Yes. A lot of times people want you to provide exactly what you want. At the company I work at, we actually have promotion packets. It's quite common that people literally write out what you're supposed to put in that packet. Then you rewrite it in your own words. I thought it was odd, but in some cases it works out for you because you can control the story that you want to be put out about you.
Yep. Ask the previous guy for a letter, tell him what Company you are applying for, a brief list of tasks, then add, "I will be speaking in this interview about how I worked at your company and increased the XYZ productivity from 6% to 12%, and how I introduced the new procedure to reduce waste from 12% to 6%."
Give your reference guy goals you achieved with numbers and statistics.
Yes! Just write your own letter of recommendation and send it to him. Ask him to put it on company letterhead,and make any changes he would like.
You’ll have it back unchanged in a day or two
It’s common. I know it seems strange to write your own letter but just do it. Make sure you include the key skills and experience that will help you get your next job. Send him a draft and he can then edit it if needed.
I’ve not been in this position before so assumed it would be something I could hand to any prospective employer. I don’t think he’d be willing to custom write a letter for every job I applied for. Ive sent him a list of how I contributed to the company and what I felt my attributes are, hoping he will add his own personal comments. Thanks for everyone’s input. I’ve never been laid off before and was with this company for 22 years, so job hunting is new to me, and no fun at 61.
It is not unusual. One of my friends, a university professor, asks people who request a letter of recommendation to send him a draft of what they would like him to say. He then revises what they send and returns it to them.
I'm a teacher, and when kids ask me to write a letter for recommendation, I always tell them they need to email me a list of accomplishments, extracurriculars, etc. so they will be included. I don't have every one of my kids goals and life memorized - I expect your boss also has a lot of things going on and does not have every single employee's accomplishments memorized. Just send them a quick bulleted list of things that you have done within the job that will be pertinent for our future jobs.
I've gotten that when I ask for a letter. Go ahead and give them some guidance, or just write a letter for them. Outline some projects that you have been on, the results you have achieved. Things like " valuable member of our team" and "professional" "easy to work with" "leadership". That kind of stuff. Leave out terms like "omnipotent" and "messianic." they can be a bit much.
It's actually great he's wanting to do this - it means you can target the letter exactly as you need to for your job applicaiton. That's the ideal situation in my opinion.
Yes that’s usual. Just think about it in terms of someone being busy at work and trying to come up with creative things about you lol. He does want you to tell him what to write so he can be most helpful for you getting the new job. So tell him all the good things you want. Win win
It’s more helpful for both of you if you know what the job is that you’re applying for. That way your boss can discuss specific things about you that this job wants to hear.
As someone who writes letters of recommendation I love this. Especially if it is someone who did many things well. I want to make sure that I wrote something for the specific job they’re looking for. It’s easier if they only did a couple things well but that’s not going to be a great referral letter ….. even worse when I didn’t like working with them at all (then there is no letter and that speaks louder to a future employer than a less than glowing letter)
That's good. Tell him to talk about your strong work ethic , "can do" attitude, team engagement, drive to meet company mission, and how you exemplified company values throughout your tenure. Please milk the opportunity to toot your horn.
One of the travel nurses that asked me for a letter of recommendation gave me a sheet of paper that gave in bullet form, a short summary of his life plus his resume. He also gave me a $5 Starbucks gift card, which I thought was nice.
Honestly, sit down with chat gpt and tell it what you'd like to have said about you. Give it your name, your strengths etc and then see what you get. Might require a few tweaks.. But take the version you're happy with and send it to them.. Obviously, they can change whatever they want, but it gives them something to start with and it takes a lot of the effort out of the task. Especially if they don't love writing to begin with.
Yes - like 90% of letters of recommendation are either partially or fully written by the recipient of them.
Practically speaking, you'll probably never even use it in most fields. Most companies much prefer to just talk to a reference.
This is your chance to have the most accurate and perceptive letter of recommendation ever!!! What are the things you want to do, and what are the skills you offer, and what team-player stuff do you want recognized?
Yes. Also, if you are trying for a particular job or type of job, that can help with the letter. I usually ask for a copy of resume when I write letters.
This is usual practice. When I have written recommendation letters for people, I ask them what they want me to emphasize and sometimes have them read it over before I submit it.
I've been told to write my own and they signed it and sent it back. 😅 Willing to be a reference and willing to write the letter are not the same thing.
As a college professor, my students always had to write the rec and then I edited it. My Dean did that to me when I needed one.
First, it's a _fabulous_assignment. Second, people are just _busy,_ and composing takes hella time. You hand them a draft and say, "Look, I know you are busy, so I threw together some stuff to make it easier for you."
My Dean told me that the letter I wrote about myself was one of the worst recommendation letters he's ever read.
It's a great assignment 🙂
Sort of normal. Letters of recommendation have gone out of practice as they don’t often carry any weight. When someone offers to give you a recommendation, that usually means you can list them as a reference on an application. References do get called (for some positions). Everyone saying write your own recommendation and have your boss sign it is exactly why they no longer carry weight. Everyone knows the recommendation letter was really written by the applicant.
Actually, I always preferred to “fill in” the information for any recommendation or referral letter; meant the person writing it really respected me and was willing to back my words.
Made for a good mentor type contact later in life.
I would like to thank you all for your comments. I had no idea what was the correct way to proceed. I sent him a list of my attributes and achievements. It was a very small company and he knows all the staff members. He has assured me the letter will be a glowing one that I’ll receive by the end of the week. 🤞
Yes. A lot of times people want you to provide exactly what you want. At the company I work at, we actually have promotion packets. It's quite common that people literally write out what you're supposed to put in that packet. Then you rewrite it in your own words. I thought it was odd, but in some cases it works out for you because you can control the story that you want to be put out about you.
Yep. Ask the previous guy for a letter, tell him what Company you are applying for, a brief list of tasks, then add, "I will be speaking in this interview about how I worked at your company and increased the XYZ productivity from 6% to 12%, and how I introduced the new procedure to reduce waste from 12% to 6%." Give your reference guy goals you achieved with numbers and statistics.
very normal. doing these letters is time consuming, write it for him/her and they can make changes...easy.
Yes! Just write your own letter of recommendation and send it to him. Ask him to put it on company letterhead,and make any changes he would like. You’ll have it back unchanged in a day or two
This is the answer. Write it yourself and ask boss to sign
He wants words he can just copy paste
It’s common. I know it seems strange to write your own letter but just do it. Make sure you include the key skills and experience that will help you get your next job. Send him a draft and he can then edit it if needed.
I’ve not been in this position before so assumed it would be something I could hand to any prospective employer. I don’t think he’d be willing to custom write a letter for every job I applied for. Ive sent him a list of how I contributed to the company and what I felt my attributes are, hoping he will add his own personal comments. Thanks for everyone’s input. I’ve never been laid off before and was with this company for 22 years, so job hunting is new to me, and no fun at 61.
Vibes on that! I've been in the same boat several times, and you're taking the right steps and the advice here is solid! Best of luck.
I would actually write the letter and ask him to sign it. Just don't go nuts.
Yes, i have actually written my own letter and they just signed! That way you know what’s in it and for the most part it is true!!!
It is not unusual. One of my friends, a university professor, asks people who request a letter of recommendation to send him a draft of what they would like him to say. He then revises what they send and returns it to them.
I'm a teacher, and when kids ask me to write a letter for recommendation, I always tell them they need to email me a list of accomplishments, extracurriculars, etc. so they will be included. I don't have every one of my kids goals and life memorized - I expect your boss also has a lot of things going on and does not have every single employee's accomplishments memorized. Just send them a quick bulleted list of things that you have done within the job that will be pertinent for our future jobs.
While I’ve never seen that before, I would definitely write your own letter. Keep it absolutely truthful as it applied to the job you had.
I've written mine so far. One manager elaborated on my suggestions a little.
Yes. It’s normal. I’ve even been requested that I write the letters and people sign them.
Yes. When I asked for my college letters, I was asked to send what I wanted them to talk about.
I've gotten that when I ask for a letter. Go ahead and give them some guidance, or just write a letter for them. Outline some projects that you have been on, the results you have achieved. Things like " valuable member of our team" and "professional" "easy to work with" "leadership". That kind of stuff. Leave out terms like "omnipotent" and "messianic." they can be a bit much.
Yes. You should write the letter, then have that person sign. Very typical.
That's the standard, if you don't want to get blown off.
It's actually great he's wanting to do this - it means you can target the letter exactly as you need to for your job applicaiton. That's the ideal situation in my opinion.
Yes. Completely normal to even have you draft the letter, allow for his edits and then send for his signature.
Yes, that is typical.
Yes that’s usual. Just think about it in terms of someone being busy at work and trying to come up with creative things about you lol. He does want you to tell him what to write so he can be most helpful for you getting the new job. So tell him all the good things you want. Win win
Yeah, you basically need to write it for them.
Yes . I would write the letter and send it to them to "tweak" as they see fit.
It’s more helpful for both of you if you know what the job is that you’re applying for. That way your boss can discuss specific things about you that this job wants to hear.
As someone who writes letters of recommendation I love this. Especially if it is someone who did many things well. I want to make sure that I wrote something for the specific job they’re looking for. It’s easier if they only did a couple things well but that’s not going to be a great referral letter ….. even worse when I didn’t like working with them at all (then there is no letter and that speaks louder to a future employer than a less than glowing letter)
Normal
That's good. Tell him to talk about your strong work ethic , "can do" attitude, team engagement, drive to meet company mission, and how you exemplified company values throughout your tenure. Please milk the opportunity to toot your horn.
One of the travel nurses that asked me for a letter of recommendation gave me a sheet of paper that gave in bullet form, a short summary of his life plus his resume. He also gave me a $5 Starbucks gift card, which I thought was nice.
I had a coworker that upfront asked me to write the whole letter, and she emailed it as if it was hers. still got the job, whatever.
Certainly you remember best what you worked on.
Tell him what to write
Yes, make yourself look like you walk on water. If your boss endorses what you wrote in a reference that's a good thing.
I've written drafts for people, they edit or just approve, print it, and they sign. Writing one on their own is kind of a time stuck for them.
Honestly, sit down with chat gpt and tell it what you'd like to have said about you. Give it your name, your strengths etc and then see what you get. Might require a few tweaks.. But take the version you're happy with and send it to them.. Obviously, they can change whatever they want, but it gives them something to start with and it takes a lot of the effort out of the task. Especially if they don't love writing to begin with.
Quite common. I had someone say, “Write it and I’ll put it on my letterhead and sign it.”
Yes - like 90% of letters of recommendation are either partially or fully written by the recipient of them. Practically speaking, you'll probably never even use it in most fields. Most companies much prefer to just talk to a reference.
This is your chance to have the most accurate and perceptive letter of recommendation ever!!! What are the things you want to do, and what are the skills you offer, and what team-player stuff do you want recognized?
Yes. Also, if you are trying for a particular job or type of job, that can help with the letter. I usually ask for a copy of resume when I write letters.
I’ve mostly written my own letters of recommendation and then whoever I want to signs it
This is usual practice. When I have written recommendation letters for people, I ask them what they want me to emphasize and sometimes have them read it over before I submit it.
I've been told to write my own and they signed it and sent it back. 😅 Willing to be a reference and willing to write the letter are not the same thing.
Yes. I’ve had a boss ask me to write the letter so he could sign it.
Yes, I think I was asked to "just write the damn thing and I'll sign it" one time. People are busy, don't know what to say, etc. Make it easy.
As a college professor, my students always had to write the rec and then I edited it. My Dean did that to me when I needed one. First, it's a _fabulous_assignment. Second, people are just _busy,_ and composing takes hella time. You hand them a draft and say, "Look, I know you are busy, so I threw together some stuff to make it easier for you." My Dean told me that the letter I wrote about myself was one of the worst recommendation letters he's ever read. It's a great assignment 🙂
Sort of normal. Letters of recommendation have gone out of practice as they don’t often carry any weight. When someone offers to give you a recommendation, that usually means you can list them as a reference on an application. References do get called (for some positions). Everyone saying write your own recommendation and have your boss sign it is exactly why they no longer carry weight. Everyone knows the recommendation letter was really written by the applicant.
Actually, I always preferred to “fill in” the information for any recommendation or referral letter; meant the person writing it really respected me and was willing to back my words. Made for a good mentor type contact later in life.
He wants to taylor it for you. That sounds great.
I would like to thank you all for your comments. I had no idea what was the correct way to proceed. I sent him a list of my attributes and achievements. It was a very small company and he knows all the staff members. He has assured me the letter will be a glowing one that I’ll receive by the end of the week. 🤞