Business Letter of Reference

If you’re asked to write a business letter of reference, think of it as an honor. On the other hand, how you write that letter will determine if the requestor will actually be able to use it. Often, reference letters are too brief, unclear, or are too personal. Writing a business letter of reference is not the same as a personal letter of reference. Before you begin writing, you should obtain a few things from the requestor.

It's easy to write a reference letter!

Start with the Facts

1. Copy of the person’s current resume – This is helpful to get you started; especially identifying his or her work experience you may not know about.
2. List of achievements – Ask the requestor about achievements; specifically, organizations he or she belong to and a list of any awards or recognitions. You might be surprised at what you don’t know.
3. List your knowledge – Make a list of what you know about the requestor. Use bullet points in your list of items that you feel are important to convey in your letter.

Writing a Business Letter of Reference

Recommended Formatting

Business letter writing is a lost art. If you’re confident in your letter writing skills you can quickly judge a badly written and formatted letter. When writing your reference letter, keep in mind how it reads and how it looks.

Your letter should consist of one page only and be spaced correctly on business or personal letterhead. If you need to, seek some business letter examples on the Internet so you have a better grasp of centering. Letters centered toward the top or bottom of the page are ineffective and not eye appealing. Format your letter this way:

• Date – Drop down a few lines, and then insert the date. Don’t put the date on the first line of your letter or it will appear unbalanced.
• Addressee – Write the name of the addressee, title or position of the person you are sending the letter to and include the company or organization name and full mailing address.
• Reference your letter – Underneath the person’s address double space and let the receiver know what your letter is about. The preferred format is to justify the reference to the left and not indent. Your reference would look like this: RE: Letter of Reference – John Smith.
• Salutation – Under your reference, double space again and put in your salutation. For a business letter of reference you should always use Mr. or Ms. and write Dear Mr. Jones:. Remember that a colon is better than the informal comma.
• Body of Letter – A good reference letter should contain three parts. The first paragraph should tell the reader why the person you are writing about is exceptional. The second part should include specifics you know about the person. The final part should emphasize your recommendation; provide your contact information, and a closing sentence. Try to use three paragraphs for each part of the letter.
• Signature – The signature line is formatted by dropping down two spaces after your last paragraph, writing the word Sincerely, with a comma and leaving at least three spaces before you insert your typed name so you have room to sign the letter.

Format your letter

Letter Content

What you write in your letter is as important as formatting the letter. Keep these tips in mind when writing your content.

Keep It Clean

1. Write what you feel you are capable of recommending about the person including his or her character
2. Include qualities and skills and back up what you write with examples
3. Don’t include any weaknesses about the person; this could ruin the objective of the letter
4. Tell the reader why you are qualified to write this letter
5. Emphasize key points about the person
6. Leave out items like race, age, religion, marital status, and disabilities
7. Don’t be too brief, but on the other hand, don’t make your letter longer than one page
8. List your contact information, including an email address and let the reader know you will be more than happy to talk about the person you are recommending
9. Proofread your letter before you send it out

Follow good content and formatting rules when writing your letter. Be clear and concise, yet effective in your content. Keep in mind the appearance of your letter is just as important as its content. Finally, when writing your letter, try to remember that what you say is intended to recommend the person for their business skills, not tell his or her life story or talk about personal friendships.

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