A college recommendation letter can be considered an important deciding factor between two candidates applying for the same job. A copy of your resume to write your college recommendation letter must be given to someone who actually writes these letters. Even people who know you since long time may not know about all your achievements. A resume can give information about your education, work, experiences, skills, interests and many other important things. Using the details from your resume into the recommendation letter will give an impression of how well the recommender knows you.
1. Every detail about your grades, volunteer opportunities, work background, sports awards and leadership accomplishments will be useful for the person who writes your college recommendation letter. The letter-writer should describe how well-rounded you are. Your resume gives the necessary information, thus the letter will focus more on your qualifications.
2. Open a resume template in Microsoft Word. Click on the “File” in the menu and click on the “New” button. After opening the “New Document” task panel under “Templates,” click on the “Templates on Office Online” button and select a resume. The template will help organize the necessary information from your resume in a logical, easy to understand sequence. This allows the individual writing your college recommendation letter better idea about your qualifications.
3. Include must include your personal information like your name, address, phone number and email address at the top on the first page of your resume. Do not include personal information such as marital status, age, religion and political affiliation.
4. Give complete idea about your educational background, mentioning the most recent education first. Also give information regarding the name and location of your school, major fields of study, your cumulative GPA and expected date of graduation.
5. List every academic award and achievement earned by you. You must necessarily include all your academic achievements that deserve recognition. All this data will equip the writer with more information about you to write your college recommendation letter. All the extracurricular activities like high school sports, clubs and leadership activities must be mentioned in your resume. Also write about the activities that show your interests which are relevant to the college. An effective letter is the one which highlights the qualities which set you apart from others. Colleges like academically inclined students but appreciate the all-rounder students.
6. Give details about your employment, with the latest jobs and internships listed first. Mention about your positions, employers, the period of your employment and a short summary of your job responsibilities. This information will give the writer an idea about your work ethic. Your employment might even justify any poor academic performance as it is understood that you got limited time to study. The writer can use this to explain why you previously didn’t do well academically but will surely excel in future.
7. Write everything about your skills, abilities and interests. You can add your technical and computer skills, expertise in a foreign language, in any. Knowledge about a foreign language would show your ability to excel in college. A personalized recommendation letter is more valuable than the one written without knowing the person being recommended.