Avoid these mistakes while drafting a letter of recommendation

A job search or applying for admission in a school for further studies is like a marketing campaign. You have to place yourself as the product and advertise yourself in the best possible way. Resume, cover letter, and letter of recommendation are the tools that help one increasing their chances in getting the new job or admission in a new study program.

The employers or the school where you are applying for, will definitely take your advertising into account. They even know that resume and cover letters are you boasting about yourself. So, in this case they would want to know what others think and have to say about you. That’s where letter of recommendation come into picture. If you are not sure how does a letter of recommendation looks like, go on the internet and try finding sample letters of recommendations.

Preparing letter of recommendation can be trickier than you think. It is easy to go overboard and make mistakes that could possibly ruin your chances of getting admission in the school of your choice or the job of your dream. These following tips will help in avoiding the mistakes that could cost your admission in the school or post that you have applied in the company

• Do not divulge more than what is required

Don’t release your reference until you are asked for. It is important to keep your references in control. It becomes easy for an employer to pick and choose whom they will contact, if you submit reference too soon. Submit no more than 2 references if you are applying for a job. If you are enrolling for an academic course, you will have to submit the number of letter of recommendations that the school asks for. Consider a variety of sample of letter of recommendation in such cases.

• Do not provide inadequate references
  

Employers need only those references who know you from your recent job, personal references might not be entertained. The more irrelevant people you select as your reference, the harder are the chances your letter of recommendation will be considered, and thus the enrolment in the course or post for the job you have applied for.

• Overusing endorsers
  

Many people experience reference burnout. It is a situation where one or more of the references have been contacted by an employer or the school too often. It happens when you have applied for too many job posts or too many schools for the same course. The longer your job search or search for the perfect school for your further studies goes, the more likely that you might run into this problem. Hence consider alternating your references periodically.

Apart from these mistakes, look for sample letter of recommendations, if you are not sure about the format of an ideal letter of recommendation. They will help you draft a convincing letter for the applicant that wishes apply for a new job or to get admission into a study program.