An internship letter of recommendation is a document that highlights a person’s character traits and works ethic to assist them with their application process.
A student may use a recommendation letter for a career or an academic program. The letter is written by a person who has spent time with the recommendation in a professional or educational setting.
Having worked in a supervisory role in a company or as a teacher in academic fields, it’s possible to find yourself writing an internship recommendation letter. While you may have interacted with the intern on a temporary or part-time basis, you may still write a detailed and personal letter of recommendation to help them through their job search. The following is a guide on how to make a good internship recommendation letter.
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General Components in a Recommendation Letter
Recommendation letters will always differ in their content depending on the applicant and the institution they are applying to. However, there are certain contents, and tones to maintain for an effective recommendation letter.
The following are the most important constituents of an internship recommendation letter:
A short description of the applicant
A recommendation letter should highlight qualities of the applicant that motivate the employer to award them the internship. While it is natural to want to shower the applicant with praises, the letter should remain relevant and on topic. Looks, humor, and any other irrelevant matter to the internship in question should be exempted.
Examples that illustrate positive characteristics
The letter should have a section that lists the applicant’s qualities to the employer; it should include examples of the applicant’s outgoing characteristics, such as their people skills, leadership qualities, organizational skills, good time management, and problem-solving. An internship recommendation letter should name any outgoing character relevant to the workplace that will raise the applicant’s chances of getting the internship.
Any anecdotes relevant to the internship responsibilities
An anecdote is an excellent way of offering the prospective employer perception of the applicant’s type of person. It is a brief story revealing the accounts of an incident where the author interacted with the applicant. The story’s point is to communicate a notion about the applicant through how they carried themselves out in the incident. The story may also illustrate a specific trait of the applicant.
For instance, an internship recommendation letter could include an example of when the applicant quickly found a solution to a matter in an urgent situation and how much it pleased their employer at that time. Such an anecdote would illustrate their problem-solving skills along with an ability to work under pressure.
How to Format an Internship Letter of Recommendation
The following is a breakdown of what to include in each paragraph. The letter should maintain a positive tone in a standard business letter format.
The following steps should be followed to write the letter;
First paragraph
The first paragraph explains the author’s connection with the aspiring intern that they are recommending. It includes how they know them and for how long. It is also an introduction of the author and their qualifications.
The credibility of the internship recommendation letter’s author offers an employer or admissions board the first opinion of their candidate. Therefore, the beginning of a recommendation letter should identify the author and why they are qualified to speak on behalf of the student. It should include the author’s job title, which can also be the subject or specific cause that they taught the student. Alternatively, the author may specify their role as a coordinator of a club or extracurricular activity that the applicant was actively a member of.
Second paragraph
The second paragraph is now about what the author thinks of the student in relation to why it makes them a perfect fit for the internship position. It should indicate the character traits the intern will contribute to the organization. This section should go into detail on any individual qualifications and expertise the student may possess.
Companies and universities seek candidates that they believe will contribute to and improve their organization. Hiring managers want to see how the recommended student could help grow their business and whether they have any positive attributes onboard to the company culture. Admissions counselors are looking out for students who are likely to join organizations and clubs, stay active in their education, and offer their peers assistance.
Examples best illustrate qualities that the author can get from the applicant’s academic information or cover letter.
Examples include:
Third paragraph
An internship recommendation letter is relatively brief, so the third paragraph should summarize the author’s recommendation; this is the part where they state that they recommend the student. Using phrases like ‘recommend without reservation’ shows that the author stands by the recommendation.
Final paragraph
In the final paragraph, the author should invite the employer to reach out to them for further information by providing their email address and phone number if the employer wishes to get more information from them. Alternatively, the author can have this information in the signature section of their email or return address section if they intend to send a printed letter.
Letter closing
To complete the internship recommendation letter, it should have a formal letter closing, whose importance is to convey an appropriate amount of respect to the letter’s recipient—for example, best regards, respectfully yours, with sincere appreciation, or cordially yours, among others. The author’s typed name goes after the complimentary close: always follow up with a comma and one space between them. The author may also include their title right below their name and then have an email signature section that provides their contact information.
A hard copy letter should always leave four-line spaces between the letter closing and the author’s typed name; this will give them plenty of room for their signature once the letter is printed. The author’s signature should lie between the complimentary close and their name. For a internship recommendation letter, it’s always better to include the author’s title below their name, along with their phone number and email address.
Important Considerations to Remember
An author’s biggest aim when writing an internship recommendation letter is getting the applicant accepted.
Here are a few tips to writing a convincing internship recommendation letter:
Ask the applicant for their academic information
An author should only write the internship recommendation letter after fully informing themselves about the applicant. The author should ask the student for a list of all their academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and GPA. They should also inquire about the university, job, or program that the student is applying for. The information will then guide the author on how to tailor the recommendation regarding the position they are applying to.
A chat with the student is an excellent way of learning why they are making the application and what they aspire to achieve and gain from the particular opportunity. The author can include their perspective on those wishes in the recommendation letter.
Address Your letter accordingly
It’s important to correctly address a letter since it makes the recommendation feel personalized to the reader and ensures that it reaches the intended contact person. Therefore, the author should inquire from the student, whom to address the letter to, and the person’s role in their application process. Examples of joint recipients of recommendation letters are department heads, hiring managers, program directors, or admissions counselors. In circumstances where the student doesn’t have a specific person to address their letter to, the author may address it to the office or a company’s human resources department.
If the student intends to use the internship recommendation letter for several companies, the author should keep the letter general while highlighting the applicant’s suitable attributes. For example, the applicant may be applying to several technical offices hoping to work as a mechanical engineer. With such information, the author should focus on their student’s achievements in such projects and even provide an example of the applicant’s successful awards for such projects.
Recommendation Letter For Internship Sample
To whom it may concern,
As a college professor, I constantly get requests to write internship recommendation letters. But I felt compelled to mainly write this letter regarding the applicant Grace Johnson for your Communications Internship. Grace’s passion for broadcasting and recording makes her the ideal candidate for your organization.
Grace began as a disc jockey at our school’s radio station but quickly rose to its student manager. She has represented the school in several broadcasting seminars. The feedback I constantly received from people around Grace is that her dedication to the broadcasting and her excellent time management made her a solid asset to the team.
Grace is a very responsible young lady. She has exemplary organizational skills, and she never misses her time at their station whole and never misses her classes. In my broadcast and communication class, Grace is the top performer with a lot of respect from her peers. Her high profile on the campus has also made her a resource person to other broadcast students who need clarification on matters.
I strongly advocate for you to accept Grace for your internship and watch the talented lady work for your benefit. If you require any further details, you can reach me at 777-387231-4567 or email me at [email protected].
Sincerely yours,
Mary G Lynn
Broadcast Communication Teacher
Steward International College
Recommendation Letter For PR Internship Sample
To whom it may concern
It is my pleasure to highly recommend Brandon Stevenson for a PR internship at R & M International. I am Bridget Cunningham, the dean of students at Hurling ham University. I have been a dean at the university for seven years and have seen many students come and go. Brandon Stevenson is a student that I have personally worked with, and they uniquely stood out.
Brandon Stevenson has served as the president of the student body at Hurling ham university. Brandon’s yearly re-election since his first-time vying did not come as a surprise to me nor the students at large. He has seamless people skills, outstanding communication abilities, and great respect for authority. Brandon Stevenson PR qualities particularly stood out to me in his second year of the presidency when he single-handedly talked the students out of a protest and then conducted talks between the administration and the students that reached an amicable solution.
I am confident that Brandon will be an excellent fit for a PR Internship at R & M; he brings his excellent PR skills, time management, and organizational skills on board. It will also offer this student a great learning opportunity to advance his admirable skills.
If you require any further information or specific examples, do not hesitate to contact me at 555-3875-6739 or through email at [email protected]. I would be pleased to offer elaboration on my experience with Brandon.
Sincerely,
Bridget K Cunningham
Dean of Students
Hurling ham University
Recommendation Letter For Internship Template
From,
[name]
[Address]
[City, State, Address]
Date: __
To
[name]
[Address]
[City, State, Address]
Mr./Mrs.__
Subject: Internship Reference Letter.
Dear _ [Recipient’s name and title]
I am pleased to write this reference letter on behalf of _________[name] for their internship application in your company. (He/she) _ was my student for the past years, and I am confident that they can provide outstanding results.
_____________ is particularly remarkable in working under pressure. The primary purpose of this letter is for __ to experience the actual and real-world of the _ industry. (He/she) possess the skills to ___________________ [mention their capabilities and skills].
I hope that you will consider this letter of recommendation and also think through the candidacy of __ for this internship.
Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely
[Your name]
[Your job title]
[Your email address]
[Your phone number
Conclusion
A letter of recommendation from a mentor or teacher is vital to a student’s internship application. By writing an internship recommendation letter, the author provides a character witness to the company or organization that the student is applying to. An honest and positive letter of recommendation for an internship can help students stand out from all other applicants. Follow the steps above and use our template to write an excellent internship letter of recommendation.