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Recommendations: Reinforcing You and Your Application

Recommendations are used by the admissions committee for a few but very good reasons. Though they are treated as supplements to essays, they have their own importance in the admissions process. They are used to verify your credentials and accomplishments as mentioned in other parts of your application and ascertain whether the feel they (the admissions committee) get of your personality is substantiated by an independent viewpoint from a person who knows you well. Recommendations are normally supposed to provide additional information to that contained in the essays. These can, therefore, be used to judge whether the images conveyed by the essays match up with what is mentioned in the recommendations. They are a further assessment of your managerial, leadership and academic skills as well as your character and personality. A strong and well-written recommendation in support of your case also proves that you are capable of evaluating other person’s opinion of you and can influence others to support you for a cause that is close to your heart. Let’s have a closer look at what goes into getting excellent recommendations.

Whom to Approach?

Ideally, recommenders ought to be people who are well acquainted with you and your professional capabilities—the most natural choices are your immediate boss, functional head, a colleague, customer or client. They should be enthusiastic about your candidacy. A personal rapport with the person is also highly desirable—the more you know each other, the better you can work with him/her to make your recommendations impressive. If he/she also holds an MBA degree from a reputed school, in particular the school you are applying to, it works as icing on the cake. Educational qualifications and other aspects being equal, choose recommenders who are more experienced and can, therefore, lend credibility to their assessment of your skills. A manager who has been working for twenty years is, therefore, a better choice than one who is five years into his/her career.

Another important factor in selecting recommenders is how this selection ties in with what you have written in your essays. Apart from what the recommender says about you, whom you have chosen to write your recommendations can impact your positioning. If you are an engineer interested in moving to finance, choosing a recommender who is a professional working in the finance sector is better than choosing someone from the technology sector (provided both know you equally well).

If you have been working for a fair length of time, you would be in a position to identify a sufficient number of such people whom you could approach for writing recommendations. If you are relatively fresh in your career, chances are you don’t know many people in a professional context who can help you with this. In such a case, try to locate those people who have known you well in the past: a member of an organization where you rendered community service or participated in any other extracurricular activity. Alternatively, you could also approach professors from your college and get recommendations from them. However, keep a couple of points in mind while you approach your professors for recommendations. They are:

• The recommendations need to cover not only academic ability but also others (refer the list of parameters in subsequent pages), even if they are in an academic setting. For example, the ability to influence the final outcome of a project even if there is no formal leadership role speaks for one’s skills as a leader. Questioning assumptions to find one’s way to the right answer and not accepting status quo demonstrates inquisitiveness. Sticking to a project in spite of difficult circumstances and lack of support from others points to perseverance. Professors accustomed to writing recommendations for their students heading for masters degree or a Ph.D. programme might overlook this aspect sometimes.
• Get your professors to speak about your role in sports, extracurricular and co-curricular activities. These often prove fertile grounds for stories related to teamwork, organizational skills and entrepreneurial skills. Let him/her know about all your achievements in these areas if he/she doesn’t know about them already.

Even if you are facing a crunch for recommenders, remember that there is no point asking your favourite aunt or your next-door neighbour to write the recommendations. This would be regarded as unprofessional and not given any consideration by the admissions committee. Even recommendations from former professors, teachers or principals may not hold much weight if you have been working for a significant period (more than two years). The admissions officers are looking for an opinion about your recent skills and abilities in a professional setting and not for spectacular things you did a long time ago.

Try and choose recommenders in a way that appears natural to those judging your application. Your immediate boss (either current or ex) should be included unless it is squarely impossible. A substitute for this could be another senior person in the office with whom you have had a ‘dotted line’ reporting or the head of another department with whom you have interacted closely at work. If any of them are not forthcoming, you should explain your choice of recommenders in an optional essay (most schools have this provision). It is fine to have the second or subsequent recommendations from colleagues, clients or customers as long as you can explain your choice convincingly.

Most schools require two recommendations while some exceptions like Harvard require three. No matter how many recommendations are needed, you should get people who have interacted with you on a regular basis (almost day to day) to write about you. Getting the CEO of your company to recommend you is of no use if you have not shared a close working relationship with him/her. So do not run after fancy titles of your recommenders, it is the actual substance in the recommendation letters that matters.

Lastly, most of the schools ask for recommendations online, by providing a login ID and password to your recommenders through e-mail. In such a case, it helps if your recommender is familiar with basic IT skills though this is not a necessity and can be worked around.

How to Approach Your Recommenders?

One of the most important points to remember while approaching recommenders is giving them sufficient time to prepare. You must not rush through the process. Requesting them with just a week to the deadline to pen recommendation letters is a strict no-no and will do little to help your case. The best manner in which to go about it is by arranging for a meeting with a potential recommender at least a month or two in advance and sharing with them your reasons for doing an MBA, your future goals and so on. Inform him/her that you are considering him/her as a potential recommender and briefly run that person through what will be required of him/her—the deadlines, the amount of writing and assessment required. Consider carrying printouts of what you want to highlight. Avoid doing this too early, as any changes that you might need to make in your plan would reflect indecisiveness on your personal front and would weaken your impression. Also, before approaching the person, be sure that he/she is the one whom you want to be your recommender, as it might become really embarrassing for you if you decide to change the people involved at a later date.

While at this, note how your potential recommender reacts to your request for a recommendation. Keep the conversation flexible so that if he/she is not comfortable giving you a positive recommendation, he/she can work his/her way out of it without much embarrassment. On your part, look out for any signs that betray that he/she is not comfortable giving you a good recommendation or is suggesting ways to avoid it, such as hinting that you approach someone else for it. On noticing any of these, it is best to drop the idea of obtaining a recommendation from him/her. You could thank him/her politely and indicate that you might get back to him/her if you really need it, instead of being blunt and telling him/her you have dropped him/her from your list due to the manner in which he/she reacted.

If your recommender sounds enthusiastic and the conversation proceeds positively, you now need to get into the specifics. Having decided the recommender, you should not press him/her for views on the various essay topics right away. Give him/her copies of the recommendation forms for all the schools that you need him/her to cover and agree on a rough timeline for having discussions. Impress upon him/her the deadlines that you need to meet and how important the recommendation is in the admissions process. Follow this with a written brief about the overall positioning of your application. If your positioning is different for different schools, let him/her know about this. If he/she is knowledgeable about the business schools you are targeting, he/she might be even be able to give you valuable inputs that can help you refine your positioning for the school(s). Also consider giving copies of the following so that he/she has enough material to help him/her formulate his/her thoughts.

• Your résumé
• Copies of your essays
• Copies of your performance assessment at the organization or those you obtained earlier.
• List of all the accomplishments, awards, honours as well as a description of other activities (such as community service and volunteer work) that might not carry apparent reward titles.
• Write-ups regarding the incidents that you think would help her write the recommendations

Before subsequent discussions, you should put yourself in your recommender’s shoes and think through the recommendation topics thoroughly. Your recommendations must bring in fresh stories into your application apart from reinforcing those told in the essays. Note down various ideas and incidents involving you and the recommender that would best strengthen your positioning. In the next meeting, first make a note of the points your recommender suggests. Do not force any thoughts on your recommender. Use your notes as a way of helping your recommender formulate and refine his/her thoughts. Offer to take down the points from the discussion and then provide him/her with a basic framework with which he/she can actually draft the final recommendation.

Often the recommender might, after this first round of discussions, ask you to write the recommendation and then give it to him/her so that he/she can modify it. This is normally the case if your recommender is hard-pressed for time. In such a case, bear the following points in mind:

• Recommendations are an opportunity to convey what ‘others think of you’ and not necessarily ‘what you think others think of you’. They can bring to light many aspects of your personality that you as the subject of your application essays cannot do yourself. Have frank discussions with your recommenders and ensure that the actual thoughts come from them.
• Your recommendations should not sound like your essays. This is a mistake that can happen if you draft your recommendation yourself before handing it over to your recommender. Ensure that the format, tone and choice of words are different from your essays. An easy way of doing this is to ask a close friend to write the recommendations based on the notes of your discussions with your recommender. This can save your recommender’s time and prevent your writing style from affecting your recommendations. Remember to look closely at the formatting, font, font size, spacing as well as the choice of words and writing style. Make sure that all your recommendations, written by you or your friends, do not look and read the same.

The final mode of delivery of the recommendation could be online (in most cases) or as hard copies to be mailed to the school. While an online recommendation could be submitted even on the last day before the deadline, a hard copy needs to be prepared at least a week before the deadline. Keep this in mind while you finalize the timelines with your recommenders. Also take note of the fact that most business schools give you an option to waive your rights to view your recommendation at a later stage, once it has been submitted to the school. This is a rule of law provided to help students who want the information to be disclosed to them, if they have reasons to believe that the information contained in the document might harm their career prospects. However, if you are certain that your recommender would provide a strong recommendation to the school supporting your case then we suggest that you waive your rights to view the recommendation and inform your recommender of the same. It helps you in two ways. Firstly, it allows your recommender to be more frank and free in expressing his/her opinion and secondly, it shows your confidence and hence the legitimacy of the recommendation submitted to the school.

What Constitutes a Good Recommendation?

Recommendations typically include an assessment that spans many parameters of evaluation and a number of essays (of much shorter word limit than essays in your application).

The typical parameters for evaluation are usually of two kinds:

1. Intellectual ability based
   1. Quantitative skills
   2. Intellectual curiosity
   3. Analytical skills
   4. Global awareness
   5. Creativity and imagination
   6. People skills
   7. Communication skills (listening, speaking and writing)
   8. Interpersonal skills (influence, relationship management with subordinates/colleagues)
   9. Leadership skills/potential j. Teamwork skills/potential k. Ability to cope with change
   10. Ability to handle conflict
2. Personality and character based
   1. Integrity (respect for others, trustworthiness) n. Motivation (initiative, perseverance)
   2. Self confidence
   3. Self awareness (self assessment, openness to feedback)
   4. Self improvement (response to feedback, overcoming weaknesses)
   5. Maturity
   6. Dependability

Recommenders are typically asked to rate you on these parameters against a consideration set that they select (this would also need to be specified by them). The choices could be as follows:

• Exceptional (top 1 per cent)
• Outstanding (top 5 per cent)
• Very good (top 10 per cent)
• Good (top 25 per cent)
• Average (top 50 per cent)
• Below average

This evaluation, however, is not an end in itself. Parameters truly need to be supported by description of actual instances where these were displayed. For instance, if your recommender rates you as exceptional (top 1 per cent) in leadership potential, then he/she must clearly bring out examples in his/her writing that substantiate this. (Some schools also ask for a brief write-up for any exceptional ratings in an additional space provided after the evaluation). Also, beware of excessively lofty recommendations that mark you in the outstanding bracket in all or most of the parameters. The admissions committee is an old hand at this game and you cannot fool them by getting your recommenders to boast about you. If this is done, then it will be noted and the officers would try to assess this during the interview. If the impression does not correlate then you would be immediately ruled out from the process.

Typical essay questions in your recommendations could include:

• How long have you been acquainted with the applicant? In what capacity?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the applicant?
• What do you see the applicant doing in 5-10 years from now? What industry/function would suit him/her?
• Please describe the applicant’s public-speaking skills/ability to talk in a group.
• How do you rate the applicant’s team working skills? Why?
• How do you rate the applicant’s leadership potential? Why?

The same adages that govern your application essays hold good here as well. For each essay, there must be specific examples that highlight what the recommender wants to point out about you. Good recommendation essays speak in depth about you and offer substantial material (including and additional to those in your essays) for the admissions committee. Not only does this say more about you but also points out how much your recommenders are ready to support you in your pursuit for an MBA.

They must also avoid general statements such as ‘he is a good communicator’ but rather quantify it to make it more credible and specific, like: He is the second-best communicator among all subordinates who have ever worked for me.

In addition, good recommendation write-ups, by virtue of being an independent assessment of your skills, cleverly address apparent weaknesses in your application. For instance, if you have a perceived weakness in quantitative subjects because of your liberal arts background, you can get your recommenders to talk about how you have been keen on learning new quantitative skills and how you have used these in your job.

Again, as with application essays, recommendation essays should not be written in just one sitting. They should be drafted over a few sessions, with a significant level of thought applied each time. Furthermore, they need to be grammatically correct. If your recommender has difficulty in writing in English, consider helping him/her out by arranging for someone whose language skills you can trust. Look out for the sample recommendation presented.

An Example of a Recommendation

The recommendation presented here has been written in the format of a letter, addressed to the admissions committee of the business school of the XYZ University. Watch out for the manner in which it has been written, covering all the important points in the candidate’s application and maintaining an individuality of its own. It reinforces the application, by focussing on some of the essays used in the application while mentioning some other experiences not mentioned by the applicant in the essays. It addresses the strengths of the person, such as leadership and analytical abilities as well as team skills and maturity and touches upon the weaknesses, also addressing the improvements made, lending credibility to the recommender and his/her views as well as showcasing the deep knowledge that he/she has about the applicant and the various facets of his personality. The recommendation has been presented in the form of points so that the various parts can also be looked at in an independent manner and to showcase how they weave into the overall application. In most cases, this recommendation would be broken in sub-parts, each answering a specific question in the recommendation format laid out by the school. Do remember that this is not a template; only an example of what all could be and should be covered in an effective recommendation.

1 September 2005
MBA Admissions Committee
The Business School
The XYZ University
USA

It gives me great pleasure to recommend Sameer to the business school.

1. The peer group considered for comparison with candidate consists of ABC Consulting Company analysts, associates and client executives.
2. I have known Sameer for nearly three years. Over the last one and a half years I have worked directly with Sameer on product market strategy, sales and service channel restructuring and organizational redesign of a large automobile client in India. I have directly supervised Sameer and my interactions with him have been frequent, speaking several times per week for problem solving sessions as well as at weekly progress reviews where Sameer has presented his work to the client’s CEO and top management.
3. I have full faith in Sameer’s personal integrity. He has always stood up for what he believes is correct. His intellectual honesty is also beyond doubt. He has successfully driven issues to completion independently and never compromised on quality in his work. Sameer’s dedication and commitment to his teammates is also exemplary. For example, he helped his teammates in the SAP implementation for his client, even though this did not form part of his work. His behaviour and conduct in the office is an example to his peer group.
4. Sameer has shown truly exceptional leadership abilities. He has the potential to be a great leader. He has independently led three client teams simultaneously, successfully identified and driven issues by himself, always stood up for what he believes is correct and shown dedication towards his teammates. He has also showed dedication to his client teams as demonstrated by his mentoring and coaching of them.
5. Within ABC Consulting, Sameer manages to strike a good balance between seriousness and fun. During work, particularly with people external to ABC Consulting, he is a very mature and professional person who is able to gain credibility with senior people. He does, however, manage to switch off after work, being a very fun person with whom everyone likes to spend time. He is well respected and liked within ABC Consulting and with his clients, not only for his integrity and leadership but also for his sociability, camaraderie and sense of humour.
6. Sameer’s core strengths compared to other business analysts and associates, are
   • Exceptional intellect—Sameer is a true intellectual with an incredible flair for problem solving and the ability to rapidly grasp new concepts. For example, he worked in the heavy vehicles sector, a sector in which ABC Consulting as a firm had little experience. As a result, Sameer could not tap any existing knowledge resources. However, he successfully developed a product strategy from clean-sheet, which is being implemented by the client.
   • Exceptional leadership—Sameer has the potential to be a great leader. He has independently led three client teams simultaneously, successfully identified and driven issues by himself, always stood up for what he believes is correct and showed dedication to his team mates. He has also showed dedication to his client teams as demonstrated by his mentoring and coaching of them.
   • Commitment and teamwork—Sameer is very committed to any task he undertakes as well as to the people around him. All through the year-long project he has shown great concern to push the issue beyond just solving the problem to implementing the solution. His commitment is demonstrated by his active involvement in resolving key issues in the channel part of SAP implementation at the client, even though his own piece of work got over. His commitment to develop people around him is shown by his coaching and mentoring his client team members.
   • Exceptional maturity—Sameer has shown maturity beyond his age in the last one and a half years. He showed this in his organization restructuring project with the client where he had to interact with the top management and had to problem solve on sensitive issues such as retrenching.
7. Sameer’s key weaknesses when I first met him were:
   • Confidence with senior people—Sameer is respected by senior figures, both outside and within ABC Consulting, as being an excellent thinker. He needs to speak up more in senior meetings and realize that his point is worth making.
   • Managing his workload—Sameer has a tendency to have some very productive days and some unproductive days. He would benefit himself by avoiding crunches and trying to manage his work more evenly.
8. Although both of the above have improved significantly he has shown greatest improvement in his confidence with senior people. He has regularly met the client CEO in weekly meetings and discussed and presented on sensitive issues such as organization restructuring in plants.

   Sameer was the first business analyst to be hired by our office. In India, clients are very hierarchical and conscious of age differences. So when the analyst programme was started, I personally was the biggest skeptic of the success of this programme. However, his maturity, integrity and intellect have impressed people in the office as well as people outside work. The fact that the analyst programme has increased twelve times over the last three years stands testimony to Sameer’s calibre.

   He has also made a significant impact within and outside ABC Consulting in a short span of nearly three years. He is well respected and liked within ABC Consulting and with his clients, for his integrity, leadership and sociability. He has furthered the knowledge of the firm by co-authoring research documents.

   Outside of ABC Consulting, Sameer is a very community-minded individual. I know that he devotes time to coaching his university students’ teams, of which he used to be a president, and on his weekends he works with the Lions Club and CARE and has coached the people in that organization to help them work effectively with the government.

9. I strongly recommend Sameer to the business school. He is an outstanding business analyst with a tremendous passion for developing India. This, coupled with his strong leadership, strong intellect, exceptional team skills and his high moral standards mean that he will surely one day not only be a key figure in India’s future but also in the global business community.

Sincerely,
Raj Aryan
Principal, ABC Consulting Company

Points to Remember

• Follow the deadlines.
• Select your recommenders based on your knowledge of his/her knowledge of you.
• Coach your recommenders on what is required and expected. Help them through the process and understand that they might have other commitments.
• Give a note highlighting your achievements and other relevant examples to your recommender.
• Remember, only you know yourself well. If asked to write a draft, do not shy away from praising your strengths and highlighting them appropriately.
• Check the recommendation for grammatical errors as well as language. If the recommendation is in another language, such as from a social worker working in villages, send out an English translation to the university, after mentioning the reason for the same in your optional essay.
• Use the optional essay to explain your choice of recommenders, if it is beyond the norm. The admissions committee understands as well as appreciates such a note.
• Use the option to waive your rights to view the recommendation, very carefully, after due diligence.
• Check with your recommenders on the progress of the recommendation. You should not get a rude shock on the last day about your recommender not having submitted the same, pushing your application to the next deadline or in some cases, ruling you out of the admissions process itself.