Putting together your info for your recommenders...

Question

Ok, I remember reading a great post awhile back by someone who included a sample request letter to her recommenders, and tips on what else to include to help them illustrate your qualities.

I can't seem to find this post anymore! I believe it was posted by a female. Can someone please link me to that post? Thanks a mil!

johnnyx9 · Answer

Not sure what that post was, but just my two cents: Write a rough draft for your recommenders. Literally spend a couple weeks crafting great recommendation letters exactly as you would like them to write it, then say to them, "I put together a draft just to give you an idea of what the schools are looking for, if you want to pull some ideas from this rough draft by all means feel free."

Some people might think this is unethical. Maybe it is, but a lot of people do it, so that makes it okay.

One other thing: You will hear horror stories about recommenders who don't get the recs done on time, or don't put any time into the rec. And you will think to yourself, "Not my recs, I know these people really well and they really like me, there's no way they will mess this up."

But somehow, even great people turn into complete a-hols when it comes to writing recommendations, and they'll put it off way too long and totally infuriate you. So I would also recommend telling your recommenders that the letters are due a couple weeks before they actually are due.

09App · Answer

I think that providing any written sample to a recommender is highly unethical. It would certainly be a good idea to talk with them about your stats and background to make sure they have them correct, as well as your future plans after business school. While johnny9 has a point about many people doing it, I don't think that makes it remotely permissible. I'd rather do it the right way, and know I was honest, than cheat and get bumped up to a better schoool.

Everyone's going to make their own choice though. He's spot on about the timing issues though.

aaudetat · Answer

https://www.gmatclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=41976

It was me! I saw your PM; here's the link to the guide. It lives under the "new here? read this first" announcement.

It wasn't so much a letter as it was a guide to how to do this. Pretty much cribbed (as in copied from, not as in complaining as our Indian mba brethren put it) from Montauk's chapter on the same.

rhyme · Answer

I dont think its unethical. Its not like you write your own rec, you just show them the kinds of things that need to be in it. If you get asked to do something at work and you go google a few examples to see what you need to do, you are not cheating, your just doing due diligence. Similarly, if you are working on a team with someone and you suspect someone is going to struggle with something, you don't just let them flail, you guide them in the right direction. I dont see this as being any different - so long as you dont actually write your own actual recommendation.

johnnyx9 · Answer

That's totally cool if that's your opinion that it's highly unethical. 

I view it as going like five or ten miles per hour over the speed limit, something that 90% of people do. I don't think it's right, but I don't lose sleep over it if I do it.

09App · Answer

Everyone's going to act by their own standards, so I didn't mean to criticize anyone in my previous post. I'd even agree with Rhyme, in that you can talk about what topics to cover, etc. I just think it goes past a point once you write a draft for them.

rhyme · Answer

lol, nice analogy.

rampup82 · Answer

Yay! Thanks Aaudetat!

gablaze23 · Answer

i know. i was surprised my teacher asked me to make a draft for him!! yea!

johnnyx9 · Answer

Check your ethics at the door. You'll do better.

3underscore · Answer

This is my favourite GMATclub quote ever. For every versioning like Johnny provided Rhyme upthread, there is at least one that makes terrifying reading.

Putting together your info for your recommenders...

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