VP Weekly Three: Top Three Questions About MBA Letters of Recommendation

The MBA Letters of recommendation often creates anxiety. This is especially true if you’ve recently changed jobs or prefer not to tell your employer about your business school plans. We constantly hear from candidates unsure who to ask—or worried that admissions committees will read into who skipped writing their MBA recommendation letter. Below, we answer the three most common questions we receive on this topic.

1) Does my current supervisor have to be one of my recommenders? Not necessarily. Many schools prefer that one letter of recommendation comes from your supervisor. Why is that? Your manager works closely with you. They are in the best position to evaluate your performance and speak to your strengths, achievements, and character.
However, many valid reasons exist why your manager cannot write your recommendation” (remove passive “be written”). You don’t need to panic over that situation. The adcom understands that individual circumstances range dramatically and won’t penalize you for that.
However, you should explain your rationale in your application. Do this either in a section dedicated to the letters of recommendation (in the online data form) or via the optional essay. We recommend simply and factually explaining the reason why your direct supervisor cannot write a recommendation on your behalf and then explain why the individuals you chose are in a position to provide similar feedback and insights on your work. Remember, it’s ultimately more important “what” your recommenders write than about “who” they are.

2) A partner at my firm is a [top school] alum. Should I have him or her write my letter of recommendation?That depends. As we explained above, the content of your letters is far more important than the title or accolades of the author. (The adcom has seen it all and likely won’t be impressed by titles alone.)
If your partner is a prominent alum but barely knows you, they can only answer in generalities. They likely aren’t the best choice. A great letter of recommendation is positive and passionate. It is also specific and detailed. This brings your personality and accomplishments to life. Someone who has only interacted with you briefly likely won’t bring those elements into their writing.
However, if you’ve worked closely with this partner, they could be a great advocate. Confidence in your relationship matters most. Their knowledge of the program could focus their writing on those key contributions you would make to the school. They could precisely explain why you would be a good fit.
So, all that goes to say, select your recommenders first and foremost based on your relationship with them. Consider their ability to write the best possible letter on your behalf. Maybe that means a partner writes your letter or maybe it doesn’t. Either way, content is king.

3) I really want my manager to write my letter of recommendation but he’s super busy so he asked me to write the letter and he will edit it. Is that OK? As tempting as that is, we always advise against that approach for several reasons.
First, you’re missing the opportunity for a fresh perspective on your actions and character. Even the most self-aware person can’t see themselves through someone else’s eyes. Often, things we take for granted about ourselves are those that stand out the most to others. The intent behind letters of recommendation is to get to know you through the lens of someone who has intimate knowledge of both your strengths and weaknesses. By writing your own letter, you’re missing the point of the exercise.
Second, authenticity and genuine passion are critical in a great letter of recommendation. Writing your own letter in the third person makes coming across sincerely very tough. Often, we’re either too modest or too complimentary of ourselves. That happy medium is very tough to find. So what you end up with is a letter that falls flat. The adcom won’t take it seriously.
Third, the adcom reads applications for a living, and their BS detector is very sensitive. It won’t take much for them to detect your voice and writing style in the letter. They will quickly discount it altogether. It might then make them wonder why your recommender seemed so uninterested and uninvested in your success. They couldn’t go to the trouble of writing the letter themselves. We’ve even heard of an applicant who the adcom rejected because they determined that the applicant wrote their own letters of recommendation. We’re not saying that will happen every time, but is it worth the risk? We’d say not.
Lastly, writing your own reference letter simply goes against the spirit and intent of the process. As future business leaders, we hope you will hold yourself to the highest ethical standards. And that applies to the MBA application process as well.

Have other questions about recommender selection or the process of prepping your recommenders to write a killer letter for you? Please let us know. We’d love to hear from you at vantagepoint@vantagepointmba.com

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