Talk:Letter of recommendation/Archives/2013

Definition of letter of recommendation

The definition given in the article says that:

• references are more general, usually addressed "to whom it may concern".
• letters of recommendation are requested for a specific application, addressed to a specific person

In my experience the definitions are instead:

• references are unseen by the candidate, either directly sent by the referee to wherever the candidate is applying, or sealed in an envelope (which is usually signed across the seal) for the candidate to forward without opening.
• letters of recommendation, or simply "open references", are openly seen by the candidate; usually they are given one copy and may photocopy it for many applications without asking the referee.

The second is usually addressed "to whom it may concern", whereas the first very rarely is (only if sent via the candidate without knowing where it will be forwarded). This is why the article doesn't have much attention: open references are much more rare than confidential ones. I'm in the UK, so perhaps this is British/American English difference? Quietbritishjim (talk) 17:54, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

In my time I have seen "letter of recommendation" / "recommendation letter" and "letter of reference" / "reference letter" used completely interchangeably, sometimes meaning open letters provided to the candidates themselves, sometimes meaning unseen letters only to be seen by the recipients. Google searches result in support for all three opinions (the article's, yours, and mine i.e. the term does not imply if it's an open or unseen letter). I'll volunteer to adjust the article accordingly in the coming weeks unless there are objections. I will also adjust the current forwarding of Reference letter. -- Sigi fikanz (talk) 19:24, 18 August 2013 (UTC)

What Quietbritishjim says makes sense, and what you say also, but what is needed is a reference, preferably the OED or any other that you may consider proper. I'd prefer if you'd do it now, if there's no objection from your part of course. Best, Krenakarore ^TK 19:49, 18 August 2013 (UTC)