{"id":31772,"date":"2016-01-11T02:20:50","date_gmt":"2016-01-11T09:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=31772"},"modified":"2016-07-27T15:54:09","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T22:54:09","slug":"how-not-to-ask-for-a-letter-of-recommendation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/how-not-to-ask-for-a-letter-of-recommendation\/","title":{"rendered":"How Not to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Learn<\/a>
<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Give your recommenders time - a rushed product is not a great product.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Your recommenders are doing you a favor, so the least you can do is make their job easier by following proper LOR etiquette. Breaking these important letter of rec rules may result in your recommenders deciding not to dish out the most favorable review. Stay on their good side, help them stay organized, and most importantly, make sure you DO NOT commit any of these LOR mistakes:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Do Not Give them short notice.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/b>Your recommenders have full-time jobs, lives, and potentially other recommendations to write. If you ask for their recommendation too close to the deadline, you may end up without a recommendation. <\/span><\/p>\n

2. Do Not Give them an incomplete package of materials.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/b>There are a number of must-include documents that you need to submit to your recommender if you want the greatest chance of a) receiving a good recommendation and b) receiving a good recommendation submitted on time. These include: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 A copy of your resume<\/a>\/CV<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Information about the school\/program you're applying to<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 A letter detailing your interests and goals related to the degree you're pursuing<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 A clear link with\u00a0instructions on what they need to do<\/a>\/include in their recommendation letter<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 A clear deadline<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 An addressed and stamped envelope to the school (if that's what's required, though most schools will want an online submission)<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Do Not Give them attitude.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/b>Writing these letters takes time \u2013 an irreplaceable, valuable commodity. Be polite and gracious when asking for a recommendation. <\/span><\/p>\n

Provide all of the above materials in an organized, labeled fashion so that your recommenders can easily review what you've given them and then get started writing, without needing to sort through a jumble of messy papers or unclear links or instructions. The better you present yourself and your materials, the easier you'll make their job, the more impressed with you they'll be, and \u2013 if all goes well \u2013 the better your recommendation will turn out. <\/span><\/p>\n

It's also a good idea \u2013 not to mention, simple good manners \u2013 to send your recommender a thank you note.<\/span><\/p>\n

We have tips for writers of letters of recommendation in each category (<\/span>med<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>law<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>grad<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>MBA<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>college<\/span><\/a>). It may be smart to send one of those links to your recommenders to provide more guidance and inspiration for their writing.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Download<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Accepted:<\/a>
\nRelated Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Quick Guide to Admissions Resumes<\/a>\u00a0[free guide]
\n\u2022\u00a0MBA Letters Of Recommendation<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0Recommenders And Recommendations<\/a><\/p>\n

This article\u00a0<\/a>originally appeared on\u00a0<\/em>blog.accepted.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where apply, writing your application essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.<\/p>\n

Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will help\u00a0you\u00a0<\/em>get accepted<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Your recommenders are doing you a favor, so the least you can do is make their job easier by following proper LOR etiquette. Breaking these important letter of rec rules…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,939,775,243],"tags":[1697,300,518,1699,1845,1686,432],"class_list":["post-31772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","tag-asking-for-a-letter-of-recommendation","tag-letter-of-recommendation","tag-letters-of-recommendation","tag-mba-admissions-and-letters-of-recommendation","tag-mba-letters-of-recommendation","tag-mba-recommendation-letters","tag-recommendation-letters","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31772"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31774,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31772\/revisions\/31774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}