50+ Sample Thank You Letters for Recommendation

What Is a Thank You Letter for Recommendation?

Thank you letters for recommendation are developed by work, organization, promotion, and academic candidates who are aspiring to be considered for a particular activity, position, or endeavor. The specified document is used to provide a message of appreciation to the people that served as the candidate’s reference. However, based on the survey created by “about 52% of prospective students write the letter and get it signed from recommender”. This practice can sometimes be very harmful to any candidacy or application especially if in-depth document authenticity and reference background checks are done. With this, we highly recommend you to ask a real reference to write a thank you letter for recommendation rather than putting yourself on a situation that you would not like to be at if you are found guilty of falsifying a letter of recommendation.

If your letter for recommendation document is from a legitimate or real reference, we suggest you to write a thank you letter for recommendation. The development of a thank you letter takes much of a shorter time in comparison to the creation of a letter of recommendation. A thank you letter for recommendation serves as a courtesy note that allows an individual to know that his or her efforts are highly appreciated. This can then help you to make your reference feel good about himself or herself while allowing the bond and the trust between the two of you become stronger.

If you are demotivated or uninspired to make a thank you letter for recommendation, just keep in your mind that writing a letter of recommendation takes time. This alone should already be your motivation to show your gratitude to the person who took their time just to help you with an application or candidacy. Once you have decided to write a thank you letter for recommendation, maximize the usage of the thank you letter for recommendation templates, samples, and other document creation guides that we have listed along side the relevant discussion below.

Types of Thank You Letter for Recommendation

There is nothing more rewarding than knowing that your work or effort has been appreciated. Just as how you feel when you are congratulated by your boss for a job well done, the same goes when references receive a thank you letter for recommendation. If you are planning to make a thank you letter for recommendation, it is imperative for you to be particular with the type of the specified document that you need to make. The kind of thank you letter for a recommendation that you will come up with will depend on the key points that you want to relay or share the range of the document’s content, and the objectives and goals that you would like to achieve with the help of the specified letter. Here are some types of thank you letter for a recommendation that you can also develop:

Thank you letter for employment recommendationThank you letter for personal recommendationThank you letter for graduate school recommendationThank you letter for organization membership recommendationThank you letter for community involvement and/or management recommendationJob acceptance and/or update thank you letter for recommendation

Purpose of Writing a Thank You Letter for Recommendation

If a person created a personal recommendation of the employee for you, have the time to create a thank you letter for recommendation to showcase your appreciation and gratitude. Before you make the thank you letter, you have to know the purpose of the document’s development. Knowing the main reason/s why you are writing a thank you letter for recommendation can help you naturally list down all the things that you are thankful for as well as all the other items that you would like your reference to be aware of. Here are some of the reasons why it is important for you to write a thank you letter for recommendation:

To let your reference know that you have been accepted by an employer, an academic institution, or an organization.To showcase your thankfulness for the time and effort that your reference exerted.To maintain a healthy and lasting relationship with the reference who made the thank you letter for a recommendation.To make your reference feel the impact that his or her recommendation has made for your application.To build a humble, appreciative, and professional image which can make it easier for you to ask for another letter of recommendation should you be needing one again in the future.

Basic Elements of a Thank You Letter for Recommendation

It is very important to say thank you whenever you are recommended by other people as it only shows how you give value to the work that they have done. This can make them more than willing to recommend you again. If you want to create an excellent thank you letter for a recommendation, you have to closely look at the comprehensiveness, completion, transparency, organization, and clarity of the document’s content. Hence, it is very important for you to be aware of the elements that you must work on and consider as you try to make the letter that presents your message of appreciation. The basic elements of a comprehensive thank you letter for recommendation are as follows:

The message of appreciation or a related subject line which should be seen from the very beginning of the documentThe reason why you felt the need to write the thank you letter for recommendationThe organization of your thoughts especially when it comes to identifying the key points where you are thankful forThe value of the letter of recommendation that your reference has writtenThe additional information and/or updates with regards the process where the letter of recommendation has been usedThe closing line or paragraph that can some up your feeling of gratitude and the entirety of the letter’s content

8 Steps for Developing an Excellent Thank You Letter for Recommendation

In comparison to HR letters and other formal letters, your thank you letter for a recommendation should also be properly formatted and developed. Focus on what you would like to say and have a discussion flow that can present your thoughts in a systematic manner. Aside from this, it will also be very useful and helpful if you can refer to a standard procedure that can direct you with the proper creation of the specific thank you letter for recommendation document that you want to have. Below are eight steps that you can follow if you want to develop an excellent thank you letter for a recommendation.

1Compose the message that you would like to relay to your reference and try to use a checklist to list down all the key matters that you plan to include in the letter.2Use a thank you letter for recommendation template that you can download, modify, edit, and update so you can easily and efficiently have the document format that you need for your own thank you letter for a recommendation.3Write the date when you have written the thank you letter for recommendation followed by the inside address or the details of the letter recipient. 4Use a formal greeting to set the mood or tone of the thank you letter for recommendation.5Make a detailed introduction which specifies the purpose of the document as well as other major items that are aligned with your message of appreciation.6The main body of your letter content presentation can be composed of two to three paragraphs depending on the length of your discussion and the number of items that you want to specify.7Have an ending paragraph or phrase that can sum up the entirety of the thank you letter for recommendation’s content.8End or wrap-up the document by writing a closing greeting or a complimentary close followed by a signature line where you can write your name and/or affix your signature.

Benefits of Making a Heartfelt Thank You Letter for Recommendation

If you want to know how you can properly show your appreciation through a thank you letter for a recommendation, one of the first things that you need to do is to be as honest as possible. You need to be yourself so you can write an authentic message that your reference can feel and further appreciate. Using a thank you letter for recommendation comes with a lot of advantages, only if you can develop the letter document appropriately and effectively. Do you want to know how a thank you letter for recommendation can also be advantageous on your part? Here are some of the benefits of making a heartfelt thank you letter for recommendation:

A thank you letter for recommendation can showcase not only your professionalism but also your character since this document is developed after you have already benefited from another person’s actions.A thank you letter for recommendation can help you put your thoughts of appreciation to actual words which your reference can keep up until time eternal.A thank you letter for recommendation can give you the chance to return the joy that you have felt when you were able to convince your reference to write a letter of recommendation for you.A thank you letter for recommendation can let you further strengthen the professional and even the personal connection that you have with the reference whom you have selected to write the specified document.

Do’s and Don’ts for Creating a Standard Thank You Letter for Recommendation

Just as how effective it is to use a letter of recommendation template when formatting a letter of recommendation, we also suggest you to download an editable thank you letter for recommendation template and use it as a reference so you can create a well-formatted thank you letter for recommendation. Do you want to know more tips and tricks that can give you more outstanding ideas on how you can make the best thank you letter for recommendation? Some guidelines that you should always keep in mind when creating a standard thank you letter for recommendation are as follows:

Do find the most suitable or fit thank you letter for recommendation template so you can have the best formatting reference on-hand.Do review the initial or first draft of your standard thank you letter for recommendation before handing it to your reference so you can still have the time and the chance to edit any mistakes that you have observed in the document.Do format your standard thank you letter for recommendation in a systematic manner so you can promote easy browsing as your reference look into the details of the document.Do make your appreciation message as sincere and as believable as possible.Do use a professional language when thanking your reference, unless you plan to send an informal thank you note or message for recommendation rather than a formal letter.Do not make the thank you letter for recommendation sound too generic as this can lose the essence of the document’s usage.Do not copy the content that is already present in a pre-formatted standard thank you letter for recommendation for it is important for you to base your appreciation message with your own thoughts.

Thank You Letters for Recommendation FAQs

If you are unaware of the things that are commonly found in a standard thank you letter for recommendation document, browsing through references like templates and samples is always a good idea. More so, you should be open to asking questions especially if you find it challenging to create a compelling content for your thank you letter for recommendation. Do you know what other people have to ask with regards the specified document? Here are two of the frequently asked questions about thank you letters for recommendation:

Is writing a thank you letter for recommendation necessary?

A letter of recommendation for graduate school, or any other types of letter of recommendation for this matter, can help you with the particular application where you immersed yourself in. With this, it is only important for you to show your appreciation to the reference who decided to recommend you by writing an excellent recommendation letter. However, it is a fact that not all entities who ask another person to write a thank you letter for recommendation writes a thank you letter for recommendation. Hence, it is not required for anyone to write a thank you letter in exchange of a letter of recommendation. Even if it is not necessary for you to write a thank you letter, we still think that it can be beneficial on both parts if a thank you letter for recommendation will be made. We have already listed the benefits that you can get out of writing a thank you letter for recommendation in the discussion above and we hope that it is already enough for you to decide to develop the specified document.

How can you develop a high-quality thank you letter for recommendation?

A thank you letter for recommendation is a tangible document or material that can always remind your reference of your appreciation. You should not create a thank you letter just because you would like to take advantage of the positive emotions that your reference may have after reading or even just receiving the document. For you to have a high-quality thank you letter for recommendation, you need to be sincere. Aside from the proper formatting of the document and the organized presentation of your letter’s content, the depth of your appreciation message can impact the overall quality of the document in so many ways. Do not be too technical when making a thank you letter for recommendation as what you need to give most of your focus on is the kind of message that you would like to be translated by your reference just as how you would like him or her to.

Does making a thank you letter for recommendation appeal to you? If you are already planning to make a thank you letter for recommendation right now, we recommend you to try to check out the downloadable references that we have listed and presented in this post. Use these available templates and samples to your advantage so you can have an impressive output that can warm the emotions of the reference to whom you are thankful for. It only takes a little of your time to develop a thank you letter, make that time worth your while.