Samples of Letters of Reference Thread poster: Waleed Mohamed
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Waleed Mohamed 
United Arab Emirates
Local time: 13:40
English to Arabic
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Hello colleagues,
I am applying for a large project offered by a very important direct client. It’s my first time to deal with such client.
This client, in the job announcement, asked for signed letters of reference from at least 3 satisfied clients. The letters should be issued on the official letterhead of each client.
Now, I have to ask for a letter of reference from three of my clients. Clients are often busy to prepare and sign such letters. To save their time,... See more Hello colleagues,
I am applying for a large project offered by a very important direct client. It’s my first time to deal with such client.
This client, in the job announcement, asked for signed letters of reference from at least 3 satisfied clients. The letters should be issued on the official letterhead of each client.
Now, I have to ask for a letter of reference from three of my clients. Clients are often busy to prepare and sign such letters. To save their time, I want to send them a form for them to sign and send them back to me. Of course, it will be up to them to change the form text.
The question is: Are there any templates or forms for letters of references? Can anyone send me one?
Thanks for your help!
Waleed ▲ Collapse
| | | | Maria Karra
United States
Local time: 05:40
Member (2000)
Greek to English
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| I wouldn't use a sample | Mar 13, 2007 |
Waleed Mohamed wrote:
Now, I have to ask for a letter of reference from three of my clients. Clients are often busy to prepare and sign such letters. To save their time, I want to send them a form for them to sign and send them back to me. Of course, it will be up to them to change the form text.
The question is: Are there any templates or forms for letters of references? Can anyone send me one?
Hi Waleed,
I don't know how your clients would take this; when people ask me to act as a reference I prefer to write my own letter and express my opinion about their work in my own words.
Some of your clients might not care and actually be thankful that you wrote the letter for them, but others might get offended. You're right, clients are busy, so just make sure you tell them how important these letters are to you.
My advice: You can give them suggestions on what to write but not how to write it. The letters I write for colleagues usually include two sections: the first section is about the quality of their work (and I briefly mention their main tasks and how well they performed on each), and the second is about their personality (how easy they are to work with, whether they like sharing their knowledge, how well they work in a team, etc.).
If you like this structure, you can either send your clients a template with section titles, e.g. "quality of work", "teamwork", etc. or simply ask them to address the above points when writing their letter. In other words, give them a starting point but don't write the letter for them.
Maria
| | | | Giulia TAPPI
France
Local time: 11:40
French to Italian
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| I do agree with Maria | Mar 13, 2007 |
I recently asked some clients this kind of letter, and one of them asked me for a model, but I refused, because I thought it would not be suitable to have all the certificates looking the same!
I think each person should expres what he/she personally feels when working with you.
And, of course, I was very pleased with some of these letters, and less with others, but I accepted the way it was.
By the way, this allowed me to see which of my clients are really ready to help, and w... See more I recently asked some clients this kind of letter, and one of them asked me for a model, but I refused, because I thought it would not be suitable to have all the certificates looking the same!
I think each person should expres what he/she personally feels when working with you.
And, of course, I was very pleased with some of these letters, and less with others, but I accepted the way it was.
By the way, this allowed me to see which of my clients are really ready to help, and which ones just did it because they were asked.
Giulia ▲ Collapse
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 02:40
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam
Uhm, are you planning on asking your clients for a real letter of reference or are you simply looking for a note confirming that you accomplished a good job for them?
A letter of reference is a very important and personal thing.
I am an outsourcer myself and if anyone would even remotely dream of sending me a template, therefore considering me too illiterate or otherwise incapable of getting some lines together to express my personal opinion,
BIG OUCH.... See more Uhm, are you planning on asking your clients for a real letter of reference or are you simply looking for a note confirming that you accomplished a good job for them?
A letter of reference is a very important and personal thing.
I am an outsourcer myself and if anyone would even remotely dream of sending me a template, therefore considering me too illiterate or otherwise incapable of getting some lines together to express my personal opinion,
BIG OUCH.
One more question: You wouldn't mind sending three nearly identical, i.e. form letters to your new and prospective client? You can do better. Companies have their own style of communication. It's part of their corporate identity. Leave it to them. Besides, it might not be the first letter they have ever written..
When approaching your existing clients it would be nice and polite to have all the projects you have done for them including date already listed in one email. This might save time and will be appreciated.
Good luck, I hope this project will turn out great!
Best,
Nicole ▲ Collapse
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| It never hurts to ask... | Mar 14, 2007 |
I would say it all depends on the clients you are asking for the recommendation letter. I recently went through the same process gathering recommendation letters for grad studies. I stated the need for a letter to my teachers/employers, and gave them the option of me sending an initial template. While most of them wrote something on their own, one of my bosses who was very busy, asked me to write something for him, then he went in and changed the file after.
So it doesn't hurt to... See more I would say it all depends on the clients you are asking for the recommendation letter. I recently went through the same process gathering recommendation letters for grad studies. I stated the need for a letter to my teachers/employers, and gave them the option of me sending an initial template. While most of them wrote something on their own, one of my bosses who was very busy, asked me to write something for him, then he went in and changed the file after.
So it doesn't hurt to give them the option, and it's up to them if they want to take it or not. ▲ Collapse
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