Reference Letter & Testimonial letter 推薦信

A reference letter would only include your references and their contact details.

eg: Sharon Osbourne
Previous employer at XXX Company
Address: ... ...
Tel No.: ... ...
Email: ... ...

A testimonial letter would also include their comments about YOU!

eg: Prospective Employer:

I have known Charles Dickens through his work experience with our firm during the past summer, when he served as an Auditor Intern in our New York office.

Charles became immediately involved in the annual audit of Zephyr Megalithic, conducting much of the historical accounting research required for the audit. In addition to gathering the financial information, Charles was instrumental in the development of the final certification report. Charles also participated in several other smaller audits, including his instrumental role in the quarterly audit of Alpha Bank, where he developed several Excel macros to audit the inputs at the PC level. He later further developed these macros for use in future audits, which we have integrated into our Auditors Toolkit.

Charles has shown the kind of initiative which is necessary to be successful over the long-term in the public accounting field. He has excellent forensic skills, yet remains focused on the overall needs of the client. I believe he will be a strong Auditor and has an excellent future in the public accounting field. He is a conscientious worker and has an excellent work ethic. We would gladly have hired Charles upon graduation if he were open to the New York City area.

I recommend Charles to you without reservation. If you have any further questions with regard to his background or qualifications, please do not hesitate to call me.

Sincerely,

Sharon Osbourne
Partner-in-Charge


The Testimonial Cover Letter Technique

A unique, highly effective way to get your message across to a prospective employer is to add testimonials to your cover letter. Testimonials add credibility to your presentation. They provide more than the "I think I'm great" viewpoint by showing that someone else also thinks you are great.

There are three ways to incorporate this technique into your cover letter. The first way is to place the testimonial quote within the body of the cover letter, along with the person's name and phone number in parantheses. The testimonial can be provided as a separate paragraph or can be incorporated into the text of the skills/benefits paragraph. The second way is to actually use a testimonial letter as a full cover letter. The third way is to attach a copy of one of your testimonial letters along with your resume.

2007-01-31 09:52:36 補充：
下面写得不正确。 Reference letter 内的 人物，联络质料等都必须是真实的。想要聘请您的公司很多时候都会打电话或写信去确实您的经验、工作态度等。但 Testimonial letter 的信也很容易作假。 除非写信的人跟聘请的公司有关联，或者是大公司/ 学校开的(因为都要有盖印章) ，那这封推薦信就是挺有用的。

2007-02-02 08:42:30 補充：
大學入學証明信：certification of acceptance 是不等于 testomonial letter 的

如果用中文來解釋, reference letter 可以話是參考信, 根據發信者的一些個人意見來寫那個人的品格和一些事情, 但若是 testimonial letter 就會是根據被寫的個人事實, 証明他/她有什麼成就, 如 : 學歷; 功績; 學術成就等來作為証明.

簡單點的說就是:

Reference letter : 參考信 (若收到這樣的信, 那就信不信由你)
Testimonial letter : 証明信 (如收到此信你應該相信信內所寫是正確的)
e.g. Testimonial letter for university admittance. 大學入學証明信

2007-01-29 13:33:16 補充：
簡單點的說內那個參考信所說的內容只是給你參考, 所寫的便信不信由你決定了.

2007-02-02 22:47:15 補充：
當然了, 人物和聯絡等資料當然是真啦, 否則當要找信中些人來問便不可能? 我所指的可信和不信, 是因為reference letter 當然是抑惡揚善了, 不好的一面當然不會說出來, 但是 testimonial 所指的一定是証明一些特出/有成就的事情了.關於大學的入學証明用法, 應該每間大學都不同吧! 而我且我所指的可能是一封大學寫給你拿去給別人看的証明你已被大學取錄而不是入學証明. 樓上位仁兄/姐明未?看不明便不要說人錯吧!

2007-02-13 20:46:46 補充：
我所指的testimonial letter 是指這裡問題的testimonial letter. 是給如領事館拿簽證或入移民局/海關時用作証明, 不是拿到大學去作入學証明.