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Learn what truly sets the UC Riverside MBA apart and how it helps in your professional growth
25 Feb 2021, 00:36
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Hello team!
I will be applying to schools in the fall of 21' and so was beginning to prepare for the letter of recommendations since that has the most amount of external dependencies. I had a few options for recommenders and was confused about the same. I have experience in the field of electrical engineering in a metal & mining (manufacturing plant) and social-impact consulting in India. I present below the various options I could explore to ask for a recommendation and would love your advice on which two I should look at picking.
Arranged in chronological order of the ones I have worked with, please find the recommender profile, my experience with them and what qualities they could highlight:
1. Reporting manager at the metal & mining plant (1 year): My direct reporting manager who doesn't have a fancy MBA thinks highly of me and worked closely with him. Good rapport. Can attest to the initiatives I had taken during my time at the plant and also to my people management skills (managing 20+ semi-skilled workers to ensure operations of a large section of the plant)
2. Reporting manager at the social-impact consulting firm (1 year direct report and 1 year working together on initiatives): Holds an MBA from one of the best MBA schools in India. Great at writing and is a brand cheer-leader of mine. Can attest to my problem-solving, stakeholder management and team-leadership skills.
3. Principal at the social-impact consulting firm (6+ months reported to her on the same project): Had a good rapport with the Principal who holds an MBA from one of the M7 B-schools. Will be willing to write a good recommendation on my initiative, client-centricity and emotional maturity.
4. Head, CSR division at one of the FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet) -India division (Worked closely for 3-4 months): Collaborated very closely on the project and can attest to my diligence, learning capability compared to other peers in my designation
5. Managing Partner at one of the world's top VC firms (Think Khosla, Sequoia, etc)- India division (Worked closely for 6 months)
Collaborated on a Covid response initiative and can attest to my Leadership, problem solving and stakeholder management however no deep engagement on the personal front.
6. Managing Partner at my social-impact consulting firm (Worked together on and off for 2 years): Good writer and highly supportive. Although limited personal engagement, can attest to similar traits as the other potential recommenders.
Given these are the choices I am faced with, and my target schools are Wharton, Kellogg, Tuck, Yale Haas etc, which are the 2 recommenders I should approach for a recommendation letter? Any advice here will be super-helpful! Thanks in advance.
I will be applying to schools in the fall of 21' and so was beginning to prepare for the letter of recommendations since that has the most amount of external dependencies. I had a few options for recommenders and was confused about the same. I have experience in the field of electrical engineering in a metal & mining (manufacturing plant) and social-impact consulting in India. I present below the various options I could explore to ask for a recommendation and would love your advice on which two I should look at picking.
Arranged in chronological order of the ones I have worked with, please find the recommender profile, my experience with them and what qualities they could highlight:
1. Reporting manager at the metal & mining plant (1 year): My direct reporting manager who doesn't have a fancy MBA thinks highly of me and worked closely with him. Good rapport. Can attest to the initiatives I had taken during my time at the plant and also to my people management skills (managing 20+ semi-skilled workers to ensure operations of a large section of the plant)
2. Reporting manager at the social-impact consulting firm (1 year direct report and 1 year working together on initiatives): Holds an MBA from one of the best MBA schools in India. Great at writing and is a brand cheer-leader of mine. Can attest to my problem-solving, stakeholder management and team-leadership skills.
3. Principal at the social-impact consulting firm (6+ months reported to her on the same project): Had a good rapport with the Principal who holds an MBA from one of the M7 B-schools. Will be willing to write a good recommendation on my initiative, client-centricity and emotional maturity.
4. Head, CSR division at one of the FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet) -India division (Worked closely for 3-4 months): Collaborated very closely on the project and can attest to my diligence, learning capability compared to other peers in my designation
5. Managing Partner at one of the world's top VC firms (Think Khosla, Sequoia, etc)- India division (Worked closely for 6 months)
Collaborated on a Covid response initiative and can attest to my Leadership, problem solving and stakeholder management however no deep engagement on the personal front.
6. Managing Partner at my social-impact consulting firm (Worked together on and off for 2 years): Good writer and highly supportive. Although limited personal engagement, can attest to similar traits as the other potential recommenders.
Given these are the choices I am faced with, and my target schools are Wharton, Kellogg, Tuck, Yale Haas etc, which are the 2 recommenders I should approach for a recommendation letter? Any advice here will be super-helpful! Thanks in advance.
25 Feb 2021, 14:42
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varunpaul0505
Hi varunpaul0505 - It's so great that you have so many options and that you're trying to figure this out now, to give your recommenders plenty of time! Are these listed in order of oldest to most recent or vice versa? It's unclear to me from your post where you currently work. You definitely want your current direct boss unless there are special circumstances. It sounds like either #1 or #2 is that person - is that correct? If so, you definitely want to include that person (both #1 and #2 sound like good prospective recommenders). As for your second person, I would follow the tips in this blog post -- although it's from some time ago, it is still accurate and I hope will be helpful for you as you make this choice:
4 Tips for Selecting the Right MBA Recommenders
In short, focus on who knows you the best, who cares the most about you succeeding and going to business school, and who can best differentiate you from other people at your level. Their own titles are much much less important than those things. If your prior job was not very long ago, I would consider choosing both #1 and #2, since they each seem to have worked with you most closely and the longest, can talk about you at two different companies, and will emphasize somewhat different things based on what you say. But if your old job was very long ago, you might want to select someone more recent for your second recommender. I hope this helps - feel free to reach out again with any additional questions. And best of luck to you!
All my best,
Soterios
25 Feb 2021, 14:57
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StratusSoterios
Hi again varunpaul0505 - just noticed your more complete bio in our other thread. Sorry I hadn't seen that yet when I responded here, but I do think my advice still stands. I'm leaning towards your choosing #1 and #2 (assuming #2 is your current boss) - provided they can emphasize somewhat different things to give a more complete picture of you, and hopefully can both emphasize how much better you are than your peers. Again, feel free to follow-up with any additional questions. And definitely check out the blog link I included. Best of luck!
