letters of reference v letters of introduction?

Question

A friend of mine asked my opinion on letters of reference from Profs or instructors or employers. And you can be sure have an opinion, no body gone like.

I said letters of introduction were much better approx three to four lines, similar to this.

Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing this letter to confirm that Mr. ****** **** was a student in the *** ********** *********** program since September 2004 until the end of April 2008-02-26
During this time, I had the opportunity to instruct Mr. **** *** in ******** **********. I found Mr. **** to be an extremely conscientious and studious individual. He is a quick study and has a keen attention to detail.
I would like to provide a positive recommendation for Mr. **** as a potential employee.
Sincerely,

My reply to my friend.

It is what ever is good for you,
All I am saying is if someone won’t write me one, then I really wonder about what they have to hide and why they won’t trust me.
And what they have to say, that they can’t say to my face or put in writing for me.
In my personal opinion letters of reference are a cowardly open invitation to discriminate, and black-ball people; I feel it is a form of human rights issue.
It can be used by old employers to keep people from ever getting work.
Susan (just an example), worked for a company for eight years with no problem, then the business was sold and the new employer harassed her and scared her so she had to quit. But now she could not use the last eight years of her life as a reference.
Another example Jim is a native every one thought he was fine as long as he stayed as a grunt doing the dirty work. But then he went to school and wanted letters of reference from his employer that thought natives should not forget there place, so he smiled to jims face and every time Jim went for a job Jim could not figure out why he could not get work.
The answer?
His old employer did not want natives getting ahead in Canada.
Letters of reference can be used by an employer that has harassed female employees, to stalk them and keep tabs on them.
They are in my personal opinion
Invasive,
Dangerous,
Unnecessary,
And a breeding ground for quite discrimination.
It also prejudges the person with out them being allowed to defend themselves, and encourages assumptions, and it assumes that because a person made one mistake they will never change.

It would be interesting to see what female right groups, or native groups, or others have to say on these arguments against letters of reference and why they should be against the law and outlawed.

Answer 1

While I do understand the point you are making , strictly speaking a letter of introduction is written when someone you have connections w already knows the person the letter is directed toward , hence the term letter of introduction....they are introducing you to someone they already know.

Whereas a letter of reference is a tool for someone w personal or business knowledge of you to express their views to someone who they don't (& likely won't know)

I am in the midst of a career change, & don't provide a reference letter unless it is specifically requested.

Good Luck !!

Answer 2

I agree with the first poster on the difference between the two types of letters. Also, a person who would write a bad letter of reference is just as likely to write a bad letter of introduction. I have never heard of employers sending out unsolicited letters of reference. For example, Susan, from your hypo above, could ask her boss of eight years for a reference and then just explain her reasons for seeking a new job. I really don't understand how these letters could be used to stalk anyone because presumably no one is sending an unsolicited reference letter to random companies and asking the company to reply with personal data on a possible employee.