Just graduated nursing school and looking for a job? Most jobs, new grad or not, will require a couple letters of recommendation (LOR) for your employer to reference. The following is a quick 5 step guide on how to ask for an amazing letter of recommendation to help you stand out!
Step 1: Type up an email
Write a generic email that sums up who you are and why you are asking for a letter of recommendation. What type of job/jobs will you be applying to? If you just graduated, you’ll likely be searching for New Grad RN positions, so be sure to say that in your email. This will be a good template to customize and reference later on.
Step 2: Who to ask
Having a good reference letter or LOR is extremely important. You want to give your potential employer as many reasons to hire you as possible and be able to back up your skills with a shining LOR. Because of this, you’re going to want to make sure you ask someone who you know will write you an outstanding letter of recommendation. Check out my post Who to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation for more info.
Step 3: Ask before you send
Before sending your email asking for a LOR, it’s a good idea to have communicated your request ahead of time. Send your recommender a quick text or email and ask them if they’d be willing to put together a letter for you. Or better yet, meet up and ask them in person! It’s likely that your recommender has written a LOR or two before. And they might already have a template, just like you. So give them a heads up to start preparing what they want to say about you in this letter.
Step 4: Make it personal
Now it’s time to customize your original email template (step 1) for whoever you will be sending this letter of recommendation request to. In your email you want to be sure to include the following things so that your LOR comes back exactly how you want it.
- First, add the recipients’ name
- Kindly ask them for a letter of recommendation for you
- State in what role you have known each other and for how long (personally or professionally)
- Mention the specific qualities/skills they have observed of you in the workplace that can apply to your future nursing role
- Give your graduation and anticipated NCLEX date
- Put down what type of job and where you’re hoping to apply to. They might know something about a particular hospital that you don’t!
- Give a timeframe of when you would like to have your LOR back. Make sure to give them an ample amount of time to type it up
- Thank them and include your email and phone number should they have any questions
It should end up looking something like this…
Hello Susan,
As mentioned, I would really appreciate it if you would put together a letter of recommendation for me. As you know, we have been working together at ___ for five years now, we started off as peers and then you became my boss while I worked and attended school. Because of this, you have seen my customer service, teamwork, communication, and leadership skills. My graduation date is in May and I plan to take my NCLEX in July. I have already started to apply to New Grad Nursing positions at the local hospitals (such as ___ and ___). I am hoping to use this letter of recommendation for my next interview and would love to have it back in three weeks (give specific date here).
Thank you for taking the time to do this for me. If you have any questions, feel free to email, text, or call me.
Carly Smith
csmith@gmail.com
123-456-7890
Pro Tip: If you already have your resume completed, it’s a good idea to include it in your email. This way your recommender can reflect on what you’ve done and include it into your LOR.
- For more information, check out my blog on Resume Tips and Tricks
Step 5: Send it
Now that you have some people in mind and an individualized email for each of them, send it! Make sure you give them a time frame to get it back to you and follow up if it’s getting close to the dead line. If you have an interview coming up in a month, you want to be sure to have the letter of recommendation beforehand. So tell your recommender that you would like to have it back in three weeks to ensure you have it in time. If your interview is next week and you’re just now asking, make sure to communicate this urgency and ask if it’s something they can get done on short notice. It’s always better to give more time. This way your recommender can think about what to say, type it, proof it, and send it back to you in pristine condition.
Don’t forget to always thank your recommender for their kind words and update them if/when you get the job!
And be sure to visit What to Expect in the First Year as a New Grad Nurse for more nursing info, good luck!