Who should be my Recommender ? - Entrepreneur

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Who should be my Recommender ? - Entrepreneur

by crackm7 » Sat Dec 19, 2015 11:40 am
Hello,

Kindly help me shortlist whom should I nominate for recommendation -

Background - I have done Engineering in 2010. Worked for a consulting firm for 9 months. Bootstrapped and started my own venture (No Co-Founder) in June 2011 in Talent Management (HR)

One of my ex-clients (Has worked till March 2015) has agreed for same. (1st box ticked :) )

Kindly suggest whom should I nominate as my second recommender -

1. Among the co-founders of a unlaunched, shelved, yet to fly startup (This was in parallel my own venture & is different but has been shelved by the whole team)
2. Ex Boss - My Boss from my consulting experience back in 2010-2011.
3. Business team head of one of my client - Someone Not directly involved in day to day interaction and execution
4. Current Client - Least preferable option. Ideally want to avoid it, as it would immediately effect the business with the respective client. (Last resort if none of the others holds equally good value)

All the help is highly appreciated.

CrackM7

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by Personal MBA Coach » Sat Dec 19, 2015 1:51 pm
crackm7 wrote:Hello,

Kindly help me shortlist whom should I nominate for recommendation -

Background - I have done Engineering in 2010. Worked for a consulting firm for 9 months. Bootstrapped and started my own venture (No Co-Founder) in June 2011 in Talent Management (HR)

One of my ex-clients (Has worked till March 2015) has agreed for same. (1st box ticked :) )

Kindly suggest whom should I nominate as my second recommender -

1. Among the co-founders of a unlaunched, shelved, yet to fly startup (This was in parallel my own venture & is different but has been shelved by the whole team)
2. Ex Boss - My Boss from my consulting experience back in 2010-2011.
3. Business team head of one of my client - Someone Not directly involved in day to day interaction and execution
4. Current Client - Least preferable option. Ideally want to avoid it, as it would immediately effect the business with the respective client. (Last resort if none of the others holds equally good value)

All the help is highly appreciated.

CrackM7
I recommend going for your ex-boss in this situation. It is not ideal as it would be an old rec, but if you have a new one to balance it out, its not a bad strategy.

Best,
Scott

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by Michelle@ARINGO » Wed Dec 23, 2015 5:48 am
Hi crackm7,
Here are some guidelines that can help you decide:

In general, schools are looking for recommenders who know the candidate very well, on the basis of an experience that is:
- As long as possible.
- As intense as possible.
- Experience that is preferably work-related.

The level of excitement that the recommender demonstrates, and the reasons for this excitement (supporting examples), are most important. A lukewarm recommendation or one that reflects little acquaintance will not do the job, no matter who provided it.
Also, recommendations that describe the candidate's background in the exact same industry name mentioned in the career plan are preferred.

For more tips regarding MBA recommendations, please visit: https://aringo.com/mba-recommendations-process/

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by Indradeep » Mon Jan 04, 2016 9:23 pm
Hi,
Hope you are well. Selecting the right recommender could be the difference in your application.
What the admission committee is looking for, are generally consistency in your story and "filling the blanks", particularly when it comes to understanding whether your understanding of your candidature is similar/consistent with someone who has hopefully worked with you.

I would suggest you think of someone who you worked with - it doesn't have to be your boss, it could be a distributor, vendor, client, people leader (anyone who can substantiate their claim with one or multiple examples). Being an entrepreneur, you can be really creative as you have so many people you work with. As long as there can be a level of seniority in the person providing you the recommendation, you should be alright. The reason for this is so that you can't influence your recommender. Don't fall in the trap of getting it from someone "famous" - it actually does more harm than good. Finally, knowing you in a part time focus is often not as valuable as acquaintance achieved by full time contact.

In terms of knowing you, anyone who has worked with you individually (this nature of work could be anything from directing work, checking your work, getting your assistance or working together) for more than 6 months and having known you professionally for about 2 years is the right person. Also, it shouldn't be from 2 years back as your profile may have changed significantly in that time - your problem solving, working in teams, handling different projects and leadership acumen which are all really important for your application.

I would try and get someone else, apart from the mentioned recommenders (based on what I have mentioned earlier) but if you have no other option, go with 1 and then 2.
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by Kaneisha Grayson » Tue Jan 26, 2016 8:00 am
Hi crackm7,

I completely understand your dilemma as an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur myself, I sometimes wonder who I would get to write my letters if I needed to apply to school again! I've worked with several entrepreneurs on their business school (and policy school) applications, and choosing a recommender is always a tricky task--but one that we try and get out of the way early so we can focus on other parts of the process.

As Scott suggested, I also suggest that you get your other letter from your ex-boss from 2010-2011 as that is the closest you're going to get to a traditional letter of recommendation from a supervisor. If the school gives you an opportunity to provide optional/supplemental information--whether it's an entire essay or just a few sentences, make sure you write a few sentences explaining your choice of recommenders.

Best of luck with your applications!
Kaneisha
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by Michael@VeritasPrep » Mon Feb 15, 2016 4:11 pm
I would think you should go with your former boss. A co-founder will probably be seen as not being able to be critical enough. Hopefully you have kept up a good relationship with him/her and can use this as a good opportunity to reconnect, which could provide opportunities after business school.
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