Help with letters


Word Finder for Scrabble and Words with Friends

Word Finder is the perfect help when your vocabulary fails you. It's a unique word search tool, which finds all possible words made up of the letters you input. People use Word Finder for various reasons, but the primary one is to win games such as Scrabble and Words With Friends.

Word Finder

Are you someone who loves finding and discovering new words? Are you a board game enthusiast? If you are, then this Word Finder is a tool you can't afford not to have. Whether you are into playing Scrabble, Words with Friends or any other word game, Word Finder will prove to be useful. It will help you both with word discovery, and as a reference tool, you and your playmates can use as a way to settle disputes about the validity of any particular word.

Do you love boosting your vocabulary? Do word games help ignite your brain cells? Do you enjoy the thrill of trying to outwit an opponent with your encyclopedic mind? Then, our word generator is a tool that you simply can't live without!

Grammar

  • Parts Of Speech
  • Noun Examples
  • Figurative Language
  • Idioms For Kids
  • Reading Comprehension Worksheets

Words by Length

  • Two Letter Words
  • Three Letter Words
  • Four Letter Words
  • Five Letter Words
  • Six Letter Words

What is WordTips Word Finder?

If you haven’t had a chance to use Word Finder yet, then you’re in for a treat. This easy to work with online word generator will quickly and efficiently create a wide variety of words using the letters that you enter. Your excitement will grow as you watch it unscrambling the inputs you provide to make words out of letters as an expert. It will make Scrabble words and create interesting and unique combinations of letters.

When compared with the range of online word generators, word find and word solver devices, Word Finder is among the most intuitive and simple to use. As you learn more about how using Word Finder can assist you in improving your language skills, spelling words properly and come up with new words from a jumble of letters, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.

Dictionaries

  • Scrabble Dictionary
  • Words With Friends Dictionary

Word Finders

  • Word Finder
  • Word Scramble
  • Words With Friends Word Finder
  • Word Chums Cheat
  • Anagram Solver

How To Use The WordTips WordFinder

Our word finder is extremely easy to use for all your scrambled letters, and we have advanced functions for advanced-level game players for all your favorite word games, like Words with Friends, Wordle, and Scrabble. Whether you're playing board games, on a mobile device, or using a word games mobile app, it has never been simpler to get help when you need it- we're here for all your unscrambler letter requirements!

Using The Search Bar

  1. Type in your random letter combinations into the search box. You can enter up to 15 characters at a time, and don't forget your 3 wildcards!
  2. You can search for words starting with using the advanced search option, which is great for when you know what letter the word starts with.
  3. Say you have some letters with missing spaces. Simply type your letter combinations into Contains field and "_" between each character for the missing letters.
  4. Type in ending letters when you have the end of the word but not the beginning. You can also use a combination of starting and ending letters, press search, and our cheat tool will unscramble the letters for you, giving you a whole host of possible plays.

Advanced Options

  1. Enter up to 3 wildcard characters using the ? or space bar. These function as missing random letters or blank tiles.
  2. Search for words by word length. This way you can be sure that the words you find fit your game board. We have tons of word lists filtered by length. Check out 5-letter words start with, 2-letter words, or even 5-letter words.
  3. Search for specific words in the official game dictionary you're using, use the toggle dictionary function at the bottom of the cheat tool, and you can select the dictionary you want to use. This way, you can be sure that the word you place down on your current game will be valid for the game and version you're playing.

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When You Need to Up Your Game With a Word Game Helper

A word game helper can be invaluable for playing any word game that you can think of. Whether you are playing Scrabble, Words with Friends, Crossword Puzzles or any other word game, Word tips' extensive search engine will help you make words from letters that you've randomly picked. Games will get interminable when players are stuck and can’t imagine where they can place the bunch of vowels and consonants that they have available on the board.

Maybe you have a regular evening game with your partner where a Scrabble word generator has been indispensable. Also, you may be one of the many families that usually play word board games on holidays and at gatherings with friends. If the latter is the case, then there’s more than likely players of different skill levels and ages involved. This is where a word game helper can assist in leveling the playing field. What’s more, you may have someone in your midst who likes to cheat a bit. Whether it’s done to tease other players or innocently by someone inexperienced with the game, an invention like Word Finder can be used to find words with the letters on hand.

By searching the official Scrabble US, Scrabble UK and playable Words with Friends dictionaries, Word Finder will intuitively display your highest scoring option with the letters provided. Don't look at it as a word cheat, more of a reference tool you and your playmates can use to settle disputes about the validity of any particular word.

Tools

  • Word Counter
  • Random Word Generator
  • Random Username Generator
  • Random Password Generator

Lists of Words

  • Words With Letters
  • Words Start With
  • Words End In
  • Words By Length

Beat the Brain Freeze

Everyone needs a helping hand from time to time. We've all had those moments when a seemingly random mixture of tiles appears, making you ask, 'How do I make words with these letters'? The problem is now solved.

With WordTips, there's no excuse in having leftover tiles stopping you from reaching your full potential. We'll show you how to make the best of those lingering letters, be it by creating a surprising two-letter combo or an impressive fifteen-letter giant!

Be you a beginner or a pro, our intuitive database will always have the answer to your query. So, save the brain drain, frustration and arguments with fellow players, let our word finder be your constant companion.

Two Useful Word Finding Examples

  1. Player A has pulled the following letters in a game of Scrabble ─ SNEOHYT.
    They’re able to swiftly unscramble the letters to make the word TONE. However, Word Finder comes up with a much bigger choice, including STONEY, HONEY, ETHNOS, HONEST, HONEYS AND HONESTY. As you can see, by laying down letters for the word HONESTY, Player A has a bonus of 50 points for using all seven tiles at once in addition to the regular score for the play!
  2. Player B is a child learning how to play Words with Friends and still growing their vocabulary.
    They’ve arranged these tiles on their rack ─ DOBMUYL. Right away, they might see the word DO, especially since it makes up the first two letters. They may also see the word MY after some examination. DO will give them three points while they’ll get seven points for MY, so that’s a step up. By encouraging them to then try Word Finder, they’ll be thrilled by the large range of words that they have to choose from ─ some made up of two letters to others using as many as six tiles. Not only will the young player improve their spelling skills but Word Finder introduces them to many words that they’re not familiar with so the educational potential is great!

Confusing Words

  • To Vs Too
  • Bear Vs Bare
  • Gray Vs Grey
  • Affect Vs Effect
  • Who Vs Whom

Confusing Words

  • Their Vs There
  • Stationary Vs Stationery
  • Further Vs Farther
  • Weather Vs Whether
  • Assure Vs Ensure

Scrabble Words vs.

Traditional Dictionaries

The two traditional English-language dictionaries are the Merriam-Webster dictionary used in the United States and the Oxford English Dictionary published in the United Kingdom. Dictionaries typically add new words each year. For instance, in 2018, the Merriam-Webster dictionary added 840 new words while the Oxford English dictionary expanded by 1,100 words. Having said that, word games rely on their own dictionaries that are tailored to the specific game and updated from time to time.

Therefore, it’s critical to know what dictionary to refer to when you’re playing different word games so that you don’t inadvertently cheat! If you’ve played both Scrabble and Words with Friends, you’ll be aware that they have quite different rules when it comes to what words are acceptable for players to use. One example is that Words with Friends allows players to lay down tiles that spell many acronyms while Scrabble doesn’t permit such abbreviations. By using the Scrabble Word Finder or Words with Friends Cheat, you can be certain that you won’t go wrong!

The

Wordfinder Example

Let’s take the word “wordfinder”. It is accepted in some online dictionaries and defined as “a list of vocabulary”, but not recognized by Meriam-Webster.  It is acceptable when playing Words with Friends but not when playing Scrabble.

Scrabble Word Finder | Scrabble Cheat

Scrabble Word Finder is a helpful tool for Scrabble® players - both on a traditional board and Scrabble Go fans. By entering your letter tiles in the search box, Scrabble Word Finder finds the best cheats and high scoring words instantly. The advanced options are intuitive, and easy to use, for seasoned pros and newcomers alike.

Ultimate Scrabble Word-Finder and Game Guide

“What words can I make with these letters?” This is the constant question when trying to win Scrabble. A word cheat tool is a handy thing that can help you unscramble letters to make words. With letters on your tray that are hard to use, like X, Z, Q, or nothing but vowels, it can be almost impossible to figure something out without a Scrabble word-finder cheat! Of course, “Scrabble cheat” may be the wrong way to think about it; it's more like Scrabble word-search help. This powerful tool allows you to train your brain, build your vocabulary muscles, become a master Scrabble anagram solver, impress friends, strike fear into the hearts of your enemies, AND, naturally, learn some new words. Use our free Scrabble solver with blank tiles or question marks to unscramble words, cheat with permission, or just become better at the game!

Besides our ultimate word unscrambler tool, we also have some other helpful tips and tricks to help you win Scrabble®. Word-help searches for common problems like “two-letter scrabble words” and “words that start with Q” are listed here, and we’re also going to go into some Scrabble rules, a short history of the board game, some of the top strategies, and the best words for winning. We’ll answer any common questions you might have about the classic word game. Solver tools let you unscramble words, finder searches can help you solve specific problems, and all of our information can help you become the ultimate Scrabble champion!

Grammar Space

  • Transition Words
  • Personification Examples For Kids
  • Alliteration Examples For Kids
  • Active Vs Passive Voice
  • Figurative Language

Words by Length

  • Two Letter Words
  • Three Letter Words
  • Four Letter Words
  • Five Letter Words
  • Six Letter Words

A Short Timeline of the Scrabble Board Game

How, why, when, and where did Scrabble originate? Americans weren’t always obsessed with the question, “What do these letters spell?” A few people with ingenuity in New York in the 1930s and ’40s developed the game we now know and love. Here’s a brief Scrabble timeline:

  • 1930s: During the Great Depression, when Scrabble was invented, an unemployed architect from Poughkeepsie, New York, named Alfred Mosher Butts begins designing the popular game, which he imagines as a combination of a board game, number game, and crossword puzzle. As urban legend has it, he chose the frequency of the game’s tiles and their values by counting up the letters on the front page of The New York Times. Funny enough, he reportedly did not like to spell.
  • 1948: After selling the game as “Lexiko” and then as “Criss-Cross Words,” Butts hands the reins to a New Yorker named James Brunot to mass-produce the game. Brunot comes up with a new color scheme as well as the now-famous name “Scrabble.” The game is trademarked in this year.

Fun Fact: The word “scrabble” is a real word; it means “to scratch, claw, or grope about clumsily or frantically.” You can play the word scrabble in the game Scrabble if you have the right tiles!

  • 1949:Brunot and his family rent an abandoned schoolhouse in Dodgington, Connecticut, to hand-produce the game. They reportedly make 2,400 sets but lose $450.
  • 1950s: Scrabble explodes in popularity when Jack Straus of Macy’s goes on vacation and discovers the game, deciding he wants to sell it in Macy’s stores.
  • 1952: The game is licensed to and manufactured by the Selchow & Righter Company.
  • 1953: Some of the rules, like parallel words and the effects of premium squares, are clarified.
  • 1973: The first tournaments begin, unofficially at first.
  • 1976: The rules are updated again to make clear who goes first, whether a player can pass their turn, and the final scoring.
  • 1978: The first national tournament is held, the North American Invitational.
  • 1984: Scrabble becomes a game show on NBC, running until 1990.
  • 1986: Selchow & Righter is sold to COLECO Industries.
  • 1989: COLECO Industries and its games are sold to today’s owner, Hasbro Inc.
  • 1991: The World Scrabble Championship (WSC) officially begins.
  • 1999: There is another major rule change, making clear some of the rules around challenges.
  • 2003: The first National School Scrabble Championship takes place in Boston.
  • 2004: The game is inducted in the National Toy Hall of Fame.
  • 2009: The competing online game Words With Friends is released and is an overnight success.

Dictionaries

  • Scrabble Dictionary
  • Words With Friends Dictionary

Word Finders

  • Word Finder
  • Words With Friends Word Finder
  • Unscramble Word Finder
  • Word Solver
  • Anagram Solver

The Basics of the Official Scrabble® Rules: How to Play

One might be surprised that the official Scrabble® rules are fairly sparse. But don’t be fooled: It’s deceptively complex, with special championship or tournament rules and many different examples of creative house rules. What are the Scrabble rules newbies need to know in order to play? Here are some of the absolute basics of how to play Scrabble:

  • Which words are officially allowed? There is a sanctioned dictionary produced by Merriam-Webster: the official Scrabble dictionary, online or in print. You can also check the word against the official Hasbro Scrabble page. It’s recommended to officially decide on a game dictionary before the game begins.
  • Which words are not allowed? Some types of words are not allowed, like foreign words that do not appear in official English-language dictionaries, abbreviations, suffixes, prefixes, hyphenated words, any word requiring an apostrophe, and proper nouns (or any word ordinarily requiring a capital letter).
  • Which Scrabble letter is worth the most? Q and Z are both worth 10 points and are the highest-point letters in Scrabble. Here’s how the rest of the letters rank in terms of Scrabble points:
    - 10 Points: Q, Z
    - 8 Points: J, X
    - 5 Points: K
    - 4 Points: F, H, V, W, Y
    - 3 Points: B, C, M, P
    - 2 Points: D, G
    - 1 Points: A, E, I, L, N, O, S, T, R, U
  • In Scrabble, can you make two words? Yes and no. When putting down new tiles, you must stick to placing tiles in one direction and stick to the row or column you started with. You can add letters both before and after an existing word in a single turn, but it must be going in the same direction to make a single word. But in Scrabble, can you add to a word and end up making more than one word? Yes, you can; the process is colloquially called “hooking” or “parallel words.” With parallel words, you might be able to complete and score points for several words, not just two. Basically, there are three main ways to form new words in Scrabble:
    - You can add more letters to a word that’s already been placed on the board.
    - You can place a word at a right angle, using one of the letters already on the board or adding a letter to an existing word.
    - You can place a complete word parallel to a word already on the board, as long as the adjacent letters all form complete words.
  • In traditional Scrabble®, how many players can play? The traditional board game is for two to four players.
  • In traditional Scrabble®, who goes first? After setting up the board and racks and deciding on a dictionary and any house rules, each player draws one tile from the pouch, and the player with the letter closest to “A” goes first; the second player is the one to that person’s left. Next, put the letters back into the pouch and mix them up. Then, each player draws seven letters to place on their rack. The first player needs to place a word on the board that crosses the square in the middle. That’s how Scrabble starts! Then, they should add up their score and draw tiles to replace the ones they played before the turn passes to the next player.
  • How does the game end? There is sometimes confusion about how Scrabble ends. The game ends when all of the letters have been drawn and one of the players uses their last letter (or when all plays possible have been made). When Scrabble ends, players may double-check their scoring, paying attention to the bonuses on the grid itself, and then, they must subtract the values of their unplayed letters from their score. If a player ends the game with an empty rack, they should add the values of everyone else’s unplayed letters to their score. Then, the highest point total decides the winner of the game.
  • When you’re playing Scrabble®, when you can’t go, what’s allowed? The official rules allow you to pass your turn and use it to exchange “all, some, or none” of the letters you have. This can slow down gameplay, so some people’s house rules allow the use of an online Scrabble word-maker tool like ours along with some sort of point penalty. (Players will definitely want to agree to this beforehand!) This may be a good idea to speed things along if you’re playing with young or new players who want to learn the game and have fun. For instance, if you’re a parent trying to expand your child’s vocabulary, using a free Scrabble word-builder and then going over what the word is and its definition might be a good idea!
  • Could I be playing the game wrong? Firstly, obviously, it’s important to have fun, so if you’re all flustered, consider taking a short break. But one common mistake a lot of players make is not picking a Scrabble word dictionary to use at the beginning of the game. That makes challenges hard later! You might even want to allow it to be used as a reference throughout the same for someone who is new to Scrabble®. Cheat tools like a Scrabble word-checker should definitely not be used without the other players knowing about it, though. Often, casual players are fine with someone new using a Scrabble helper, but absolutely ask permission before looking for a hint: You want to be known as the one who wins, not the one who cheats! And lastly, make sure you understand the rules about parallels. If you make a horizontal word that makes sense but one of the vertical words isn’t a word, you can’t place it.

It’s important to point out that there are several special rules in Scrabble®; for instance, you can get a 50-point bonus if you use all seven of your tiles in one turn (called a “bingo”). You can also get extra points by using bonus squares on the board, including the coveted “triple-triple,” when you play a word covering two triple word score squares. The special squares are double letter (DL), triple letter (TL), double word (DW), and triple word (TW). Bluffing is also allowed; it's OK to play a fake word if you can get away with it! But your opponents can challenge a word if they think it's fake, and if you're caught, you'll face a penalty. (Maybe don't risk it if they already have a Scrabble dictionary handy!)

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The Highest-Scoring Scrabble Word (and Other Amazing Scrabble Moves)

What Is the Highest-Scoring Scrabble Word in History?

It’s “caziques,” which is a variant of “cacique,” meaning “a native Indian chief in areas dominated primarily by Spanish culture. ” It’s also a type of bird. On their own, the letters add up to 28 points, which isn’t too shabby, but in 1982, Karl Khoshnaw landed his Q on the double letter score box, his word landed on a triple-triple, and he got a 50-point bingo bonus, resulting in a total of 392 points.

The game has been full of tricky moves like that; just check the official NASPA records. Here are some of the other best Scrabble words and moves played in the game’s history as well as the latest Scrabble champions!

Scrabble & Scrabble Go Tips and Tricks: Sneaky Strategies

As you can see from the highest-scoring Scrabble words, a huge vocabulary isn’t necessarily the secret to winning games. Being a master of placement is how to win at Scrabble. Can’t make a word? Chances are decent that you can pluralize one, add a suffix, or do something sneaky instead. Here are some other tips for winning Scrabble every time you play:

Tip #1: Aim to Get a Bingo

It’s 50 points; that’s nothing to sneeze at! You get a Scrabble bingo when you use all seven of the letters on your rack at once. Use our Scrabble word generator to practice figuring out seven-letter words and eight-letter words that will let you get rid of everything at once. This is a great reason to hang onto blank tiles as well.

Tip #2: Become a Master at “Hooking”

In Scrabble®, hooking is the practice of adding a letter to a word already on the board (usually an S) and then using that one letter to build a new word in the opposite direction. For example, you could add an “S” to the end of “hat” to create “hats” and then use the “S” to write out a whole new word, like “shield.” What’s important to remember is that once you pick a direction to drop letters in, you must keep to that same column or row.

Tip #3: Memorize High-Scoring Two-Letter Words for Parallel Words

Those semi-annoying words like aa, qi, xi, xu, ja, and ax are absolutely vital to your late-game performance, when there’s often less space available, especially if you’re planning on doing a parallel play. Parallels in Scrabble are sort of like the practice of hooking gone extreme: You can add a whole word parallel to another word, as long as the combination of letters line up to form words themselves. For example, if the word “zit” is on the board horizontally, you could add the word “at” horizontally underneath it, forming both “za” and “it” vertically. This practice can rake in a bunch of points later in the game!

Tip #4: Have Backup Words in Mind for Tough Situations

If you have a Q, the urge might be to hang onto it forever until you get a U, but it’s important to remember that all unplayed letters are counted against you in the end. A Q tile is worth 10 points, so that would take 10 points off of your score! Sometimes, you need to figure out what to do with a Q quick, and the same goes for Z, which is also worth 10 points. Use our word scramble finder tool to figure out words ahead of time so you’re prepared for tricky situations, like when you have a Q without a U.

Tip #5: Pay Close Attention to the Board Itself

Remember if you’re a Words With Friends fan that the board for Scrabble is very different! Things are arranged differently so you’ll need to develop a strategy. For instance, it’s really important to keep in mind that you can get a “triple-triple.” According to the rules, “If a word is formed that covers two premium word squares, the score is doubled and then re-doubled (4 times the letter count) or tripled and then re-tripled (9 times the letter count).” Combining that with a powerful letter like Z, Q, or J can result in a ton of points, especially if you happen to get a bingo at the same time!

Tools

  • Word Counter
  • Random Word Generator
  • Random Username Generator
  • Random Password Generator

Lists of Words

  • Words End In
  • Vowel Words
  • Consonant Words
  • Words By Length
  • Words With Letters

Scrabble FAQs

Here are some more interesting facts about one of America’s favorite board games.

Who Manufactures Scrabble?

Hasbro Inc. manufactures it within the U.S. and Canada, and Mattel manufactures it abroad.

Who Decides Scrabble Words?

Two main word lists exist: the Official Tournament and Club Word List (aka OWL or TWL) for players within North America and Collins Scrabble Words (aka CSW or SOWPODS) for players outside of the U.S. and Canada. There are some small differences. It may be odd, but this is a surprisingly political question, with some offensive words being removed from the OWL and a great deal of stress being caused by new versions.

The OWL is typically based on the Merriam-Webster dictionary, and the CSW is based on the Collins dictionary.

At the end of the day, though, who decides Scrabble words is you, the player: In the rules, it states that players should collectively decide at the start of the game which dictionary they’ll be checking during challenges. If you as a group, prefer the Oxford dictionary, for instance, you simply need to agree beforehand.

How Many Tiles in Scrabble Are There?

There are 100 total tiles in a game of Scrabble. If you feel like you’re missing some, feel free to count them up — there should be 98 letters and two blank tiles.

Here’s how many tiles there are for each letter in Scrabble:

  • 12 tiles: E
  • 9 tiles: A, I
  • 8 tiles: O
  • 6 tiles: N, R, T
  • 4 tiles: D, L, S, U
  • 3 tiles: G
  • 2 tiles: B, C, F, H, M, P, V, W, Y, Blanks
  • 1 tile: J, K, Q, X, Z

If a few have come up missing, you can often find replacement tiles online on sites like Etsy or Amazon. Also, you can use this list to make your own DIY Scrabble board, like this hardwood version or this magnetic board.

Can You Play Online? What is Scrabble Go?

One of the most popular apps for playing a Scrabble-like game is Words With Friends produced by Zynga, though there are differences between Words With Friends and traditional Scrabble. (For example, there’s no 50-point bonus in Words With Friends, and the board layout is different.) Some prefer the official Scrabble app produced by Scopely. There is also an official Facebook version of the game.

Why Is Scrabble Good for Your Brain?

Incredibly, the effects of playing Scrabble have been studied a great deal. Researchers have found that expert Scrabble players use different parts of their brains than non-experts, relying more on visual perception, and scientists hope that these discoveries mean that a fun word game like this one can be helpful to people with neurological degenerative conditions like Alzheimer's disease. Scrabble® is also praised as a fun word game for kids looking to work on their vocabulary and spelling, increase game skills, and practice thinking critically. But engaging people and bringing them together in a friendly and competitive way is why Scrabble® is important to us.

Help me boss! Rules for writing letters of recommendation.

THE WELL - Online corporate development magazine /
The letters of an intelligent person reflect the character of those to whom they are addressed.
– Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
Leslie Witt and Elizabeth K. Levina (April 2006)

Sooner or later, at a certain stage in your career, you may be asked to write a letter of recommendation by your subordinate, colleague, friend. Like a resume, there is a template for writing a letter of recommendation. Here you will find tips on how to properly approach the issue of writing a letter of recommendation, what should be covered and taken into account in it. nine0006

What does a good recommendation mean?
A letter of recommendation is a written confirmation of your professional skills and achievements. The letter reveals the character of the employee, and experience, and his strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly - further potential. An employer is not interested in knowing whether you like Chinese food, whether you have been collecting stamps since childhood, or whether you go in for sports. What he is really looking for in a potential employee is honesty, reliability, responsibility, intelligence, enthusiasm and a desire to grow and develop. A good recommendation letter answers all of these questions in a few sentences. nine0006

Nota bene to the manager: protect yourself!
Remember that when you recommend an employee, you put your reputation at stake. If you undeservedly praise an employee and wholeheartedly recommend him to another company, the new employer
If you do not know the employee well, this can be corrected!
The easiest way to write a letter of recommendation is to someone who constantly interacts with this employee at work and knows him well. Sometimes a person is afraid that his immediate supervisor will give him not the best recommendations, and tries to address this request to a senior manager. If you feel that you cannot give an objective recommendation, ask the direct supervisor of the employee, the manager who knows him best, to write a letter. nine0006

If you know that this is a good worthy employee and would like to help him, conduct a short interview with a person, find out what you need to pay attention to, ask about his future career plans. This information will help you when writing your letter.

Letter of recommendation - presentation of your company
In the letter, you not only talk about your subordinate, but also introduce yourself as an employer. This is a business document that must be drawn up according to the relevant standards. In no case do not write a letter of recommendation by hand - this will only discredit your employee in the eyes of a potential employer, and also indicate that you yourself are not serious enough about this person and do not respect the trust placed in them. nine0006

Set aside time in your work schedule when you can calmly collect your thoughts and get down to business in detail. Be aware of the importance of this document to the person who asked you, and do not write a letter of recommendation on the go.

Start with list
Letters of recommendation serve to provide additional information about the applicant - about how he studied, worked, did something else. It should present a general picture of the employee's personal qualities, his experience, strengths, potential and skills. nine0003 If you don't know where to start writing a letter, it's a good idea to start by making a list of keywords and phrases related to the employee's accomplishments and qualities. Such a list will help to avoid abstract phrases and metaphorical formulations. All you need to do is clearly state your position and provide evidence.

Sort your keywords and phrases into categories:
1) Professional skills:
Does the employee have the competencies necessary for his position? nine0003 Can he get the job done right and on time?
How well does he know his professional area?
Can the manager make decisions quickly and constructively?

2) Personal characteristics:
How does the employee develop relationships in the team?
Does he have a sense of humor?
Does he have an analytical mind?
How stress-resistant is a person?
Is this person a leader? nine0006

3) Successes and achievements
Think over two or three achievements of an employee during the time that he worked under your leadership.

4) Weaknesses
What should a person pay attention to in order to develop further in their career? Can a person learn from his past mistakes?

5) Potential
What do you think this employee can achieve?

nine0010 Structure
The letter, as a rule, does not exceed one page in length (5-7 paragraphs) and consists of three parts: introduction, body and conclusion.

Introduction
Start by determining in what capacity and for how long you know the person you are referring to. If the person is your employee, please list the length of time they have been with the company, the duties they perform, and any significant projects they have developed or completed. You can add a couple of lines about the company itself and its field of activity. nine0003 In the final sentence of the introduction, you can summarize and express your general opinion about the recommended employee.

Main body
In the main part, you give a more detailed description of a person in terms of his professional qualities. Describe his ability to cope with certain tasks and list the main achievements. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the recommended employee at work? What impression does he make when communicating and interacting with other people? nine0006

It is most convenient to indicate some quality and confirm it with facts, telling the story of how it manifests itself in practice. For example, you note that Alexey has an analytical mindset and creative approach to business, and tell how he came up with a way to optimize the delivery process of goods in your company. Take two or three main characteristics.
To create a clearer picture, characterize a person in terms of his personal qualities and behavior. Did he show himself as a responsible, polite, affable person or as a lazy, intractable, unfriendly, caustic? nine0006

Conclusion
Mention the employee's future plans and why you think this is the right path. Write why you recommend this person, what contribution he could make to the company where he will go to work. Finally, you can indicate how much you recommend the employee for the position you are looking for: strongly, with some reservations, do not recommend.
At the end of the letter, provide your contact details and offer to contact you if the recipient wants to receive additional information. nine0003 Do not forget to place the letter on company letterhead, stamp and sign.

Note
The letter is not about you and your company, but about an employee. Information should be presented professionally and openly, without unnecessary reasoning, especially unflattering ones, to the employee. Try to reflect the best sides of a person, understand him, see his potential, help him find a good job. This letter gives you the power to influence the future fate of a person, so writing it must be approached with all seriousness. nine0006

14:27 16. 05.2006

A source: http://www.klerk.ru/boss/?49484


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5 rules of e-mail etiquette or how to always get answers to your letters

May 21, 2014 Productivity Advice

Just 5 simple tricks will help you write an e-mail to which you will receive an answer, no matter how busy the person you are contacting is. nine0006

Writing a letter is easy, but how do you get a response from a busy person who doesn't know you?

Mattan Griffel, leader of the One Month Rails training project and Growhack partner, receives about a hundred e-mails every day, and every one of them should not go unanswered. To do this, Mattan allocates about an hour of time in his schedule each day, determining which of them require an urgent response and which do not. After all, sometimes there is simply no time to read through the huge canvases of text or try to answer a non-specific question, thinking out for the author what he wanted to say or ask. nine0006

Over time, Mattan identified a few key factors that should help you write an e-mail that you always get a response from, even from a busy person.

Write short letters

If your e-mail is 2-3 sentences long, it is much easier to read it right now, and not put it off. If you are writing a letter in several paragraphs, be prepared for the fact that you will have to wait a long time for an answer.

Make text readable

It is much easier for a person to perceive information broken down into short paragraphs of several sentences, with clear lists and separate blocks, than a continuous canvas of text. Mattan gives several examples of letters he receives.

Bad example:

“Hi Mattan!

I signed up for your April training and I want to say that it is a very good introductory course. Now, following your advice, I'm using the Hartl Tutorial. And I want to ask you for advice. Are there any equivalents to Hartl's Rails Tutorial for iPhone app development? I want to create a Rails website for my wife's business, along with an iPhone app. I would be very grateful for your help." nine0066

This letter is hard to read. You can't get the gist of it just by skimming through it, and so you have to spend more time and effort to read the entire text.

Or you could write like this:

“Good afternoon, Mattan!

I want to thank you for the One Month Rails course. On your advice, I'm currently doing Michael Hartl Ruby using the Rails tutorial.

I have a short question: do you know of any courses like HartTutorial, but for iPhone applications ?

The second version of the letter is much easier to read, and it immediately becomes clear what they want from you. To achieve the same effect, break paragraphs into short sentences, highlight the call to action, and use bold or italic text to draw the reader's attention to important parts of the text.

Be clear about what you want me to do

There is probably nothing worse than getting a letter with a lot of information but not being told exactly what they want. Personally, I often respond to such emails with one sentence: “What do you want me to do?”. nine0006

Do you want me to introduce you to someone? Or to read your blog post and give feedback? Or do you want me to answer if I can attend your event? Be specific and tell me about it right away.

Bad example:

I just watched your computer programming course. I am 14 and this is what I would like to do in life. Could you help me with this? I really want to get your answer.

This email has a call to action to "help me", but I don't know what that means or what answer I should give. More specific option:

Hello Mattan!

I'm 14 and want to learn programming. What resource would you recommend to me first of all for this?

If you need to send a long email with a lot of information, write a call to action at the very beginning. For example: “I am writing this letter to you to see if you can attend our event described below. Just answer yes or no.

This trick also helps the recipient determine if they need to forward this e-mail to their colleague, to whom they often delegate such tasks. nine0006

Be sensible with your request

Today it is very easy to send an email in 30 seconds, which will make the recipient spend an hour of his time, or even more.

You don't have to ask me in your email to go to your startup website and give you feedback. This request includes a thorough review and analysis of the product, which takes a lot of time. If I get an email that I can answer in 2 minutes, I will do it right away. What do you want an answer about? What about your business model? Or the colors of the button on the site? Perhaps text? Be specific and justified in your requests. nine0006

Don't expect the respondent to do your job for you and determine what you really want from them. Do not ask a question like “What do you think we need to do to get more users?”. And do not ask for something that requires a lot of effort and resources of the person you are addressing. For example:

Would you like to have lunch with me and another co-founder? We would like to tell you what we do and get your opinion about our project. nine0006

These types of requests often mean that the person who wrote the letter does not really know what he wants from the respondent. No wonder such emails get rejected.

Depending on the amount of work and priority, Mattan agrees to do the following:

  • Give a short answer - "Thank you" or "It means a lot to me."
  • Answer a specific question - if possible in less than 2 minutes.
  • Make a quick skype-call or phone conversation - about 15 minutes. nine0196
  • Meet for coffee - about 45 minutes.

Of course, if he sees that a personal meeting can be replaced by a telephone conversation, he will insist on the latter in order to save his time.

Prove why I should take the time to help you

A person who receives hundreds of inquiries and requests every day cannot physically respond to them all.


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