Letter of Recommendation: Template, Examples & How to Write One

1. What Is a Letter of Recommendation?

A letter of recommendation is a written statement in which one person endorses another for an opportunity, describing the qualities, experience, skills or performance that make the endorsement meaningful. Its purpose is to give a decision-maker something a resume can’t provide: an account from someone who has actually seen the person work.

In professional settings it turns up in familiar places — a job application where the employer requests written references, an internal promotion or transfer, a contractor or freelancer being considered for an engagement, a professional certification or membership, an immigration or licensing process that asks for employment verification, or simply a former employee asking you to put in writing what you would say on the phone.

Who writes one depends on the relationship that exists. A direct manager or supervisor can speak to performance, responsibilities and development. A former manager can do the same for a defined period in the past. A coworker or cross-functional colleague can describe collaboration, reliability and working style from beside the person rather than above them. A client contact, mentor or professional acquaintance can speak to a narrower slice. None of these is inherently better — what matters is whether the writer has enough direct knowledge to say something substantive.

That’s also why context matters so much to a reader. “I managed this person for three years” and “we overlapped on one project last spring” are both legitimate positions to write from, but they carry different weight, and the reader can only calibrate if you say which one applies.

Letter of recommendation vs. reference

The two words overlap and are often used loosely. “Reference” is the broader term: it can mean a person who has agreed to discuss a candidate, the contact details supplied for that purpose, or information used to verify someone’s background — a reference check is frequently a phone call rather than a document. A “letter of recommendation” is specifically the written endorsement. In practice, plenty of employers ask for a “reference letter” and mean exactly what this page describes, so read the request rather than the label, and ask the candidate what the recipient actually wants if it isn’t clear.

A note on academic recommendations

Recommendation letters also exist in education — for school, university admissions, scholarships and graduate programs — and those follow different conventions, different submission systems and different expectations about who writes them. This guide is focused on professional and employment recommendations, so if you’re writing for an academic admissions process you’ll want guidance specific to that context.

2. Letter of Recommendation Example

The complete example at the top of this page covers the most common case: a manager recommending a former employee. Here are two further full examples with genuinely different relationships behind them — one written from above, one written from the side.

Dear [Hiring Committee],

I am writing to recommend [Name] for the [senior role] position. I have managed [Name] for [time period] at [Company], where [Name] currently works as [current role].

Over the past [time period], [Name] has taken on responsibilities beyond the current role: [accurate examples — leading a recurring process, onboarding new team members, owning a client relationship, coordinating across departments]. These were not assigned as a formality; [Name] asked for them and then kept them running without escalation.

The transition into a more senior position usually depends less on technical ability than on judgment, and that is where I would place [Name]'s strongest case. When [accurate situation involving a difficult decision or competing priorities], [Name] [what they did], including flagging what they were not certain about rather than guessing.

I recommend [Name] for this role without reservation, and I am available at [contact information] if it would help to discuss specifics.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title]
[Company]

Dear [Recipient Name],

I'm writing to recommend [Name], whom I worked alongside on [project or program] at [Organization] for [time period]. I led [your function] while [Name] represented [their function], so I saw their work from the outside rather than as a manager.

That vantage point is worth naming, because what I can speak to is how [Name] worked with people who did not report to them and did not share their priorities. [Name] came to planning conversations with the constraints already mapped out, said plainly when something was not feasible in the time available, and followed through on what was agreed.

When [accurate situation — a scope change, a missed dependency, a difficult stakeholder conversation], [Name] [what they did]. It made a genuinely awkward stretch of the project manageable.

I can't speak to [Name]'s internal performance reviews or reporting relationships, but on collaboration, reliability and communication across teams, I recommend [Name] warmly.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title]
[Organization]
[Email]

Compare the second one with the first. The cross-functional writer names the limits of their view explicitly — they weren’t the manager and can’t speak to internal evaluations — and then makes a confident case within those limits. That combination of honesty about scope and specificity within it is far more persuasive than a peer writing as though they had a manager’s information. Further examples for different situations appear in section 9.

3. Letter of Recommendation Template

The template near the top of this page is the standard professional version. Two variations cover most of the remaining situations: a short letter, and one specifically for a former employee where dates and the reporting relationship matter more.

A. Standard professional template

Use the copy-and-paste template above. What each placeholder is asking for:

• • [Recipient Name / Hiring Team] — a named person if the candidate can supply one; otherwise the hiring team, or “To Whom It May Concern” when the letter is general.
• • [Position or opportunity] — the specific role if you know it, or the type of work if the letter is open-ended.
• • [Time period] — the actual duration, and dates if the relationship has ended.
• • [Relationship] — manager, supervisor, colleague, client contact. Be precise; it frames everything after it.
• • [Relevant strengths] — two or three, chosen for this opportunity rather than listed exhaustively.
• • [Specific situation] — something you personally witnessed, described in a sentence or two.
• • [Contact information] — an email you monitor, and a phone number only if you’ll take the call.

B. Short recommendation template

For a brief reference confirmation, an informal request, or a recipient who has asked for something concise:

Dear [Recipient Name],

I'm glad to recommend [Name] for [role or opportunity]. I worked with [Name] for [time period] as [relationship] at [Organization].

[Name] consistently [one relevant strength], and [one short, accurate example].

I'd be happy to answer questions at [email or phone].

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title], [Organization]

C. Former employee template

When the person no longer works with you, the reader needs dates, the scope of the role and — where appropriate — the circumstances of the departure:

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to recommend [Name], who worked with me at [Company] from [start date] to [end date] as [their role]. I was [Name]'s [manager/supervisor] for [duration of that reporting relationship].

In that role, [Name] was responsible for [core responsibilities]. [Name] handled [relevant area] consistently and [accurate description of how they worked — independently, collaboratively, under deadline pressure].

A specific example: [accurate situation you observed, what they did and what followed].

[Name] left [Company] to [accurate, neutral reason — pursue a new opportunity, relocate, continue studies], and the departure was on good terms.

I recommend [Name] for [type of role] and am happy to provide further detail at [contact information].

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title]
[Company]

One caution on that last template: some organizations restrict what managers may confirm about a former employee, sometimes to dates and job title only. Check your employer’s policy before writing on company letterhead, and consider whether the letter is being given in a personal or an official capacity.

4. How to Write a Letter of Recommendation

A practical sequence, roughly in the order you’d work through it:

1. 1. Understand what the recommendation is for. A specific job, an internal promotion, a certification, a general-purpose letter? Ask the candidate for the job description or a short summary. Everything you choose to include depends on this.
2. 2. Confirm you can honestly recommend the person. Before you agree, ask yourself whether you know enough and whether your view is positive enough to be useful. If either answer is no, say so early — see the note below.
3. 3. Review any recipient instructions. Some employers supply a form, a portal, specific questions or a deadline. Those take priority over anything on this page. Ask the candidate what was requested.
4. 4. Establish your relationship with the candidate. Open by stating your role, their role, the organization and how long you worked together. This single sentence tells the reader how much weight to give everything that follows.
5. 5. State your recommendation clearly. Don’t make the reader infer it. “I recommend [Name] for this role” is better than a paragraph of warm description with no conclusion attached.
6. 6. Choose relevant strengths. Pick two or three that matter for the opportunity rather than cataloguing everything good about the person. A letter that makes three points well beats one that makes nine vaguely.
7. 7. Support them with specific examples. For each strength, describe something you personally observed: the situation, what the person did and what followed. This is the part readers remember and the part most letters skip.
8. 8. Connect those qualities to the opportunity. Say why the thing you described is relevant to the role. If you don’t know the role well, connect to the type of work instead — don’t guess at requirements.
9. 9. Close with an appropriate endorsement. Match the strength of the close to your actual view. “I recommend without reservation,” “I recommend [Name] for this type of work” and “I would gladly work with [Name] again” are different statements; choose the true one.
10. 10. Proofread and verify every factual claim. Check names, job titles, company names, dates and any figure you’ve included. A wrong name is the fastest way to make a sincere letter look recycled.

If you don’t know the candidate well enough to write something meaningful, it is better to decline politely than to invent details. A short, honest “I don’t think I’m the right person for this — someone who worked with you more closely would give a stronger account” leaves them free to ask someone better placed. Manufacturing specificity you don’t have is the one thing you should not do.

A practical shortcut for step 1: ask the candidate for their current resume, the job description and a line or two on what they’d like emphasized. You are not obliged to follow their suggestions, and you shouldn’t include anything you can’t verify, but it saves you guessing at what the opportunity needs. If it helps to see how candidates present themselves, our guides to resume examples and skills for a resume cover the same material from the other side.

5. Letter of Recommendation Format

A conventional professional structure looks like this:

The header block — your address, the date, the recipient’s details — belongs on a formal document, particularly one on letterhead or one that will be filed. In an email, it’s noise: the date and sender are already visible, so start at the greeting.

None of this is universally required. What the format should be depends on several things:

• • Whether it’s an email or an attached document.
• • Any instructions, forms or portals the recipient has specified.
• • Conventions in your workplace, profession or sector.
• • Country and language norms, which differ considerably.

Where the recipient has stated a format, that wins. Where they haven’t, the structure above is a reasonable default rather than a rule — merging paragraphs two and three, or adding a fifth, is perfectly normal.

6. What to Include in a Recommendation Letter

Element by element, with what each is actually for:

What not to include without a valid reason

• • Private or sensitive personal information — health, family circumstances, personal difficulties. Unless the person has asked you to address something specific, leave it out.
• • Speculation — what you assume they’d be like in a job you’ve never seen them do. Describe what you observed and let the reader extrapolate.
• • Unsupported claims — superlatives with nothing behind them read as padding and weaken the parts that are substantiated.
• • Confidential employer information — internal figures, client names under NDA, unreleased plans, disciplinary records or formal evaluation content.
• • Invented metrics — a percentage you didn’t measure is a fabrication even if it feels roughly right. Describe the contribution qualitatively instead.
• • Irrelevant personal details — appearance, personal life, protected characteristics. These add nothing and can create real problems for the recipient.

If you’re unsure whether something is yours to disclose, the safe default is to describe the work rather than the record: what the person did and how they did it, rather than what an internal system says about them.

7. Letter of Recommendation for an Employee

Recommending someone you have managed is the most common version of this task, and the most useful to the reader, because you can speak to performance directly. Four situations that come up regularly, with full examples. Every name, company and detail in them is fictional — replace them with your own accurate information.

To Whom It May Concern,

I am pleased to recommend [Name], who worked on my customer service team at [Company] from [start date] to [end date]. I was [Name]'s supervisor for that entire period.

[Name] handled a daily queue of customer calls and written enquiries, including escalations that reached us after a first attempt had already gone badly. What I valued most was composure: [Name] stayed even-tempered with people who were not, and separated the problem from the frustration attached to it.

A specific example: when [accurate situation — a service outage, a billing error affecting many customers, a policy change customers disliked], [Name] [what they actually did], and colleagues began following the same approach.

[Name] also trained two new team members and wrote the short reference notes our team still uses for [process].

I recommend [Name] for customer-facing roles and would work with [Name] again. I can be reached at [email] or [phone].

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title], [Company]

Dear [Recipient Name],

I am writing to recommend [Name] for [senior position]. [Name] reported to me at [Company] for [time period] as [current or former role].

[Name] joined the team as [starting level] and grew into work that goes well beyond that description: [accurate examples — running the weekly planning meeting, owning a recurring deliverable end to end, acting as the main contact for a partner team].

Two qualities make me comfortable recommending [Name] at a more senior level. The first is judgment about when to decide and when to ask — [Name] does not stall, and does not improvise on things that need a second opinion. The second is that [Name] makes the people around them more effective, largely by documenting and explaining rather than absorbing knowledge quietly.

There is a learning curve in any step up, and [Name] will have one. Based on how [Name] handled every previous increase in responsibility, I expect it to be short.

Please contact me at [contact information] with any questions.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title]
[Company]

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to recommend [Name] for [role or type of opportunity]. [Name] worked for me at [Company] for [time period] as [role], in [industry] — a different field from the one [Name] is now moving into.

Because the industries differ, I want to be specific about what transfers. [Name]'s work involved [transferable responsibilities — scheduling, client communication, data accuracy, regulatory compliance, training others, managing suppliers]. Those are the parts I would expect to carry over directly.

[Name] is also unusually quick at learning an unfamiliar system. When we moved to [new system or process], [Name] was competent with it well before the rest of the team and ended up writing the internal instructions for it.

I can't speak to [Name]'s knowledge of [new industry], and it would be wrong of me to try. What I can say is that [Name] learns deliberately, asks good questions and does not pretend to know things they don't — which is exactly what a career change requires.

I'm happy to discuss further at [contact information].

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title]
[Company]

Dear [Hiring Team],

I am pleased to recommend [Name], who worked as [role] on my team at [Organization] for [time period].

Reliability is an unglamorous quality and it is the first thing I would say about [Name]. Shifts were covered, deadlines were met or renegotiated in advance, and when something could not be finished, I heard about it early rather than late.

Within the team, [Name] was the person others asked for help. During [accurate situation — a busy season, a period of short staffing, an onboarding wave], [Name] [what they did] without being asked and without making it a favour that needed repaying.

[Name] also took feedback well. When I raised [accurate, minor development area], the change was visible within a few weeks and it stayed.

I recommend [Name] for [type of role] and am available at [contact information].

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title]
[Organization]

Notice what these have in common. Each names the reporting relationship and its duration in the first two sentences. Each picks strengths suited to the destination rather than reciting the job description. And each describes contributions qualitatively rather than reaching for numbers — you can certainly cite a figure you genuinely know and are permitted to share, but a concrete story about a real situation is usually more persuasive than a statistic the reader can’t verify.

One more consideration for current employees: if the person is applying internally or has not yet told their manager they are looking, be careful about who sees the letter and when. Ask them how they want it handled.

8. Recommendation Letter for a Coworker

Peer recommendations are genuinely valuable. A colleague sees things a manager doesn’t: how someone behaves when the work is going badly, whether they help without being asked, how they handle disagreement, what they’re like to depend on. Readers know this, and a specific peer letter often lands better than a distant managerial one.

The thing to get right is scope. As a peer, you should describe what you actually observed and avoid writing as though you had managerial visibility. In particular, a coworker is generally not in a position to speak to:

• • Formal performance ratings or review outcomes.
• • Compensation, raises or bonus decisions.
• • Disciplinary history or HR matters.
• • Confidential evaluations or promotion discussions.

Saying so explicitly costs you nothing and makes the rest more credible. A sentence like “I was a colleague rather than a manager, so this is based on working alongside [Name] on [project]” sets the frame honestly. Two examples:

Dear [Recipient Name],

I'm writing to recommend [Name], my colleague at [Organization] for [time period]. We are peers rather than manager and report, so what follows is based on working beside [Name] on [project or ongoing work] rather than on any formal evaluation.

On [project], [Name] handled [their portion of the work] while I handled [yours]. [Name] was straightforward about status — I always knew what was done and what was not, which is rarer than it should be. When [accurate situation — a deadline moved, a requirement changed, something broke], [Name] [what they did] and kept the rest of us informed rather than quietly absorbing it.

[Name] is also good at the part of collaboration that involves disagreeing. We did not always take the same view of [accurate area], and those conversations stayed about the work.

I'd recommend [Name] to any team that needs someone dependable to work with directly.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title], [Organization]
[Email]

To Whom It May Concern,

I'm glad to recommend [Name], who has been a teammate of mine at [Organization] for [time period]. We have worked together entirely remotely, across [time zones or locations], and I've never been [Name]'s manager — so I can speak to how [Name] works day to day, not to performance reviews or internal ratings.

Remote work rewards people who communicate in writing, and [Name] is one of them. Updates arrive before they're chased. Questions are asked with enough context to answer in one pass. When something needed a real conversation rather than a thread, [Name] said so and set one up.

On [accurate shared project], [Name] [what they did], including picking up [specific piece of work] when the timing left no good options.

I'd happily work with [Name] on a distributed team again and can be reached at [email].

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title], [Organization]

It’s also worth checking whether the recipient specifically asked for a manager. If they did, a peer letter may not satisfy the requirement no matter how good it is, and the candidate should know that before they submit it.

9. Professional Recommendation Letter Examples

Five further examples covering relationships and contexts not already shown above. With the opening example, the two in section 2, the four employee letters and the two coworker letters, that makes fourteen distinct professional scenarios across this page — each with a different relationship, purpose or vantage point rather than the same letter with the job title swapped.

To Whom It May Concern,

I own [Business], a [size and type of business], and I am writing to recommend [Name], who worked here as [role] from [start date] to [end date].

In a business this size nobody has one job. [Name] handled [primary responsibility] but also covered [secondary responsibilities — ordering, opening and closing, customer complaints, scheduling] as needed, and I could leave the place in [Name]'s hands.

One thing I would highlight: [Name] noticed problems before they reached me. [Accurate example — a supplier issue, a recurring customer complaint, a process that was wasting time] was brought to me with a suggestion attached, not just a report.

I would hire [Name] again if circumstances allowed, and I am happy to speak with anyone considering [Name] at [phone] or [email].

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Owner, [Business]

Dear [Hiring Manager],

I am writing to recommend [Name], who worked on my sales team at [Company] for [time period] as [role].

[Name] worked [type of territory, segment or account base] and handled the full cycle from first contact through close and handover. Rather than quote numbers I am not in a position to share here, I would point to how [Name] worked: research before outreach, honest qualification early, and a refusal to promise things delivery could not support. That last point saved us more than one difficult renewal conversation.

When [accurate situation — a long stalled deal, a lost account, a difficult renegotiation], [Name] [what they did], including an honest post-mortem on what had gone wrong.

[Name] also mentored two newer representatives and ran our weekly pipeline review when I was unavailable.

I recommend [Name] for a sales role and can be reached at [contact information].

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title], [Company]

To Whom It May Concern,

I am pleased to recommend [Name], who worked as [administrative role] at [Organization] for [time period] under my supervision.

Administrative work is judged mostly by what does not go wrong, and very little went wrong. [Name] managed [scheduling, correspondence, records, supplier contact, travel arrangements] for [number] people, kept our filing and record-keeping in order, and handled sensitive information with appropriate discretion.

[Name] improved two processes while here: [accurate example — a scheduling system, a document template, an intake checklist]. Both are still in use.

When [accurate situation — a leadership change, an audit, an office move, a busy period], [Name] [what they did] and kept the daily work running alongside it.

I recommend [Name] without hesitation for administrative and operations support roles. Please contact me at [email] or [phone].

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title]
[Organization]

Dear [Recipient Name],

I am writing in support of [Name], who worked with me at [Organization] as [role] for [time period] and is now pursuing work in [new field].

I want to be clear about the limits of what I can say: I have not seen [Name] work in [new field], and I won't claim otherwise. What I can describe is [time period] of work in [previous field] and the qualities I observed there.

[Name] is a genuinely fast learner — when [accurate example of learning something unfamiliar], [Name] [what they did]. [Name] is also comfortable starting from a position of not knowing, asking directly rather than guessing, which is the single most useful trait someone can bring into a new field.

The overlap between the two fields is real in [specific transferable area]. Whoever hires [Name] will get someone who works methodically and does not overstate what they know.

I'm available at [contact information] for any questions.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title], [Organization]

To Whom It May Concern,

I worked with [Name] at [Organization] for [time period], where [Name] served as [role] on [project or engagement] for my department. I was the client rather than the employer, and my view is limited to that engagement.

Within it, [Name] was the person I could call. Scope was explained in plain language, timelines were realistic rather than optimistic, and when [accurate situation — a delay, a change request, a technical constraint], [Name] told me early and came with options.

At the end of the engagement, [Name] handed over documentation thorough enough that my team could maintain the work without further support. That is not typical, and it is the thing I remember.

I recommend [Name] for [type of role] and am happy to be contacted at [email].

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title], [Organization]

Two of these are worth a comment. The career-changer letter works precisely because it states what the writer cannot speak to; a recommendation that claims knowledge of an industry the writer has never worked in invites exactly the question it can’t answer. And the client-side letter is limited to one engagement, which is fine — a narrow, credible account beats a broad, thin one.

If you’re writing about someone applying to a specific posting, it can help to read the role the way they will. Our cover letter examples and resume template guides show how candidates frame the same experience from their side.

10. Short Recommendation Letter Examples

Not every recommendation needs a full page. A hiring manager asking a quick question, a brief reference confirmation, or a request that arrives with a tight deadline can all be served well by something concise. Four versions:

To Whom It May Concern,

I'm pleased to recommend [Name], whom I worked with at [Organization] for [time period] as [relationship].

[Name] is [one or two accurate strengths], and [one short, specific example you personally observed].

I recommend [Name] for [type of role] and am happy to answer questions at [email] or [phone].

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title], [Organization]

To Whom It May Concern,

[Name] worked for me as [role] at [Company] from [start date] to [end date], reporting to me directly.

In that time [Name] handled [core responsibility] reliably and [one accurate, specific strength with a brief example].

I recommend [Name] for [type of role]. Please contact me at [email] for more detail.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title], [Company]

Dear [Recipient Name],

I've worked alongside [Name] at [Organization] for [time period] as a colleague, not a manager.

Working with [Name] on [project or shared work], I found [one accurate strength] consistently true — for example, [brief specific instance].

I'd recommend [Name] to any team looking for [relevant quality]. I'm reachable at [email].

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Title], [Organization]

Subject: Recommendation for [Candidate Name]

Dear [Recipient Name],

I'm writing to recommend [Name] for [role]. [Name] worked with me at [Organization] for [time period] as [relationship].

[One or two sentences on relevant strengths, with a specific example.]

Happy to answer any questions — [phone] or reply to this email.

Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Title], [Organization]

Short does not mean vague. Each of these still does the three essential things: it says who you are in relation to the candidate, it states the recommendation, and it offers at least one specific thing you observed. What a short letter drops is elaboration, not substance. Four sentences of concrete detail are worth more than a page of general warmth, and a reader can tell the difference immediately.

11. How Long Should a Letter of Recommendation Be?

Long enough to establish the relationship, state the recommendation and provide useful evidence — and no longer than that. One focused page is a practical length in many professional contexts, but it is a convention rather than a requirement, and where the recipient specifies something different, their instruction takes priority over any general guideline.

Three broad situations, with the length that usually fits:

• • A short reference request — a few sentences to a short paragraph. Confirm the relationship, give one substantive observation, offer to say more.
• • A standard professional recommendation — roughly three to five paragraphs, commonly fitting on one page. Relationship, strengths, evidence, endorsement.
• • A detailed or formal recommendation — longer, when the recipient has asked specific questions, when the process is formal, or when you have several distinct areas worth covering.

The more useful question than word count is whether every paragraph is adding something. A letter that repeats the same praise three ways is too long at any length, and one that offers no evidence is too short even if it fills a page. When you finish a draft, look for sentences that could be deleted without the reader losing information — that’s usually where the excess is.

12. Recommendation Letter Email Example

Recommendations are frequently sent as an email rather than an attached formal document — particularly when a hiring manager has contacted you directly, or when the candidate has simply asked you to write to someone. The content is the same; the email version skips postal formatting, keeps the message in the body so it can be read without opening anything, and tends to run shorter.

Subject: Recommendation for [Candidate Name] — [Role]

Dear [Recipient Name],

I'm writing to recommend [Name] for the [role] position at [Organization]. [Name] worked with me at [Company] for [time period] as [their role], reporting to me directly.

[Name] was responsible for [core responsibilities]. What I'd highlight for a role like this one is [relevant strength]: when [accurate situation you observed], [Name] [what they did] and [what followed].

[Name] also [second relevant, accurate point — trained colleagues, managed a client relationship, kept a process running through a busy period].

I recommend [Name] for this role and would be glad to answer questions by email or at [phone].

Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Title]
[Company]
[Email] · [Phone]

Subject line examples

The subject line should describe the message accurately so it’s recognizable in a crowded inbox and findable later. Twelve patterns to adapt:

• Recommendation for [Candidate Name]
• Recommendation — [Candidate Name] for [Role]
• Professional Recommendation for [Candidate Name]
• Reference for [Candidate Name]
• Letter of Recommendation — [Candidate Name]
• Recommendation for [Candidate Name], [Role] Application
• [Candidate Name] — Recommendation from [Your Name], [Company]
• Recommendation: [Candidate Name], former [Their Role] at [Company]
• Requested Recommendation for [Candidate Name]
• Reference Letter for [Candidate Name] — [Role]
• Recommendation for [Candidate Name] (attached)
• Re: Reference request for [Candidate Name]

Recommendation for [Candidate Name]
Recommendation — [Candidate Name] for [Role]
Professional Recommendation for [Candidate Name]
Reference for [Candidate Name]
Letter of Recommendation — [Candidate Name]
Recommendation for [Candidate Name], [Role] Application
[Candidate Name] — Recommendation from [Your Name], [Company]
Recommendation: [Candidate Name], former [Their Role] at [Company]
Requested Recommendation for [Candidate Name]
Reference Letter for [Candidate Name] — [Role]
Recommendation for [Candidate Name] (attached)
Re: Reference request for [Candidate Name]

Keep the candidate’s name in the subject — recipients often file or search recommendations by the person they’re about. Avoid urgency words, all caps and anything written to provoke a click; this is correspondence, not marketing. If the recipient gave you a reference number or a specified subject line, use theirs.

If you’re attaching a formal document as well, say so in one line and still include the substance in the email body. An attachment that nobody opens is the same as no letter.

13. Common Recommendation Letter Mistakes

None of these automatically causes a candidate to be rejected — hiring decisions rest on far more than one letter, and imperfect letters accompany successful applications all the time. They simply make the letter less useful than it could be.

The honesty-related items matter most. A vague letter is a missed opportunity; an invented achievement, a borrowed metric or a claim about work you never saw creates a problem that surfaces later — in an interview, a reference check or the first weeks of the job — and it lands on the candidate as much as on you.

14. Frequently Asked Questions