In recent years, a new document called “letter of recommendation” has appeared in the personnel practice of Russian enterprises. True, now only the management of large companies is asking for him when choosing specialists for filling vacant posts.
Important document
Among business papers, there are many such documents that are worth talking about in more detail. When applying for a job, each person submits a package of required documents to the personnel department. For some, you can determine his age and marital status, for others - qualifications and professional skills, and still others describe the entire career. But they do not give an absolute guarantee that the future employee is able to cope with the new position. Sometimes personnel officers resort to tricks and call the previous place of work to get the necessary information, as they say, first-hand. Sometimes they ask the candidate himself to bring such paper from former leaders. In business language, it is called a letter of recommendation.
It provides a detailed description of the personal and business qualities of the employee. Some confuse a letter of recommendation and a description. The difference between them lies in the name itself. If the second document characterizes the person as an employee and specialist, then the first recommends him or conveys the opinion that the former management had about him.
A bit of history
Interestingly, the first letter of recommendation appeared in the Middle Ages. At one time, such papers were used to confirm identity. Everyone remembers the famous D'Artagnan from the famous novel by Alexander Dumas. Going to the capital, he took with him just such letters. Why were they needed? Everything is simple here. First, in those days there were no passports or other identification documents. Secondly, such letters were a kind of guarantor or guarantee. Usually, the people who made them had a certain weight in society and a good reputation. Naturally, they listened to their opinion. In their recommendation, well-known persons briefly described a specific person, noting his positive aspects. In addition, they sometimes made postscript asking them to assist the bearer in resolving his issues. Such letters were certified with wax seals and other insignia. However, this did not prevent some citizens from forging such documents. Sometimes similar cases occur today.
Rules for compiling a document
Not everyone is able to write a letter of recommendation correctly. A sample of such a document can be prepared independently. You only need to know its structure and a few basic rules.
To begin with, it is worth noting that the following details are mandatory for such a letter:
- letterhead;
- signature of the head of the recommender;
- round stamp;
- date of compilation (it is better if it is an outgoing number).
Now you can take on the letter of recommendation itself. A sample is a text, which is conditionally better divided into several parts:
- Introductory. It contains short information about who is given the recommendation. Usually this is one sentence, which indicates the name and initials of the employee, the position he occupies and the two or three most prominent epithets that give an assessment of his personality.
- The main one. It describes the personal and professional qualities of the employee.
- The conclusion contains a conclusion about all of the above.Here, the recommender, as a rule, expresses his regrets that at one time he had to part with such a good employee and was glad for his new employer.
Special job
Many people are forced to provide a letter of recommendation to their new employer. An example of such a document is individual for each person, taking into account his specialty, skills and character.
In addition, the workplace itself leaves a special imprint. Recently, a similar method of collecting information about candidates is popular in the service sector, when a person is hired to do housework. It can be a governess, a nanny, a nurse, a gardener or a driver. In this case, the employer is a private person who would like to know in advance who he is letting into his house. Caution here will not be superfluous. Take, for example, the profession of a housekeeper. To get into a good family, she must be competitive. The selection is carried out very carefully, because everyone wants to have the best specialist. In order to interest the future owner, it is advisable for the candidate to have more than one letter of recommendation. An example of its compilation is considered a little higher.
Writing technique
Recently, many employers began to demand from potential employees to provide them with their recommendations. Some even perceive this document as a mandatory appendix to the resume. But this is not always possible, because every self-respecting manager agrees to write a letter of recommendation to an employee only if he really considers him a good specialist and person.
After all, with such paper he takes on some responsibility. Who wants to vouch for the loafer or troublemaker? In his letter, the recommender answers the following questions:
- How can he characterize his former employee?
- What weaknesses and strengths were noticed in it during work?
- Have there been any negative points?
- What was the reason for the dismissal?
All this allows us to judge how valuable this employee was. Having such a volume of information, the manager can already have a clearer picture of the candidate and make a final decision.
Legal entity recommendation
Not only individuals need good reviews. Sometimes it is required to draw up a letter of recommendation from the company. This happens for various reasons. For example, an enterprise participates in a tender for a certain amount of work. In order to confirm his superiority, in addition to economic indicators, he should provide feedback from his former partners. Here is a similar situation.
Companies that previously collaborated with him can express their views in writing on collaboration. For example, mention the timely completion of the assigned work and compliance with the deadlines set for this. You can emphasize the high professional level and competence of employees. Any positive points will come in handy. Such letters usually end with the phrase that the company recommends to everyone this company as a reliable and responsible partner. If the recommender himself is a serious and respected organization, then such a document can become a decisive factor determining the choice.
