Ask Stacy Blackman

hey Stacy ,

This question is with regards to obtaining reference/recommendation letters that would aid in admission to business schools.

Could you throw some light, on some of the things you feel are vital to raising our chances by means of recommendation letters?I have requested my immediate supervisor to write me a letter of recommendation, ( who promptly asked me to draft the key points i want emphasized). Could you help out in stating some of the key things that admission committees would be looking for ?

Moreover, this question has also been troubling me for some time. I currently am changing my job( and intend to pursue an MBA in say 2-3 years after gaining some good work experience) . This recommendation letter for obvious reasons wouldn't be in the exact format as that of the school i would be hoping to apply later on .Currently the letter which my ex-supervisor would give me would be in the letter head of my ex-company. Could this also be provided as a reference letter ? or is this pointless and only a recommendation in the prescribed format of the business school help ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
K

Hi k2gopal,

In your situation I think the best thing to do is to stay in touch with your current supervisor and make sure you keep up the relationship until you're ready to apply to school.

Recommendation letters are generally in response to specific questions asked on the application. These days the recommender is encouraged to submit the answers to those questions online, therefore a boilerplate letter on company stationary is not of much use to you.

General advice on recommendation letters is to make them as specific as possible, using supporting examples for every point. If the question asks about your leadership abilities, the recommender should be able to say exactly what your style and abilities are, and support the points with examples they have personally observed. It is great to remind your recommender of these examples through a brief bullet pointed list.

You may want to jot down some of your accomplishments in terms of management, leadership, interpersonal skills and ethics in this current job to remind yourself when you actually start the application process.

Good luck!

Amy