Letter of recommendation for a software engineer/CS graduate

Question

I had a summer intern this year, and I need to write a letter of recommendation for him. Has anyone had any direct experience with this, that can shine some light on what I should be focusing on?

Answer 1

If I were receiving such a letter, I'd be interested in:

• Passion (was he interested in talking about dev stuff in general? Out of office learning?)
• Communication skills and general personal nature (did you actually enjoy having him around?)
• Design and readability intuition (does he have a nose for clean code?)

Answer 2

As an intern myself, I would expect something that describes not what I did, but how I did. Perhaps write a short paragraph (3-5 sentences) that says what I was tasked with and the rest of the letter explaining how I met and/or exceeded expectations, what your perceptions of my work ethic was, and so on.

Answer 3

Does he need the letter for another job, or for a scholarship/grant application? If the latter, then you might want to focus on different points (potential for research)

If you've had other interns in the past, it's a good idea to compare him with them (if that's in his interest). For instance, "Among the dozens of interns we've had in the past years, Bob clearly ranks in the top 5%".

I'd also mention if he was able to work independently, without a lot of supervision. Was he curious? Did he ask for help when he needed to? Would you hire him again?

Answer 4

No direct experience, but it's not different than any other letter of recommendation.

• Keep it short. A simple paragraph, 3-4 sentences, is enough. Longer passages likely won't be read, and may even be dismissed as overly attentive to a particular candidate.
• Pick the top item that really impressed you about this intern, and briefly describe how it helped you
• Pick the interns greatest strength that applies to your industry, and again briefly describe how it helped you.
• Briefly describe the project (or most impressive/useful project) that the intern worked on, and whether they met the goals.
• Indicate that you would recommend them without reservation.

If you can only recommend them with reservations, or cannot easily give three good items about them, then discuss this with the intern, and let them know that

1. You can't give them a stellar recommendation (discuss why)
2. You don't give recommendations unless they are stellar*
3. Describe three areas where they should work on improvements, and suggest ways they might do that.

Good luck!

• There are good legal reasons for this, so don't be tempted to write one with anything that could be construed as bad, but you don't need to explain the reasoning to the intern - and in fact you probably shouldn't explain it.

Further response regarding legal issues:

What may be true to you could be considered libel or slander to another.

Libel and slander are things that

• Impunges the reputation, ability or character of another;
• Is received by a third party;
• Is untrue, substantially untrue, or communicated without regard to the truth or falsity of the matter; and
• Causes damages to a person

Defenses:

• Truth of the statement
• Consent to release the information
• The fact that the statement was protected by a qualified privilege

This varies by state - check with an attorney familiar with your local laws.

This is an issue that even if untrue and defensible, will still involve a long legal process if a suit is brought against you, and so if you can't write a glowing reference you're better off explaining to them that you don't have the time, don't know them well enough, or if you desire to be blunt can't write a good recommendation than you are to give in and write something that could possibly be construed by anyone as even hinting at negativity. Don't put it off, though, let them know up front that they need to seek another source for a recommendation so they don't waste time waiting for you.

Please note that I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice, please consult with an attorney before acting on any information in this post, who will no doubt be able to provide many court cases that, whether won or lost, caused a lot of pain for the writer of the reference. (and show you the many failings of the opinion in this post, I'm sure)

Answer 5

I've written a handful of recommendations in the past, and I try to stay with

• how they do their job
• what they bring to the table
• why I want to work with them in the future
• when I first knew them, and how long
• what our differing roles were (ie, co-worker, subordinate, supervisor)

Answer 6

Include a short and concrete example of a task that you gave them and how they exceeded your expectations in their work. E.g. "I assigned him X task and gave him a deadline of 4 weeks. He finished in 2 1/2 by using Y and Z skills."

Answer 7

Some common advices:

Be specific. Don't just praise the person with generalities (such as "quick learner"), but give specific examples of things the person did to give you that impression.

Differentiate. Say how this person is unlike other people: his or her specific strengths.

Compare. When writing to someone who shares context with you, name names. ("The best employee I've had since Mr. Albert Einstein.")

Be plausible. Don't make the person out to be perfect. Often shortcomings are just ignored, but it can also be reasonable to note some, particularly if the person has started to overcome them.

Say how well you know the person, and for how long. This should come at the beginning of the letter.

State your own qualifications. How many other people of the caliber the recommender sees have you yourself seen. (For example, the best intern in years at some places might not be appropriate for another company.)

Don't be too brief. One paragraph, or two short paragraphs, is the kiss of death. However, don't ramble: make it succinct and to the point.

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From the Mayfield Handbook

Before writing the letter:

• In most cases, agree to write a letter of recommendation only if you can honestly write a supportive letter. If you cannot portray an individual positively, decline to write the recommendation.
• Ask for a current resume and as complete a description as possible of the position or program to which the person is applying.
• Assemble and review all other relevant information you may have about the person you are recommending. It is often easy to overlook some important accomplishment.

Writing the letter:

• Present the person truthfully but positively. A recommendation that paints an unrealistic picture of a candidate may be discounted. A recommendation that focuses on negative qualities may do more harm than intended.
• Tailor the recommendation to the position. A letter recommending an individual for a job as a camp counselor should contain different information from that in a letter recommending the same individual for a job as a computer programmer.
• Begin the letter by describing how you know the individual you are recommending and the specific contexts upon which you are basing your evaluation. In what situations have you known the individual? For how long? How closely?
• Present the individual's general qualities relevant to the position along with one or two detailed examples. Including vivid detail will make the recommendation much more effective.
• In most cases, a letter of recommendation should consist of three or four paragraphs and not be over one page in length.