One of my bosses has decided to retire. I’ve been with him about a year and a half. After a rough start in the beginning, (which may very well have been my own back to work after being a SAHM for a few years nerves) he’s been pleased with and very complimentary of my work. I’m a secretary/assistant to an assistant managing editor and a departmental manager. I like my job and am not really looking for another, but since he’s leaving because of an initiative to get folks off the payroll fast, I thought it might be a good idea to ask him for a letter of recommendation. He’s indicated he would. Then he suggested I write it myself giving relevant background and information I want included and he would add his remarks. Of course I agreed.
However I have no idea what an HR person, or manager would want to see.
When I left my prior position of 12 years at a large oil company, the manager at the time offered a letter of recommendation in my departure interview. However, as I was leaving her office when the interview ended she said for me to write it myself and she would sign it. The offer of a letter, and then the instruction to write it right then,so threw me on the afternoon of my last day that I never bothered. Prior to my departure from that company it hadn’t occured to me to ask managers who indicated they were pleased with my work for recommendation letters. While I left voluntarily, prior to that decision I hadn’t thought I would ever leave the company.
I’m good at what I do. I’ve been told more than once, by more than one manager that I’m the best secretary (or assistant) they’ve had. I just have no idea what it is specifically that is different or better than their former secretaries. In my former life I could have relied on my past performance reviews, had I had the composure and time to think about it. I’ve been given brief attaboy emails, thankyousavedourbutts flowers, and restaurant gift certificate kudos, but I’ve never had a review here.
Enough background. What does a potential employer, HR person or manager want to see in a letter of recommendation?
When I’m assessing applicants for a post, I wouldn’t normally expect to see references or letters of recommendation until the shortlisting stage. This may be different in other countries or sectors (I’m UK, public sector and charity/non profits). I’m sometimes a bit wary of unsolicited letters of recommendation, so I think it would be helpful for your boss to begin with a statement about his pending retirement, and his desire to put some information about your performance on file. This would reassure me that it wasn’t just a way of ducking some of the questions I would ask for in a solicited reference.
In our recruitment process, we assess across the following areas of competence: focus (task management), people focus (including interpersonal skills), vision, analytical skills, fluency (written and oral), and inspirational capabilities (both within the organisation and with others). A letter of recommendation which gave examples of good performance against some of these competencies would be useful to me in making an appointment. I’d also be interested in decision making capabilities and good judgement. Practical common sense is not normally assessed in the formal part of the recruitment, so any evidence of this would also be a big plus.
I am also wondering whether you could use this as an opportunity to get some feedback from your boss. It’s sad that you have never had any indication of what it is that makes you better than previous assistants. Some examples from your boss would really give you a good idea of how he perceives your strengths and so how to market your abilities in the future.
Failing this, would it be possible for you to talk this through with a friend and use that person as a sounding board to identify what you do well? I’m responsible for running a number of development centres, and have seen that most people have a good idea of what they do well, particularly when they are trying to pin this against one of the competencies, for example, fluency or an ability to be inspiring. This might be a way of identifying content for the letter of recommendation in the absence of a review.
Make sure you include all the keywords: proficient, responsible, punctual, flexible, detail oriented, organized, etc. Describe the “perfect” employee.