recommendation letters addressed to?

[LadyQT]

I have several job interview's set up and each require a letter of recommendation from clinical professors. However, I am unsure whether I should have the professors write a letter addressed to each facility or a general letter "to whom it may concern". I need some advice stat! Thanks in advance.:typing

[queenjean]

Think about this for a second. Your professors aren't going to have the time or interest to write five different letters of recommendation for you and each of your classmates. Plus, what are they going to say that is different?

Ask each professor to write ONE letter. Make copies of it. Enclose it with your resume and applications. You can keep it for future use, too--if you apply to another school to further your education, if you apply for a different job, etc. A general letter of recommendation will serve you much better than a job/position specific letter of recommendation.

Good luck in the job search.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I agree. Ask them for 1 letter addressed to no one in particular. Some people use "To whom it may concern". I prefer to use, "Dear Sir or Madam". Either is fine.

[caliotter3]

When I was in a BSN program one of the final assignments we were given was to write a generic letter of reference for ourselves for one of our faculty members to sign. This letter was to contain specifics about our achievements both in and out of school as well as the usual comments about our abilities. Once approved and signed by the instructor, this letter was placed in our student file for future use should we contact the school for a reference. I highly suggest that you take this approach. Compose the letter yourself and ask the appropriate person if they would sign it for you and have the letter placed in your student file after you have made several copies. You will find that by writing the letter and saving time and effort for the instructor, you will be thanked for your efforts. No instructor has the time to do this for all of their students each term.

[Rockhopper]

What one of my professor's did was really convenient...she emailed me the letter of rec and put her electronic signature on it (the e-signature was simply her name in a cursive font)...that way I could modify the addressee with each job that I applied to make it more personal for that recruiter. I kept my professor informed as of what jobs I was applying to - so it was no surprise when they called her for a reference.