How to Recommend Someone You Don't Know
How to Recommend Someone You Don't Know
“I must refer you to himself for his character.”
Has a stranger ever asked you for a recommendation? Maybe it is your neighbor’s cousin? Or that lady who you’ve only seen at the YMCA’s yoga class?
It may seem strange, but people do this all the time. Maybe they have a limited pool of people they know, maybe they think you’re closer than you are, maybe they don’t know that “a recommendation” doesn’t mean “oh yeah, I know this person is a human who exists.”
But don’t stress, boo. Even Benjamin Franklin had to contend with presumptuous requests.
Benjamin Franklin wrote the following recommendation from France for an acquaintance about to sail to America:
“I must refer you to himself for his character.”
In other words, “you’ll have to ask him about his character.” Yikes.
Here’s the full letter:
Benjamin Franklin's Letter of Recommendation
Paris, April 2, 1777
Sir,
The Bearer of this who is going to America, presses me to give him a Letter of Recommendation, tho' I know nothing of him, not even his Name. This may seem extraordinary, but I assure you it is not uncommon here. Sometimes indeed one unknown person brings me another equally unknown, to recommend him; and sometimes they recommend one another! As to this Gentleman, I must refer you to himself for his character and merits, with which he is certainly better acquainted than I can possibly be; I recommend him however to those civilities which every stranger, of whom one knows no harm, has a right to, and I request you will do him all the good offices and show him all the favour that on further acquaintance you shall find him to deserve. I have the honour to be, &c.
Benjamin Franklin
Source:
Founders Online: "Model of a Letter of Recommendation of a Person You Are Unacquainted With
Talking Points
If a stranger asks you to make a recommendation, you can say the following:
I'm flattered that you considered me for a recommendation. Could you share more details about your experience and the specific opportunity you're interested in? This information will help me understand if I'm the right person to assist.
I appreciate your interest in having me recommend you. Since we don't know each other well, it might be beneficial for both of us if you could provide me with some more information about your work and achievements. This way, I can make an informed decision about how best to support you.
It's important to me that my recommendations are genuine and reflect firsthand experience with the individual's work. Perhaps there's a way we can collaborate or interact more directly in the near future to build that foundation.
Given our limited interaction, I might not be the best person to provide a recommendation that would do justice to your skills and abilities. However, I'd be happy to help you connect with resources or networks that could be more relevant to your goals.
Making effective recommendations requires a good understanding of the person's abilities and how they align with the opportunity in question. It might be helpful if we could discuss your experiences and the nature of the recommendation you're seeking in more detail.
While I'm not able to offer a personal recommendation at this time, I'm open to learning more about your work. Sharing your portfolio or recent projects could be a great start for us to get to know each other better.
Recommendations are most impactful when they come from someone who has closely worked with the individual. If others are more familiar with your work and achievements, it might be more beneficial to seek recommendations from them.
Here’s another great response:
Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher (an excerpt)
Dear Admissions Committee Members:
This letter recommends Melanie deRueda for admission to the law school on the well-heeled side of this campus. I've known Ms. deRueda for eleven minutes, ten of which were spent in a fruitless attempt to explain to her that I write letters of recommendation only for students who have signed up for and completed one of my classes.
This young woman is certainly tenacious, if that's what you're looking for. A transfer student, she appears to be suffering under the delusion that a recommendation from any random faculty member within our august institution will be the key to her application's success…