Manager's letter of recommendation

[ani781]

Hi
I am planning for a full time MBA. My work exp is 8 years in the ever crowded Indian software industry , and I am planning to take GMAT this year. I have a question regarding Manager's letter of recommendation. Does this need to be your current manager or managers with wh you have earlier worked would also work. Pls suggest.[/quote]

[CriticalSquareMBA]

Hey there,

It depends. So if you've been with your current manager for a while now and you have no real good reason to not get a recommendation from them, then at least one will probably need to be supplied by your current manager. However, if you fear backlash or have only been working with them for a little while, you can sometimes explain this in the optional essay as to why you don't have a current supervisor.

However, most schools ask for 2 recommendations anyway so you could get a previous manager to write your 2nd one if that works. Make sure they don't both speak to the same things though! You don't want to waste a recommendation because all it does is repeat what the other one already told the adcom!

Cheers,

Bhavik

[SGanguly]

Hi ani781,

Bhavik is right! I would just like to add one more point. If you are planning to take a recommendation from one of your earlier supervisors, then it would be better to keep to someone who has known you in the relatively recent past (within 3-4 years at the most; in fact, four would also be stretching it if you are not in touch with this person otherwise now and he does not know about your progress). The ad com is generally interested to know about what kind of person/manager/employee you are NOW. So, taking a letter from someone who knew you seven or eight years back may not help that much unless he/she has something highly significant to share about you that will be truly relevant to your present and future. Generally, it is preferable to take recommendations from people who know you for a considerable period of time (2-3 years at least) and can talk about strengths and achievements that are going to add value to your MBA application, demonstrate potential for senior management, and the ability to achieve the goals you have set for yourself. If you have been working in the current organisation for about 3-4 years, then you can take a recommendation from your immediate supervisor now and maybe another one from either a manager you have worked with in the same company on a previous project/assignment or from another higher level manager who is aware of your performance.

Since I am not aware of your profile details, I cannot provide any more choices. People who are already working in a leadership role can also take one recommendation from a parallel lead with whom they have worked closely. So, basically, you might have many good options depending on your profile.

Also, as Bhavik has pointed out, make sure these people talk about different qualities and not repeat the same things as that would make one recommendation pointless.

Hope this helps!

Good luck with your GMAT!

Best Regards,


Sinchita Ganguly
Admissions Advisor
Manya - The Princeton Review