{"id":788,"date":"2022-04-06T03:38:03","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T03:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-oswego-businesscommunicationmgrs2\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=788"},"modified":"2023-04-28T16:51:24","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T16:51:24","slug":"8-5","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-oswego-businesscommunicationmgrs2\/chapter\/8-5\/","title":{"raw":"8.5 Goodwill Messages and Recommendations","rendered":"8.5 Goodwill Messages and Recommendations"},"content":{"raw":"<header><\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>LEARNING OBJECTIVES<\/h3>\r\n1. Write routine message types such as goodwill messages\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nShare the love! Rather than an optional cherry on top, goodwill messages are as essential to healthy professional relationships as they are in personal ones. Thank-you, congratulatory, and sympathy notes add an important, feel-good human touch in a world that continues to embrace technology that isolates people while being marketed as a means of connecting them. The goodwill that such messages promote makes both sender and receiver feel better about each other and themselves compared with where they\u2019d be if the messages weren\u2019t sent at all. In putting smiles on faces, such notes are effective especially because many people don\u2019t send them\u2014either because they feel that they\u2019re too difficult to write or because it doesn\u2019t even occur to them to do so. Since praise for some can be harder to think of and write than criticism, a brief guide on how to do it right may be of help here.<b><\/b>\r\n<h1 id=\"chapter-424-section-1\" class=\"section-header\">THE 5 S\u2019S OF GOODWILL MESSAGES<\/h1>\r\nWhether you\u2019re writing thank-you notes, congratulatory messages, or expressions of sympathy, follow the \u201c5 S\u201d principles of effective goodwill messages:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Specific:<\/strong>\u00a0Crafting the message around specific references to the situation that it addresses will steer such messages away from the impression that they were boilerplate template statements that you plagiarized.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Sincere:<\/strong>\u00a0A goodwill message will come off as genuine if it\u2019s near to what you would say to the recipient in person. Avoid clich\u00e9 Hallmark-card expressions and excessive formality such as\u00a0<em>It is with a heavy heart that I extend my heartfelt condolences to you in these sad times.<\/em><\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Selfless:<\/strong>\u00a0Refer only to the person or people involved rather than yourself. The spotlight is on them, not you. Avoid telling stories about how you experienced something similar in an attempt to show how you relate.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Short:<\/strong>\u00a0Full three-part messages and three-part paragraphs are unnecessary in thank-you notes, congratulatory messages, or expressions of sympathy, but appropriate in recommendations that require detail. Don\u2019t make the short length of the message deter you from setting aside time to draft it.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Spontaneous:<\/strong>\u00a0Move quickly to write your message so that it follows closely on the news that prompted it. A message that\u2019s passed its \u201cbest before\u201d date will appear stale to the recipient and make you look like you can\u2019t manage your time effectively (Guffey et al., 2016, p. 144).<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h1 id=\"chapter-424-section-2\" class=\"section-header\">THANK-YOU NOTES<\/h1>\r\nIn the world of business, not all transactions involve money. People do favors for each other, and acknowledging those with thank-you notes is essential for keeping relations positive. Such messages can be short and simple, as well as quick and easy to write, which means not sending them when someone does something nice to you appears ungrateful, rude, and inconsiderate. Someone who did you a favor might not bother to do so again if it goes un-thanked. Such notes are ideal for situations such as those listed in Table 9.12.\r\n<h2><a id=\"t852\"><\/a>TABLE 8.12 COMMON REASONS FOR EXPRESSING THANKS IN PROFESSIONAL SITUATIONS<\/h2>\r\n<table>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th>Sender<\/th>\r\n<th>Recipient<\/th>\r\n<th>Favour<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Employer<\/td>\r\n<td>Employee<\/td>\r\n<td>The employee went above and beyond the call of duty, perhaps under exceptionally difficult circumstances.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Employee<\/td>\r\n<td>Employer<\/td>\r\n<td>The employer gave the employee an opportunity for promotion.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Employee<\/td>\r\n<td>Coworker<\/td>\r\n<td>The employee mentored the co-worker so that the latter looked good to customers and management.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Applicant<\/td>\r\n<td>Employer<\/td>\r\n<td>The employer is considering hiring the job applicant, who sends a thank-you message within 24 hours after a job interview.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Applicant<\/td>\r\n<td>Previous employer<\/td>\r\n<td>The job applicant sends their previous employer a thank-you note for endorsing them as a reference.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Business<\/td>\r\n<td>Customer<\/td>\r\n<td>The customer ordered products or services.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Business<\/td>\r\n<td>Customer<\/td>\r\n<td>The customer complained about the service, enabling the business to improve and better meet customer expectations.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Business<\/td>\r\n<td>Another business<\/td>\r\n<td>One business endorsed another, directing customers their way.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Customer<\/td>\r\n<td>Employee<\/td>\r\n<td>The employee (e.g., restaurant server) demonstrated exceptional customer service, perhaps under difficult circumstances.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>One person<\/td>\r\n<td>another<\/td>\r\n<td>One person\u2019s act of kindness, including kind words said or sent, gifts given, or hospitality extended, was appreciated.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nIn most situations, email or text is an appropriate channel for sending thank-you messages. As we shall see below, sending a thank-you note within 24 hours of interviewing for a job is not just extra-thoughtful but close to being an expected formality. To stand out from other candidates, hand-writing a thank-you card in such situations might even be a good idea.\r\n\r\nFollowing the 5 S\u2019s of goodwill messages given above, a typical thank-you email message for a favour might look like the following:\r\n\r\n<em>Hi Alanna,<\/em>\r\n\r\n<em>I just wanted to thank you for putting in a good word for me with your manager. She told me today that I came highly recommended, and I knew right away who that came from\u2014only the most kind and thoughtful person I\u2019ve ever had the pleasure of working with! I really appreciate all the help you\u2019ve given me over the years, but especially for bringing me this opportunity. It means a lot to me and my family.<\/em>\r\n\r\n<em>If there\u2019s anything I can help you with in return\u2014anything at all\u2014you name it. I owe you one.<\/em>\r\n\r\n<em>Many thanks,<\/em>\r\n\r\n<em>Jeremy<\/em>\r\n\r\nNotice that this message is short, specific to the situation that prompted it, sincere, relatively selfless, and spontaneously sent the day of the incident that prompted it. It would certainly bring a smile both to the recipient and sender, strengthening their professional bond.\r\n<h1 id=\"chapter-424-section-3\" class=\"section-header\">CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES<\/h1>\r\nCelebrating the successes of your professional peers shows class and tact. It\u2019s good karma that will come back around as long as you keep putting out positive energy. Again, the 5 S\u2019s apply in congratulatory messages, especially selflessness. Such messages are all about the person you\u2019re congratulating. You could say, for instance,\u00a0<em>I really admire how you handled yourself with such grace and poise under such trying circumstances in the field today.<\/em>\r\n<h1 id=\"chapter-424-section-4\" class=\"section-header\">EXPRESSIONS OF SYMPATHY<\/h1>\r\nFew situations require such sincerity and care with words as expressions of sympathy. Misfortune comes upon us all, and tough times are just a little more tolerable with the support of our friends, family, and community\u2014including those we work with. When the loved-one of a close associate dies, for instance, expressing sympathy for their loss is customary, often with a card signed by everyone in the workplace who knows the bereaved. You can\u2019t put an email on the mantle like you can a collection of cards from people showing they care.\r\n\r\nWhat do you say in such situations? A simple\u00a0<em>I\u2019m so sorry for your loss<\/em>, despite being a stock expression, is better than letting the standard Hallmark card\u2019s words speak for you (Guffey et al., 2016, p. 147). In some situations, laughter\u2014or at least a chuckle\u2014may be the best medicine, in which case something along the lines of Emily McDowell\u2019s witty\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/emilymcdowell.com\/collections\/empathy-cards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Empathy Cards<\/a>\u00a0would be more appropriate. McDowell\u2019s\u00a0<em>There Is No Good Card for This: What to Say and Do When Life Is Scary, Awful, and Unfair to People You Love<\/em>\u00a0(2016) collaboration with empathy expert Kelsey Crowe, PhD, provides excellent advice. Showing empathy by saying that you know how hard it can be is helpful as long as you don\u2019t go into any detail about their loss or yours. Remember, these messages should be selfless, and being too specific can be a little dangerous here if it produces traumatic imagery. Offering your condolences in the most respectful, sensitive manner possible is just the right thing to do.\r\n<h1 id=\"chapter-424-section-5\" class=\"section-header\">REPLYING TO GOODWILL MESSAGES<\/h1>\r\nIt wouldn\u2019t go over well if someone thanked you for your help and you just stared at them silently. The normal reaction is to simply say\u00a0<em>You\u2019re welcome!<\/em>\u00a0Replying to goodwill messages is therefore as essential as writing them. Such replies must be even shorter than the messages that they respond to. If someone says a few nice things about you in an email about something else, always acknowledge the goodwill by saying briefly \u201cThank you very much for the kind words\u201d somewhere in your response. Without making a mockery of the situation by thanking a thank-you or shrugging off a compliment, returning the love with nicely worded and sincere gratitude is the right thing to do (Guffey et al., 2016, p. 147).\r\n<h1 id=\"chapter-424-section-6\" class=\"section-header\">RECOMMENDATION MESSAGES AND REFERENCE LETTERS<\/h1>\r\nRecommendation messages are vital to getting hired, nominated for awards, and membership into organizations. They offer trusted-source testimonials about a candidate\u2019s worthiness for whatever they\u2019re applying to. Like the r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and cover letter they corroborate, their job is to persuade an employer or selection committee to accept the person in question. To be convincing, recommendation and reference letters must be the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Specific:<\/strong>\u00a0Recommendation and reference letters must focus entirely on the candidate with details such as examples of accomplishments, including dates or date ranges in months and years. A generic recommendation plagiarized from the internet is worse than useless because it makes the applicant look like they\u2019re unworthy of a properly targeted letter.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>True:<\/strong>\u00a0Exaggerations and outright lies will hurt the candidate when found out (e.g., in response to job interview questions and background checks). They will spoil the chances of any future applicants who use recommendations from the same untrustworthy source if the employer sees that source cross their desk again.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Objective:<\/strong>\u00a0An endorsement from a friend or family member will be seen as subjective to the point of lacking any credibility. Recommendations must therefore come from a business owner, employer, manager, or supervisor who can offer an unbiassed assessment.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nNot all employers require recommendation letters of their job candidates, so only bother seeking a recommendation letter when it\u2019s asked for. Opinions are divided on whether such documents are actually useful, since they are almost always \u201cglowing\u201d because they tend not to say anything negative about the applicant despite the expectation that they be objective. Some employers\u2014especially in larger organizations\u2014are instructed not to write recommendation letters (or are limited in what they can say if called for a reference) because they leave the company that writes them open to lawsuits from both the applicant and recipient company if things don\u2019t work out.\r\n\r\nOn the other hand, recommendation letters provide potential employers with valuable validation of the job applicant\u2019s claims, so it\u2019s worth knowing how to ask for one and what to ask for if they\u2019re required as part of a hiring process. Even if it may be some years before you\u2019re in a position to write such letters yourself, knowing what information to provide the person who agrees to write you a recommendation is useful to you now. Indeed, since most managers are busy people, they might even ask you to draft it for them so they can plug it into a company letterhead template, sign it, and send it along. If so, then you could ghost-write it using the following section as your guide.<b><\/b>\r\n<h2>RECOMMENDATION LETTER ORGANIZATION<\/h2>\r\nA recommendation letter is a direct-approach message framed by a modified-block formal letter using company letterhead. The most effective letters are targeted to an employer for a specific job application, though it\u2019s not uncommon to request a \u201cTo Prospective Employers\u201d recommendation letter without a recipient address to be distributed as part of any job application. In any case, the following represents the standard expectations employers have for recommendation letter content and organization:\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li><strong>Opening:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Identify the applicant by<strong>\u00a0name<\/strong>, the\u00a0<strong>position<\/strong>\u00a0sought, and the<strong>\u00a0confidential<\/strong>\u00a0nature of the letter\u2014e.g.,\u00a0<em>This confidential letter is written at the request of Elizabeth Barrie in support of her application for the position of Legal Assistant at Bailey &amp; Garrick Law<\/em>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Clarify the writer\u2019s\u00a0<strong>relationship<\/strong>\u00a0to the applicant and the<strong>\u00a0length<\/strong>\u00a0of its duration\u2014e.g.,\u00a0<em>For three years I have been Ms. Barrie\u2019s supervisor at Stanton &amp; Sons Legal Counsel and can therefore say with confidence that she would be a valuable addition to your firm<\/em>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Body:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Identify the job applicant\u2019s previous duties\u2014e.g.,\u00a0<em>Ms. Barrie began working for us as a part-time legal research assistant during her studies in the Law Clerk program at Algonquin College. She began with mainly clerical duties such as preparing official legal documents and archiving our firm\u2019s records.<\/em><\/li>\r\n \t<li>Give examples of the applicant\u2019s accomplishments and professional attributes. Wherever achievements are quantifiable, include numbers\u2014e.g.,\u00a0<em>After initiating and executing a records digitization project involving over 12,000 files, Ms. Barrie conducted more extensive legal research activities. Her superior organizational skills and close attention to detail made her a highly dependable assistant that our six associate lawyers and two partners relied on heavily to conduct research tasks. Her conscientiousness meant that she required very little direction and oversight when performing her duties.<\/em><\/li>\r\n \t<li>Compare the applicant to others\u2014e.g.,\u00a0<em>Without a doubt, Ms. Barrie has been our most productive and trusted legal assistant in the past decade.<\/em><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Closing:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Summarize and emphatically state the<strong>\u00a0endorsement<\/strong>\u2014e.g.,\u00a0<em>Any law firm would be lucky to have such a consummate professional as Ms. Barrie in their employ. I highly recommend her without reservation. If you would like to discuss this endorsement further, please contact me at the number above.<\/em><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nBecause honesty is of paramount importance in a recommendation letter, including specific evidence of performance flaws wouldn\u2019t be out of place, especially if used in a narrative of promotion and improvement. Including criticism of the candidate helps the credibility of the endorsement because it makes it more believable. After all, no one is perfect. Criticism resolved by a narrative of improvement, however, strengthens the endorsement even further. Consider, for instance, how good this looks:\r\n\r\n<em>Ms. Barrie tended to sacrifice quantity of completed research tasks to quality, completing perhaps 17 out of an expected 25 assignments per day. However, she increased her speed and efficiency such that, in her last year with us, she was completing more tasks with higher accuracy than any other assistant we\u2019ve ever had.<\/em>\r\n\r\nOf course, this general frame for recommendations can be adapted and either extended or trimmed for channels other than letters. LinkedIn, for instance, allows users to endorse each other, but the small window in which the endorsement appears favors a smaller wordcount than the typical letter format. In that case, one paragraph of highlights and a few details is more appropriate than several paragraphs, especially if you can get several such endorsements from a variety of network contacts.<b><\/b>\r\n<h2>HOW TO REQUEST A RECOMMENDATION LETTER<\/h2>\r\nWhen a recommendation is necessary, be sure to ask a manager or supervisor who\u2019s known you for two years or more if they can provide you with a\u00a0<em>strong<\/em>\u00a0reference. If they can\u2019t\u2014because they\u2019re prohibited from doing so by company policy or they honestly don\u2019t think you\u2019re worthy of an endorsement\u2014they\u2019ll probably just recommend that you find and ask someone who would. Don\u2019t be shy about asking for one, though. If they aren\u2019t directed otherwise, management understands that writing such messages is part of their job. They got to where they are on the strength of references and recommendations from their previous employers, and the \u201cpay-it-forward\u201d system compels them to provide the same for the people under\u2014people like you. That way, you too can move up in your career.\r\n\r\nKnowing that every employment situation you\u2019re in provides an opportunity for a reference when it\u2019s time to move on, you should always do your best so that you can get a strong reference out of it. Even in jobs that you dislike or that bore you, strive to exemplify the advice on employer-impressing professional behavior's given. Consider also that if a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 lists references at the end but omits them for certain job experiences, a hiring manager will wonder why you weren\u2019t able to get a reference for that job. It certainly could have been due to company policy prohibiting managers from providing references for legal reasons or conflict with management that was entirely their fault; without the full picture, however, the omission opens the door to doubts about the candidate.\r\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\r\n<h3>EXERCISES<\/h3>\r\n<img class=\"alignleft wp-image-29\" src=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/app\/uploads\/sites\/103\/2018\/03\/writing.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/app\/uploads\/sites\/103\/2018\/03\/writing.png 150w, https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/app\/uploads\/sites\/103\/2018\/03\/writing-65x65.png 65w\" alt=\"\" width=\"70\" height=\"70\" \/>1. Partner up with a classmate you admire. If you don\u2019t have a LinkedIn profile already, start one by following the general advice in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/communicationatwork\/chapter\/9-2-resumes-and-online-applications#9211\/\">\u00a79.2.1.1<\/a>\u00a0and specific advice provided in the websites linked there. Write an endorsement for your partner in LinkedIn following the general principles in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/communicationatwork\/chapter\/8-5-goodwill-messages-and-recommendations\/#856\">\u00a78.5.6<\/a>\u00a0above.\r\n\r\n2. Write a thank-you note to the partner who wrote you an endorsement in LinkedIn following the advice in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/communicationatwork\/chapter\/8-5-goodwill-messages-and-recommendations\/#852\">\u00a78.5.2<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/communicationatwork\/chapter\/8-5-goodwill-messages-and-recommendations\/#855\">\u00a78.5.5<\/a>\u00a0above.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>REFERENCES<\/h2>\r\n<p class=\"hangingindent\">Guffey, M.E., Loewy, D., &amp; Almonte, R. (2016).\u00a0<em>Essentials of business communication<\/em>\u00a0(8th Can. ed.). Toronto: Nelson.<\/p>","rendered":"<header><\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>LEARNING OBJECTIVES<\/h3>\n<p>1. Write routine message types such as goodwill messages<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Share the love! Rather than an optional cherry on top, goodwill messages are as essential to healthy professional relationships as they are in personal ones. Thank-you, congratulatory, and sympathy notes add an important, feel-good human touch in a world that continues to embrace technology that isolates people while being marketed as a means of connecting them. The goodwill that such messages promote makes both sender and receiver feel better about each other and themselves compared with where they\u2019d be if the messages weren\u2019t sent at all. In putting smiles on faces, such notes are effective especially because many people don\u2019t send them\u2014either because they feel that they\u2019re too difficult to write or because it doesn\u2019t even occur to them to do so. Since praise for some can be harder to think of and write than criticism, a brief guide on how to do it right may be of help here.<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"chapter-424-section-1\" class=\"section-header\">THE 5 S\u2019S OF GOODWILL MESSAGES<\/h1>\n<p>Whether you\u2019re writing thank-you notes, congratulatory messages, or expressions of sympathy, follow the \u201c5 S\u201d principles of effective goodwill messages:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Specific:<\/strong>\u00a0Crafting the message around specific references to the situation that it addresses will steer such messages away from the impression that they were boilerplate template statements that you plagiarized.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sincere:<\/strong>\u00a0A goodwill message will come off as genuine if it\u2019s near to what you would say to the recipient in person. Avoid clich\u00e9 Hallmark-card expressions and excessive formality such as\u00a0<em>It is with a heavy heart that I extend my heartfelt condolences to you in these sad times.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong>Selfless:<\/strong>\u00a0Refer only to the person or people involved rather than yourself. The spotlight is on them, not you. Avoid telling stories about how you experienced something similar in an attempt to show how you relate.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Short:<\/strong>\u00a0Full three-part messages and three-part paragraphs are unnecessary in thank-you notes, congratulatory messages, or expressions of sympathy, but appropriate in recommendations that require detail. Don\u2019t make the short length of the message deter you from setting aside time to draft it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Spontaneous:<\/strong>\u00a0Move quickly to write your message so that it follows closely on the news that prompted it. A message that\u2019s passed its \u201cbest before\u201d date will appear stale to the recipient and make you look like you can\u2019t manage your time effectively (Guffey et al., 2016, p. 144).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1 id=\"chapter-424-section-2\" class=\"section-header\">THANK-YOU NOTES<\/h1>\n<p>In the world of business, not all transactions involve money. People do favors for each other, and acknowledging those with thank-you notes is essential for keeping relations positive. Such messages can be short and simple, as well as quick and easy to write, which means not sending them when someone does something nice to you appears ungrateful, rude, and inconsiderate. Someone who did you a favor might not bother to do so again if it goes un-thanked. Such notes are ideal for situations such as those listed in Table 9.12.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"t852\"><\/a>TABLE 8.12 COMMON REASONS FOR EXPRESSING THANKS IN PROFESSIONAL SITUATIONS<\/h2>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Sender<\/th>\n<th>Recipient<\/th>\n<th>Favour<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Employer<\/td>\n<td>Employee<\/td>\n<td>The employee went above and beyond the call of duty, perhaps under exceptionally difficult circumstances.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Employee<\/td>\n<td>Employer<\/td>\n<td>The employer gave the employee an opportunity for promotion.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Employee<\/td>\n<td>Coworker<\/td>\n<td>The employee mentored the co-worker so that the latter looked good to customers and management.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Applicant<\/td>\n<td>Employer<\/td>\n<td>The employer is considering hiring the job applicant, who sends a thank-you message within 24 hours after a job interview.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Applicant<\/td>\n<td>Previous employer<\/td>\n<td>The job applicant sends their previous employer a thank-you note for endorsing them as a reference.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Business<\/td>\n<td>Customer<\/td>\n<td>The customer ordered products or services.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Business<\/td>\n<td>Customer<\/td>\n<td>The customer complained about the service, enabling the business to improve and better meet customer expectations.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Business<\/td>\n<td>Another business<\/td>\n<td>One business endorsed another, directing customers their way.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Customer<\/td>\n<td>Employee<\/td>\n<td>The employee (e.g., restaurant server) demonstrated exceptional customer service, perhaps under difficult circumstances.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>One person<\/td>\n<td>another<\/td>\n<td>One person\u2019s act of kindness, including kind words said or sent, gifts given, or hospitality extended, was appreciated.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>In most situations, email or text is an appropriate channel for sending thank-you messages. As we shall see below, sending a thank-you note within 24 hours of interviewing for a job is not just extra-thoughtful but close to being an expected formality. To stand out from other candidates, hand-writing a thank-you card in such situations might even be a good idea.<\/p>\n<p>Following the 5 S\u2019s of goodwill messages given above, a typical thank-you email message for a favour might look like the following:<\/p>\n<p><em>Hi Alanna,<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I just wanted to thank you for putting in a good word for me with your manager. She told me today that I came highly recommended, and I knew right away who that came from\u2014only the most kind and thoughtful person I\u2019ve ever had the pleasure of working with! I really appreciate all the help you\u2019ve given me over the years, but especially for bringing me this opportunity. It means a lot to me and my family.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>If there\u2019s anything I can help you with in return\u2014anything at all\u2014you name it. I owe you one.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Many thanks,<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Jeremy<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Notice that this message is short, specific to the situation that prompted it, sincere, relatively selfless, and spontaneously sent the day of the incident that prompted it. It would certainly bring a smile both to the recipient and sender, strengthening their professional bond.<\/p>\n<h1 id=\"chapter-424-section-3\" class=\"section-header\">CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES<\/h1>\n<p>Celebrating the successes of your professional peers shows class and tact. It\u2019s good karma that will come back around as long as you keep putting out positive energy. Again, the 5 S\u2019s apply in congratulatory messages, especially selflessness. Such messages are all about the person you\u2019re congratulating. You could say, for instance,\u00a0<em>I really admire how you handled yourself with such grace and poise under such trying circumstances in the field today.<\/em><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"chapter-424-section-4\" class=\"section-header\">EXPRESSIONS OF SYMPATHY<\/h1>\n<p>Few situations require such sincerity and care with words as expressions of sympathy. Misfortune comes upon us all, and tough times are just a little more tolerable with the support of our friends, family, and community\u2014including those we work with. When the loved-one of a close associate dies, for instance, expressing sympathy for their loss is customary, often with a card signed by everyone in the workplace who knows the bereaved. You can\u2019t put an email on the mantle like you can a collection of cards from people showing they care.<\/p>\n<p>What do you say in such situations? A simple\u00a0<em>I\u2019m so sorry for your loss<\/em>, despite being a stock expression, is better than letting the standard Hallmark card\u2019s words speak for you (Guffey et al., 2016, p. 147). In some situations, laughter\u2014or at least a chuckle\u2014may be the best medicine, in which case something along the lines of Emily McDowell\u2019s witty\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/emilymcdowell.com\/collections\/empathy-cards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Empathy Cards<\/a>\u00a0would be more appropriate. McDowell\u2019s\u00a0<em>There Is No Good Card for This: What to Say and Do When Life Is Scary, Awful, and Unfair to People You Love<\/em>\u00a0(2016) collaboration with empathy expert Kelsey Crowe, PhD, provides excellent advice. Showing empathy by saying that you know how hard it can be is helpful as long as you don\u2019t go into any detail about their loss or yours. Remember, these messages should be selfless, and being too specific can be a little dangerous here if it produces traumatic imagery. Offering your condolences in the most respectful, sensitive manner possible is just the right thing to do.<\/p>\n<h1 id=\"chapter-424-section-5\" class=\"section-header\">REPLYING TO GOODWILL MESSAGES<\/h1>\n<p>It wouldn\u2019t go over well if someone thanked you for your help and you just stared at them silently. The normal reaction is to simply say\u00a0<em>You\u2019re welcome!<\/em>\u00a0Replying to goodwill messages is therefore as essential as writing them. Such replies must be even shorter than the messages that they respond to. If someone says a few nice things about you in an email about something else, always acknowledge the goodwill by saying briefly \u201cThank you very much for the kind words\u201d somewhere in your response. Without making a mockery of the situation by thanking a thank-you or shrugging off a compliment, returning the love with nicely worded and sincere gratitude is the right thing to do (Guffey et al., 2016, p. 147).<\/p>\n<h1 id=\"chapter-424-section-6\" class=\"section-header\">RECOMMENDATION MESSAGES AND REFERENCE LETTERS<\/h1>\n<p>Recommendation messages are vital to getting hired, nominated for awards, and membership into organizations. They offer trusted-source testimonials about a candidate\u2019s worthiness for whatever they\u2019re applying to. Like the r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and cover letter they corroborate, their job is to persuade an employer or selection committee to accept the person in question. To be convincing, recommendation and reference letters must be the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Specific:<\/strong>\u00a0Recommendation and reference letters must focus entirely on the candidate with details such as examples of accomplishments, including dates or date ranges in months and years. A generic recommendation plagiarized from the internet is worse than useless because it makes the applicant look like they\u2019re unworthy of a properly targeted letter.<\/li>\n<li><strong>True:<\/strong>\u00a0Exaggerations and outright lies will hurt the candidate when found out (e.g., in response to job interview questions and background checks). They will spoil the chances of any future applicants who use recommendations from the same untrustworthy source if the employer sees that source cross their desk again.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Objective:<\/strong>\u00a0An endorsement from a friend or family member will be seen as subjective to the point of lacking any credibility. Recommendations must therefore come from a business owner, employer, manager, or supervisor who can offer an unbiassed assessment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Not all employers require recommendation letters of their job candidates, so only bother seeking a recommendation letter when it\u2019s asked for. Opinions are divided on whether such documents are actually useful, since they are almost always \u201cglowing\u201d because they tend not to say anything negative about the applicant despite the expectation that they be objective. Some employers\u2014especially in larger organizations\u2014are instructed not to write recommendation letters (or are limited in what they can say if called for a reference) because they leave the company that writes them open to lawsuits from both the applicant and recipient company if things don\u2019t work out.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, recommendation letters provide potential employers with valuable validation of the job applicant\u2019s claims, so it\u2019s worth knowing how to ask for one and what to ask for if they\u2019re required as part of a hiring process. Even if it may be some years before you\u2019re in a position to write such letters yourself, knowing what information to provide the person who agrees to write you a recommendation is useful to you now. Indeed, since most managers are busy people, they might even ask you to draft it for them so they can plug it into a company letterhead template, sign it, and send it along. If so, then you could ghost-write it using the following section as your guide.<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h2>RECOMMENDATION LETTER ORGANIZATION<\/h2>\n<p>A recommendation letter is a direct-approach message framed by a modified-block formal letter using company letterhead. The most effective letters are targeted to an employer for a specific job application, though it\u2019s not uncommon to request a \u201cTo Prospective Employers\u201d recommendation letter without a recipient address to be distributed as part of any job application. In any case, the following represents the standard expectations employers have for recommendation letter content and organization:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Opening:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify the applicant by<strong>\u00a0name<\/strong>, the\u00a0<strong>position<\/strong>\u00a0sought, and the<strong>\u00a0confidential<\/strong>\u00a0nature of the letter\u2014e.g.,\u00a0<em>This confidential letter is written at the request of Elizabeth Barrie in support of her application for the position of Legal Assistant at Bailey &amp; Garrick Law<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Clarify the writer\u2019s\u00a0<strong>relationship<\/strong>\u00a0to the applicant and the<strong>\u00a0length<\/strong>\u00a0of its duration\u2014e.g.,\u00a0<em>For three years I have been Ms. Barrie\u2019s supervisor at Stanton &amp; Sons Legal Counsel and can therefore say with confidence that she would be a valuable addition to your firm<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Body:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify the job applicant\u2019s previous duties\u2014e.g.,\u00a0<em>Ms. Barrie began working for us as a part-time legal research assistant during her studies in the Law Clerk program at Algonquin College. She began with mainly clerical duties such as preparing official legal documents and archiving our firm\u2019s records.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Give examples of the applicant\u2019s accomplishments and professional attributes. Wherever achievements are quantifiable, include numbers\u2014e.g.,\u00a0<em>After initiating and executing a records digitization project involving over 12,000 files, Ms. Barrie conducted more extensive legal research activities. Her superior organizational skills and close attention to detail made her a highly dependable assistant that our six associate lawyers and two partners relied on heavily to conduct research tasks. Her conscientiousness meant that she required very little direction and oversight when performing her duties.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Compare the applicant to others\u2014e.g.,\u00a0<em>Without a doubt, Ms. Barrie has been our most productive and trusted legal assistant in the past decade.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Closing:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Summarize and emphatically state the<strong>\u00a0endorsement<\/strong>\u2014e.g.,\u00a0<em>Any law firm would be lucky to have such a consummate professional as Ms. Barrie in their employ. I highly recommend her without reservation. If you would like to discuss this endorsement further, please contact me at the number above.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Because honesty is of paramount importance in a recommendation letter, including specific evidence of performance flaws wouldn\u2019t be out of place, especially if used in a narrative of promotion and improvement. Including criticism of the candidate helps the credibility of the endorsement because it makes it more believable. After all, no one is perfect. Criticism resolved by a narrative of improvement, however, strengthens the endorsement even further. Consider, for instance, how good this looks:<\/p>\n<p><em>Ms. Barrie tended to sacrifice quantity of completed research tasks to quality, completing perhaps 17 out of an expected 25 assignments per day. However, she increased her speed and efficiency such that, in her last year with us, she was completing more tasks with higher accuracy than any other assistant we\u2019ve ever had.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Of course, this general frame for recommendations can be adapted and either extended or trimmed for channels other than letters. LinkedIn, for instance, allows users to endorse each other, but the small window in which the endorsement appears favors a smaller wordcount than the typical letter format. In that case, one paragraph of highlights and a few details is more appropriate than several paragraphs, especially if you can get several such endorsements from a variety of network contacts.<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h2>HOW TO REQUEST A RECOMMENDATION LETTER<\/h2>\n<p>When a recommendation is necessary, be sure to ask a manager or supervisor who\u2019s known you for two years or more if they can provide you with a\u00a0<em>strong<\/em>\u00a0reference. If they can\u2019t\u2014because they\u2019re prohibited from doing so by company policy or they honestly don\u2019t think you\u2019re worthy of an endorsement\u2014they\u2019ll probably just recommend that you find and ask someone who would. Don\u2019t be shy about asking for one, though. If they aren\u2019t directed otherwise, management understands that writing such messages is part of their job. They got to where they are on the strength of references and recommendations from their previous employers, and the \u201cpay-it-forward\u201d system compels them to provide the same for the people under\u2014people like you. That way, you too can move up in your career.<\/p>\n<p>Knowing that every employment situation you\u2019re in provides an opportunity for a reference when it\u2019s time to move on, you should always do your best so that you can get a strong reference out of it. Even in jobs that you dislike or that bore you, strive to exemplify the advice on employer-impressing professional behavior&#8217;s given. Consider also that if a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 lists references at the end but omits them for certain job experiences, a hiring manager will wonder why you weren\u2019t able to get a reference for that job. It certainly could have been due to company policy prohibiting managers from providing references for legal reasons or conflict with management that was entirely their fault; without the full picture, however, the omission opens the door to doubts about the candidate.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\n<h3>EXERCISES<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-29\" src=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/app\/uploads\/sites\/103\/2018\/03\/writing.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/app\/uploads\/sites\/103\/2018\/03\/writing.png 150w, https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/app\/uploads\/sites\/103\/2018\/03\/writing-65x65.png 65w\" alt=\"\" width=\"70\" height=\"70\" \/>1. Partner up with a classmate you admire. If you don\u2019t have a LinkedIn profile already, start one by following the general advice in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/communicationatwork\/chapter\/9-2-resumes-and-online-applications#9211\/\">\u00a79.2.1.1<\/a>\u00a0and specific advice provided in the websites linked there. Write an endorsement for your partner in LinkedIn following the general principles in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/communicationatwork\/chapter\/8-5-goodwill-messages-and-recommendations\/#856\">\u00a78.5.6<\/a>\u00a0above.<\/p>\n<p>2. Write a thank-you note to the partner who wrote you an endorsement in LinkedIn following the advice in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/communicationatwork\/chapter\/8-5-goodwill-messages-and-recommendations\/#852\">\u00a78.5.2<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/communicationatwork\/chapter\/8-5-goodwill-messages-and-recommendations\/#855\">\u00a78.5.5<\/a>\u00a0above.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>REFERENCES<\/h2>\n<p class=\"hangingindent\">Guffey, M.E., Loewy, D., &amp; Almonte, R. (2016).\u00a0<em>Essentials of business communication<\/em>\u00a0(8th Can. ed.). Toronto: Nelson.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-788\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Communication at Work. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Jordan Smith. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Pressbooks - Algonquin College. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/communicationatwork\/chapter\/8-5-goodwill-messages-and-recommendations\/#menu\">https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/communicationatwork\/chapter\/8-5-goodwill-messages-and-recommendations\/#menu<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":545042,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Communication at Work\",\"author\":\"Jordan Smith\",\"organization\":\"Pressbooks - Algonquin College\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub\/communicationatwork\/chapter\/8-5-goodwill-messages-and-recommendations\/#menu\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-788","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":761,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-oswego-businesscommunicationmgrs2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-oswego-businesscommunicationmgrs2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-oswego-businesscommunicationmgrs2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-oswego-businesscommunicationmgrs2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/545042"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-oswego-businesscommunicationmgrs2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1837,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-oswego-businesscommunicationmgrs2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/788\/revisions\/1837"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-oswego-businesscommunicationmgrs2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/761"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-oswego-businesscommunicationmgrs2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/788\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-oswego-businesscommunicationmgrs2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-oswego-businesscommunicationmgrs2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=788"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-oswego-businesscommunicationmgrs2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=788"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-oswego-businesscommunicationmgrs2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}