Intern
Joined: 23 Feb 2012
Posts: 44
Given Kudos: 9
Location: United States
Concentration: Social Entrepreneurship, Strategy
Letters of Recommendation
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05 Mar 2012, 23:08
I know the majority of top programs require 2 letters of recommendations. I am going to do one from my current boss (title is Senior Engineering Manager). We work closely together every day, and I am confident he will write a very strong recommendation.
The issue I have is picking my second one because there are several ways I can go:
1) I have a previous boss who I am close with that was my manager for 3 co-op quarters at the company I am at currently. He has since left, but I have maintained a good relationship with him. He would write a glowing review emphasizing many of the right components, but he was never my boss when I was a full-time employee, just 3 co-op quarters.
2) My current boss's boss thinks highly of me and the work I have done. He is the VP of Inventory Optimization at our company (Fortune 100). I have no experience working directly under him, but he was the boss of person number 1 above, as well. I work with him directly around 3-4 times per month, but he does not really know me on a personal level, just more of a professional one.
3) I have worked 5-10 hours per week for half a year with a non-profit on their marketing committee, and the director of the non-profit could also write my recommendation. She would be great because I plan on going into social entrepreneurship, but she known me the least of all 3 possibilities, and I have less confidence in knowing what she would say about me (I know it would be positive, but with the other two, I can get a sense of EXACTLY what they would say).
I could also do a combination of the three. However, I am struggling with this for two reasons. One, it seems like you are telling the recommender you don't trust them fully because you are "hedging" your recommendations in a way. Two, it seems as if there is a "best" person to pick, and the application would be stronger if they wrote all of the applications anyways.
What route do you think I should go in picking a second recommender or combination of people? Finally, is 6-7 recommendations too many for one person to write?
Thanks,
Steve