{"id":44489,"date":"2019-01-16T05:24:35","date_gmt":"2019-01-16T12:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/should-i-write-my-own-recommendation-letter\/"},"modified":"2019-01-16T05:24:35","modified_gmt":"2019-01-16T12:24:35","slug":"should-i-write-my-own-recommendation-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/should-i-write-my-own-recommendation-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cShould I Write My Own Recommendation Letter?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Self-Writing<\/figure>\n

Maybe your recommender of choice is just too busy right now, or maybe you\u2019re not so confident in their ability to get it done, or to do it well. Besides, you know how your solid your work has been, you know your own strengths, you basically know what they\u2019d say\u2026can\u2019t you just crank that letter out for them?<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t do it. Writing your own recommendation letter is a
\nself-defeating exercise, and it\u2019s simply not worth it. <\/p>\n

The best reason we can give you is that if the adcom suspects you wrote your own letter (and it\u2019s much easier to tell than you might think), then you\u2019ve just given them every reason to ding you, regardless of how strong the rest of your application is. You\u2019re taking a huge risk here: a self-written recommendation will immediately undermine what might otherwise be a great application, and can turn an admittance into a rejection faster than Elon Musk can shoot off an offensive tweet<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Even if you manage to avoid suspicion, which, we\u2019ll say again is harder than you might think, there\u2019s a reason someone else is meant to write a recommendation for you. An outside perspective on you, your qualities and your work adds immense value to your application. You can\u2019t<\/em> have the kind of insight and perspective that a manager, colleague, or mentor might have on your strengths and potential, so if you write your own letter you miss out on that addition to your application, and you\u2019re only cheating yourself.<\/p>\n

Have you ever seen a video of yourself or listened to a
\nrecording of your own voice, and been shocked at how different you appear or
\nsound to others? Well, that\u2019s the recommendation. It\u2019s a whole other perception
\nof you, and you will lose out if you rob your application of that unique
\naspect.<\/p>\n

Simply put, you will not be able to write the kind of recommendation
\nletter a recommender could, and it\u2019s all too easy to spot a self-written rec
\n(remember, the adcom reads hundreds of applications every season\u2014they\u2019re
\nexperts), and kill your chances of admission.<\/p>\n

So, what do you do if you meet with resistance when you ask
\nyour recommender for a letter? What you are really asking for is a little of
\ntheir time and energy, and while any good manager or mentor should be willing
\nto expend a little time and energy on you, one of their most valuable
\nemployees, every once in a while, this does happen. They claim they are too
\nbusy, or that they are no good at writing anyway. Whatever it is, you\u2019ve hit a
\nwall.<\/p>\n

\n

Recommended Reading:<\/strong> How to Choose a Recommender That Strikes the Right Balance<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

First of all, if you meet resistance, negotiate! If they
\nsimply aren\u2019t willing to take the time to write a recommendation letter, and
\nthey are definitely the person you need a rec from, try to get as much as you
\ncan from them. See if they\u2019ll write up some key points, outlines, or sketches,
\nand you can translate that into sentences that they\u2019ll review and approve. If
\nthey\u2019re not keen on that, suggest a conversation in which they simply tell you
\nwhat they might say, and you take careful note of the content and tone to
\ncapture in the letter. If nothing else, at least ask them for a \u201creview\u201d of
\nyour first draft to make sure that it\u2019s in line with what they would say. <\/p>\n

Before you fall back to self-writing though, think carefully
\nabout who else you might get to write your letter. Even if it\u2019s a manager from
\na year or so ago, this will be a better addition to your application than a
\nletter that the adcom can tell that you wrote, and you can include a note of
\nexplanation about your recommender choice in that additional, optional essay.<\/p>\n

If you absolutely cannot convince your recommender of choice
\nto write you letter, and you don\u2019t have any back-up recommenders, then here are
\na couple of tips to keep in mind as you self-write. Despite these helpful tips,
\nwe do NOT recommend this route. <\/p>\n

1. Change up your tone <\/h3>\n

If you were impersonating someone else on the phone, you probably wouldn\u2019t use your own voice, and nor should you in this letter. The adcom will have ample evidence of your written voice in your essays, and if the recommendation letter you send matches the tone and voice of the essays, well then you\u2019re in trouble, my friend. Put yourself in your recommenders\u2019 head, think about how they speak and express themselves, and try to put that on the page. Don\u2019t go over the top though, or it will sound artificial. The best way to vary your tone is to write a first draft without thinking about it, and go back in and edit the phrasing here and there to change up the voice.<\/p>\n

2. Vary the content<\/h3>\n

In a similar vein, you will want to vary the content you
\ninclude. If you tell all the same stories in the recommendation letter that you
\ndid in your essays, that will tip off the adcom that there is something fishy
\ngoing on. Be careful of the level of detail that you provide as well. While in
\nthe essays it was key to share your thinking behind key decisions or leadership
\nmoments, if you do so in the letter of recommendation it will be obvious that
\nyou wrote it yourself. There\u2019s simply no way that your recommender will
\nremember the same level of detail, or have had insight into your motivations
\nwhen it comes to your key accomplishments. Try to tell them from an outsider\u2019s
\nperspective.<\/p>\n

Again, we can\u2019t emphasize enough just how unwise it is to self-write a recommendation letter: it simply isn\u2019t worth staking your application on if you can possibly avoid it. Even a sub-par letter from your \u201ctoo busy to help\u201d manager will be better than an obviously self-written letter!<\/p>\n

===<\/p>\n

***NEW Admissionado Products & Services!<\/a>***Now, read up and get smart:<\/p>\n