Writing a Job Reference Letter (with Examples and Proven Tips)

Writing a Job Reference Letter (with Examples and Proven Tips) Do you remember when you once had to ask your professor or boss for a recommendation letter to help you land a job at a company? Yes, you eventually convinced them to write you one and you were very pleased with what they wrote about you. They wrote very positive things about you that would make you stand out to the interviewers.Now that you have been working at a company for quite some time, you are in a supervisory role with many employees under your wing. A time will come when they will come to you to ask you for a reference letter. The tables have turned; you are now the one writing a recommendation letter for them. Now the most important thought crosses your mind â€" how do I write a job reference letter? Well we are here to help you out with that.For those of who are a bit unfamiliar with them, recommendation letters are letters written by employers attesting to the accomplishments and skills of their employees. As an employer in a managerial role, you will have to testify to t he abilities of your employees to help them in their careers.A reference letter is written in a business-style format and is very professional because in most cases, you will be justifying the abilities of one of your candidates to another company. You need to be able to write it in a way that is very convincing and straightforward. This one document is just as important as a resume and a cover letter. © Shutterstock.com | alexmillosWe have listed the most important tips to help you write an outstanding reference letter for your employees to show them in a positive light to other companies. In addition, we have provided some templates and examples of reference letters to help inspire you in writing one in your own style.REFERENCE LETTER TIPSThe importance of a recommendation letter should be neither underestimated nor underappreciated. They can be the deciding factor to sway companies into hiring one candidate over another. It could easily be the difference between acceptance and rejection.When an employer, like yourself, is able to testify to the capabilities of an employee, then companies are able to trust the claims made by a candidate in their resume and cover letter. Recommendation letters can also provide more insight, such as a candidate’s personality and character. These can easily sway the hiring decision into your employee’s favor, if written properly.Here are some k ey tips you should definitely follow when writing a reference letter for somebody else to make them shine brighter than everybody else.Explain Your Relation with the EmployeeWhile a reference letter is primarily about the person you are supporting and writing it for, it should also express your capacity and justify why you are writing one. When an employer sees exactly who is writing this and how they are related to the employee, this will add credence to the recommendation. Answer the questions “How am I related to this employee?” and “How long do I know this employee?” early in your letter.If you were the supervisor of this employee while they interned at your company, make this evident. If you were the employee’s boss, make this apparent in the letter. Also describe how long this employee worked under you direct supervision. This helps hiring managers determine how well you really know a candidate.We suggest that you should only write a recommendation letter for someone if you worked with them for at least 6 months. This seems to be ample amount of time to truly understand how somebody performs under pressure and really assess their caliber. Stating your relation to the employee will surely add credibility, something that all employers are looking for.Weak Relation with the EmployeeIf an employee or a student, whom you do not know very well, comes to you to ask for a recommendation, then it is unadvisable to write a reference letter for them. Knowledge of a candidate is everything when it comes to these letters, and a lack thereof will be very evident when you state your relation to the candidate.Ask yourself if you are indeed the appropriate person to write a reference letter for somebody. If the answer is yes, then proceed to do so.Exemplify the AccomplishmentsIt is very easy to write the job responsibilities of an employee who worked for you. However, it is not the best way to advocate an employee. Rather than stating job duties, describe an em ployee’s remarkable job performance. Hiring managers want to know more about the achievements of their candidates straight from their supervisors.If an employee just did their duties, then they are simply doing their job. This is not enough in today’s competitive job market. Employees need to go above and beyond in their roles to make a good impression on other hiring managers.As an employer, you can provide specific achievements of your employee’s career when they have been working with you. Explain the things they did that made them excel in their position. For instance, if they have brought in more clients for your firm, mention how many. Recruiters love numbers, so play into their hands and state some figures in your recommendation. For example, if your employee has raked in more sales by selling more units, state how many units they have sold and the amount of revenue they personally brought in.Examples, Examples, ExamplesWe cannot emphasize enough how important it is to provide real-life examples and scenarios where your employee shined. You do not need to necessarily give comprehensive detail, but just give enough context. State what was expected and what the objectives were according to the company.Then go on to describe how this employee not only met them, but exceeded them by leaps and bounds. To exceed expectations is a sign of an accomplishment. Hiring managers want accomplished individuals who have a track record of delivering results.Examples describing feats do just that. When you can explain the successes of the employee, hiring managers will be confident that the employee can replicate the successes at their company.Describe the Candidate’s SkillsA jobseeker will mention many skills (both technical skills as well as soft skills) in their resume, but they needs to be backed up by somebody who has personally seen the employee use it. As an employer, you are in a position where you can give evidence to an employee’s skills and competenc ies. Just like with accomplishments (mentioned in the previous point), skills should also be exemplified. It is one thing to simply state that a person has “good presentation skills” and an entirely different thing to mention where an employee exhibited exceptional presentation skills. While this is easy to do with soft skills, this is also possible with technical skills. If your employee used an engineering software to the fullest extent, even beyond your own knowledge, state this by giving an example. This demonstrates a desire to continuously push the boundaries and develop more skills. Recruiters view this very positively.Anecdotes HelpSkills are only useful to hiring managers if they can be proven. Scenarios aid in helping establish the validity and truth of skills. For example, if your employee has taken initiative, mention how they acted as the team leader, created plans for the entire project, and delegated tasks to everyone else. This is a good sign of leadership that h iring managers want to see.If your employee was able to successfully negotiate a deal with a client, describe the tactics employed and the amazing deal that was struck. This helps to show communication skills and negotiation skills, two skills that are highly sought after in the marketing and sales world.Some bonus points can be earned if you describe skills that are not typical to a profession. For example, an engineer may need to deliver product presentations to the management team. If your employee, who is an engineer, successfully delivered an impeccable presentation to others and convinced them to proceed to mass production, express how they have amazing presentation skills. In engineering, soft skills play just as large a role as technical skills, and recruiters want to see this.Always be PositiveIt is called a recommendation letter for a good reason â€" you, as an employer, are recommending your employee to somebody else. As you are recommending them to hire somebody who used to work with you, you should always use positive language. Saying something like “Without any reservation, I highly recommend this person” or “This person has all the qualities to fit your culture” will go a long way to getting your employee over the hump. Recruiters like to hear reassuring words from other employers who had experience working with somebody.Nobody is perfect; we all know that. However, that is not a reason to mention weaknesses in a reference letter of all places. Only state the chief strengths and highlight everything positive of an employee or a student. Using positive adjectives such as intelligent, creative, efficient, effective, reliable, and innovative  evoke good images in the minds of people.As the person writing a job reference letter, you want to evoke these emotions and images in the hiring manager. Avoid using words that are mediocre in emphasis, such as nice, good, adequate, reasonable, and satisfactory. They are too weak.Do Not LieWhile it is imperative that you only say positive things about somebody in your letter, do not lie and start making up false strengths about somebody. Some people think that exaggerating a bit and stretching the truth may help an employee. It is quite the contrary. Hyperboles can come back and haunt an employee, even after being hired based on your seemingly innocuous white lies. Play it safe and play by the rules â€" be truthful in your recommendation.Recruiters will call you to verify all of your statements and crosscheck them with the employee you are referring. If there are any discrepancies, then it will look bad on you. More importantly, it will damage the career of your employee. So please think twice before you start using flowery language. Avoid excessive flattery and only stick to the whole truths in the reference letter.Proofread the Entire LetterJust as you would do with any formal business document, make sure to proofread and edit a job reference letter, repeatedly! We cannot stres s how important this is. As an employer, you want your employee to be taken seriously. In addition, you also want to be taken seriously. How can be you be taken seriously if you make spelling or grammar mistakes in a recommendation letter?It needs to be perfect. We suggest having it proofread by somebody you trust so that a fresh pair of eyes can give you a new perspective on your writing. Sometimes, somebody else can spot something that you failed to see after several glances.You do not need to write it in a very high-level language with complex sentence structure and very difficult words. In fact, we advise against it. Recruiters want to read something that they understand upon reading it the first time. Do not make it difficult for them. Keep it formal but make it simple, too.Talk with Your EmployeeAn effective method of writing a great recommendation letter is to run it by the person you are praising. When you have a good and strong relation with the employee you are writing for , then you can get the best feedback on your writing. They can perhaps remind you of some statistics or achievements that may have slipped your mind or you may have overlooked.You want to state the best facts in your reference letter. Your employee can help bring those to light and proofread your recommendation letter to make it the best it can be.Follow the Business Letter FormatSince a job recommendation letter is essentially a formal document, write it in the form of a business letter. It must consist of the following components:HeaderSalutationIntroductionBodyConclusionClosing1. HeaderThe first section of a recommendation letter is the header and it consists of your address (sender’s address) and the address of the company you are sending to (recipient’s address), along with the date. If you are addressing a particular person at a particular organization in your letter, then you need to mention that in the header.However, there are also general recommendation letters which a re not addressed to anybody in particular. In such a case, you can omit the portion of the recipient’s address. The format for writing your address is as follows:Name of ReferencePosition of ReferenceCompany of ReferenceAddress of ReferencePhone Number of ReferenceEmail of ReferenceDateName of RecipientPosition of RecipientName of OrganizationAddress of OrganizationIf your employee has informed you about who you should direct your recommendation letter to, then include that information in the header. It makes it more personal as you are directly speaking to an individual. In case it is a general reference letter that can be read by anybody, then you can omit the recipient’s address and only write the sender’s address.LetterheadA good method of writing a recommendation letter for a job is to design it with a letterhead. A letterhead is like a template that is situated at the top, center aligned, and describes your address. It is like a fixed header of a letter, hence the name. In mentions the name of the organization as well as the corporate address.This gives letters a professional appearance and it has become quite popular amongst many reference letters. If you decide not to use one, then it is perfectly okay. The examples we provide later on in this article do not use a letterhead. You can read find many examples online of reference letters using a letterhead.2. SalutationThe second part of your recommendation letter is the salutation. It is only one line but it is very important, so make sure to start correctly. As this is a job reference letter written in the style of a business letter, stick with very formal and polite greetings.Avoid using greetings like “Hi” and “Hello” at all costs. Those are reserved for your friends and family, not for a recruiter. You want to take a very respectful approach when addressing recruiters. The safest and most used greeting is “Dear” followed by “Mr./Ms. X,” where X is the family name of the recruite r. For example, if the recruiter’s name is Jane Smith, you will begin the letter with “Dear Ms. Jane.” This is deemed very respectful and considerate, the perfect way to address a hiring manager.If you are writing a general reference letter, you can go with the neutral greeting “To Whom it May Concern.” An alternative salutation you can use in case of a general recommendation letter is “Dear Hiring Manager.” In almost all cases, a hiring manager will in fact read your recommendation letter.3. IntroductionThe first paragraph of your letter should introduce who you are. Include your current position at your company and state your relation with the employee whom you are recommending. Briefly state how you came across meeting this person and ended up working with them. Mention how long you know this person â€" confirm dates whenever you can.All of this information will help to establish your authority and capacity to write the letter in the first place. When a hiring manag er sees all of this pertinent and important information, they can actually trust what you say. The first paragraph has to hook the recruiter; it has to get them to continue reading the rest of your letter.This paragraph is typically only a few sentences long.4. BodyThis portion of the letter contains the main essence of your argument. It answers the all-important question â€" “Why should you hire this person?” You need to present your case by exemplifying their skills that will help benefit the company.You should relate prior experiences to the position they are applying to. Do not forget to discuss their personal qualities that make them unique. Normally this section is two paragraphs long, but you can do it in one paragraph if you want. It all depends on you and the things you are able to write about the person. A recommendation letter is ultimately all about convincing a recruiter that a particular individual’s skills and accomplishments will benefit their company. You are exemplifying what your employee can offer another company.Start by describing your employee’s past roles and competencies that will be useful in another company. If your employee has experience in designing analog and digital circuits at your company and is now going to work specifically on digital circuits, state their proficiency in digital circuits. If your employee successfully created a digital ad campaign for your product, explain the skills employed and the results obtained from it. Highlighting the prime skills that helped your company will reinforce the abilities of your employee.Mentioning some remarkable accomplishments of your employee will show that they exceled in their role and will continue to do so in their new role. Give figures and numbers to quantify the results. Hiring manages love numbers. Persuade the hiring manager reading the letter that this employee can reproduce excellent results working with them.If you are writing a reference letter directed at a spec ific job position, then try to get your hands on the job requirements. Mention the qualifications that your employee satisfies and justify how theyexcel on those counts. When you are ticking the boxes for them, you are making the recruiter’s job easier. Everybody likes that.Furthermore, state some personal qualities about their character and work ethic that demonstrate this person is easy to work with and is diligent. As an employer, if you say that a person is hardworking and resilient and provide an example of it, then recruiters will be impressed by an employee’s personality and character.5. ConclusionIn the final paragraph of your job reference letter, reinforce how this employee did amazing things at your company and can repeat the successes at their firm. State that you have no reservations to recommend this individual because of your experiences with them. Express that you are open to communications to talk more about the employee.A simple sentence like “If you have any more questions you need clarified, please do not hesitate to contact me.” This indicates that you are willing to help your employee land the job. Hiring managers take this as a good sign.6. ClosingThe final section of the letter is only two lines long, but it must be handled with care. It is the closing remarks. You should end your reference letter respectfully with a closing like “Sincerely” or “Regards.” They are deemed quite formal, perfect for a recommendation letter. Avoid using terms like “Best Wishes” and “Yours Truly.”Remember, you are not writing a letter to a friend, you are writing a recommendation letter to a recruiting manager at another company, acting as a referee for your employee. So please bear in mind that you should come across as professional and polite. Finish the letter with a signature just below your closing remark. Since recommendation letters are handwritten, there is no need for a digitally printed electronic signature. Print out the le tter and sign it at the bottom just below the closing.REFERENCE LETTER EXAMPLESAfter listing all of the proven tips that make a great job reference letter to help an employee land a job, we will now show you some examples of well-written recommendation letters. We advise against directly copying these templates. Recruiters are very familiar with common templates available online. You should be inspired by reading these and find a way to craft a recommendation letter in your own style and letterhead that suits your employee.If you copy a standard template that anybody can find online, then it shows a lack of interest and thought in the recommendation letter on your part. We know that making a recommendation letter on your own is not easy and can take time, but as an employer it the least you can do. An employee has dedicated so much time to get your work done, so now it is your turn to dedicate some time to help them out.Professional Reference LetterWe will first look at recommendati on letters written by members of an organization writing one for an employee who used to work with them. If you were in a supervisory role with this employee, you are in the perfect position to right a reference letter on their behalf. Let’s look at some examples.Example 1 â€" An Employee Looking for a New JobIn this example, we will look at a recommendation letter written by somebody for an engineer looking for a new job at another company in the same type of industry. You are essentially stating how the qualities, skills, and achievements of an employee can be easily transferred to another company in the same sector.Name of ReferencePosition of ReferenceCompany of ReferenceAddress of ReferencePhone Number of ReferenceEmail of Reference  Date  Name of RecipientPosition of RecipientName of OrganizationAddress of Organization  Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name, It gives me great pleasure to recommend Sam Walton for the position of Sales Engineer at your organization. Sam has been working at o ur company for 3 years now, and he has been working directly under my supervision in the past year. I have known him ever since he joined the firm and I eventually had him assigned to my team. That is when I had the chance to see him in action. As a Junior Electrical Engineer, he was very proficient in using engineering software and created many great designs in AutoCAD. When it came to designing transistors, he did so in a very short time and had them 100% verified and simulated prior to mass production. In our brainstorming sessions, he took initiative and tossed around many ingenious ideas that would separate our product from everybody else’s. Our team went along with his decision and customers loved our electrical products.Speaking of customers, Sam has impeccable communication skills. It took me by surprise how much of a smooth talker he was with clients. He found a way to build rapport with people and persuade them that our new products were unique and superior. As a Sales E ngineer, he will excel since he knows how to talk with people and has the technical knowledge of an electrical engineer.Sam Walton is very diligent and is quite resilient, with a “never give up” attitude. Whenever he faced any obstacle, he never let it faze him. He remained calm and always view the problem from a different angle. His work ethic is exceptional and it actually rubbed off on the other colleagues.Without any reservations, I can recommend Sam for this position at your company. Sam wants to go up the ladder at a big company, and I know he will be able to accomplish that at your firm. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me if you want more information.  Sincerely,Your SignatureExample 2 â€" An Employee Shifting CareersIn this example, we will look at a recommendation letter written by somebody for a newspaper writer looking to break into the digital marketing world. You need to explain how the qualities, skills, and achievements of an employee can be transferre d to another company in an entirely different type of industry.Name of ReferencePosition of ReferenceCompany of ReferenceAddress of ReferencePhone Number of ReferenceEmail of Reference  Date  Name of RecipientPosition of RecipientName of OrganizationAddress of Organization  Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name, I am very excited to recommend Jimmy Wales for the position of Digital Marketing Specialist at your company. Jim has been working at our company for 5 years. He started out as an intern and helped one of my colleagues on various tasks around our agency. After his internship, I had him under my wing for 4 years while he worked as a copywriter and editor for our website. He wrote some amazing groundbreaking pieces at our agency. As a copywriter, he would go out of his way to contact as many sources as he could to get the inside scoop on a topic. He gathered a lot of information and wrote excellent articles and blog posts for our website. Being an English graduate, Jim always made sure that h is work was free of errors. He repeatedly proofread and edited his work to remove all grammar and spelling mistakes. Based on the target audience, he tailored the difficulty of the language to suit them.I once suggested him to start learning about digital marketing, namely SEO and SMM. He is a millennial and he is in touch with technology. Every weekend, he learned about various aspects of SEO and SMM and the way in which writers can incorporate them into their work. Jimmy even has an online degree in digital marketing tactics. With his deep knowledge of SEO and SMM coupled with his outstanding writing skills, I know that Jim will shine in your digital marketing company.Without any reservations, I can recommend Jim for this position at your company. Jim wants to diversify his skillset and explore new things that he is passionate about. He is very passionate about digital marketing and writing. I firmly believe he will be able to accomplish that at your firm. Please do not hesitate t o contact me if you want more information.  Sincerely,Your SignatureExample 3 â€" An Intern Looking for a Full-time JobIn this example, we will look at a recommendation letter written by somebody for a newspaper writer looking to break into product engineering. You need to explain how the qualities, skills, and achievements of an employee can be transferred to another company.Name of ReferencePosition of ReferenceCompany of ReferenceAddress of ReferencePhone Number of ReferenceEmail of Reference  Date  Name of RecipientPosition of RecipientName of OrganizationAddress of Organization  Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name, I highly recommend Steven Stewart for the position of Process Development Engineer at your company. Steven has been working at our company for 6 months as an intern in my photolithography department. During his internship, I have seen him learn things at a very quick rate and implemented the things I taught him in the lab. He successfully coupled the theoretical knowledge he lear ned at university with the practical knowledge acquired at my company. As an engineering intern in the semiconductor industry, Steven worked on several mini projects that we were running in the lab. Since he has amazing academic grades, he knew many of the processes we were conducting at our organization. Whatever he did not know, he spoke with his senior colleagues and picked up all the missing pieces of the puzzle. He even presented some interesting ideas to me that showed me that he is thinking beyond his experience. That is a good sign of somebody who wants to make a revolutionary change, something the semiconductor industry and your company may heavily benefit from.To complete his internship, he wrote a 50-page report describing his entire experience at my organization. After reading his report, I realized that he is an amazing writer, conveying ideas very simply and directly. As a Process Development Engineer, writing reports will be a regular task and you need somebody who ca n do it well. In addition to writing, Steven delivered a great presentation where he showed the things he conducted in the lab. He has a great stage presence and is a great communicator, something that more engineers need in today’s world.I can wholeheartedly recommend Steven for this position at your company. Steven wants to start his career as an engineer at one of the largest companies on the planet. I firmly believe he has everything it takes to accomplish many great thingy at your firm. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you want more information.  Sincerely,Your SignatureAcademic Reference LetterWe will now look at recommendation letters written by professors of a university writing one for a student who used to work with them. If you were in a supervisory role with this student, you are in the perfect position to right a reference letter on their behalf. Let’s look at some examples.Example 4 â€" A Student Looking for Their First JobIn this example, we will look at a recommendation letter written by a professor for one of their students who wants to start working at an organization. You are essentially stating how the qualities, skills, and achievements of a student can be useful to a company.Name of ReferencePosition of ReferenceCompany of ReferenceAddress of ReferencePhone Number of ReferenceEmail of Reference  Date  Name of RecipientPosition of RecipientName of OrganizationAddress of Organization  Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name, It gives me great pleasure to recommend Jeremy Collins for the position of Design Engineer at your company. I met Jeremy in August 2012 when I instructed the Microsystem Design course and he made a good impression on me from day one. I was so impressed by his class performance and participation that I actually offered him the chance to work on his thesis at my institute. That is when I had the chance to see him in action. He always sat in the first row in class and was very proactive, asking many interesting questions about m icrosystems. He is an inquisitive person, a quality that makes for an excellent engineer. He is very curious to know why things work the way they do, and looks for creative solutions to solve complex engineering problems.As you will see from his transcripts, he excelled in his studies. That shows his dedication to learning.When Jeremy was working on this thesis, he coordinated the entire project on his own under my guidance. He was very cooperative and open to hearing new ideas not only from me but also from other members of my institute. He took inspiration from others’ ideas and came up with his own ingenious solution to design his microsystem. He designed a microsystem in 25% less time and performed 20% better. This shows that he can deliver excellent and outstanding results.Jeremy Collins is very diligent and is quite resilient, with a “never give up” attitude. Whenever he faced any obstacle, he never let it faze him. He remained calm and always view the problem from a dif ferent angle. His work ethic is exceptional and he will easily fit into your corporate culture.Without any reservations, I can recommend Jeremy for this position at your company. Jeremy wants to go up the ladder at a big company, and I know he will be able to accomplish that at your firm. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me if you want more information.  Sincerely,Your SignatureExample 5 â€" A Student Looking to Pursue a Ph.D.In this example, we will look at a recommendation letter written by a professor for one of their students who wants to start their postgraduate degree at another academic institution. You are essentially stating how the qualities, skills, and achievements of a student can be useful to a university.Name of ReferencePosition of ReferenceCompany of ReferenceAddress of ReferencePhone Number of ReferenceEmail of Reference  Date  Name of RecipientPosition of RecipientName of OrganizationAddress of Organization  Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name, I highly recommend Ma rk Rogers for the postgraduate program at your university. I met Mark in February 2013 when I instructed the Microelectronic Circuits course and he made a good impression on me from day one. I was so impressed by his class performance and participation that I actually offered him the opportunity to work as a Graduate Research Assistant at my institute. He held this role for 1 year and he successfully completed many research projects we were working on. He always sat in the first row in class and was very proactive, asking many interesting questions about microelectronic circuitry. He is an inquisitive person, a quality that makes for an excellent researcher. He is very curious to know why things work the way they do, and looks for creative solutions to solve complex engineering problems.As you will see from his transcripts, he excelled in his studies. That shows his dedication to learning. Mark wants to be researcher and he envisions himself working in your state-of-the-art labs, ho ping to make a groundbreaking discovery one day. When Mark was working on at my institute, he collaborated with his colleagues to collectively come up with ingenious solutions to solve complex problems. He was very cooperative and open to hearing new ideas not only from me but also from other members of my institute. In addition, he can work very well independently and come up with ideas all on his own. While working on his Ph.D. at your university, he will be able to work on his own without much supervision.He successfully helped me design optical systems that were operating 10 °C lower than other systems. This helped us in our research endeavors and Mark played a crucial role in that development.Mark is very diligent and is quite resilient, with a “never give up” attitude. Whenever he faced any obstacle, he never let it faze him. He remained calm and always view the problem from a different angle. His work ethic is exceptional and he will easily fit into your corporate culture .I can wholeheartedly recommend Mark for the postgraduate program at your university. Mark has demonstrated excellent qualities of a researcher at my institute, and I know he will be able to accomplish the same results at your institute as well. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me if you want more information. We have worked together before in the past on joint program, so I am sure you can trust me when I say that Mark is one of the better researchers I had at my institute.  Sincerely,Your SignatureCONCLUSIONA job recommendation letter is perhaps the most important document in a job application portfolio, besides a resume and a cover letter. As an employer, your recommendation can provide that extra little push to get your employee or student their much desired opportunity. The onus is on you to persuade a hiring manager at a company or a professor at a university to give your employee or student an opportunity of their lifetime.If you follow these key tips and take insp iration from these example we have listed, then you will be able to write an outstanding job reference letter that will please anybody reading it. You will successfully appeal to everything they want to read, and that is how you convince someone into giving the person you are recommending a chance.So what are you waiting for? I am sure one of your employees or students has asked you to write a recommendation letter on your behalf. I mean that is why you are reading this after all. Start writing your job reference letter right now.