Recommendation Letter For A Promotion (With Examples)

At some point in your career, whether you’re a manager or not, you may be asked to write a letter recommending a coworker for a promotion.

A well-written recommendation letter can have a significant amount of impact on whether or not someone gets a job, so it’s important that you put care and effort into writing your letter.

To help you do this, we’ve compiled some instructions on how to write a letter of recommendation for a promotion in addition to several example letters that you can use as a reference.

What is a letter of recommendation for a promotion?

These recommendation letters are pretty straightforward, but an important part of the hiring and promotion process. Typically a supervisor or manager will write one to recommend their direct report for a promotion within the company. They can take the form of a personal reference or a business reference, as long as they explain why the person has the professional and personal skills to succeed in the new position.

People in charge of hiring decisions will appreciate receiving a letter that is thoughtful and provides insight from someone who has already worked with the applicant. It’s another way for recruiters or HR managers to make sure the applicant is the right fit and actually has the experience listed on their resume. Taking the time to write the letter is an extra seal of approval in the eyes of your reader.

Before agreeing to take on the task of writing this letter, be sure that you are able to enthusiastically endorse this person for a new position. Recommendation letters need to be positive and glowing, so you should be comfortable writing good remarks for the person you’re recommending. Sometimes it can be better to politely decline to write a recommendation letter than write a poor one.

What do I include in a recommendation letter for a promotion?

As a professional letter, there’s a format for promotion recommendation letters, but there’s also a few key points to make sure you’re hitting. Here’s some general tips for writing a recommendation letter for a promotion

1. Introduce yourself. Your letter will carry more weight for the reader when you establish who you are, your role in the company, and your relationship with the recommended person. You don’t have to go in depth, but explaining more about yourself sets the tone for the letter.

2. Respond to the job qualifications. When writing about the applicant you’re recommending, you have to keep the job description in mind. Think about ways in which the person you’re recommending can meet or exceed the expectations and skills listed in the job description to distinguish them as a great applicant.

3. Give examples. Writing generalized comments about the person you’re recommending can give a good overview of their professional skills, but going into detail with specific examples will make them stand out. Talk about a time they rose to the occasion to finish a big project or surprised you with their industry knowledge, it’s all valuable to the person reading the letter.

4. Mention successes. Be sure to name any big successes the person you’re writing about has had, from leading a big project from start to finish or professional awards and certifications that are relevant.

5. Offer to continue the conversation. Let the person you’re writing to know that you’re willing to answer any follow up questions or make clarifications on what you’ve written. These letters are short, so offering to take the conversation to email or a phone call will allow you to explain more about why the applicant is the best fit for the promotion.

How to format a recommendation letter for a promotion

You can write an effective letter of recommendation for a promotion in four easy steps. Let’s break it down.

1. Heading. Include your name, address, phone number, and email at the beginning of your letter so the reader knows who it’s from. You’ll also need to include the date and the recipient’s heading with their name, role, company, and company address.

2. Introduction paragraph. Here you’ll include basic information like why you’re writing the letter, who you’re recommending, who you are, and what your relationship to the applicant is. You’ll want to pick two or three qualities of the person you’re recommending to highlight and state them here too for clarity.

3. Highlight the applicant’s qualities. The middle two or three paragraphs, depending on how much space you have, will explain the qualities you mentioned in the intro paragraph. This is where you can be detailed and specific about how the person you’re recommending is a good fit for the new position. Bring in anecdotes and emphasize how the person you’re recommending has been an asset to you or your team, if possible.

4. Conclusion. Make sure that you actually recommend the person you’re writing about and conclude with a few extra remarks on how they would succeed in the position or that you’re willing to give more information if needed.

Sample letters of recommendation for a promotion

Follow these simple templates to write the most effective recommendation letter for a promotion.

Tips for Writing a Recommendation Letter for a Promotion

Here are a few additional tips to help your recommendation letter truly shine:

1. Be entirely positive. A recommendation letter is meant to be a vote in favor of the person get the promotion, so save your constructive criticisms or hesitations for another time. If you don’t feel like you can honestly do this, it’s best to decline to write the letter altogether.

2. Include specifics. Hiring managers are looking for more than vague descriptions about how the person is “pleasant to work with” or “a hard worker.” Give specific examples of their strengths and successes that will serve them well in this new role.

3. Make it personal. Hiring managers will be wary of a recommendation letter that seems too generic, so don’t be afraid to share details about the person and your interactions with them that will clearly set them apart from the crowd.

4. Highlight their leadership skills. When someone’s being considered for a promotion, their leadership skills are going to be vital to whether or not they get it. Because of this, it’s a good idea to emphasize their leadership skills in your letter.

FAQs

1. How do you write a strong letter of recommendation?

   You write a strong letter of recommendation by being positive and giving examples of the person’s success that align with the job description. Recommendation letters should be nothing but positive and should even be described as “glowing.”

   Hiring managers aren’t looking to these letters for the full picture of what this person can do, they’re looking at whether or not other people say they should get the promotion or job.

   To make the greatest impact though, the positive things you write should align with the job description. This shows hiring mangers that you believe the person would be a great fit for this particular job, which carries even more weight than general compliments do.

2. How do you justify an employee for promoting?

   You justify promoting an employee by sharing how their skills would be utilized in the new position.

   In your recommendation letter for a promotion, talk about how the employee would add to the team’s culture and how they have leadership skills that should be put to use by giving them a promotion.

   You can also talk about the person’s problem-solving skills and job expertise, as well as how they’re a hard worker, a team player, and are always growing and improving.

3. What do you say when recommending someone for a promotion?

   Talk about the person’s leadership skills and other positive qualities when recommending someone for a promotion. Hiring managers want to know why they should promote this person, so don’t be afraid to be glowing in your recommendation.

The Bottom Line

With these easy templates, you can write a recommendation letter in no time.

Just make sure to follow the format of the sample letters and include key points. For the most effective promotion recommendation letter, include positive remarks about the person you’re recommending and tailor your letter to the job description when possible.

Remember, these serve as reference checks for the person you’re recommending and you want to leave a positive impression on the person you’re writing to. There you have it. Now you have all the tools to write effective recommendation letters that will get your co-workers promoted in no time.

Ask the Experts

Recommendation Letter For A Promotion Tips

Kimelyn Coleman
Job Search Coach

The individual writing a recommendation letter for someone seeking a promotion should be sure to include specific examples of the employees’ notable accomplishments. The person writing the letter should state what the employee has done to go above and beyond his/her normal day-to-day job responsibilities and should state how the employees’ efforts contributed to the betterment of the team or the organization as a whole. Personally, I feel recommendation letters are meant to set a person apart from others seeking the same opportunity, and if the recommendation letter is only stating the obvious it will not have an impact on whether or not the candidate gets the job.

Author

Amanda Covaleski

Amanda is a writer with experience in various industries, including travel, real estate, and career advice. After taking on internships and entry-level jobs, she is familiar with the job search process and landing that crucial first job. Included in her experience is work at an employer/intern matching startup where she marketed an intern database to employers and supported college interns looking for work experience.