Hi,

I hope this message finds you doing well and I appreciate your taking the time to read this.

Ok, so my background is definitely non-traditional. Since I graduated in 2005, with the exception of two summer internships at a law firm several years ago, I've made my living playing basketball in Germany and Spain. I'm applying to a variety of upper-tier schools and I like my chances, however I've run into a bit of a problem in that I don't know where to go for recommendations. Most of my bosses (coaches) don't speak English very well and as nice as most of them have been I don't have alot of confidence in their ability to produce a high quality essay. Does anyone have any suggestions? Who else can I turn to for a respectable recommendation?

Also, I've run into a bit of a problem with my resume. Over the course of my 5-yr career I've played for 6 teams and aside from wins and losses and statistics I have no concrete data to offer. There are no special projects that I've managed, no promotions or managerial positions. My duties have been identical for each and every team. And because I've played for a variety of teams with different circumstances, it's difficult to compare one season to the next. Moreover, should I list each and every team? Or should I just create one entry that includes all teams? Two entries ... one for each country?

That said, I was hoping someone could offer me some advice as to where I might want to look for possible recommendations and how I can put together an effective resume.

Again, thank you all for your time and thanks in advance for any input!

Best Regards,

cdo2004

I would go for the Coaches (or Assistant Coaches) who have the best writing abiliities to put together a solid recommendation. As to the language issue, have the recommendation form translated into their native language, and then have them write the recommendation in their native language so they can express themselves in the best way. Then, I'd pay for a translation service (maybe $100?) for them. This would be a lot of work on the recommender's side, since you probably wouldn't be allowed to have the recommendation translated yourself (because you may be able to see what the recommender wrote). It's a lot to ask, but if you had a good relationship then they might be willing to do this. While I think there should be nothing wrong with this procedure, I would check with the admissions office whether recommenders are allowed to write in their native language and then have it translated.

Regarding your resume, if for every team you had the same roles and responsibilities, then I'd just have 1 large entry (listing the different teams though) saving you space to go more in-depth into each of the bullet points.

Just my thoughts. Good luck!
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