Who would you ask for a recommendation?

Question

I need your help guys. I am torn between two possible recommenders. Here's the situation:

Possible recommender A is a manager who is Chinese. He was transferred to North America two years ago. I have worked closely with him on several projects since he arrived. He communicates relatively well in both speaking and writing (his writing usually has a few grammatical errors however it is comprehensible) but that is when he is talking about something technical. I worry he may not be able to articulate as well as an American could when asked to write a recommendation.

Possible recommender B is American; while not a manager, he is much more senior to me in the organization. I have worked with him on one project but we have a good relationship and work together on a committee within the company. He is not pullitzer prize winner but he communicates well in speaking and writing.

Who should I select??Who would you choose?? Thanks in advance

11MBA · Answer

I would say go with recommender A, unless his English is egregiously bad. I faced a similar problem when putting together a college rec. I had worked in a lab in hs and my direct supervisor we from Serbia and not a native English speaker. I considered asking another person in the lab who I had worked on one small project with to write my rec but in the end decided to go with my direct supervisor who I done my most important project with because I felt like he could speak more about the quality of my work.

I feel like you should choose someone who knows you and your work to write your rec. This way they can cite specific examples to answer the questions on the apps. They probably also have more to say about your personality and work ethic than someone who doesn't know you as well. I don't think minor grammatical mistakes will take anything away from a good recommendation. The adcoms should keep in mind that not everyone asks native English speakers to write their recs. This is America after all and there are plently of very capable people are immigrants and don't speak the language perfectly. As long as his writing is understandable and there are no distracting mistakes I'd say go with someone who knows you better.

formerlyknownas · Answer

Thanks for the response. I was afraid the adcom may wonder why I asked a nonnative speaker when I am in America and should have access to many English speakers..

highhopes · Answer

If he's marked as your supervisor, I don't think they'll wonder. Like the previous poster said, I think you're okay as long as he communicates well enough.

miccarlo · Answer

Can you do both? I believe most adcoms like to see a direct supervisor give a recommendation.

formerlyknownas · Answer

Yeah, my direct supervisor is already writing one. I don't report to either of these two.

Jerz · Answer

I would go with whichever of the two knows you better and can give a deeper, more detailed picture of you. Don't worry so much about the language, adcoms see lots of recommendations from non-native english speakers.

usmba2010 · Answer

I completely agree with Jerz. Content is more important.

Who would you ask for a recommendation?

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