A letter of recommendation is a short endorsement written by someone who has worked closely with a candidate: a manager, professor, mentor, or colleague. It vouches for the person's skills, character, and results so a decision-maker can trust them faster.
Admissions Committee, Kellerman School of Business
Dear Admissions Committee,
I am writing to recommend Daniel Ortiz for your MBA program without reservation. Daniel reported to me for just over three years at Brightwave Media, first as a Marketing Analyst and then as a Senior Analyst, so I have watched him grow from a capable individual contributor into someone the wider team relied on. I have managed more than 20 analysts in my career, and Daniel is among the two or three I would rehire on the spot.
What sets Daniel apart is that he turns messy problems into decisions. In his second year he rebuilt our campaign attribution model from scratch after our old one was crediting the wrong channels. The new model reallocated roughly $1.2 million in annual ad spend and lifted return on ad spend by 34% within two quarters. He did this without being asked, taught himself the underlying statistics on weekends, and then ran three training sessions so the rest of the team could actually use what he built.
Beyond the numbers, Daniel is the person others go to when a project is stuck. He is calm under deadline pressure, generous with credit, and unusually good at explaining technical work to non-technical stakeholders, a skill that made our executive reviews far smoother. When two junior analysts joined last year, he mentored both, and one has already been promoted.
Daniel has the analytical rigor, work ethic, and leadership instinct your program develops, and I am confident he will contribute as much to his cohort as he takes from it. I recommend him enthusiastically and am glad to answer any questions by phone or email.
Sincerely,
Priya Nair
People ask for one at three main moments: a job application, a grad school or scholarship application, and an internal promotion or award. In each case the letter carries weight your own resume can't, because it comes from a third party with nothing to gain.
The gap between a strong recommendation letter and a generic one is specificity. A weak letter says the person is hardworking, reliable, and a great team player, and could describe almost anyone.
A strong one names the exact role or program, states how long and in what capacity you worked together, and backs every claim with a concrete example: a project they led, a number they moved, a problem they solved under pressure. Length matters too.
One page, three or four tight paragraphs, is the sweet spot. This page gives you a complete letter of recommendation template you can adapt line by line, a section-by-section guide to writing each part, and answers to the questions people ask most, including whether you can write your own and how a recommendation differs from a reference.
Open by naming who you are, in what capacity you worked together, and for how long. "Daniel reported to me for three years as a Senior Analyst" tells the reader exactly how much weight your judgment carries. A recommendation from a direct manager of three years lands harder than one from a colleague of three weeks.
Adjectives like hardworking, reliable, and talented are forgettable because they fit anyone. Replace each one with a story: the project they rescued, the process they built, the client they saved. One vivid, verifiable example does more than a paragraph of praise.
Numbers make a recommendation credible. Name the percentage they improved, the budget they managed, the revenue they drove, or the team they led. "Lifted return on ad spend by 34%" is instantly believable in a way that "drove strong results" is not.
A letter for an MBA should emphasize leadership and analytical rigor; a letter for a startup engineering role should emphasize ownership and shipping. Ask the candidate for the job posting or program description, then choose the two or three qualities that matter most and prove those.
End with an unambiguous endorsement, not a lukewarm one, and invite the reader to follow up by phone or email. A clear "I recommend her without reservation" plus a real contact line signals you stand behind every word.
Keep the tone professional and specific. Swap in real names, dates, and details so the letter reads as genuine, not a filled-in template.
Who should write a letter of recommendation?
Choose someone who supervised or worked closely with you and can speak to your work in detail: a current or former manager, a professor, a mentor, or a senior colleague. Seniority matters less than specificity. A hands-on manager who saw your day-to-day writes a stronger letter than a distant executive who barely knows you.
How long should a recommendation letter be?
One page, three or four short paragraphs, roughly 250 to 400 words. Open with your relationship and how long you've known the person, spend the middle on one or two concrete examples with numbers, and close with a clear endorsement. Longer letters lose the reader; shorter ones feel thin.
Can you write your own letter of recommendation?
It happens more than people admit. A busy manager may ask you to draft it and then edit and sign it. If you do this, write in their voice, stay honest, and lead with real examples they can verify. But whenever possible, let the recommender write it themselves, since an authentic letter reads differently and carries more trust.
What format should a letter of recommendation follow?
Use standard business-letter format: the recommender's name and title, the date, a specific greeting when you know the recipient, three or four body paragraphs, a closing like "Sincerely," and a signature. Deliver it on company letterhead when possible and as a PDF, unless the application portal specifies otherwise.
What's the difference between a reference and a recommendation letter?
A reference is usually a name and contact detail the employer calls to verify your work, often a quick verbal Q&A. A recommendation letter is a written, detailed endorsement you submit up front, common for grad school, scholarships, and competitive roles. References confirm; recommendation letters advocate. Many applications ask for both.
