Providing a perspective on how the potential employee or a candidate is, the character reference is what is needed to conclude. Some employers may ask for a character reference from your friend, colleague or acquaintance as part of the process. As it is a crucial ask by many, in this blog, you will get to know How To Write A Character Reference and other crucial components.
What Is A Character Reference?
A character reference letter allows you to vouch for someone you know or lets others vouch for you. In simple words, it is a character certificate that explains the qualities and personality of a person. Unlike professional references, this focuses on job performance and skills; character references highlight an individual’s personality and moral character.
Some of the most common ways in which it is used include:
- Legal cases
- Job applications
- Rental applications
- University admission
- Immigration or visa applications
Importance of Writing A Character Reference
Through a character reference, you can know a lot about the person, which is helpful in multiple ways. Therefore, the importance can be highlighted in many ways, which include:
Influencing Decisions In Legal/Professional Settings
If we take a look at the legal proceedings, a character reference can have an even more meaningful impact on how a judge views the defendant. Beyond any legal facts, the person will be judged based on how he/she is in real life. In a professional setting, a reference can strengthen your case, even if you lack the experience required for the job.
Adds A Personal Dimension
With the help of a character testimonial, third parties get to witness the real person. This involves personal values, behaviour, and qualities that can either assimilate or differentiate a person. Moreover, highlighting personal traits and giving it a personal touch helps decision makers see the individual as a whole.
Builds Credibility & Trust
Providing a character reference means that someone is placing their own credibility behind another person. This clearly shows trust and belief in the individual’s character. A testimonial can be immensely influential if evaluators are looking for reassurance that someone is trustworthy and dependable.
Can Be A Deciding Factor
There will be times where the decision makers will be uncertain or have multiple options at their hand. Hence, it is likely that they might get confused. Thus, a well-written and sincere testimonial can be the deciding factor and give extra assurance to choose a candidate, grant leniency, or approve a request.
Displays Support
Meanwhile, a reference goes to show that the person has a support system in the form of friends, mentors, or anyone else who is willing to help them. This is often viewed as a positive sign where people suggest enough people are present to back the person.
Challenges While Writing A Character Reference
While writing a character reference, you may commit a mistake that you might not know about. As it can lower your friends' or colleagues' chances of landing what they are seeking, it is best to know about these problems and avoid them.
Writing Too Emotionally
Being attached to a person is only natural, but drafting the testimonial completely based on that can reach a harmful outcome. Whosoever is asking for the testimonial will not take it seriously because they may think there is extreme bias involved. Moreover, judges, employers, or landlords are looking for objective information and not an emotional plea. Thus, if your friends or anyone else writes a character reference, tell them to be objective as well.
Being Too Vague
Statements such as “They're a great person” or “She's always helpful” may be too general to be meaningful. Understand, the task here is to be specific and concrete instead. You should describe particular circumstances in which the person concretely displayed honesty, kindness, responsibility, or some other positive characteristics. And if you need experts to help you out, then the Assignment Writers are the ones for you.
Using Family Members
If we take the case of close relatives and family members, generally, the outcome is biased. They will write a character reference with a personal touch, which brings the outcome to be less objective. Therefore, choosing some outside the kin is a good decision that will result in a relatively unbiased outcome.
Including Irrelevant Information
Concentrate on the characteristics and behaviours relevant to the circumstance. For example, if you are composing a reference letter for a job, only focus on the characteristics such as work ethic, collaboration skills, and dependability and not on other stories or personal experiences that are unrelated.
Submitting Without Consent
Always ensure that the individual asking for the reference is aware of precisely what information you have written and is agreeable to submitting this before you submit it. They may wish for you to customise the letter to the specific audience or situation. Appropriate communication might be undermined if they had not approved your reference letter.
Who Can Write A Character Reference?
There is no restriction as to who can write a reference letter. However, depending on the scenario, people who should be given the responsibility to write a character reference are as follows:
- Teacher or professor
- Co-worker
- Coach
- Friend
- Neighbour
- Mentor
- Volunteer or supervisor
- Family friends
How To Write A Character Reference Letter?
Now you know the various scenarios in which you will be asked to write a character reference letter. But, How To Write A Character Reference is another task.
Introduction
Your character reference should begin with a straightforward introduction. It must clearly identify the person you are referencing, your relationship to that person, and how long you have known them. This introduction lays the foundation for your credibility as a reference.
A character reference letter for a friend example might say: "My name is Laura Thompson, and I have known Jane Doe for over eight years as her friend and her volunteer partner at the local shelter." By establishing the context in which you know the person, the reader gets the idea about your relationship with the subject.
Description of Character
Remember, this letter establishes the character of a person. Thus, your goal should be to highlight the character traits of the person. To do this, you can explain instances that enhance their chances of meeting the purpose of the character reference. If you are specific, it will add credibility and emotional impact to your letter.
Relevance
The bridge between the purpose of the letter and the letter is relevance. Somehow you need to construct a story, using traits and examples that make the subject the best choice or help them. Explain to the reader how your friend, neighbour, colleague, or anyone else is the right fit.
Conclusion
When about to finish, always end on a high note. Clearly state your recommendation and support the individual using phrases like “I strongly recommend,” or “I confidently recommend,” or any similar statements. Moreover, you can add statements like “Please feel free to reach out to me”, which shows your willingness to back the subject.
Tips By Experts For Writing A Strong Character Reference
Sometimes, writing a strong character reference can be a task of pure complexity. Therefore, to overcome this hurdle, the Assignment Writers give out certain tips to polish your work.
Honesty Is The Best Policy
Being the cornerstone of effortless referencing, you need to be honest about every aspect of the letter. You must only write the reference if you truly know the person and each aspect of their character. Fabricating details can be a deadly affair, which negatively impacts your credibility, even if you have the best intentions. Thus, the best character reference example begins with honesty.
Keeping It Concise
Although being thorough is preferable, a character testimonial should be concise and direct. Aim for a letter that is approximately 300-500 words or 1 page typed. Information addicts (judges, hiring managers, landlords, etc.) read many letters and appreciate being able to get to the point and stay organised. Therefore, don’t be repetitive or use any unnecessary information.
Being Specific
Vague praises like “She is a nice person” or “He is a great guy” don't make sense to the reader. Instead, you can try to give specific examples of instances where certain qualities or traits were highlighted. These can be honesty, reliability, leadership, kindness, or anything else. Thus, being specific is the key factor that differentiates between the best and the ordinary.
Connecting With The Tone of The Purpose
A character reference for court should be respectful and formal. The reference for a job application should still be professional but may not need to be quite as formal. A character reference for rental or immigration purposes may be warm and sincere. Always consider your audience and the seriousness of the situation when choosing your words. And at the Assignment Writers, this is one of the focal points while writing a reference letter.
Thorough Proofreading
After you have completed your work, it is now time to review it by going through it all over again. The process allows you to go through every single word and sentence, so you can make the desired changes. Even if omissions are there while making the case for the subject, you can write them at this stage.
Conclusion
How To Write A Character Reference is a task that many of you will be thinking of mastering. Chances are, you're writing a character reference for a job, legal situation, rental application, or educational endeavour. A well-written character testimonial can noticeably demonstrate a person's credibility, character, and reliability, among other qualities. Moreover, knowing the format for a character testimonial, being straightforward, and noting the appropriate tone can help you to write a strong character reference.
