Rec Letters Do's and Don'ts

Question

MBA Application Letters: Who to Ask
Admissions directors offer dos and don'ts for handling letters of recommendation. One tip: Forget the celebrities

https://www.businessweek.com/bschools/co ... =rss_daily

kbulse · Answer

Thanks, really appreciate

getmeouttahere · Answer

How many people here had to write their own recs and just had their recommenders sign off?

praz · Answer

Most serious applicants aka g-clubbers

shy away from doing that. That said, it's always a good idea to provide your recommender with some highlights you wish to focus on, especially since previous managers don't remember all the good things u did a year ago. I don't know if it's good or bad but for a couple of schools I actually shared outlines of my essay(s) as well.

nink · Answer

In many cases, this is actually very common.

Some recommenders aren't quite sure how to write your rec letter or others are just plain lazy.

You should still find a way to work with your recommender so he/she can write them on their own.

Jerz · Answer

I would strongly encourage you to work with your recommenders to have them write the letters. Definitely make it as easy as possible for them - as others have suggested provide them with examples of what you've accomplished at work, essays or outlines, information about the schools, etc. - but I wouldn't cross the line to actually writing the letter. I think it's a bit like essay writing in reverse. I reviewed several of my recommendation letters before they were submitted, and made suggestions to the recommender on examples they may have left out, or where I thought they could be more specific, or how to better tailor the message to the school, but all of the writing was actually done by them.

nonfatyogurt · Answer

hi guys, i'm new to gmatclub. this looks like an amazing resource with lots of great info from really smart people!

i am just starting to think about b-school apps, recommendations etc.

i find it very common/encouraged practice for an applicant to give their recommenders an outline to follow for their letters. what's a good way to breach this topic and put forth things to cover without putting your recommender off?

Jerz · Answer

nonfatyogurt - first off welcome. I think it's pretty common practice to provide an outline or summary of points and examples you would like your recommender to include, as well as background info on your application - especially themes you're raising in your essays - and info on what characteristics your target schools are looking for.

When you first meet with your recommenders, I would suggest offering the above information to them as a way to help them in writing the recommendation. All of my recommenders enthusiastically accepted my offer to do so.

nonfatyogurt · Answer

Thanks for the advice Jerz. I will definitely keep that in mind as I start to prepare a summary of my experiences for my recommenders.

I look forward to contributing a lot more on GmatClub!

FormerArmyDude · Answer

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highhopes · Answer

Bumping this as it may be useful for us fall applicants. *Some of you may be familiar with the Colbert bump, I'm starting the highhopes bump :-D

Steel · Answer

To this list I would add something like: application strategy. This basically lays out your vision for what you want to get across in each app and the role of the recommendation in that application. If you're comfortable enough with your recommender this can help ensure that your recommender fills out the areas of your app that you want them to (especially pieces / stories that are much more effective for your recommender to write to rather than you).

11MBA · Answer

What if a recommender flat out asks you to write your own rec. I have a friend that had that happen to him. He said he just wrote it out and included all the things he would have wanted a recommender to include and then got it signed off. It ended up working out him and he got into CBS ED. I think ethically it's kinda wrong but realistically you can probably include some things in there that your recommender might not remember.

24 · Answer

I personally find it ridiculous that schools request a unique letter of rec. The schools are aware that their applicants are applying to multiple schools and it is one thing to have expectations from the applicants, but to put the burden on recommenders to write multiple letters is wrong. I did not expect my recommenders to do that for me since they all have a life of their own. Instead had them write one generic letter that addressed my stengths, weaknesses and aspirations and some other random stuff that I do not really remember.

Caveat is I did not get accepted anywhere and am still on Darden's waitlist, but I really do not think a letter of recommendation is really a make or break part of the application.

Caveat is I did not get accepted anywhere and am still on Darden's waitlist, but I really do not think a letter of recommendation is really a make or break part of the application.

Rec Letters Do's and Don'ts

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