Do you ever reminisce about your school days?
For some of us, we can still remember the never-ending nights of study, rigorous exams and hours of coursework all in the hopes of securing a bright future for ourselves.
However, as most of us discover, it’s not what you know that scores you the big corner office with the six-figure salary and fancy cars.
It’s actually a combination of who you know, who knows you and most importantly, who likes and trusts you!
Students need that network – people who can vouch for them, lend an encouraging word and put in a good recommendation. Students these days need more than glowing qualifications. They need a glowing recommendation.
Whether it’s secondary school students applying to the University of the West Indies (UWI), undergrads applying to do their post-grad degrees or students leaving school and entering the work environment, a solid recommendation letter from a teacher serves as the added boost to their career development.
So, how do we go about crafting a solid recommendation letter?
How do I write a recommendation letter?
Firstly, as a teacher you have to be aware of the audience you’re addressing. These recommendation letters are to be read by recruitment agents or hiring managers. The letter must be of a certain standard and tone.
You want to adopt a formal, yet conversational tone in Standard English so that the letter is professionally written yet easy to read. The student would not at this stage in their careers have extensive work experience, so it is ideal to keep the recommendation to one (1) single letter-sized sheet.
Remember, university recruits and hiring managers often receive hundreds of applications for a few select spots. You don’t want your recommendation to be overly long to make it harder for them to decide on your candidate. A one-page letter consisting of 3-4 paragraphs of 3-5 sentences per paragraph ought to be sufficient.
To add extra credibility to your recommendation letter, type it on the school’s letterhead and stamped with the company’s or your personal stamp (if applicable) that would show your name, official title and academic designations.
What should be included in the recommendation letter for a student?
The goal of this recommendation letter is to portray the student in the best way possible. Therefore, you are essentially selling the benefits of accepting this particular student into their organisation. The recruitment agent or hiring manager becomes your ‘customer’. Therefore, the most effective strategy is to highlight the best academic strengths and character traits the student has to get them accepted into that job or degree program.
Include an appropriate heading
Head up the recommendation letter appropriately. Start with the current date at the top on the upper left side of the page. In the next line, state the person and organisation you’re addressing, the respective department the letter is going to (Human Resources/Student Services etc.) and the organisation’s full address underneath.
How do you know the student?
After the relevant formalities, ensure that the recommendation letter is doing what its supposed to do – sell! Include how long you have known the student, what classes you taught him/her and what your teaching experience with that student was like. You would be expected to highlight the capabilities and positive attributes of the student in an enthusiastic and genuine way.
Academic achievements
It is therefore critical to mention the academic achievements of the student and extra-curricular activities such as clubs or sports he/she would have been involved in. Doing so, you are portraying the student as a well-rounded individual with a diverse skill set, potential and school experience. Apart from academics and school activities, did they receive any special awards or honors for their work?
What are their soft skills?
Employers and university recruits often look for people with more than just book knowledge or hard skills. They want candidates who can be self-reliant but also function as a team. They want candidates who can contribute value, build relationships, are self-motivated, disciplined and display exceptional management skills in terms of their time, quality of work and themselves.
As such, include details that speak to their soft skills. Describe briefly, yet clearly the work ethic of the student. Their relationship with other students and teachers. Were they punctual to classes? Were they responsible with their time to hand in assignments? Did they submit work of high quality? Are they articulate? Can they present and communicate well?
What value contributions did they make?
It is also important to consider contribution. What were their contributions to the school? Were they involved in any volunteer work or mentoring programs? Did they devote their time to school causes and events? It is important to highlight what contributions were made to sell the idea to the recruiters that this candidate is an exceptional candidate who has value and skills to contribute to your organisation.
Share these positive traits in addition to their academic achievements to allow the recruiters to see this candidate as one of their best options. Ultimately, your recommendation letter ought to make the hiring managers or agents want your student as part of their environment.
How to end the recommendation letter?
End the letter inviting the ‘customer’ to reach out to you for any further details or questions. Sign off “Yours Respectfully” or “Sincerely” with your printed name, job title, your handwritten signature and contact information – email and mobile phone number.
Student Recommended Reading
Student Career prospects
Student recommendation letter template
Download here the Letter of recommendation for Student sample and write your own. Below is a transcript of the template.
Date
Recipient’s name
Recipient’s company/organisation
Address of company
Subject: Letter of recommendation for graduate school
Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms. ______________
It is my pleasure to write this letter of recommendation for Mr./Ms___________(Student’s name). I had the privilege of being his/her teacher during secondary school at _________(Name of school). I have known him/her for the past ______ years. With this letter, I would like to recommend him/her for ________ (name of program or job position for employment) at your esteemed graduate school/company.
(Name of Student) was one of the most focused, disciplined and cooperative students of our school. He/she was always appreciated for his/her hard work and dedication towards studies and for his/her helpful nature towards me, other teachers and peers. His/her enthusiasm for learning new things together with his/her academic brilliance makes him/her an ideal candidate for the current admission openings/job position. He/she was also titled with an “High Achievers” award while he/she was a student at _________(Name of school).
I have no reservations in recommending (Name of Student) to pursue his/her higher studies from your graduate school. If you wish to speak to me for further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thanking you for your kind consideration.
Sincerely,
_________________________
(Your name)
(Your job title & designations
(Name of your school)
(Your contact information – email & mobile number)
