Whether you are accepting or declining a letter of recommendation, it is always a good idea to confirm your decision in writing(because it remains as a proof), either by a standard mail or an email message. Everyone likes to be helpful, and at the time you keep yourself in the other person’s place, of course you’d love all the support you could get. But even then, is it worth risking your goodwill for someone whom you don’t like to entertain in your office for several reasons?While writing the letter of declination, be courteous and respectful in order to remain on good terms for possible consideration down the road. You may also want to offer a very brief comment about why you are declining, so that the other person won’t feel anything bad about you or think that you are so rude because you don’t know when you would have to receive a help from the other person.
There are ample ways to politely and diplomatically decline the request without offending the person who asked you. It is better to explain the reason for your declinination of the letter directly, than to ‘beat around the bush’. The person who wrote the letter might be hoping for a positive reply from you, so you must be very much careful about writing this letter of declination. The recommendation letters often are addressed to the wrong person or sometimes the recommendations are not acceptable by the receiver. And hence the declination of the letter is also done through a reply letter.
Table of Contents
Decline To Write A Letter Of Recommendation-Writing Tips
- The letter, however is a declination, but still must be written in a formal and decent way.
- Exact reason for declination must be mentioned in the letter clearly such that it does not create any kind of negative impression or hurt the sentiments of a person.
- The letter should not contain any kind of offensive language or phrase.
- The letter must be ended with proper apology for declining and fruitful suggestions must be offered to the sender so as to assist the person in the best way possible.
Decline To Write A Letter Of Recommendation – Template
Use our free Decline To Write a Letter of Recommendation to help you get started.
From,
__________
__________
__________
Date: ________ (date on which the letter is written)
To,
__________
__________
__________
Subject: Decline to a recommendation letter
Dear _________ (name of the receiver),
This letter is to inform you that the recommendation letter you send can’t be accepted at the moment because _____________ (reason for declination). I hugely apologize for not being able to do so, but I can’t help you in this case.
I hope you are not getting me wrong. It would be my pleasure to have your recommendation fulfilled but unfortunately, this is out of my hands, but if you want any kind of suggestion in this matter, I’d surely do my best to help you.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
_______________
(Name and signature)
Sample Letter
From,
Rahul Kishore,
Mitel Corp,
East Tambaram,
Chennai.
March 12, 2017
To,
Sampath Kumar,
Head of the Department of Commerce,
Loyola College,
Chennai.
Subject: Declination of a recommendation letter
Dear Mr. Sampath,
This letter is to inform you that the recommendation letter you sent is not acceptable. I understand that the person you are recommending is good at his work and has the appropriate skill for the job. But I’m not the right person to judge his qualities. You have to recommend to the Managing director for getting your desired answer.
I hope you understand. It’s not in my hands.I’m extremely sorry for that. But I assure you that, if you need any kind of assistance in this matter, I’ll surely do my best for you.
Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely,
Rahul Kishore.
Email Format
The following is the Email Format that should be followed while writing a Recommendation Decline letter.
To: name@email.com
From: name@email.com
SUBJECT: Recommendation Decline Letter
Dear Mr./ Ms/ Mrs.________(Name of the recipient),
This is in reference to the request for a recommendation letter dated (date). I wish to let you know that recommendation letters are best written by colleagues or superiors who knows your abilities and professional qualities well. Since I am from a totally different profession and I hardly know you from past month and that time was not enough for me to know more about your professional skills. I think I am not the right person to judge your merits and professional abilities.
When I enquired about you, in your department, everyone said that you are quite hardworking and true to your job but professionally speaking, it would be good if you could ask someone else from your department to write a letter for you than me intruding in your field of work. I feel really great that you selected me to write a recommendation letter.Your qualities and other positives can be best stated only by the people who work along with you in your department. So, I would suggest that you should approach someone else.
It’s with regret that I refuse to write this letter and I hope you understand the reason for declining the same.
If I can help you in any other way please feel free to ask me. Wish you all the very best!
Best Regards,
__________
(Your name.)
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