Recommendation Letter for a Friend

Usually, when a person applies for a job or seeks an admission for a course at a University, he/she is asked to get a recommendation letter from a previous employer or may be a college professor. However, people who are starting their career or have not attended college may find it difficult to get a recommendation letter. Here, recommendation letter from a friend can come to the rescue. The recommendation letter written by a close friend is also called a character reference letter. Sometimes, certain companies ask for a character recommendation letter along with an employer reference letter to understand the person better. The person who writes the letter highlights the qualities and positive attributes of his friend whom he is recommending. So, if you have to write a recommendation letter, here some tips that will be help you in completing the task.

Tips to Write a Recommendation Letter

As this kind of recommendation letter is written for a friend, the letter should be written in a less formal manner. However, this does not mean that one can write an elaborate letter. Rather, the letter must be a precise and should be definitely a straightforward one. In the first part of the letter, the writer should introduce himself/herself and also mention the relationship that he/she shares with the applicant. It is also important to mention the number of years that one knows that person. You can continue the letter by highlighting the qualities of your friend. This should be divided into several small paragraphs. As this recommendation letter has a personal touch, it is important to make it a little subjective to make the reader believe that, what you have written is quite a genuine information. For this, you can make use of stories or anecdotes that highlight the good qualities that you have mentioned in the letter. In other words, you have to share incidents and experiences that you had with your friend in the letter. The last part i.e. the conclusion of the letter is where you emphasize on the belief you have on your friend and actually recommend your friend for the said position or admission.

Crucial Components of Recommendation Letter

Apart from the points that are mentioned above, there are some more things that you have to keep in mind while writing a recommendation letter. Here are some tips that will help you in writing a good recommendation letter for your friend.

• A character recommendation letter should be written for a person whom you know very closely. If the person is just an acquaintance, refuse politely, so that he/she may go to some other person who can write a better recommendation letter for him/her.
• While writing the letter, concentrate only on his/her positive attributes. One should remember that the letter is a key for a person to receive a job or admission and should not contain even a slight negative remark against him/her.
• Another important thing one has to keep in mind is that the recommendation letter should be a genuine effort. In other words, whatever you write about your friend should be truthful. Nothing in the letter should be written just for the sake of it.

Sample Recommendation Letter

Though the above points will help you in writing a reference letter, there may be some who may be still confused. Hence, here is a sample letter of recommendation for a friend that will make it easier for you to write the letter.

To Whomsoever It May Concern, I am quite honored to write a reference letter for my friend Dave Princeton whom I have known since past 12 years. I have known Dave since the first year of Graduation at Wisconsin University and later we have worked together for five years at Gracia Enterprises too. Dave is a true optimist and it is his positive attitude that helps him to accomplish whatever task he is being assigned. Dave is a complete go getter, who will take that extra mile to make the project he has undertaken perfect. Moreover, he is an excellent team leader too as he not only makes sure that the projects are completed in time, but also encourages his team members to put in their best efforts. Above all his professional qualities and achievements, the thing that I admire the most in Dave is that he is a good human being. His helpful nature was not restricted to matters of studies or work, but extended to personal matters too. Dave is a good listener and this makes people to approach him with their problems which he solves with intelligence and care. For all these reasons, I would definitely recommend Dave for any job that requires enthusiasm, hard work, honesty and perfection. If you need to know any more about Dave Princeton, please feel free to contact me at my residence no. 470-4583-234. Sincerely, James Drew

Once you have written the letter, check it for grammatical and spelling errors. You can also ask your friend to go through it, before sending it to the concerned person.