Recommendation letters from current employer vs. previous.

This is something I thought a lot about, too. I don't work in an industry where MBAs (or any form of graduate degrees) are particularly common. My immediate manager also isn't the strongest writer and wasn't the most supportive of me pursuing business school at the outset (thankfully he's come around a bit). I think I was able to find a happy medium--instead of asking him, I went to our office manager. He also oversees my work/performance, albeit in a slightly more hands-off fashion. He still gives me feedback and had also applied to MBA programs, so he "got" the process and is a better writer. For my other recommendation I used an extracurricular advisor (who I also happen to work with).

One thing I didn't expect is how flattered my recommenders to be asked--it ended up being a much more positive process than I had anticipated. I made it clear that I had asked them because I really valued their judgement and leadership, and also made sure to give them examples of strengths/weaknesses/responses to feedback/accomplishments, so there wasn't a lot of guess-work involved. I have no idea what they said since I waived my right to see them, but I'm really happy with my admits.

By the way, I had also been in my current position about a year.

I'm not sure if this is helpful for you or not, but my takeaway is to be strategic and thoughtful about this process. Maybe your immediate supervisor isn't a good choice. But I agree that it probably makes sense to have someone from your current workplace who manages you in some way, shape, or form. What about another manager in the office? Your boss's boss? There may be alternatives you haven't considered. Good luck!

Hi zcdh30 -

Interesting question. I have a few thoughts to share from my 15 years as a Director of MBA Admissions at a top 20 school.

- Unless you worked for the professor, I'd be reluctant to use that person as an MBA recommender. My experience with professor-written recommendations is that they are focused entirely on classroom performance, and don't speak at all to professional performance or potential.

- A recommendation from a supervisor at a part-time job is fairly weak, unless you did something that made a significant impact to their business.

(So far, this is sounding pretty dismal, isn't it? Don't worry - I'll get to some positive news soon!)

- Your current supervisor may not be the strongest in terms of written language skills. However, if he can provide the Admissions Committee with insights into your professional performance, then it is of value. The committee will not judge *you* by his lack of grammar, etc. They will consider the content. So, your decision should be based on this question: Can he provide content that will help sell you to the Admissions Committee? Because this is your only professional full-time employment, you may need to use him.

I recall receiving a letter of recommendation written by an elderly man, and scribbled on an odd size of note paper. At face value, you may think this would look very bad for the applicant. However, this recommender told a poignant story about how the applicant helped him run his business and created changes that very important for the continuity of the business. It was of high value to the admissions process.

Conversely, I've received letters from former Presidents (of the U.S.) that said, "I know this young man's family and they are great supporters of my campaign. They are good people and I'm sure he is as well." Guess what? That letter - despite it coming from a former President - carried a negative value for the Admissions Committee. Why? The candidate went for a "glamour" recommender, who clearly did not know him, and could not speak to his professional performance.

- If you don't want to use your current supervisor, this is easily explained (and be sure you do explain it) to the Admissions Committee as not wanting to jeopardize your current employment (as noted by JonAdmissionado).

- Who else can provide a reflection of your professional performance and potential? Clients? Vendors? Community leaders who you've worked with on a significant volunteer role?

I hope these observations are helpful to you. Just remember - who you select as a recommender reflects your professional judgement. Demonstrate good professional judgement!

Let me know if I can help you further.

I can't tell you who to select as recommender but i found this article with some tips i think you should consider.
https://www.aringo.com/Recommendations.htm

Thanks for not agreeing with me. Different people has different opinions and many a times we never know who is correct.

Let me share a very simple fact of MBA admission

An excellent reference just add some value (?) to your overall admission, but it never makes. Where as a slightly bad reference will break your admission.

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