A crucial element in your whole MBA, MIM, or MS application process is the recommendation letters. We are going to focus mainly on four aspects of these letters. This is also applicable for all the other programs across the globe, as recommendation letters create a special impact on your overall application and chances of selection as well.
1) Why do we need recommendation letters?
The objective of a letter of recommendation is the validation of your abilities. It’s presumed you have done good work in your life, and you will be expressing that through your essays. But it has just a tad more impact if it’s coming from someone else too, like your manager or teammates, a client or stakeholders.
That adds extra value and authenticity to your admission process because the experiences shared by the individuals are your real abilities. The admission committees are more focused on assessing your real-time and leadership experience, rather than your academic background (this also plays a crucial part).
In real-world, post-MBA, or any other program, you will be exposed to real challenges at the workplace, with teams, managers, or different stakeholders and this is the reason to give special emphasis on recommendation letters. This is the basic need behind recommendation letters.
Most schools ask for two recommendation letters. Some might even give you an option of three recommendation letters.
Subscribe for the latest videos on a variety of careers, study abroad, interview, resume, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/VikingsCareerStrategists
2) Structure of recommendation letters
The questions asked in these recommendation letters are two-fold – objective and subjective. The questions usually revolve around aspects of your personality and your leadership style. When we say ‘personality’, questions are in the context of your strengths, weaknesses, areas of improvement, your reactions to certain situations, the kind of person you are, everything with respect to your behavior.
Certain projects or assignments can be asked to be described. Initially, you will be asked objective questions followed by the subjective ones. Though it’s not about the importance, the subjective questions are more important for your letter, as they give freedom to your recommender, to express your real abilities. So, it’s important that you communicate this to your recommender that he/she should be as descriptive as they can and should not leave any ambiguity.
3) Must-haves for recommendation letters
There’s generally no good or bad letter of recommendation. The important thing to avoid is making general statements. Whoever is your recommender, ask them to be specific about any projects or assignments that you have been a major part of. Ask them to describe your behavior in real-time situations, to highlight everything in those examples.
General sentences like, ‘this person is very hard-working, diligent, smart, good leader’ will not make an impact on anyone. It’s not going to leave a distinct impression of you. Mentioning favorable results of projects, the way you have handled difficult situations, the ideas you have represented, actions that have made you stand out of the crowd, are things that should go in the letter of recommendation.
The idea is to highlight your strengths and areas of improvement but with concrete examples. For example, if you have worked with your Manager on a 2-month long project, and if your manager can highlight that in the letter and write all the details, with respect to your performance and leadership qualities, then that would be impressive.
Your manager should not focus on writing 10 projects without mentioning your contributions in detail. So, quality matters over quantity.
4) Who should write your recommendation letters?
Many people think of approaching their CEOs or directors whom they know very well, hoping that the designation of the person can create an impact on the application. We would say that there’s really no need for a designation or strategy. You need to ask people whom you have worked with very closely, who have seen you first hand putting effort into your work.
For example, asking your current manager, whom you might have only worked with for two months, won’t be as impactful because that person might not have seen you in your element.
However, your previous manager, whom you might have worked with for two years or so, would know you better to write recommendation letters. Focus on the time spent with the person. They could be your manager or your clients. If you decide to ask a very senior person, it wouldn’t be perfect if they don’t know you very well.
It’s not ideal to go to them based on a few conversations you two might have had. They might not be in the position to write good feedback for you because they might not have observed you as closely as someone else. Their recommendations won’t be as honest as someone who knows your way of working.
Though there is no time frame, which can be specified for choosing a recommender, ideally you should have worked with that person for a year, if that person was your manager. Additionally, if the person was a client or another stakeholder and you have worked closely with him for a couple of good projects, then still it can be 6 months to 1 year. But still, this will be subjective based on the quality of work or project. Value and authenticity, as we mentioned before, are key!
We hope this article helped you in answering your questions surrounding the recommendation letters. All the best for your future! Feel free to connect with us if you need any help or guidance.
