Best Letters of Recommendation

How To Get Enthusiastic Letters of Recommendation

Good MBA Recommendations Are Not Good Enough

Imagine the MBA applicant pool as a bell curve. The vast majority of applicants in the middle of the curve get “good” MBA recommendation letters. The problem is that “good” isn’t usually good-enough in the competitive MBA admissions landscape.

So in about 80% of the cases the MBA recommendations neither hurt nor help the applicant.

These recommenders tend to write letters that are generic and lack examples of how you had an impact at work, school or elsewhere. Most MBA candidates fall into this group. So, what about the other 20% of MBA recommendation letters?

Effective letters of recommendation will highlight and amplify your leadership[1], teamwork, organizational and communication skills, and discuss the positive impact you’ve had on an organization. The admissions committees want to see recommendations that indicate you are the best among your peers, you have strong analytical and leadership skills(taking initiatives, ability to stay calm under stress,stepping up when the team was combating a problem or chaos situation,stepping out of your comfort zone), you have some creativity and innovation and you are headed for great future success. Effective answers to any direct comparison questions with other well-qualified individuals in similar roles can also include a direct quantitative ranking: “Suresh is in the top 10% of the 15 account representatives in our group.” If the recommendations simply indicate you are “pretty good” or “second best,” your application may be perceived as having a weakness, which could have an adverse impact on your outcomes. If your recommendations are lukewarm or unenthusiastic in their endorsement of you, this can close the door for an interview and admissions for you.  Your recommender should fill your letter of recommendation with detailed examples about all of the times you have done fabulous things; make sure that what he or she...