Recommendations , who to ask

Depends on where you are applying. Some schools require two professional recs. Others require one professional rec and the other can come from someone else who has worked with you and can shed light on your candidacy.

For my 2 professional recommendations I asked my direct supervisor and a former indirect supervisor (manager's manager) who has become a mentor to me. I also got a recommendation from the director of a non-profit org that I work with. I asked a co-worker for my peer recommendation. With the exception of peer recommendations professional recs should come from someone who was/is a superior or a client. Asking a subordinate is a NO NO. The person should be or have been in a position to evaluate you. Hope this helps.

Most of all ask someone who knows you well and can offer specifics about the work they've seen you do.

You can ask a former supervisor to write your other recommendation. If that is not possible, then you could ask your client, chairman, or next level manager to write.

You cannot ask any personal acquaintances or professors.

If you have worked with any alumni of that school, then you could ask them to write you a recommendation.

Previous bosses or colleagues with respected positions could also work.

I work in consulting so I asked other project managers with whom I do a significant amount of work and who can speak to my leadership abilities.

If you work for one boss this could be another colleague. I also mixed my recommenders up by school to hedge a bit and also leverage cases where I knew an alumnus of the school I was applying. The key is picking someone that knows you well and can speak to your candidacy for business school. It likely shouldn't be someone at your level (unless specifically asked, as is the case for Stanford) but don't feel like you need to CEO of your firm that you've met once. Another thought could be, depending on how limited your options at work are, asking someone that you work with at a volunteer job or in an extracurricular activity.

Thank you all for your replay,

I am applying CBS and Stern (part-time), I can get my supervisor and my old boss who is a CBS alumni to write.

Current supervisor is a basic must at the vast majority of b schools. If you can't then there has to be a good reason, like you may get fired is he/she knew you were applying (with FT school), or if he/she just doesn't see the point of the MBA and thinks negatively of it.

the second letter can come from an indirect supervisor at your current job or a former one, or at an organization you do outside of your full time work.