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Can my co-founders write my recommendation?

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Can my co-founders write my recommendation?

by jaiyeolab » Sat Aug 15, 2015 6:18 am
Thanks in advance for your feedback!

For the past year I have worked full-time for a Fortune 200 company; my manager is wonderful and I know she would be happy to write me a recommendation.

Apart from my work with this company though, I have worked with 2 entrepreneurs the last 3 years, and together we have Co-Founded two different companies: 1 non-profit between 2011 and 2014, and a startup incubator in Sub-Saharan Africa that we founded in 2014. Both my Co-Founders are more senior than I am; one of them manages me directly and the other indirectly.

Our incubator is small when you compare it to a Fortune 200 company, but we are popular in Nigeria, and our position in the growing tech eco-system in Sub-Saharan Africa is clear. With that said, I was wondering if it would hamper my application if I got both my recommendations from my co-founders as opposed to getting 1 from my manager at my full-time job?

The reason why I am considering getting both from them is because I know that they would both write excellent recommendations for me, and they would both be able to pull specific stories from the past 4 years that we have worked together, as they both think that getting an MBA would be hugely beneficial to our startup in the long run, given my role as the Head of Products. Are there any potential negative consequences of doing this that I should be aware of?

Thanks!
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by Personal MBA Coach » Sun Aug 16, 2015 2:00 pm
jaiyeolab,

First, congrats on doing some great work Sub-Saharan Africa. I know from my experience starting an international health non-profit prior to B school that its a lot of work and very rewarding!

There are downsides to getting both recommendations from outside of your main job so I would not recommend it.

- Whenever an app is sent in without recs from the current job, the question is raised as to why. If there is a reason (i.e. boss doesn't know you are applying) it can be ok, but its not a perfect scenario
- Your current boss at your full-time job will provide the most relevant evaluation of your past performance and future potential
- If you are already getting one rec from one of the co-founders, the other would presumably be at least somewhat similar, so you may have more breadth of experiences to cover if you have one come from your current boss

These are all high level recommendations, but some of this can be very individual, so if you would like to discuss your individual LOR strategy or want help with your application, send me a note [email protected] and we can chat further. I usually advise folks on LORs amid their overall strategy and the story we put together, since it is just one piece of the puzzle.
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by jaiyeolab » Wed Aug 19, 2015 4:05 am
Thank you so much. This is really helpful.

The reason why I am hesitant to have my current boss write my recommendation is because during the 1 year period that I have been with this company I have had 3 different managers. As such, I don't think my current manager knows me well enough to be able to write a recommendation that would make an impact.

If I got my co-founder to write one of my recommendations, can I get a boss from one of my jobs in the past to write the other? My manager from my previous company that I worked for between 2011 and 2014 knows me a lot better than my current manager as I worked under him for over 2 years before leaving the company. Perhaps having him write one of my recommendations would be more appropriate?

I can then point out in my application that I did not have my current manager write my recommendation because I have only worked under her for a short period due to managerial shuffling in my company. Please what do you think?

Thanks!
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