How to Write a Professional Staff Testimonial Letter

Writing a staff testimonial letter can feel like a high-stakes task, especially when an employee’s future career path depends on your words. Many managers find it hard to strike the right tone when writing recommendations. Being too stiff or too casual can lead to missing key details or underselling an employee’s strengths. A weak workplace recommendation letter or a candidate with a bad reference can slow career progress and create frustration for everyone involved.

A clearer method works better than guessing the right tone. Using real examples, a simple structure, and an eye on future-fit hiring makes it easier to describe someone’s value with clarity. This blog explains how to recommend someone for a job, what is a letter of reference for employment, and how to write a letter of recommendation for employee growth without overdoing it.

What a Staff Testimonial Letter Is

A staff testimonial letter is a formal document that validates an individual’s skills, character and performance during their tenure at a company. Unlike a standard background check that only confirms dates of employment, this letter provides qualitative insight into the person’s work ethic. It serves as a workplace recommendation letter that helps hiring managers understand the “human” side of a resume.

In essence, it is an employment reference letter sample of the person’s professional brand. Whether it’s a friend recommendation letter for job applications or a formal supervisor endorsement, it acts as a bridge of trust between the former employer and a potential new one. According to research, approximately 80%-90% of employers conduct background checks, including reference checks. This emphasizes the critical role these letters play in the hiring ecosystem.

When Companies Use a Staff Testimonial Letter

Companies and contingency recruiter professionals use these letters at various stages of the professional lifecycle. Most commonly, they are requested during the final stages of a recruitment process to verify the claims made during interviews. However, they are also used internally for promotions or when a company is undergoing restructuring and wants to help departing employees find new roles.

Understanding how to recommend someone for a job effectively is crucial during high-volume hiring periods. Studies show that hiring the wrong person can cost a company as much as 30% of the employee’s first year’s pay. Consequently, a well-drafted staff testimonial letter provides the security companies need to make informed decisions.

Structure of a Professional Testimonial

To ensure your staff testimonial letter is effective, follow this standard structure:

1. The Salutation: Use “Dear Hiring Manager Name” or “To Whom It May Concern.”
2. The Introduction: Start by explaining how you know the employee and how long you worked together. This helps show why you are qualified to write a letter of recommendation for an employee.
3. The Body (2-3 Paragraphs): Focus on specific skills. Use an employee reference example like: “Jane increased our sales by 20% over six months.” Mentioning recommending someone for a job based on specific KPIs is much stronger than using generalities.
4. Soft Skills and Culture: Address their reliability and teamwork. This is where you provide what to say when recommending someone for a job, examples regarding their personality and “fit.”
5. Closing and Contact Info: Reiterate your recommendation and provide a way for the reader to reach you for follow up questions.

Tone and Language Guidelines

When recommending someone for a job, your tone should be “Professional Yet Conversational.” Avoid stiff, archaic language like “perchance” or “herein,” but avoid slang as well. Aim to write in a natural way that shows real respect for the person’s work.

• Be Positive but Realistic: Over-the-top praise can sometimes look suspicious.
• Use Active Verbs: Instead of “The project was managed by John,” say “John managed the project.”
• Be Concise: A staff testimonial letter should rarely exceed one page.

Research suggests recruiters give about 7.4 seconds to a first resume review. They may read longer testimonials, but clear, direct writing still matters for teams short on time.

Mistakes to Avoid

Even when written with care, small mistakes can weaken a staff testimonial letter.

• Vagueness: Saying someone is “good at their job” provides no value. Use specific examples of what to say when recommending someone for a job.
• Grammar Issues: A letter full of typos reflects poorly on both you and the person you are recommending.
• Negativity: If you cannot say something positive, it is better to decline the request to write the letter than to provide a lukewarm or negative one.
• Ignoring the Job Description: If you are aware of the position they want, shape the workplace recommendation letter around the needs of that role.

Conclusion

A staff testimonial letter explains what someone actually did at work and how they showed up day to day. It gives hiring teams extra details they cannot get from a resume alone. When many people apply for the same role, then that extra detail can matter. If you’ve been asked to provide an employee reference example, take it as an opportunity to support a colleague’s growth and strengthen the professional community.