The Basics of Writing a Professional Letter

In today’s age wherein you can easily send messages, it seems that only a few younger folks can properly write a professional letter. However, this particular skill is still essential and must be learned. Professional letters are important for more serious matters such as a recommendation or proposal. But how can you write an effective professional letter? What are the best examples of these letters? What words should you use? 

In this brief post, we will enlighten you on everything there is to know about professional letters. 

Why are Professional Letters Important?  

Still not convinced that you need to understand even the basic principles of professional letters? Then here are more reasons:

It Shows Outstanding Communication Skills 

Imagine if you want to apply for a job and your Hiring Manager sees how lousy your cover letter is? Do you think it will create a good impression? Or how about if your professor writes a mediocre recommendation letter? Do you think you can get in that summer program you’ve always dreamed about? 

A professional letter indicates your level of proficiency in written communication. For big companies and educational institutions, this is definitely a big factor. It can make or break your proposals or application.  

It Shows the Importance of the Subject Matter 

A professional letter sends a strong message, and we don’t mean the actual content of your letter. Just by the format itself, the recipient can already identify that you mean serious business. This can already pre-set their thoughts about your main agenda. 

Tips on How to Write a Professional Letter

When you write a professional letter, you have to remember the following to make it even more effective. 

• You need to include a professional greeting and closing. 
• Each paragraph should be substantial. There’s no room for long and winding explanations. 
• Thank your recipient. This shows that you appreciate their time. 
• Use a colon after the salutation and a comma after the closing 

Format of a Professional Letter

To make things easier for you, we have provided a format you can use for your next professional letter. This can definitely win your recipient. 

Your address

Date 

Your recipient’s address 

Salutation 

Body of Your Letter

• First Paragraph 

Start your letter with a friendly statement and the main objective of why you sent the letter. 

• Second Paragraph and/or Third Paragraph 

Pertinent information that can support your main objective. 

• Closing Paragraph

You can summarize the purpose of your letter and request for a specific action you need from the recipient.  

Proper Closing

There are different types of closing you can use. Here are some of the widely-accepted ones: 

• Yours truly, 
• Sincerely, 
• Appreciatively, 
• Faithfully,
• Best regards, 

Please avoid being too casual as you would want to sound professional all throughout your letter. 

Signature 

You can use the formats below depending on the channel you use. 

For email messages: 

Sincerely, 

Jane Morgan 

Administrative Assistant, XYZ Industries 

janem@xyz.com 

123-987-675

For printed letters: 

Best regards, 

[Hand-written signature] 

First Name and Last Name 

Kinds of Professional Letters 

There are various types of professional letters and of course, you must have different approaches and formats when creating one. We have listed the common types and provided you with some letter examples to use. 

Cover Letters for Job Applications

Even with the existence of online portals for job applications, there are still a lot of employers requiring cover letters. This means that you have to make it as perfect as you can if you want to make a good impression. You can use our guide below:

I am interested in the executive assistant position at JKL Industries, as advertised on Job Finder. I currently work as an executive secretary at Sunnyside Corporation and have been with the team for three years. And I believe that the skills and experiences from my current position make me the ideal candidate for the position. 

As an executive secretary, I have developed outstanding organizational skills. One of my main tasks is to ensure that all our CEO’s meeting schedules and files are in place. In addition, I represented our CEO in various business meetings. This allowed me to further understand business processes and it also enhanced my communication skills.  

I am confident that my experience in the administrative department and professional skills qualify me for consideration. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss my qualifications further. 

Letter of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation or reference letters are used when you want to strengthen a person’s credibility. Here you state their abilities and why you think an organization or an academic institution should accept them. It needs to be convincing enough yet professionally structured. You can check out the guide we have for you:

I am Elizabeth George, sending a reference letter for Carie Smiths. And I am currently the Department Head at Metro Signs Corporations. I would like to share my observations about Jessie’s work behavior and performance. 

To begin with, I highly recommend Carie as a candidate for employment. Carie was employed by Metro Signs Corporation as a Project Manager from April 2014 to June 2018. Carie was responsible for rolling out global initiatives in regional offices. 

She has impressive project management and leadership skills. In addition, her communication skills are top-notched. In fact, Carie led our company’s communication training program. Her dedication at work has earned her several company recognitions and awards.  

Carie would definitely be a great asset to your company. If you want to discuss this in detail, please do not hesitate to call. 

Sales Letters 

An outstanding sales letter can make or break your business. And that is why you have to give it your best shot. In this type of professional letter, you have to consider your audience. After all, you want to persuade your readers, you would want to win them. If you do not have an idea on how to write one, our short letter example should help you:

It is our pleasure to write to you. You have been a loyal subscriber of our publication for three years and we would like to offer you our new magazine, “Moms at Work”. It features strong women like yourself making a name in their own respective fields. The magazine is published every month. 

Moms at Work will be beneficial for mothers who are struggling to have a sound work-life balance. You will get tips and real-life advice from working moms around the country. 

To reward your loyalty, we will give you a special offer. You can get a yearly subscription for $100. The general public can get our magazine for $150 annually. With this letter, we are enclosing the first month’s issue for free. 

If you like our offer, you can contact our Sales Executive, Sheryl Brown on her email address sheryl@amber.com. We look forward to your positive response. 

Proper Tone for Professional Letters 

The tone of your letter is extremely important. We understand that this can be a challenge given that there is no actual sound when you read a letter. And that is why you have to be extra careful with the words you use, how you construct sentences, and where you place punctuation marks. Lastly, the tone of your letter also speaks a lot about yourself.

Your letter must be respectful and diplomatic. This must always be the case regardless if you are writing about an opposing view. And again, there is no room for fluff. 

It takes practice and experience to write an effective professional letter. If you need help, then hiring the services of experts can take a huge load from your shoulders.