Completing an internship is a major accomplishment and learning experience for any student or recent graduate. But to leverage your internship most effectively for future career opportunities, having a thoughtful letter of recommendation from your manager is essential.
A compelling recommendation letter that highlights your strengths achievements, and growth during the internship can help tremendously in landing your next position or getting into graduate school.
In this article, I’ll explain the process of obtaining a letter of recommendation after wrapping up an internship and provide tips for getting the strongest endorsement possible from your former supervisor.
Why You Need a Recommendation Letter
Here are some key reasons to make sure you get a letter of recommendation following an internship:
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Job applications – Many full-time positions require recommendation letters. A letter from an internship supervisor carries more weight than typical academic references since it comes from a professional setting.
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Graduate school – Admissions committees want recommendations that speak to your competence, skills and real-world experience. Letters from internship managers are perfect for this.
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Scholarships/fellowships – Applications for grants, fellowships and other programs often require professional endorsements. An internship recommendation solves this need.
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Future references – The letter serves as a detailed testimonial you can provide to future employers and contacts.
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Personal growth – The letter provides valuable feedback you can reflect on. It’s a confidence booster highlighting your positive impact.
Having this professional reference in your back pocket is invaluable support for the next steps after your internship,
When to Ask for a Recommendation Letter
First, make sure to request your letter of recommendation near the end of your internship, or immediately after it concludes. This ensures your supervisor can speak knowledgeably about your overall performance, growth and contributions.
Some good times to ask are:
- During your final weeks interning with the organization
- Right at the conclusion of the internship, such as during your exit interview
- 1-2 weeks after the internship ends and your supervisor has had time to collect their thoughts
You want to top of mind for your manager when they sit down to write the letter. Requesting too far out from the experience leads to less specific, vivid details being included.
How to Ask Your Supervisor for a Strong Letter
Here are some tips to follow when requesting a recommendation letter from your internship manager:
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Schedule a meeting – Discuss in person if possible, rather than over email. This shows sincerity.
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Share post-internship plans – Explain why you need the letter, whether for job searching, school applications, etc.
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Provide a resume – Refresh their memory about your background and qualifications.
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Highlight key achievements – Mention 1-2 big accomplishments from the internship you hope they’ll emphasize.
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Suggest broad themes – Communicate strengths and areas of growth you’d like covered.
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Discuss specific skills – Note any software, systems, tools you gained experience with.
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Provide templates – Supply letter templates and forms if required by recipient schools or employers.
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Offer to draft – Volunteering to draft the initial letter can give your manager a head start.
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Set a deadline – Give them a firm date the letter is needed by to turn it around on time.
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Follow up – Politely check in as the deadline nears in case they need a reminder.
Making the request thoughtful yet straightforward for your supervisor increases the chances of securing a detailed, glowing reference letter.
What the Recommendation Letter Should Include
To maximize your chances of admission or hire, the recommendation letter should highlight:
- Specific skills, strengths and areas you excelled in
- Key projects and contributions you took initiative on
- Instances where you solved a problem or improved a process
- Strong competencies like communication, teamwork, leadership
- Personality traits like curiosity, positivity, dedication
- Passion, creativity and strategic thinking where evident
- Quantified achievements or metrics like cost savings, sales increases, output expansion
- Glowing summary of your potential for future growth and success
The best recommendation letters support claims with detailed examples and anecdotes from your time interning together. These vivid details really bring the endorsement to life.
Help Your Manager Write the Most Impactful Letter
To set your supervisor up for composing the strongest recommendation possible, you can:
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Provide talking points – Jot down bulleted achievements, skills, strengths you’d like highlighted.
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Share work samples – Provide copies of reports, analyses, presentations that showcase your abilities.
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Describe growth – What skills did you improve? How did your thinking change? What lessons did you learn?
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Request a LinkedIn recommendation – This allows them to repurpose details from smaller endorsement to the full letter.
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Suggest sections – Propose an outline like Work Habits, Motivation, Technical Skills, etc. to help them cover multiple areas.
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Remind of challenges – What obstacles did you help overcome? These can illustrate perseverance and problem solving.
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Review together – Offer to sit with them and review a draft to spotlight key details.
Equipping your supervisor to write the strongest letter possible further boosts your candidacy for whatever comes next after your internship experience.
A glowing recommendation letter from an internship manager serves as a professional endorsement of your abilities, competence, and potential. It can give you an invaluable edge in securing your first job or coveted spot in a graduate program.
Be thoughtful yet straightforward when requesting the letter, provide helpful prompts and reminders, and give your supervisor plenty of time to craft an outstanding document that captures your unique strengths, passion, and work ethic.
With a well-composed, detailed recommendation letter highlighting your specific contributions and accomplishments, you can leverage your internship experience most effectively to launch yourself toward future success in your studies or career.
What to Include In A Letter Of Recommendation For Interns
- Title (such as A Letter Of Recommendation / Internship Reference, and so on)
- The referee’s full name either at the end of the letter in the signature or the top-left corner. The referee should add their details and address to the recipient of the letter. If the name is known, state it. If it is not, the phrase “to whom it may concern” will help.
- The applicant’s name. Such a latter would be incomplete without the candidate’s full name.
- Characteristics, duties, and abilities of the internship candidate. If the candidate has already had any work experience, their professional description should outline their responsibilities, functions, and related characteristics. If the candidate has only study experience, their background, abilities, and knowledge should be included and emphasized.
- Personal traits and capacities. To make the letter more personal and individualized, some characteristics implicitly related to the intern’s personal and professional interests, skills useful for a position should be highlighted as well.
- The signature or full name. Once the referee has described the candidate, it is essential to sign the form and write down their full name.
- Contact details. As a referee, you should provide the organization with several contact options, such as the phone number, email address, social media profile (optional), company’s or university’s title, and related details.
- The date when the letter is written and signed. It is compulsory to state the actual date on the form.
In their turn, the internship candidate must check a received letter from the beginning to the end to make sure each point is covered and there are no mistakes are. Below are a couple of samples and concise guidelines on how to create a decent internship reference letter.
Dos and Don’ts to Keep in Mind
Before introducing a couple of reference letter samples, it is essential to bear in mind several helpful hints and tips meant for referees when creating your own reference letter.
Things to Do
- Keep the optimal size. The size of the internship reference letter is about one page or even a half-page (with the more rare maximum of 1,5 pages). This is more than enough to provide a thorough review of the chosen candidate. Cut down on the general phrases and platitudes to make your letter concise.
- Attention to facts and details. Once you’ve sketched the reference letter draft, do not forget to carefully check out all the meticulous details such as the address, date, surname, and more, apart from the style and orthography. Consult our list for the crucial points to mention in the letter.
- Welcome feedback and provide enough contact details. It should be clear from your tone that you were not forced to write down the letter and would gladly accept further questions about your candidate and will readily provide any additional feedback if needed.
What to avoid
- Overly praise or critique the candidate. If, as a referee, you agreed to write a reference letter, it means you relate well with the candidate. Therefore, you should neither praise the applicant too much for inexisting qualities nor to over-criticize them. However, along with a generally positive outlook—which is by definition the main content of any reference letter—you can mention the lack of punctuality or any distracting attitude if there were such blatant precedents in your past experiences with the applicant if you cannot keep silent about them.
- Write the letter if you do not want to. If your relationships with the applicant leave much to be desired or you do not even remember their name, it is advisable to turn down the request instead of providing a far-fetched reference.
Tips on Letters of Reference
Can I write a letter of recommendation for an intern?
While you may have gotten to know an intern on a part-time, temporary basis, you can still write a personal and detailed letter of recommendation to help her through the job search. The following sample letter of recommendation is written by an editor at a publishing company for a recent intern.
Should you write a letter of recommendation?
A well-written letter of recommendation from a reputable figure can significantly improve an individual’s candidacy for a program, job or internship. If you’re a teacher, a manager or another person of high standing, you can reasonably expect that someone may ask you to write a letter of recommendation for them.
How do I get a good internship recommendation?
1. Identify the best people to ask for a letter A strong recommendation from a staff member you worked with every day can be valuable. Consider who directly observed your work during the internship, who got to know you well and who can express your best qualities. Some examples might include a professor, a supervisor or a team leader.
How do you write a resume for an internship?
Provide background information: Professors, for instance, write a lot of letters, and they also have a lot of students. Make their task easier by providing information about the internship and a reminder of how they know you. In addition, you can share a copy of your resume.
