Intern
Joined: 03 Aug 2011
Posts: 41
Given Kudos: 17
Concentration: Social Entrepreneurship, General Management
GPA: 3.94
WE:Management Consulting (Consulting)
Looking for advice on recommendation strategy
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24 Jul 2013, 10:26
Hello,
Wanted to get some advice from admissions consultants on my recommendation letter strategy.
Context:
- I am applying to HBS and Stanford Rd 1 this year
- I recently started work at a new organization (started a month ago). Prior to that, I worked at MBB
- From the get-go, I told my new employer that I will be asking for a recommendation pretty soon after I start
- I am planning to ask for a rec in about a month (so I will have ~2 months of work under my belt)
- I have two people in mind who could contribute to my recommendation:
#1-- the Country Director, who is my direct supervisor (though I have been doing a lot of independent work for ~80% of my work here thus far)
This person was a former manager at MBB, holds a PhD (but not an MBA) from a reputed US institution.
#2-- the Managing Director, who would be considered an "other supervisor"
This person was also a former manager at MBB, an HBS alum. She's been very supportive of my grad school application from the beginning and actively said she could write my rec.
My current plan is to ask the Country Director to write my recommendation because schools seem to prefer/require a rec from the "direct supervisor". (My other recommender is a partner from MBB, so wasn't my direct supervisor)
Questions:
A) Wondering if anyone thinks that asking the MD for a rec might be better, given that she's an HBS alum and is the MD of the organization?
B) If I were to go ahead with my current plan and ask the Country Director, could there be a potential hybrid approach in which I can also get the MD to endorse my application to b-school? (e.g., she co-signs the letter, or submits the letter, or endorses me in the optional section of the application?) In this alternative strategy, who would I register as my recommender on the online application system?
Thank you so much for your help.