was not her manager, but we shared accounts, covered for each other, and ran our team's onboarding program together.
Priya is the person our team called when a large client was about to leave. In one case, she organized weekly calls with the client's operations lead, coordinated fixes with our product team, and kept a shared action list until the issues were closed. The client renewed. She is also generous with knowledge: her onboarding guide is still the first document new hires read.
I would be glad to work with Priya again and can be reached at [phone].
Regards,
[Name], Customer Success Manager, [Company]
4. For a student applying for a job
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am happy to recommend Marcus Brown for the Lab Technician position at [Company]. I taught Marcus in two upper-level chemistry courses at [College] and supervised him as a teaching assistant for one semester in 2026.
In my analytical chemistry lab, Marcus consistently followed safety and documentation procedures without reminders, and his lab notebooks were among the most complete in the class. As a teaching assistant, he held weekly review sessions and noticed that several students were misreading one instrument's output. He wrote a one-page guide that I now give every new section.
Marcus ranked in the top 10% of the 60 students in my analytical chemistry course. I recommend him strongly. You can reach me at [email].
Sincerely,
[Name], Associate Professor of Chemistry, [College]
What not to include
A recommendation should stay on job-related evidence. Under federal law, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lists race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation and transgender status), national origin, age (40 or older), disability and genetic information as protected characteristics. A letter that mentions them invites the reader to consider things an employer is not allowed to base decisions on, even when the writer means well. Leave out:
- Age, birth year or "young and energetic" style phrases
- Pregnancy, family plans, marital status or childcare arrangements
- Health conditions, disabilities, medical leave or family medical history, unless the person has asked you to mention something specific
- Religion, national origin, accent or citizenship details
- Comments on appearance
- Personal life details that have nothing to do with the work
Watch for quieter bias too. A guide from the University of Arizona Commission on the Status of Women, reproduced by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, summarizes research, including a study of letters for medical faculty by Trix and Psenka (2003): letters for women were seven times more likely to mention personal life and about twice as likely to include "doubt raisers" such as "challenging personality." The same guide notes that letters for women were more likely to praise effort (so-called grindstone words), while letters for men stressed accomplishments. A simple test for any letter: would you write this sentence about every candidate you recommend? Lead with what the person achieved.
For the requester: how to ask
- Choose someone who saw relevant work. A direct supervisor who can describe a project usually beats a senior name who barely knows you.
- Ask early. Give the writer at least two to three weeks when you can, and say if the deadline is firm.
- Make "no" easy. People who feel cornered write weak letters.
- Send a short packet once they agree: the posting, your resume, two or three projects you hope they mention with dates and results, the deadline, and the exact submission instructions.
- Remind once, politely, about three days before the deadline.
- Thank them and tell them the outcome. Writers care, and you may need them again.
A sample request email:
Subject: Would you be willing to write a recommendation?
Hi [Name], I'm applying for a [role] at [Company], and the application asks for a letter of recommendation by [date]. Because you supervised my work on [project], I thought you could speak to [skill]. Would you be comfortable writing one? If the timing or fit isn't right, I completely understand. If you're able to, I'll send the posting, my resume and a few notes on the project. Thank you for considering it. [Your name]
If the writer asks you to draft the letter yourself, you can offer bullet points of facts instead. A letter the writer composes in their own words reads as more credible, and some programs ask applicants not to be involved in drafting.
A note on references and the law
This is general information, not legal advice. The EEOC states that it is illegal for an employer to give a negative or false employment reference, or to refuse to give one, because of a person's protected characteristic, and that retaliating against someone for complaining about discrimination is also illegal. Beyond federal rules, state laws differ, and many employers have their own policies on who may give references and what they may say. If you are writing in your role as a manager, check your company's policy before you send a letter on company letterhead. If you are asking a former manager, it helps to know that some will only confirm dates and title for policy reasons, which says nothing about you.
Final checklist before sending
- Correct name, role and company in every spot (a common error when writers reuse letters)
- Two or three specific examples, each tied to the role
- Your title, relationship and contact details
- Nothing about protected traits or personal life
- Saved as a PDF if submitted as an attachment, signed if the application requires it
Requesters can prepare their own evidence in advance with the application evidence builder, which makes the packet you send your writer far more useful.