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Experience Letter | Meaning and Definition

What is an Experience letter?

An experience letter is an official document that proves your employment with a certain organization. An employee requires an experience letter during a job switch that certifies his role in the organization.

Generally, experience letters are shared by the HR of the organization. The HR manager must collect the information from the employee’s reporting manager to design an experience letter.

This is one of the most valuable documents an individual can add to his portfolio. Before you accept an employee’s request to provide an experience letter you should keep certain things in mind.

  • You have direct knowledge of the employee’s work experience and skills an employee gained during his tenure.
  • There is positive feedback that you can provide regarding your employee.
  • You can also describe specific examples of an employee’s work habits, skills and experience.

Details required in experience letter

An experience letter must contain some important components:

1. Job role- The experience letter should contain the employee’s job role in the organization. The job role represents the role for which a person was responsible in his previous organization.

For example, if an employee worked as a graphic designer in an organization for three years, it should be clearly mentioned that a specific employee was in charge of designing templates, social media posts, etc in the organization during his tenure.

2. Date of joining- The date of joining must be mentioned in the experience letter to state the duration of employment in the organization.

For example- An employee joined the organization on 20th April 2018 and resigned on 15 March 2023. So his tenure would be approximately 5 years.

3. Skills and experience gained- An experience letter must contain the skills and experience gained during his tenure. It includes all the certifications and experience that employees receive.

For example- An employee did some professional course during his tenure related to his job role to enhance efficiency. It should be mentioned in the experience letter.

4. Date of resignation- It is necessary to mention the date of resignation in the experience letter to state that the employee is no longer associated/ employed with the previous organization.

For example- If an employee resigned from his previous organization on 25th March 2023. So this date should be mentioned in the experience letter to ensure that employee is no longer employed/associated with the previous organization or employer.

5. Date of issuing the letter- The date of issuing the letter must be mentioned in the experience letter. The date of issuing is necessary to verify the authenticity of the experience letter so that no false information could be passed on.

For example- If the date of issuing an experience letter is not mentioned the employee can use the experience letter at any time in any organization. This increases the chances of manipulation and fraud.

So it is necessary to mention the date of issuing the experience letter.

How to write an experience letter?

Writing an honest and professional experience letter is necessary for an employer.

Some key points must be kept while writing an experience letter:

  • Write a salutation- Open the letter with a proper salutation, such as “Dear”. If you know the name of the new hiring manager you can also mention the name as ‘Mr./ Mrs.’ along with their last name. If you don’t know their name, use a professional salutation such as “To whom it may concern”. 
  • Be professional- An employer should be professional throughout the experience letter to establish authority as an employer.
  • Write on your standard business letterheads- Always write the experience letter on your formal business letterheads to ensure the authenticity of experience letters.
  • Include the employee’s full name- The experience letter must include the full name or the legal name of the employee as per his records. Doing this will reduce the chances of confusion and employers can also match their details with the employee’s records.
  • Include the role/ designation of employee- An experience letter must contain the role/ designation of the employee in their organization.

    For example- If an employee was working as Executive Manager at the organization but later he was promoted to Senior Manager. These details        should be mentioned in the employee’s experience letter.

  • Include the employee details- It is important to include employee details such as job title, job role, experiences and certifications, and employer’s unbiased feedback to the employee.
  • Describe the employee- The work experience letter should contain the details of the employee including their work ethics, skills, job role, behavior with co-workers etc. The most easy way to do so is to keep an employee’s description ready. This helps the employer in writing exact skills and certifications of the employee.
  • End on a positive note- A work experience letter should include that the employees are leaving the organization on their own will and they wish best of luck for their future and if there is any other reason for leaving the organization it should be clearly stated.
  • Place your signature at the end- It is necessary to place your signature along with the name and address of the organization at the end in order to ensure the authenticity of the experience letter. .

Importance of experience letter

  • Proof of work experience- An experience letter proves an employee’s work experience in the organization.
  • Certifications and Experiences- It serves as a document that supports the certifications and experiences mentioned in the employee’s resume.
  • Design out pay for employee- It acts as a support for employers to decide employee’s salary and their job role in the organization.
  • To get better career opportunities- Experience letters help to get better job opportunities. Employees also require an experience letter sometimes when they wish to pursue higher studies.
  • Scholarships and Admissions- A person can easily get scholarships and admission to reputed universities based on their experience letter as some universities consider work experience as their criteria for a specific course/ certification.
  • Helps to withdraw Social Security Fund- When an employee wishes to withdraw social security funds, an experience letter must be submitted so that he can easily withdraw the same.
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