Recommendations... RAGE!!!

Question

I am very sorry to hear. If I were you, I would even think about holding off a year to get recommenders sorted. It is a very dicey situation because recommendations are more important than even personal essays in my opinion and yet, most recommenders don't take writing recommendations seriously(my supervisor threw something together and submitted my recommendation 15 minutes before it was due) or even know how to write a good one. But, it sounds like your chosen recommenders don't like you or don't know you well enough to write one. You also have to try to make it easy for them e.g. point out overlaps in questions, send them the questions in word document in an email etc. I had a recommender that was like this last year but I ended up not applying last year and I am reapplying this year.

freroht · Answer

I don't agree about waiting another year to obtain the right recommendations. You worked too hard to get there. Look you can use past teachers, people you work in your community activities, and other co-workers (not preferable). At the end it will not be the deal breaker. I think 3 days is enough to sort it out:
1- Talk to 3 people you might think may be interested. Tell them you help them in finding templates etc. (Don't write it though, but give them aplenty of information)
2- Tell them the deadline is Monday noon for example.
3- Send them the link for the schools right after they agreed, and again Monday morning
4- Thank them a lot for doing this for you and explain that your situation honestly. 
5- If you can, use you last essay in your application to explain why you don't have a supervisor from your company (but if you can use coworker, use it as the 3rd-optional- recommendation)

Hope it helps

vixer · Answer

I went through a very similar situation myself...

Recommendations are the most "pre-MBA finance WE"-slanted aspect of this process. It's a world of difference if you work for an IB or PE firm where EVERYONE has an MBA and understands what you're doing. Coming from a manufacturer, I have only one MBA in my workgroup. There is absolutely no concept of what an MBA is about. Furthermore, they have zero interest in writing recc's to let you leave. I got a promotion in October and my supervisor, after writing one recc, told me that the promotion was a good opportunity for me and didn't feel it was in my best interest to pursue anything that would take me from the company *flames begin shooting from my eyes*.

My uncle went to Stanford in the 70's. Back then he had two recc's who wrote a letter each and he photocopied them for all schools. Then again, back then he got in w/ his primary work experience being part time tennis coach. Different world...

mankini · Answer

I agree that coming from an industry where getting an MBA is not the norm, it can be a touchy subject to get recommendations. I read this somewhere, but it’s worth saying again: you’re essentially saying “hey, I’m gonna quit if I get in, but I’m not getting’ in without your help. So, think you can write this for me?”

I think the complexity of the process makes it more difficult to get recommendations and have them submitted on time. That each school has to have specific questions takes up a lot of time and seems a bit pointless since they’re really all asking about very similar qualities and experiences. In talking to my recommenders, they ended up spending about three to four hours on the first recommendation and slightly less on the other three. This ends up being a full day of work, which is a lot to ask.

I would really prefer if schools could agree to do a common recommendation through the Apply Yourself site or something similar. The recommender could log in and answer four or five standard questions, then each school would have one specific question. It would save quite a bit of time on the recommender’s part and this would simplify the process by making it a one time submission.

However, I think there is some value schools place on your ability to get recommendations. Schools may look at this and say hey this person really made an impact on these people and they were willing to help him or her out with these recommendations. Just a thought.

driege · Answer

I'm not sure what I'd do in that situation. let me know how it works out.

LaChloe · Answer

Yeah, I'm from an industry/company that doesn't have a lot of individuals pursuing an MBA and it's been a little frustrating too. At first my direct supervisor told me that she was not going to be able to write them at all. Since our company will not provide recommendations (positive or negative) for past or current employees for jobs outside the company, our Regional HR Manager told her that LORs for business school fall into that same category. Luckily we pushed back and she was able to write them. But recently she told me she wasn't able to include any of the data/numbers/sales figures I had sent her to back up my accomplishments in her letters because it's not public information. Seems a little crazy to me, hope the schools don't penalize me for that.

randompasserby · Answer

I sympathise with you - I'm in a similar situation, where there is not a tradition of MBAs in my firm, and where an MBA would be viewed as a one-way ticket to leave the firm.

Fortunately in my role I change line managers every year or two, which means that whilst my current line manager is a "no go" for recommendations, I can get two or three old line managers with whom I have a good relationship to provide feedback.

The fact that your line manager went to HR to check if a LoR was OK worries me a little; my company has a similar policy, but based on the strength of the relationship with the recommenders that I asked, they wrote one anyway as a favour, without getting HR involved.

Have you considered going for 'historical' line managers? How about people involved in any extra-curricular / volunteering activities that you do?

I would also suggest that you might be being unrealistic with your number of applications. If you KNOW that recommendations will be a problem, is applying to six schools not a bit optimistic?

I know that if I had asked my recommenders to write six letters of recommendation they'd have told me to get stuffed. Maybe try considering applying to fewer schools? Yes, it's not fair that others get to apply to six whilst you don't, but I'd suggest that it's your best shot of at least getting some applications in. I've only applied to three places, and it's exactly because to apply to any more would be stretching the goodwill of the recommenders that I have.

Finally... as has been suggested by others, you could help by drafting a letter of recommendation / provide bullet point suggestions, based on:
- Written performance feedback that you've already received from these people
- Letters of recommendation that they've already produced for other schools

Don't be tempted to write the letters yourself, aside from it being ethically questionable, people have very different writing styles so it becomes very obvious to the adcom if you have written it yourself. Copying and pasting content from the above two sources keeps you honest, keeps the writing style different, and provides a good frame from which the recommender can complete the recommendation.

MKParris · Answer

Im having the same problem, but mine is for a Masters in Accounting. I got my undergrad in Accounting 3 years ago from a school with lots of associate professors. Now, all of the professors I knew are gone, and have not responded to my requests for recommendation. I can get two from my previous job, but most of the Accounting schools are looking for academic recommendations. <<>>

Recommendations... RAGE!!!

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards