I wrote a letter of recommendation for someone, and in the process, I learned an important lesson.

Why writing one is an excellent opportunity to reflect on your career and life in general.

I had the privilege of writing a letter of recommendation for someone I know applying to law school. I was a little hesitant at first. Sure, I have provided references before for friends and colleagues but never wrote a letter of recommendation for someone this young. I was terrified, thinking that my letter might end up impacting one of the most significant decisions of his life. So as you can imagine, after a considerable amount of procrastination, I sat down to write at the very last minute.

It turns out I was worried for no reason. Once I sat down and started writing, words just flowed without any effort. I started with what would have been my concluding statement: “I am delighted to give my recommendation without any reservations to admit (name withheld) to your esteemed law school.” Everything that came after that was effortless as I built an argument for my recommendation based on my direct experience working with him. My years of experience gave me the right frame of reference to judge his maturity levels, work ethic, and above all, his character. It was at that moment I realized that there was something in it for me as well. Writing this letter helped me reflect and bring closure to a significant chapter in my own professional life. I will look back on this chapter with great satisfaction and fondness for the learning opportunities it afforded.

So next time someone approaches you to write them a letter of recommendation, do it. Even if no one does, LinkedIn offers a great platform to acknowledge a job well done. Maybe once a year, we should all have someone write a letter of recommendation for us — what do you think?