Referral Letter: Six Complete Examples and the Rules
By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published · Updated
8 min read
A referral letter is you putting your own name behind someone else's application, which is why it has to contain facts rather than warmth. Below are six complete letters, checked in September 2026, covering an internal referral to your own employer, a manager writing for a former direct report, a professional referral to an outside contact, a tutor writing for a student, a three-line email introduction, and a business referral for a client. The rule that governs all six is that you write only what you saw yourself, with dates. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.
Here is the version most people need, the one you send to your own recruiter or hiring manager about somebody you know.
Internal referral to your own employer, full email (201 words)
Subject: Referral for the Accounts Payable Assistant role, Naomi Farrow
Hi Elena,
I would like to refer Naomi Farrow for the Accounts Payable Assistant post that went live on Monday. I worked with her for three years at Brightlane Logistics, where she reported to me for the last eighteen months of that.
What she actually did. Naomi ran the purchase ledger for around 320 suppliers and processed roughly 1,100 invoices a month. She inherited a supplier statement reconciliation backlog of eleven months and cleared it in four, which released about $41,000 in duplicate payments and credit notes. When we moved from Sage to NetSuite in 2024 she wrote the ledger side of the test script herself.
Where she needs support. She has never handled a multi-currency ledger, so the Canadian entity would be a learning curve rather than a given.
Why I am putting my name to it. In three years she never missed a month end and never once told me something was fine when it was not. That is the thing I would hire her for.
Her CV is attached and she is expecting a call. Happy to talk it through if that helps.
Tomas Egan Operations Manager, Distribution
What makes a referral letter work
Four parts. Skip any one and the letter reads as a favour rather than evidence.
- How you know them and for how long. Exact dates and the reporting line. "A colleague" is not a relationship.
- What they did, in numbers. Volume, value, headcount, error rate. One paragraph, no adjectives.
- One honest limitation. This is the part that makes the rest believable. A letter with no weakness in it is read as marketing.
- What you are willing to stake. One sentence on why your name is on it.
Purdue University's OWL makes the point that works in both directions: contacting people in advance "will allow them to prepare adequate answers to questions about you so they will not be caught by surprise when prospective employers call or write".
If you are asking for a referral letter, hand over the facts. If you are writing one, get the facts first.
Three letters for a hiring decision
Manager writing for a former direct report, printed and formal (194 words)
14 September 2026
Ms Adaeze Okonkwo Operations Director Kellbridge Distribution 1900 Springboro Pike Dayton, OH 45439
Dear Ms Okonkwo,
I am writing in support of Marcus Deane's application for the Warehouse Team Leader post.
Marcus reported to me at Rivermill Hardware from March 2021 to August 2026, latterly as a shift supervisor. He ran the closing shift four nights a week for a 14-person team, and he was responsible for the till reconciliation, the security close and the goods-in paperwork for roughly 90 pallets a week.
Two specific things. In 2024 he rebuilt our goods-in check after a supplier short-shipped us twice; missing paperwork on receipts fell from around 30 a week to fewer than 5 and it has stayed there. In 2025 he trained four new starters, three of whom are still with us.
He is not a natural at confrontation, and in his first year I had to coach him through two conduct conversations. He now handles them himself, which is why I am writing this rather than hesitating.
I would re-employ him without advertising the post. My number is below.
Yours sincerely,
Dana Whitfield Store Manager, Rivermill Hardware 937 000 2214
Professional referral to an external contact, mid career (162 words)
Subject: Introducing Priya Raman, who I think you should meet
Hi Dev,
You said in March you were looking for someone to run the Cincinnati depot when Hal retires. I think that person is Priya Raman, and she does not yet know I am writing to you.
I worked alongside Priya for four years at Rivermill Hardware. She is currently assistant store manager, responsible for a 22-person rota and a stockholding worth around $380,000. She rebuilt the till reconciliation process in 2024 and cut shrinkage from 1.9 per cent of sales to 1.1 across the following year.
She has not run a depot, so the transport and compliance side would be new. What she has is the part you cannot teach: she can hold a rota together in a week when three people call in sick.
If you want, I will ask her whether she would take a call from you. Say the word and I will make the introduction properly.
Tomas
Tutor or trainer writing for a student or apprentice (174 words)
14 September 2026
To the hiring manager, Meridian Medical Transport
Dear hiring manager,
I am writing in support of Marisol Ayala, who completed the Emergency Medical Technician program I teach at Sinclair Community College between January and June 2026.
I assessed Marisol directly across the program's 168 taught hours and reviewed her clinical paperwork from ten ambulance ride-along shifts. She ran 34 supervised patient assessments, passed the psychomotor skills examination at first attempt in every station, and was one of two students in a cohort of twenty-six to do so.
What I noticed about her specifically. On her seventh ride-along she was the student who noticed a patient's respiratory rate climbing while the crew were occupied with paperwork, and she said so. That instinct is not teachable and most students do not have it at that stage.
She is quiet in a group and will not sell herself in an interview. Ask her what she did rather than what she is like.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Helen Marsh Program Coordinator, EMT Program, Sinclair Community College
Two short forms that do most of the work
Not every referral needs a letter. An introduction that takes thirty seconds to read often gets acted on faster than a page of praise.
Three-line email referral, introducing two people (82 words)
Subject: Priya Raman, meet Dev Chatterjee
Dev, Priya. You should talk.
Priya is assistant store manager at Rivermill Hardware, 22 staff, and she rebuilt their stock and till process last year. Dev runs distribution for Northline and is hiring a depot supervisor in Cincinnati this quarter.
Priya, Dev is direct and will ask you for numbers in the first five minutes. Dev, Priya is worth the call.
I have copied you both and I will now get out of the way.
Tomas
Business referral, recommending a supplier or client (133 words)
Subject: Referral, Harker Groundworks for the Rosehaven site works
Dear Ms Whitfield,
You asked me last week whether I knew a groundworks contractor who could be trusted on a live site. I would put Harker Groundworks in front of you.
We used them on two projects between 2023 and 2026, the larger being a $2.4m car park and drainage package. They came in within 2 per cent of tender on both, and they cleared a drainage variation in nine days when the original programme allowed twenty.
They are not the cheapest quote you will get and they will not take a job they think is underpriced. On a live site with public access, I would rather that than the alternative.
Their director is Ben Harker and I have copied him here.
Tomas Egan
The line you must not cross
A referral letter is a statement of fact about a named person, and in the United States what you write about a former employee can become a legal question. The EEOC's enforcement guidance on retaliation treats references as a live area, describing retaliation that occurs after employment ends, such as where "a former employer retaliates by giving an unjustified, untruthful negative job reference, by refusing to provide a job reference, or by informing an individual's prospective employer about the individual's prior EEO complaint".
Three consequences. Write only what you observed directly. Never mention health, a complaint raised, a protected characteristic or a dispute. And if you cannot write an honest positive letter, decline politely: a lukewarm letter does more harm than silence and is harder to defend.
Referral letter, reference letter, recommendation letter
| Document | Who asks for it | What it contains |
|---|---|---|
| Referral letter | The referrer writes it unprompted, often to their own employer | Why this person should be considered, and what you stake on it |
| Reference letter | The employer asks, usually after an offer | Dates, role, and confirmation of facts |
| Letter of recommendation | The candidate asks, for study or a specific post | A full assessment against the target role's criteria |
| Reference sheet | The employer asks during the application | Names, titles, relationship and contact details only |
Purdue's guidance is that a reference sheet "should list the names, addresses and relation to you for each reference". Do not send a referral letter when a reference sheet was asked for.
For the other side of the process, see the reference letter guide, references on a resume and the character reference letter. The Purdue models are at the OWL reference request page and its thank you letters page, the federal rules are in the USAJOBS resume help, and the EEOC position on references is in its enforcement guidance on retaliation.
Frequently asked questions
How to write a good referral letter?
Four parts: how you know the person and for how long, what they did in numbers, one honest limitation, and one sentence on why your name is behind it. Keep it under 250 words. The limitation is what makes a reader believe the rest.
What is a referral letter?
A letter in which someone puts their own credibility behind another person's application, usually unprompted and often to their own employer. It differs from a reference, which the employer requests, and from a recommendation, which the candidate requests for a specific purpose.
How to write a letter of referral?
Open by naming the role and the person. Give the relationship with dates. Give one paragraph of evidence with volumes or values. Name one weakness honestly. Close with what you are willing to stake and your direct phone number. Attach their CV rather than describing it.
How to write referral letter?
Get the facts first. Ask the person for their CV and two numbers they are proud of, then write only what you can personally confirm. Never write about health, complaints, disputes or protected characteristics, which the EEOC treats as a retaliation risk.
How to write a job referral letter?
Use your employer's own referral channel if there is one, and write to the hiring manager by name if there is not. Put the job title in the subject line. Say when you worked together, what they delivered, what they have not done yet, and that you are happy to take a call.
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