Work Experience Letter Format (With Sample)

When an employee leaves an organisation, the most important document they receive from their employer is the work experience letter. This letter officially validates that the outgoing employee was a part of the organisation and mentions details about their tenure and the employee's conduct during their tenure. In this article, we will discuss what a work experience letter is, how to write one, things to include in it and a sample work experience letter format for your reference.

Related: How to Write a Job Application Letter: Sample Included

What Is A Work Experience Letter Format?

A work experience letter format is a template for a formal document that proves an employee's employment with an organisation. This letter is provided by the employer to their employees when they are leaving the organisation. It contains information like tenure, job role, skills portrayed, and the employee's overall conduct during their tenure.

The format used for writing this work experience letter can differ from organisation to organisation. If you are part of your organisation's HR team, you may have to write this experience letter for an outgoing coworker. In such scenarios, having a good experience letter format makes your work easier and you will be able to comprehensively cover all the required details.

Criteria For Getting A Work Experience Letter

All employers have a certain set of conditions that need to be fulfilled by an employee to qualify them for receiving a work experience letter. While most of these conditions are the same across all industries, there may be some differences depending on your employer. Some examples of criteria include:

• Minimum working period: An employee must have worked for the organisation for a certain period, pre-decided by the organisation.

• No conflicts: There should not be any dispute between the employer and the employee regarding any liabilities.

• No violations of employment contract: There should not be any breach of contract signed by the employee at the time of joining the organisation.

• Completion of all formalities: The employee must have handed over all the necessary/sensitive documents related to the organisation.

• Notice period duties: The employee must have served their notice period, as mentioned in the joining letter.

How To Write A Work Experience Letter?

As part of your organisation's HR team, you may have to write work experience letters for your outgoing coworkers. To make sure the letter is up to the industry standards, here are a few steps you may follow for writing a professional work experience letter:

1. Use the organisation letterhead

As the work experience letter is a professional document, you should always write it on the company letterhead. In case your organisation does not have a letterhead, the company's seal should be present in the letter.

2. Include issue date

You should mention the date of issuance of the letter in the top left corner of the letter. The date must be mentioned in full, i.e., day, month and year should be included.

Example: 26 February 2021 or 26/02/2021

3. Begin with a professional salutation

You may not know where the employee is moving to and hence whom the work experience letter should address. Therefore, a work experience letter should begin with a professional, polite and neutral salutation such as “To whom it may concern”.

4. Include employee's full name

The work experience letter should include the employee's full name, as mentioned in the company records. This helps in avoiding confusion and aids the new employer in verification. For example, if an employee's name in company records is “Ankit Kumar Kukreja”, it should be written as it is, instead of “Ankit Kukreja” or “Ankit K. Kukreja”, in the work experience letter.

5. Include employee's latest title or designation

The work experience letter should include an employee's latest title or designation, as on the day they resigned. If the employee was promoted during their tenure, you should mention their title before the promotion, after the promotion and the reason for promotion in the letter.

Example: "During his time with us, Ankit was promoted from Sr. Copywriter to his current position as Marketing Communications Manager as he showed exemplary work ethics, created brilliant campaign ideas and effectively received and applied feedback."

6. Mention the employee's tenure of employment

The work experience letter should include the employee's joining date and their last day of employment with the organisation. If they are still employed with the company, then the experience letter should mention that.

Example: "Neha's employment with us began on 17 May 2019 and ended on 15 September 2021."

6. Describe the employee

The work experience letter should include a brief about the employee. You should mention details like their work ethics, skills, job role, core strengths, knowledge and performance in the letter. The most effective way to do this is to have the employee's job description handy. This helps in writing the exact skills and experience the employee had shown during their tenure.

Example: "Manvi's duties included writing and editing blogs for the brand's website, coordinating with different stakeholders for smooth execution of campaigns and meeting deadlines."

7. End on a positive note

A work experience letter should include a statement that says the employee is leaving the company by their own will and that you wish them the best for their future. Even if the employee was laid off because of performance issues, you might include a line stating some other reason. This usually depends on the decision taken by the senior management.

Example: "Ankit's decision of leaving the organisation is solely his own. We wish him all the best for his future endeavours."

8. Place your signature at the end

A work experience letter should end with a closing phrase, a signature of any signatory authority, their designation and the company's seal. You may also include the company's name and address, if not included in the heading.

Example:

Sincerely,
(Signature)
Neha Sharma
HR Head
(Company seal)

Things To Check On A Work Experience Letter

As an outgoing employee, when receiving your work experience letter, here are some important things that you should check for to make sure everything is in order:

• The start and end dates of your tenure. On receiving the work experience letter, you should check and make sure that the start and end dates of your stint at the organisation have been mentioned correctly.

• Your full name and designation/title. On receiving the work experience letter, you should make sure that details like your legal name and your designation or title are correct.

• A positive statement about you. On receiving the work experience letter, you should make sure there are positive statements written about you in the letter. This is extremely important as this letter will go to all your prospective employers and these positive statements will show you in a good light.

• Your reason for leaving. On receiving the work experience letter, you should make sure the letter states the reason for leaving clearly and the reason itself is in a positive tone.

• Signatory name and designation. The work experience letter should end with an officiating authority signature, along with their name and designation.

Related: How to Write a Professional Thank You Letter

Work Experience Letter Format Template

Here is a template of a work experience letter format you can use as a starting point:

Date of Issue:

To whom it may concern.

This is to certify that [Name of the employee] was working with [Company name] as [Employee designation] in our [Department name] department at our [Office location] location for [Tenure] starting from [Start date] to [End date].

During his/her tenure with [Company name], we found [Employee name] to be honest, hardworking & responsible.

He/she has done an exemplary job while working with us and has always maintained professional relations with the team and colleagues.

The decision of moving on is completely [Employee name] own decision.

We wish him/her all the best in his/her future endeavours.

Sincerely,

[Signature]

[Name of signatory]

[Designation of the signatory]

[Contact details of the signatory]

Work Experience Letter Example

Here is an example of a work experience letter:

Date of Issue: 01-01-2021

To whom it may concern.

This is to certify that Ankit Kukreja was working with XYZ Pvt. Ltd. as a Senior Copywriter in our Marketing department at our Gurgaon location for 6 months starting from 1st July 2020 to 31st December 2020.

During his tenure with us, we found Ankit to be honest, hardworking & responsible.

Ankit has done an exemplary job while working with us and has always maintained professional relations with the team and colleagues.

The decision to move on is completely Ankit's own decision.

We wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

Sincerely,

[Signature]

Megha Verma

HR Head

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