Last week, we started a new topic, reference letter. You need a reference
letter from your professor or employer when you apply for a job, school
or scholarship. Last week, we looked at how you can write to the referee
to request a letter of recommendation. This week, we will approach the
topic from the point of view of a referee.
When you are asked to write a reference letter, you may feel that you
do not know the person well enough to provide a good reference, or that
you cannot say anything good about the person. If these are the case,
you should refuse to write the letter, rather than providing not so
good reference.
The example below is a reply to the letter requesting reference from
last week.
| Dear
Miss Wilkinson, I
feel that I am not the suitable person to comment on your academic
performance, based on one project and information from your transcript.
If I were to provide you with the reference, I would be making
the judgement from second hand information similarly to the decision
makers at Alberta. Although I gave you an A for your project,
that was my evaluation of the particular project, not on your
overall performance. You would optimize your chance of being accepted
more if you asked someone more qualified than I am.
|
The letter below is from a previous employer with whom a candidate worked
only for a short time, in reply to the letter from last week.
Your request for a letter of recommendation
from our firm cannot be granted. While the work that Mr. Anan Kongman
performed for us was always satisfactory, we do not feel that it
would be fair to you, Khun Anan or our firm to evaluate his personality
and capabilities based on a two-month tenure of employment.
If any inquiries are made of us, we will reply most favorably. We
are sorry we cannot be of any assistance at this point.
|
The only suggestion for you when writing this kind of letter is to
be honest, but diplomatic. You may find the following expressions useful:
I feel that I am not in the position to comment
on your/ the candidate's performance/ capabilities/personalities.
It would be unfair to you and our organization to evaluate your capabilities
based on …. (a short-termed employment, acquaintance).
If you receive a letter of this nature, do not take it personally.
It is better for you to know that the reference is not good, rather
than sending off a bad reference-which will be more damaging.
|
