wspfaris wrote:
I have secured two recommenders, but neither is my current supervisor.
Breakdown:
Rec 1: Former supervisor/owner of previous company, small company 2 yrs experience w/ company
Rec 2: Senior Manager at North American Headquarters (I do not work at headquarters). I do work with this manager quite frequently, but often over the telephone.
My Question:
Am I making a mistake by using a recommender who is not at my physical location? I know I will get a very good recommendation from him, but will the adcom downgrade it, or will they even notice that he works in another city?
Other options:
1) Use a co-worker
2) Use a supervisor from another department, they would speak well of me... but perhaps not as well as the manager at headquarters
What should I do? Am I doing the right thing? I'm almost out of time, but I could change course if I work really hard to get it done.
wspfaris,
The Rec 1 recommender looks good. The Rec 2 recommender is also OK. The schools will note that he is not at your location, but this won't be a big negative if (a) he's known your work for awhile, (b) your contact with him (even if phone/email) is daily or quite frequent, (c) he knows you in the sense that you and he have gotten to know each other to some extent beyond the task at hand, and (d) the recommender is upfront in his letter that your interaction is rarely face to face but that he feels confident in knowing you anyway.
Hope this helps,