Why do you need a recommendation?
A recommendation , or, as it is also called, a letter of recommendation , is a type of document that describes a person’s professional qualities.
This includes:
- information about his skills, ability to cope with assigned tasks,
- communicate with work colleagues, customers, partners,
- ability to learn,
- achievements, successes and similar information.
Sometimes the personal qualities of a former employee are included, but only those that are directly related to the work functions performed.
A recommendation often allows people to find a good, well-paid job in a relatively short period of time, provided, of course, that it is positive.
Letter of recommendation: when and why
A common mistake is to make copies of a letter of recommendation and send them simultaneously - to several places - along with your resume.
When to provide recommendations?
It is considered good manners to mention in your resume that you are recommended by the management of such and such a company.
If the employer is interested in your candidacy, and the negotiations move into a more confidential stage, then the time will come to present letters characterizing you as a professional.
The role of the letter of recommendation
A persuasive text can be of great help to you. The purpose of the letter of recommendation is:
- increase the employer's confidence in the candidate;
- increase the applicant’s chances of getting the desired position;
- guarantee the professionalism of the specialist.
It's even better if you can provide some positive recommendations. Five to seven characteristics are more significant than one.
Today in Russia this practice is gaining momentum. And people of various professions - from chief accountant to nurse, when leaving, ask their previous employer to write a letter of recommendation for them.
Who makes the recommendation?
A letter of recommendation is always written on behalf of the previous employer.
Moreover, the document is usually drawn up directly by the former immediate supervisor, for example, the head of a structural unit, department, workshop, or site.
Sometimes the formation of recommendations falls on the shoulders of a human resources specialist, the secretary of the organization, or the director himself (in small firms). In any case, this should be someone who is well acquainted with the person in need of a recommendation, or at least enough to give the most objective, adequate and fair description.
If a recommendation is written by an ordinary employee of an enterprise, it must be signed by an employee in a higher position - only if this condition is met will the recommendation have sufficient weight and credibility in the eyes of the person for whom it is intended.
Design rules
All points in such a document must be drawn up taking into account certain rules, which allows you to create a truly correct recommendation. The information should be comprehensive and interesting for the future employer. By studying examples of a letter of recommendation from an employer, we can draw conclusions regarding some rules for drafting:
- the title should be in the middle of the page;
- the recommender presented by the employer must indicate his contact information so that, if necessary, the citizen’s future manager can contact him to confirm the information in the document;
- information about the employee must be clear, and this includes not only his full name, but also the position he held at his previous place of work;
- it is advisable to indicate how long the citizen worked in the company;
- all job responsibilities performed by him are listed, which will allow the future employer to determine whether it is advisable to employ a specialist for a specific position.
The emphasis is on the positive parameters of a specialist, which include education, punctuality, learning ability or other characteristics. With their help, the new manager will be able to understand how suitable the candidate is for the planned job.
Is an employer required to give a recommendation to an employee?
It is not written anywhere in Russian labor legislation that an employer must provide its former employee with any recommendation.
This means that giving or not giving a letter of recommendation to an employee is the exclusive right of the employer, and not his responsibility.
Thus, in order not to lose the opportunity to receive a recommendation, you should maintain good relations with the employer and colleagues - this will not only allow you to receive the necessary document in a timely manner, but also to some extent guarantee the presence of positive reviews in it.
Errors
The letter of recommendation must be on a special form for a letter of recommendation to an employee (you can download it above) and be effective and convincing. Very often, an incorrectly compiled and written recommendation does not help, but harms the candidate.
To make a letter of recommendation a plus for your resume, you need to take a job recommendation as a sample (example below) and avoid the following mistakes:
- You should not write a recommendation without reading the vacancy. Study the requirements carefully and tailor the text to the wishes of the potential employer.
- Do not use colored fonts, pictures, diagrams, etc. to write a recommendation for an employee (a sample can be downloaded below). Write in clear business language without artistic additions. To avoid mistakes when writing, you need to rely on a sample recommendation from your place of work, an example can be downloaded below.
- Do not exaggerate the employee's merits. A text with excessive enthusiasm is unlikely to inspire confidence.
- But don't criticize the employee too much. The main purpose of the letter is to present the employee in a favorable light.
How to write a letter of recommendation
Since the law does not require employers to write letters of recommendation to their employees, this means that there is no unified template for them. That is, representatives of enterprises and organizations can draw up a document in any form.
It is important to observe only a few conditions, in particular, that in its form and structure the recommendation complies with the norms of office work, and in its content and text - with the rules of the Russian language. The document should be quite succinct and concise, strictly to the essence of the issue, without vague formulations, special terms and rude expressions.
The recommendation must include:
- name of the employing organization on behalf of which the document is drawn up;
- position and full name of the person who directly makes the recommendation;
- the characteristic itself - here you need to indicate only the business and professional qualities of the employee, his successes in the workplace, etc.
- information about the reasons for which the person was fired from this place of work.
In a recommendation, it is permissible to give wishes to the future employer about under what conditions and in what jobs it is best to use the work of a given applicant.
If desired, you can attach any additional documents to the recommendation: copies of certificates of achievements, victories, etc.
Assigning a recommendation review
Gone are the days when connections were more important than experience to get a job. A high-quality resume has become a passport to a career, a business card for the applicant. To get a good job, you need to be a bright, ambitious candidate and be able to present strong professional skills to the employer. A good way to enhance your resume's impact is to provide a recommendation. The opinion of the former manager, expressed in the form of an official letter, characterizes the applicant positively and inspires favor.
What should not be written in recommendations
Despite the fact that drawing up a recommendation is entirely up to the employer, when writing it you should adhere to certain rules and avoid certain things.
In particular, you need to try not to give negative, unsubstantiated reviews (i.e., writing such, of course, is not forbidden, but only if there is evidence and confirmation of this, for example, written evidence of disciplinary sanctions, etc.), but it should be borne in mind that such a document is unlikely to ever be used for its intended purpose.
The recommendation should not contain unreliable, unverified or deliberately false information - if such facts are revealed, the reputation of not only the person to whom the document was issued, but also the one who issued it will suffer.
Does an enterprise have the right to require a recommendation when hiring?
Similar to the issuance of a letter of recommendation, the current labor legislation does not contain any rules on the obligatory nature of its presentation. However, this does not mean that if a potential employer is interested in receiving such a document, then he must argue with him, defending his “rights.” It is better to save time and effort and try to get a recommendation as quickly as possible. After all, its presence (or even better, the presence of several) will allow you to stand out favorably among other applicants for the vacant position and will significantly increase your chances in the fight for it.
Typical mistakes when drafting a document
If the employer decides to write a letter of recommendation, it means that the relationship with the employee is at least normal.
He is not obliged to do this, but it is still worth adhering to certain unspoken rules so that the document really helps with subsequent employment. The most common errors encountered when composing letters are:
- The letter is not written in a business style, but is based, to a greater extent, on a personal attitude towards the employee.
- The document contains only professional skills and does not describe relationships with the team and opinions about the employee. Undoubtedly, listing personal qualities is not necessary, but it is desirable to create a more complete picture of the citizen.
- The document is drawn up by a person who has not had direct contact with the employee and cannot characterize him properly. It is recommended that the person’s immediate supervisor, for example, a foreman, head of a department, and so on, draw up the paper.
- Vague formulations are used, on the basis of which it is difficult to draw a conclusion about the actual result of cooperation with the employee. For example, the text of the recommendation is large, but there is little really important information in it; it does not reveal the most important qualities of a person as a specialist in his field.
The letter should be simple, clear and understandable, not lengthy and confusing. Otherwise, there are no strict rules.
About the characteristics within the enterprise
At any enterprise there are normative acts that can indicate, on a general basis, the criteria that determine the reasons for writing such a document. There may also be a need to present characteristics of the employee for other organizational structures.
Preparing employee reviews may be required for a number of the following reasons:
- When transferring an employee to another place of work, that is, to a higher position.
- What measures can be taken if an employee needs to be punished or rewarded.
- If it is necessary to establish compliance with the functions performed, characterizing the qualifications of the employee.
- What new responsibilities can be assigned to the employee.
- If necessary, arrange a business trip.
