5 Important Ways On How to Get The Best Recommendation Letter

Letters of recommendation are very important because they give future employers a way to gain insight into a candidate’s background and capabilities. Letters of recommendation can be very persuasive and these letters give an outside perspective on your strengths, abilities and accomplishments that may not be easily noticed. Letters of recommendation from counselors, teachers, and outside people are subjective factors, which can add weight to your application.

Take a look at this guide to know what it takes to receive that perfect recommendation.

1. Plan early and be ahead with everything

The key to getting a great letter about your past performance starts with asking the writer to provide the letter a couple of months before you actually need it. Do not wait until right before the deadline. Ask at least three weeks in advance, and perhaps six. The easier you make your recommender’s job the happier they will be and you definitely want them happy when they are writing your letter!  You should make an appointment to discuss your letter with your potential recommender. You may make your initial request by email, explaining that you wish to set up an appointment to discuss your plans to apply for a job, college or school.

2. Choose someone who knows you personally

A glowing reference letter usually acts as an endorsement of the candidate. Letters provided by people who personally worked with you should provide the best insight. If you not sure whether the person knows you, make an appointment to meet them so you can tell them more about your future endevours , goals and achievements. Spend more time with them during the process, this will help them see a clear way forward and they won’t be hesitant about writing the letter.

3. Your writer must have status

Choose the right person who is well known and has status in their field. If you’re applying to a job, the names are almost certainly going to be meaningless to employers, so you’ll want letters from the best writers. You should seek letters from strong names in the field in which you wish to do research. This will add value into your recommendation letter. You will also be proud of yourself and confident.

4. Be helpful/ Volunteer to help

A list of bullet points about your interests and accomplishments will help the writer in a hugeway. They will find the gesture very helpful. Do not offer to write the letter up front, but if you know the writer is particularly busy, you can append “Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help you draft the letter” to your request. They will appreciate it because they are not obliged to writing a recommendation letter but they are doing you a favor.

5. Follow-up with the people who write my recommendation letters

Don’t forget to send reminder emails a week before each deadline. Most of all, remember that your writer does not owe you recommendations. They understand how important the letters are, and having provided a letter of recommendation for you, they are invested in your future.  Be sure to let them know what you hear from the programs, even if you don’t get the results you are looking for.  Either way, they want to know and they may be able to offer further advice on the next steps you should take.  And don’t forget to thank them for all of their time and effort.