What is Letter of Recommendation?

A letter of Recommendation is one of the documents required by the foreign universities and companies for the purpose for enrolling students in higher studies programs and for job purposes. A letter of recommendation is usually issued by your teacher, professor or your previous employer.

There are two kinds of letter of recommendation:
1). LOR for Academic Purpose
2). LOR for Job Purpose

Most of the foreign universities ask for LOR along with other important documents like Statement of Purpose (SOP), Bio-Data (Resume/CV), Academic records, Exam Results etc when you apply for admission to higher study programs.

Similarly, when you apply for job either in your own country or in any foreign country many companies ask for letter of recommendation from your previous employer to know your professional background.

The letter of Recommendation is nothing but a reflection of your past performances from your previous employers and teachers who knows you well because you had worked with them. When you work for organization your employer knows your strength, your weakness, your skills, and your academic knowledge also. So, your previous employer can tell your future employer that what is your strength in work, how is your behaviour in work, whether you are hardworking or a smart working person. In what you are good at and in what area you are weak. So, the letter of recommendation is a very helpful document for your future employer to judge your strength so that your current employer can utilize the best out of you for the growth of his organization.

Who write the Letter of Recommendation?

For admission to foreign universities the letter of recommendation is issued by your school teacher if you are applying for under graduate courses or if you are applying for higher studies then your college professor who taught you in your graduation course is the right person to be contacted to ask for Letter of Recommendation.
A letter of Recommendation should always be taken from the teacher or professor who has taught you any subject especially the one in which you are applying for higher studies. Only a teacher/professor who had taught you in your previous class or course can describe about your strength, weakness, achievements and other accomplishments that you have achieved in your previous courses.
Similarly, for job purpose the letter of recommendation is issued by the previous employer. A previous employer can share with your current employer that how was his/her experience with you in your previous job. What are your key areas in which you are good at and what are the weak areas.

What should be the format of Letter of Recommendation?
Sometimes the format is provided by the universities that you can share with you professor then accordingly your professor will provide you the letter of recommendation that you can submit in the university you applying for admission.
And if no such format is provided by the organization or the university then you can simply ask for a LOR from your previous employer or professor as per your requirement. So, the LOR provided by your professor you can submit that in the university you have applied for and you can submit the LOR to the organization you are applying for the job provided by your previous employer.

How many Letters of Recommendation is Required?
It depends upon university to university. Some universities simply ask for one LOR and some universities ask for two-three LORs. So, if two-three LORs are asked for then you can contact your teachers who had taught you and ask them to issue you a letter of recommendation highlighting all the essential points required by the university to enrol you in their program.
For Job purpose normally a single LOR is required especially on behalf of the team head, manager or the supervisor under whom you had worked in your previous organization. One should not provide a fake LOR because your current employer can anytime verify your credentials from your previous employer.

LOR has to be provided on Letter Head
LOR is always provided on the letter head of the university or the letter head or the organization. So, when you ask for the LOR make sure that your professor or previous employer has provided you the letter or recommendation on his/her official letter head otherwise the LOR will have no value and there are chances that if it has not been given on the letter head then university could refuse to accept it. So, remember all the points mentioned above while asking for the letter of recommendation from your teacher, professor or the previous employer.