Writing Your Own Recommendations: Right or Wrong?

Every year we see a question that the “interwebs” seems conflicted about. Is it ok to write your own recommendation, or hire an admissions consultant to write it and have your recommender submit it? A lot of people apparently do this. Should you?

No. And here’s why: first and foremost, your integrity. For most schools, you must certify that your recommenders wrote their own assessments. You confirm this when completing the detailed application form.

“I confirm that I did not write any portion of this recommendation, either in whole or in part.”

From an ethical perspective, this is clear. If you draft the recommendation and ask your recommender to submit it, it is not acceptable. Each MBA program has an honor code and especially after big-time corporate fraud cases over the past few decades, the schools care very deeply about admitting people who are honorable and honest. Life is full of ethical decisions. Fortunately, this is an easy one. Make the right choice and start the next phase of your career with confidence.

Admissions teams can easily spot inconsistent writing styles. This is especially true when English is not an applicant’s native language. When an admissions team detects a “shadow-written” recommendation, they often discard the application entirely. IIf a restaurant wrote its own glowing review on Google or Yelp, you would discount it. And, you’d probably think there was something off if they felt like they had to do that. Same thing applies here.

What about hiring  an MBA admissions consultant, to write recommendations for your recommenders? This seems to be more of a gray area based on the Google. So here’s the test:  imagine sitting down in front of the adcom with your app and saying “by the way, I hired someone else to write this rec – it wasn’t actually from my supervisor but he/she did opine – is that ok?” Go with what you think they’d say.vantagepointmba.com

The recommendation section gives the admissions committee insight into who you are. It shows what you are like to work with, how you compare to peers, and where you can improve. The people who work with you probably have a lot of great things to say if they agreed to be a recommender for you, so let them! Be confident – your reputation speaks for itself – and if you’re competitive for a top program then you are probably well regarded amongst your coworkers without having to coach them!

Often, recommenders lack confidence in writing recommendations. Sometimes they are simply too busy. Whatever the reason, we recommend continuing to push them to write it themselves. You can give them guidance and best practices. We also recommend discussing your strengths and development areas together. This keeps the information fresh in their busy minds. There’s nothing wrong with letting them know which projects you are most proud of, or even how you are positioning yourself to the schools. But let them tell their perspectives first hand.

So, how do you make sure the recommendation is fabulous (even if you can’t control it?) Over the years, we’ve seen that the Over the years, we have seen that the best recommendations come from engaged recommenders. These recommenders talk with the applicant beforehand and understand their goals and reasons for applying. Instead of writing it for them, spend time preparing your recommenders. Help them understand the process and how they can help you stand out. Some organizations even keep a file of sample past recommendations on hand so that your recommender can see what his or her peers have written for past applicants from your company.

In summary, help your recommenders get comfortable and confident in what they need to do; but please, resist the urge to simply swoop in and write it yourself. You’d be doing a disservice to the great diversity of perspective that a truly third-party recommendation can have in helping you stand out!