In a situation of tough competition for a job position a good character reference letter could well be the deciding factor. That is precisely the reason why a character letter must never be overlooked when putting together a solid job application package.
Are you wondering with that question?
If you are not familiar with a character letter, don't worry! It's nothing much complicated that will bog you down. Rather once you understand what it is and why it is necessary you will find it easier to appreciate the efforts put into creating a good character reference letter for yourself.
So what is this all about?
Basically, such a letter entails a reputable individual offering a credible personal assessment vouching for the skills and integrity of the applicant. Potential employers do take these seriously because you are; essentially, the applicant is stranger to them. Due to this fact, they may rely on a reference to determine whether or not they are making a proper hiring decision.
Question will arise regarding what a character reference letter needs to be embodying in order to be effective. The contents of such a letter will be basic and relatively simple. It need not be verbose. Actually, verbosity could do more harm than good as no one reviewing the letter will wish to read a long, boring, and droning treatise. However, a straight forward letter that details who you are, what your experience is, and why you should be selected for the job will likely serve the prime purpose the reference character letter is intended to serve.
The person who writes the letter should be someone who is familiar with you and can write a letter that covers all the previous points listed that must be addressed.
This does not mean you want a relative or friend to write it though. Rather, you will want someone that falls under the category of an academic, a professional, or someone involved in civics, etc.
Why is this?
Basically, since you are seeking a reference for a professional pursuit, you will definitely need a recommendation from someone that maintains a professional background or better still a similar professional background to that of yours. This will allow the recommendation to carry quite a bit of weight. In short, you want the letter to be written by someone with professional credibility.
If you are not someone that has experience with writing or reviewing character reference letters, you will definitely need to run the letter by someone that does have experience. Does this mean you may have to pay a professional service to handle such a task for you? You may very well have to and this is not something that should ever be looked at as a negative. You will want all the main points required in the letter to be present. All the much needed aspects required for a good letter must be in place or else the letter may fall flat.
Another solid benefit to having someone with knowledge reviewing the letter would be proper editing and proofreading job will be done. You certainly do not want a letter that contains typos and errors as this would be tremendously embarrassing and self-defeating.
A quality character reference letter can certainly help your cause when you are seeking gainful employment. The key point here is that you will need to have a quality letter produced. With a high quality letter, you will discover that it helps your ability to be considered for the job.