VERSION A · EMPLOYEE / PROFESSIONAL REFERENCE · from a manager or supervisor
[YOUR NAME]
[Your Title] · [Organization or School]
[Street Address, City, State ZIP] · [Phone] · [Email]
[Month Day, Year]
[Recipient Name or “Hiring Committee”]
[Company Name]
[Address]
Re: Recommendation for [Candidate Full Name] — [Position Applied For]
Dear [Mr./Ms./Dr. Last Name or “Hiring Committee”],
I am pleased to recommend [Candidate Full Name] for the [Position] role at [Company]. I was [his/her/their] [direct supervisor / manager] at [Your Organization] from [Month Year] to [Month Year], where [he/she/they] worked as [Candidate’s Title] on a team of [number].
During that time, [Candidate First Name] stood out in three ways:
• [Strength 1, e.g. Reliability under pressure] — [specific example with a result: “During our peak season, [First Name] processed 30% more orders than the team average with an error rate under 1%.”]
• [Strength 2, e.g. Customer focus] — [example: “Customers asked for [him/her/them] by name; [his/her/their] satisfaction score was the highest on the team for four quarters.”]
• [Strength 3, e.g. Initiative] — [example: “[First Name] designed the checklist we still use to onboard new staff.”]
Compared with the [number] people I have supervised in similar roles, I would place [First Name] in the top [10 / 5] percent. [Optional: one honest sentence about growth, e.g. “[He/She/They] learned to delegate and now leads shift handovers.”]
I recommend [Candidate First Name] [without reservation / highly] and would gladly work with [him/her/them] again. Please contact me at [phone] or [email] if you would like more detail.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
[Your Title], [Organization]
VERSION B · STUDENT · for college, graduate school, a scholarship or an internship
[YOUR NAME]
[Your Title] · [Organization or School]
[Street Address, City, State ZIP] · [Phone] · [Email]
[Month Day, Year]
[Admissions Committee / Scholarship Committee]
[Institution or Program]
[Address]
Re: Letter of recommendation for [Student Full Name], [Program / Scholarship Name]
Dear Members of the [Admissions / Selection] Committee,
It is my pleasure to recommend [Student Full Name] for [program or scholarship]. I have known [First Name] for [number] years as [his/her/their] [teacher in Course / professor in Course / research supervisor / counselor] at [School], and [he/she/they] earned [grade or rank, if you can share it] in my class of [number] students.
[Paragraph about academic ability: a specific assignment, project, research question or improvement you saw. Name the skill — analysis, writing, lab technique, persistence — and show it with one concrete moment.]
[Paragraph about character and contribution: leadership, service, how [First Name] works with classmates, how [he/she/they] handled a setback. One example is better than five adjectives.]
[First Name] is ready for the demands of [program] because [reason tied to the program’s focus]. Among the students I have taught in [number] years, [he/she/they] ranks in the top [percent]. I recommend [him/her/them] [enthusiastically / without reservation].
Please feel free to contact me at [email] or [phone].
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
[Your Title, Department]
[School]
VERSION C · CHARACTER REFERENCE · personal reference for housing, volunteering, a club or a job
[YOUR NAME]
[Your Title] · [Organization or School]
[Street Address, City, State ZIP] · [Phone] · [Email]
[Month Day, Year]
To whom it may concern,
Re: Character reference for [Full Name]
I am writing to provide a character reference for [Full Name]. I have known [him/her/them] for [number] years as [a neighbor / a fellow volunteer at Organization / a family friend / a member of our congregation]. I am [your role or occupation], and we see each other [how often / in what setting].
In that time I have found [First Name] to be [two or three qualities, e.g. honest, dependable and generous with time]. For example, [short story that shows the qualities — e.g. “for two years [he/she/they] organized the weekly food drive and handled the donations account without a single discrepancy.”]
[Optional — for a landlord: “[First Name] keeps a tidy home, is considerate of neighbors and, to my knowledge, has always paid obligations on time.” For a volunteer role: “[He/She/They] is patient with children and takes safety rules seriously.”]
I am confident that [First Name] will be a [responsible tenant / valuable volunteer / trustworthy employee]. You are welcome to contact me at [phone] or [email].
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
[Your occupation]
VERSION D · SHORT EMAIL REFERENCE · when a recruiter asks for a quick written reference
Subject: Reference for [Candidate Full Name] Dear [Name], Thank you for reaching out. I supervised [Candidate Full Name] at [Organization] from [Month Year] to [Month Year], where [he/she/they] worked as [Title]. [First Name] was [two strengths], and [one result with a number]. I would recommend [him/her/them] for the [Position] role and am happy to speak by phone at [number]. Best regards, [Your Name], [Title], [Organization]
What to ask the person you recommend for
☐ The job posting or program description and the deadline
☐ How to submit: email, upload link, sealed letter, or a form with questions
☐ An up-to-date résumé or activity list
☐ Two or three things they would like you to mention, with examples
☐ For students: grades or work from your class, and whether they waived the right to see the letter on the application form
Phrases that help — and what to avoid
Instead of Write
“[Name] is a hard worker.” “[Name] closed 120 support tickets a week, the most on our team.”
“One of the best.” “In the top 5% of the 60 analysts I have managed.”
“Great with people.” “Resolved a dispute between two vendors that saved a $40,000 contract.”
Comments on age, health, family, religion, national origin or disability Leave them out — stick to job-related facts you saw yourself
Before you send it
Delete this page before you send or print the document.
• Use your organization’s letterhead if you write as a manager or teacher, and keep the letter to one page.
• Write only what you know first-hand; check dates, titles and numbers with your records or with the candidate.
• Follow your employer’s reference policy — some organizations allow only HR to confirm dates and job title.
• Replace every [bracket], pick one pronoun set, and delete the versions you do not use.
• Sign it, save as PDF and send it the way the recipient asked. From Layers you can see when the recipient opened it.
Fields in [SQUARE BRACKETS] must be completed or deleted. © Layers (layers.md), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). You may adapt and reuse this template with attribution.
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