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How to choose your recommenders?

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All top MBA programs ask applicants to submit letters of recommendation during the process. These letters provide schools and admissions committee with an external third party view of the applicant and therefore, are a critical component in the application. So, who should write the recommendation is a tricky question for many

applicants.

Thankfully though, most schools provide detailed and explicit instructions on whom should you choose.

The first step for you, as an applicant, is to carefully read all these instructions. Get answers to questions like how many are required, are additional letters allowed, are there guidelines regarding your choice of recommenders (managers, supervisors, colleagues etc.)..

After this, go through the questions the school asks in a recommendation. More often than not, this information is

available on school’s website.

Understand what matters most to the school by the questions. You can then use this information to choose recommenders

who can give the best possible answers.

Now, to choose the recommenders, create a list of all possible ‘candidates’. These could be

Brainstorm and list down everyone who comes to mind. Also, highlight your level of interaction with each of them next to their name in the list. Then, start narrowing down the list to suit each

school.

current supervisorsprevious supervisors one over one manager customers suppliers

Remember that titles do not matter one bit. A well-written detailed recommendation from a Manager is infinitely better than a generic 2-line response from

the CEO!

Once you have finalized the recommenders, the next step is to actually ask them. This again might be tricky.

We recommend that you first start off by asking them if they have some spare time, then talk about your aspirations and plans before asking them to write a recommendation on your behalf (also explain why you think they should do it, a little buttering always helps!). Needless to say that you need to be extremely professional and courteous while doing this!

Now that your recommenders are on-board, your work is done, right? NO! You need to constantly work with your recommenders to emphasize and re-emphasize the expectations from the school and yourself.

Tell them your goals, your aspirations and why this particular school. Tell them exactly what you are telling the school so that your recommendations are coherent with your application.

Never assume that the recommenders will remember everything you have done and accomplished. Work with them and help them reveal specific examples in line with the questions.

Tell them why you could not ask your current supervisor for the letter and why your choice is the best for the school. This is mostly done in the optional essay, so be concise, direct and to the point.

A side note here is to explain your choice of recommenders if they are not in line with school’s prescribed guidelines.

So be mindful of that and provide them adequate time to complete the recommendation. So, choose your recommenders early and be flexible with your schedule to fit their timelines.

The strengths and weaknesses must be as specific and detailed as possible. Your recommenders are busy people and have their own deadlines and work pressures.

And once the recommendation has been submitted, do not forget to thank the recommenders. A small token of appreciation is (mostly!) a good gesture. Keep them updated with your application. Manage your recommenders in order to make it as easy as possible for them to write glowing letters.

For further information about How to choose your recommenders?

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