You may have heard or even seen people asking about something called a Letter of Recommendation. Especially for Student’s Portfolios, this ends up being a requirement for them later on. But why? How could 1 letter help so much? How do you use it? And why does it matter for school? I hope I can answer these questions here today for you.
First, is the what, what is a Letter of Recommendation? The letters are a part of a Portfolio, which is basically your profile to a business or a hiring company. These are a person’s thoughts on you, from a previous job or a teacher/coach. They are like a boast from the one who wrote it. Usable to explain why you are good for work or explain redeeming qualities that others see of you. Even colleges use them to reference why they should enroll you.
This one letter, however, usually has a drawback. It’s supposed to be written by anyone BUT a relative. I can assume this is to prevent family based bias, which is good, but it does rule out people who work in businesses or sports run by their relatives. I don’t have much to complain about on that front though, so it’s not much of an issue.
The letter doesn’t have much application unless somebody wants to see it. But the letter, when they do want to, can say a lot about how other people, especially the people you worked with AND ran sports for, see your ethic on how you work. It’s a good way to determine somebody’s character, like reviews for a person written by request.
To get one written takes about 2-3 weeks. Be sure to let people who you wish to have a letter written to you know in advance so they can be thoughtful on your personalized letter! It can be the difference between a mediocre letter and one that shows how awesome you are.
HHS requires at least 2 letters of recommendation from 2 sources to be able to graduate. Without them, you might get stuck in school, so be on the lookout for opportunities to have experiences that influence your teachers to write positively about you when it matters most!
Who is good to get a letter of recommendation from? If you run sports or have attended a certain teacher’s classes for quite awhile, they can be a great judge of character for you. Bosses at work are another good choice, hence another good reason to get a job! As long as they know you well enough, they can write for you.
I do hope I’ve answered all of your questions to the best of my limited ability. If you have anymore, try speaking to your guidance counselor or a teacher well versed in Portfolios. I do hope you leave a positive impression on every teacher and coach you have, and have a good day!