You might also be able to get letters of recommendation from these companies when you apply for credit.

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The applicants must submit letters of recommendation and a personal essay and go through two rounds of interviews with the program's youth leaders.

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Others, they claim, are able-bodied pensioners who obtain "discretionary" badges from their local council by asking family doctors to write letters of recommendation.

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But in order to obtain these, one must assemble in advance another small pile of papers such as a police-issued good conduct pass or letters of recommendation from local officials.

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Shih took pains to cushion the blow of layoffs, providing generous severance packages and writing letters of recommendation and personal messages to the families of those who lost their jobs.

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Weary of making bureaucratic appointments solely on the basis of letters of recommendation, Yang set aside a number of posts for applicants who performed well on a new system of imperial examinations.

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The process takes the students through each step: selecting their target schools, filling out applications, writing essays, obtaining letters of recommendation, targeting scholarships and financial aid, reporting test scores and completing entrance exams.

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Rice University professors Michelle Hebl and Randi Martin and graduate student Juan Madera, now an assistant professor at the University of Houston, reviewed 624 letters of recommendation for 194 applicants for eight junior faculty positions at a U.S. university.

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Be wary of who you ask for recommendation letters when job-hunting and be sure to communicate the action points you hope are covered.

FORBES: Recommendation Letters Cost Women Jobs