Recommendation letter guide · Sample letter and email · Updated Nov 2026

Letter of recommendation for a Strategy & Operations role

The short answer

The strongest S&O recommendation comes from someone who saw you solve a business problem end to end: your manager, or the operations or business lead whose metric you moved. It should prove three things with specific stories: you found the real cause in messy data, you got other teams to act, and the number moved.

See the sample letter Full S&O interview guide

Who should write it

Pick the person who saw your work most closely, not the one with the biggest title.

Your manager or S&O lead

They set your problems and can confirm the analysis, the change and the result.

An operations, sales or finance leader whose metric you moved

S&O works through other teams, so a partner who acted on your work is strong evidence.

A former engagement manager (for ex-consultants)

They can speak to structured problem solving and how clients responded to your work.

What a S&O letter must prove

Each quality needs a specific story. Here is the kind of line that proves it.

Finds the real cause

“Kavya traced our drop in repeat orders to a delivery-fee change in two cities, when everyone suspected app quality.”

Gets other teams to act

“She brought sales, operations and risk into one room and removed three hand-offs from onboarding.”

Moves the number

“Her supply model lifted on-time deliveries from 82% to 88% without adding incentive spend.”

Thinks about cost

“Every recommendation came with its cost, its payback and a pilot to test it.”

Structure: one page, five short parts

1OpeningWho you are, how long and how you worked with the candidate, and the role they are applying for.
2Headline claimOne sentence that sums them up, e.g. “the person I give the problems nobody owns”. Only if true.
3Two specific casesEach: the problem, how they analysed it, which teams they moved, and the measured result.
4How they work with othersOne short paragraph on influence without authority and how they handled being wrong or challenged.
5CloseA clear recommendation and an offer to talk, with your contact details.

Sample letter of recommendation

From a head of strategy & operations, for a job application (fictional people and company)

I am Rohan Bhatia, Head of Strategy & Operations at Thaali Express (fictional), a food delivery company. Kavya Menon has worked on my team for two years as a manager, owning supply planning across fourteen zones. I am glad to recommend her for a Strategy & Operations role.

Kavya is the person I give the problems nobody owns. When repeat orders fell 7% in two cities, most of us suspected the app. She ran a cohort analysis, traced the drop to a delivery-fee change, and made the case to roll it back. Repeat rate recovered within three weeks.

She is just as strong at running the fix. Her zone-level supply model showed that we paid incentives at the wrong hours. She tested a shift against matched control zones, then rolled it out: on-time deliveries rose from 82% to 88% with no extra spend.

She also brings people with her. Merchant onboarding took eleven days because sales, operations and risk each waited on the others. Kavya got all three teams to agree a new order of checks; go-live now takes six days, and the teams still use her tracker.

I recommend Kavya without reservation and would be happy to speak with you about her work.

Rohan Bhatia, Head of Strategy & Operations, Thaali Express (fictional) · rohan@example.com

All people, companies and numbers in this sample are fictional. Your recommender should write in their own words.

How to ask, and what to send

Make it easy to say yes: a short email plus a one-page brief.

Email to your recommender

Subject: Would you be a reference for a Strategy & Operations role?

Hi [Name], I am applying for Strategy & Operations roles, starting with [Company]. You saw my work on [project] more closely than anyone, so I would be grateful if you could write a short recommendation or take a reference call. I have attached a one-page brief: the role, two cases you might mention, and the before-and-after numbers. Please change anything that does not match your memory, and tell me if any number should stay private. The deadline is [date]. If now is a bad time, no problem at all. Thank you, [Your name]

The brief to attach

The job description and why you want the role (two lines).
Two cases they saw, each with the problem, your analysis, the teams involved and the result.
One time you were challenged or wrong, so they can speak to how you handle it.
Which numbers are safe to share outside the company, and which to give as percentages only.
The deadline, the format (letter, form or call) and where to send it.

Job, MBA, promotion or referral

Same stories, different emphasis.

Job application or reference call

Keep it to one page and lead with a case and its number. Many companies prefer a 15-minute call, so ask which they want.

MBA or master’s application

Add growth and potential: how the candidate’s scope grew, a setback they learned from, and how they led people. Answer the school’s questions exactly.

Internal move (operations or analytics to S&O)

Focus on S&O work already done: a cross-team problem they solved, the analysis and how other teams responded.

Referral note to a recruiter

Three sentences: how you know them, the best problem they solved and its number, and why they fit this team.

Mistakes that weaken a recommendation

Generic praise (“strategic, analytical, a great communicator”) with no case behind it.
Describing the analysis but not the change it led to or the result.
Crediting the candidate with the operations team’s work. Say what they found and drove.
A senior recommender who barely saw the work. A specific letter from a direct manager beats a vague one from a VP.
Writing the letter yourself and asking them to sign it. Send a brief and let them use their own words.

Fix your resume next

Bullet bank, keywords from real job posts and a sample one-page S&O resume.

S&O resume (CV) guide

Keep going

S&O resume (CV) guide S&O interview questions with answers Practise out loud in a free AI mock interview

Frequently asked questions

Do S&O roles ask for letters of recommendation?

Most companies use reference calls with your last manager and a peer. Letters matter more for MBA and master’s applications, internal moves and some Indian employers. The same brief works for both.

Who is the best person to recommend me for S&O?

Your direct manager first, then a business or operations leader who acted on your work. For ex-consultants, a former engagement manager who saw your analysis up close.

How long should the letter be?

One page, four to five short paragraphs: introduction, two specific cases with numbers, how the candidate works with others, and a clear close.

Can I write my own letter of recommendation?

Avoid it. Send your recommender a one-page brief with your cases and numbers, and let them write in their own voice.