Recommenders

Question

I have a question on the title of the people I'll be asking recommendations from. How important is the recommender's title from the admission office's perspective? I working at a bank with a hierarchical structure (MDs, EDs, VPs, etc), and of course titles are important here. I am not sure if the schools care about whether my recommenders are MDs, EDs, or VPs? If someone has insight into this that'd be great, thanks.

highhopes · Answer

Coming from a job where titles mean absolutely nothing, I can tell you that mine weren't all that impressive, so I don't think it's a big deal. On the other hand, rumor has it a very high title from a top fortune 500 company can get you in

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shadow · Answer

i think it's generally agreed that a meaningful LOR (i.e. from someone who knows you well enough to put in the time to write a good one) is better than an LOR from an executive who might have met you a handful of times. of course, if president obama or warren buffet owe you a favor, im sure it wouldnt hurt to ask them for an LOR

ACNguy · Answer

Agree with this, 100%. Don't waste your time asking a recommender to put together a LOR for you if they couldn't spell your last name without looking it up (Some of us pass that general rule because our last names are boring: Johnson, Smith, etc.). But the point remains the same. LOR from people that know you come across as more genuine and poignant. In fact, even if you did know Warren Buffett personally and he did owe you a favor, I think you could still make the argument that anyone reading your application would still see this negatively by knowing, almost with certainty, that you, as a 2# year-old kid, probably has had limited professional interaction with such a heavy hitter.

Ask your direct supervisor, manager, or project lead to write your LORs. If you explain to them your rationale for wanting to pursue an MBA, your passions for doing so, and some of your characteristics for why you believe this will better your opportunities and those that have made you successful to this point, the vast majority of professionals will gladly provide their help in putting together a LOR for you. In all of my interactions with various people throughout my company, every one of them has shown the upmost respect for my choice without any negative responses. It's because I approached them in a decent, respectful way myself. Do that, and you'll be just fine on the LOR front.

peppermuncher · Answer

Thanks for the responses, I agree that it comes down to who can write a recommendation with the most substance. The reason I asked actually leads to another question. I have two people in mind for a recommender spot, one is more senior and is my direct manager. I have worked with both directly for a while now, so both can provide good recommendations, except the more junior one went through the bschool application process a decade ago and applied to the same schools I am applying to (so he knows exactly what the schools are expecting in terms of recs), and is an alumni from my top choice school. How much value would this person add by writing in the rec something along the lines of "from my prior experience at this school, I believe peppermuncher will be an excellent fit here"?

dalmba · Answer

Just in reading what you put here, I think a good alumni recommendation would go a LOT further than one from someone with a slightly "better" professional title. Like, a LOT longer. Not only that but your alumni friend might be able to help you out in other ways... maybe they are even a friend of a friend of someone on the adcom or know a professor that evvvveryone knows... they could supply you with at least a conversational piece if not a direct hookup (like an informational interview or something).

One thing the MBA experience has really shown me is that you can NEVER underestimate the sheer power of your network. The alumni network can be an immensely powerful one too. Some brief examples:

So I run a small consulting firm as part of the MBA. It's my work term, basically. One of my first clients (by chance) is a Dal alum, working across the country. He used to own the same consulting firm as I do now! Of course he was more than happy to work with us.

Another one: I was doing some basic market research for a client and submitted a question to a renovation firm via their web form. Not only did the owner reply back, but he said he was a Dal MBA alum and that any further info I needed from him would always be free.

I'll always remember these little acts of camaraderie, and when (if?) I make it in the world I'll be certain to be paying the favour forward to the young MBA students and alums at Dal. I'm sure the same sort of stuff goes on at the school(s) you're looking at.

Good luck!

bseeker · Answer

As many of the top schools require the recommenders to use their online system, I feel like this is going to be a massive time commitment for anyone who recommends me to the five or so schools I plan to pursue. Essentially, the people who recommend me are going to have to write five separate recommendations which will include multiple questions for each one.

Does anyone have some thoughts on this subject?

Does anyone have some thoughts on this subject?

ACNguy · Answer

Give them plenty of time and plenty of materials (personal anecdotes of success, resume, your personal statement essay and an outline of what each school is known for and is looking for) and if you've had any substantive impact on their lives through work they'll likely be glad to help you out. Just make sure to acknowledge the amount of effort it takes by both providing them all the tools/resources they need to make it easy for them and reward them when they're done.

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