Bad Recommendation vs. Poor recommender choice

[pinchharmonic]

Folks, i'm stuck. My best source for a recommendation (direct manager for 7+ years), may not write me stellar recommendation. To be safe, it could even be less than average...

I can skip this person and get a decent or good recommendation from someone that is not my manager, but plays somewhat of a supervisor role (but is a member of my team and reports to the same manager)

Any other suggestions? Managers of other teams?

Thanks!

[machichi]

Is the issue that your direct manager can't write well or that s/he does not think you have demonstrated quality work? If it's the first, you can let them know how important this is to you and just request they have someone else proof it. If it's the second, do they have good reason to think this or is there just some issue between you two? I'd say point to your reviews, which hopefully indicate great work. You're going to need to address why your direct supervisor isn't writing your rec somewhere, so you should have you reason very clear in your head.

[Jon@Admissionado]

A less than stellar recommendation makes your recommender a bad choice, no matter how high up he or she is. If they aren't going to be loving and gushing, don't bother them. The single most important thing (besides of course choosing someone who is your higher-up and who knows your work) is to choose someone who will write a GREAT recommendation, great being defined by how excited it is. Recommendations are ready quickly, and for tone more than content, so it's very important that you choose someone who really wants to help you out.

[youngjames]

the expectation at a competitive program is that your recos are all exceptional. anything less is a red flag, since htat's what all of your competitors will be bringing to the table. i've written a basic primer to help you think thru the reco letter issue here: https://www.thefirstread.com/mba-admissi ... mendation/

kind of some basic stuff, but hope it's helpful nonetheless,
-james