In a Dilemma about recommendation letters.

[Ashish Garg]

Hi Stacy,
I am planning to take GMAT in July end and thinking of switching company in August.
1. Present situation
Employed in Infosys as a software engineer and will be completing 2 yrs. in Nov. However currently my reputation and goodwill there is not that good. However I can improve for the sake of reco. letters.

2. Future Situation
Looking forward to join a finance firm in August for a finance position as I am looking forward for a career in finance. Hence i will starting afresh and reputation and goodwill will be earned by the time (in Dec.) reco. letters needs to be written. However it will be hardly 4 months in the new firm and I have seen that some schools do ask recommender(s) to mention, for how long he knows the candidate.

So my questions are:
1. How important is the duration in your current position from reco letters point of view?
2. How important is the goodwill of the firm you are working for?

Thanks a lot.

[Stacy Blackman]

It is extremely important that whoever writes your letter is a big fan of yours and is excited to support your MBA applications. You definitely do not want a letter from someone who is not enthusiastic about your performance. Ideally, you would have at least one recommender who has known you for more than 4 months. However, a strong letter from a new employer would be better than a bad one from someone who has known you a long time!

If you have a good relationship with someone in your current organization, that would be a good option for one of your letters, and this would balance out the new employer.

[Ashish Garg]

Does this mean that a recommender could be anyone from your organization whether current or previous, be it your friend cum colleague or it has to be a senior only?
Will Admission committee look favorably upon a reco letter from a senior and will they even cross check the person writing the letter for his/her identity and position in the organization?

[Stacy Blackman]

The best recommendation will be from your supervisor. Given your situation, you would ideally have one from your current supervisor at Infosys and from your supervisor at your new company. Some schools require or request a rec from a peer. Only in this case is a rec from your equal recommended.

It is definitely not unusual for a school to call your recommender and ask questions about their letter.