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Are you debating who to ask for recommendation letters for college? Letters of rec are a very important part of your application, and strong ones can go a long way toward making you stand out among the competition.

That's why you should choose your recommenders with the same thought and care that you put into your personal essay, SAT or ACT prep, and other parts of your application. Before we dive into the key questions to ask yourself when choosing a recommender, let's review what separates the good letters from the bad ones.

Beyond helping someone get an initial hire, recommendation letters can also go a long way toward assisting someone with an internal promotion. If the promotion involves moving into a position of leadership, then a great rec letter from a supervisor or colleague can be useful in showing that the candidate's ready to move up.

In this sample reference, a supervisor recommends that a Customer Experience Advisor at a glasses company move into the position of Team Lead. Read on to see how the supervisor frames her letter.

In our brave new world of ubiquitous internet, some employees work on a remote basis, communicating with teams via email and video chat. Whether they contribute as programmers, writers, or in another field, they might work from anywhere with a wifi connection.

This letter represents this remote relationship with a clothing company manager writing for a freelance web designer. Even though the manager hasn't worked with the candidate on a day-to-day basis, he can still attest to the quality of her work, as well as touch on some of the personal characteristics that he has gotten to know.

Read on to see how the remote manager weaves a strong reference for a web designer.

If you're a college professor, you'll probably write a bunch of recommendation letters for graduate programs and even jobs. In the following sample, an English professor provides a reference letter for a former student applying to teach English in South Korea.

While this professor hasn't seen his student in a teaching role, he can attest to his English language skills and passion for immersing himself in new cultures. Read on for the sample reference letter and an analysis of what it does well.

You don't have to be somebody's boss to write her a recommendation letter. You might have a coworker ask you to write one when she applies for an internal promotion or a position outside the company.

The sample letter in this article is written by a colleague for someone applying to a leadership position at another company. As a coworker and friend to the candidate, the writer can speak both to her professional skills and to her personal interests. Read on to see how the writer supports his colleague's job application.

Have you done some volunteer work or community service and want to get a letter that shows how many hours you've completed and what jobs you did? Or maybe you need a community service letter to apply for a scholarship, job, or to a particular college? Do you know who you should ask to write the letter and what it should include?

Read on to learn what a community service letter is, why it's useful, and how you can get a great one written for you.

Did you know there are over 1.5 million internships in the U.S. each year? If you work in supervisory role in a company, chances are you might find yourself writing a letter of recommendation for an intern. While you may have gotten to know an intern on a part-time, temporary basis, you can still write a personal and detailed letter of recommendation to help her through the job search.

The following sample letter of recommendation is written by an editor at a publishing company for a recent intern. Read on for the reference letter and an analysis of what it does well.

According to the Connecticut State Department of Education, there were up to 29 applicants per teaching position in Connecticut last year! Teaching's a competitive field, so a stand-out letter of recommendation can go a long way.

In the sample letter below, a principal recommends an art teacher applying to another school due to budget cuts. Check out what the principal has to say about this teacher, and then read on for an analysis of what this letter does well.

Not all of the candidates asking for a recommendation letter are full-time or long-term employees. Even if you're writing for a part-time or temporary worker, you can still give great insight into his work performance and strengths.

In the sample letter below, a restaurant manager recommends a server who worked during summers off from college. The candidate's looking to move into his first full-time job after graduation. Read on to learn what this restaurant manager has to say.

Maybe you spent the last year interning in a business and know your supervisor could write a stellar letter about your work ethic and passion for economics. Or you have a long term music teacher who can speak to your lifelong dedication to playing the piano. Or maybe you attend a school with thousands of students and feel like you've barely said ten words to your counselor or classroom teachers all year long.

If any of these scenarios hits home, then you might be considering sending a supplemental recommendation letter along with your college application. Before sending any extra materials, though, you should think hard about whether it's the right course of action. This guide will discuss when it's appropriate to send supplemental recommendations and when you'd be better off holding back.

To start, what are some reasons students think they should send an additional rec letter?

Are you tasked with writing a recommendation letter for someone and not sure where to start? While all letters should be uniquely customized to the candidate, most share a certain fixed structure.

This guide will go over this structure piece by piece to help you through the job recommendation writing process. Read on for a recommendation letter template that you can use to shape your recommendation letter. To begin, let's review the purpose of reference letters for job seekers.

When I applied to college, I was accepted into every school I applied to, including Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, the Ivy League, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and more. While I had a strong overall application, the two teacher letters of recommendation were critical in getting me admitted.

Why? Both teachers said I was one of the top students they had ever taught. Both enthusiastically advocated for my personality, leadership skills, and energy.

How can you earn recommendation letters that will get you into your top choice colleges? I'll show you how in this article.

For the first time, I'm sharing my full, unedited letters of recommendation as examples for you. These are the exact letters submitted when I applied to college. Even better, you'll see exactly what my Harvard admissions officer underlined—what really stood out as important and noteworthy.

How important are recommendation letters in a college application? According to William Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid at Harvard, they are "extremely important."

If you're a student, examples of great letters of recommendation can help you understand how to get strong letters yourself from your teachers. If you're a teacher, the examples in this guide will inspire you to support your students strongly as they apply to college. Keep reading for four excellent letters from teachers that will get anyone into college, along with expert analysis on why they're so strong.

Short answer: yes. Long answer: there's no need to worry about checking "yes" and waiving your right to see your letters of recommendation on the FERPA waiver section of your college applications.

This article will explain exactly what FERPA is, why you're being asked to waive it, and how it impacts your letters of recommendations. To be honest, the FERPA waiver will probably be the easiest part of filling out your college applications!

School counselors play a huge role in helping students get into college. Not only do counselors support students in laying the groundwork for their applications through class selection and extracurricular involvement, but they also provide them with the very important counselor letter of recommendation.

Whether you're writing a letter yourself or getting one for your application, letter of recommendation examples can help you see why an effective letter is effective. In this guide, we've written 3 strong recommendation letter examples for you to use for inspiration.