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How to Ask for a Reference Letter

by Jodi Glickman Brown

Jodi Glickman Brown is a speaker, author, and entrepreneur. She is the founder of the communication consulting firm Great on the Job.

In the 2009 film Up in the Air, Natalie Keener decides she can no longer stomach being part of a corporate firing squad and quits her firm. Her mentor, played by George Clooney, writes a glowing reference letter on her behalf, addressed simply “To whom it may concern.”

In the real world, getting a reference letter is far more difficult and often a source of much anxiety. Whom to ask, how to ask, what to say?

But getting an outstanding reference letter is entirely within your control and easier than you think, even if you don't have a ...