Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Mark C. Perna is a generational expert who covers education & careers.

It is an honor to be asked to be someone’s character reference. But even if you are enthused about helping a friend or colleague out, you might feel a little intimidated by the prospect of putting the ...

Reference letters come in many different shapes and forms, so don’t think that one size fits all. I’ve written in the past about how to request reference letters in different situations, be it from ...

Writing a letter of recommendation for a friend can feel like an honor and a responsibility. It’s an opportunity to support ...

If you are in any leadership position, you will likely have to write a letter of recommendation for an employee, coworker, student or intern. Being asked to write a letter of recommendation means the ...

Question: In my department, we are finding that the largest problem in evaluating candidates for new appointments, promotion, or tenure is in their letters of reference, which often fail to address ...

Johnny C. Taylor Jr. tackles your human resources questions as part of a series for USA TODAY. Taylor is president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, the world's largest HR ...

Here is a common scene: A supervisor agrees to write your letter of recommendation with one condition—you draft it. Shocker. We, too, were surprised the first time this happened to us. We assumed ...

In today's job search climate, applicants are looking for ways to stand out from the crowd more than ever. Because hiring managers can use the internet to research candidates and wade through their ...