Recommendation letter is one document that each person requires at some stage of his career. This letter is so influential that it has helped many candidates achieve their dreams successfully. However, many applicants are confused about the role and importance of reference letter in their careers. Hence, if you are one of them, read further and find answer to why to write letter of recommendation.
What is Letter of Recommendation?
Reference letter is a statement wherein the referrer recommends a particular person for a certain opportunity. The referrer is a person, who has known the candidate for long time and is aware of his strengths and weaknesses. It is important that the candidate and referrer have shared a close association such that they are able to evaluate the candidate's efficiency and give a feedback about his work performance. This is important to make the letter effective and successful in its purpose.
Purpose of Writing Reference Letter
Reasons to write Letter of Recommendation
Let us see how a reference letter helps in influencing the recipient's opinion about the candidate and helps him earn the opportunity.
Value Addition
Reference letters add value to candidate's applications. The reference letter summarizes the candidate's qualities. The referrer advocates the candidate's love, passion and dedication towards achieving his set targets. Hence, reference letter helps in making the candidate's application stronger and giving him an edge over other applicants.
Useful in Background Check
Reference letter helps recipients verify the candidate's credentials and check his academic and professional background. The reference letter includes details of qualifications and work experience of the candidate. Hence, recipients can go through the letter details and find out if the information given by the candidate is true or not. This eliminates the recipient's doubts over the authenticity of the details.
Third Person's Perception
The candidate writes his own resume and statement of purpose. Both documents include self-evaluated details. Hence, there is possibility that the recipients will not take the details seriously, as they may assume that the candidate is boasting of his qualities. Therefore, a reference letter is more effective as it is a third person's perception. As a reputable person presents his views and opinions about the candidate, readers find it more trustworthy.
Referrer's Repute
If the referrer boasts an impressive profile, it helps the candidate get an advantage in his application. Choose a referrer who boasts worthy qualifications and has many achievements listed under his name. The credentials of the referrer earn him respect. The recipients tend to take the words of such person seriously. Hence, when such person recommends a candidate's name, it leaves no doubt in recipient's mind of the candidate's abilities.
Evaluation of Strong Points
The referrer evaluates the strong aspects of the candidate's profile, so that they prove him suitable for the position. They present the strengths of the candidate by relating them to the given position. This eliminates the recipient's need to read the resume and analyze the applicant's qualities and his suitability for the position.
Unique Abilities
This letter helps to bring out the unique abilities of the candidate. Each candidate boasts of some qualities that are unique to him. This quality can earn him an advantage over other candidates. Hence, as a reference letter puts forth the unique skills and abilities of the candidate, it is more effective in influencing the recipient.
We hope the given reasons have solved your queries and helped to find an answer to why to write a letter of recommendation.