MBA Admission Guide - How to Choose your Recommenders

If you plan on applying to business schools in the next academic year, there are a number of things you will want to take care of. Important variables in your MBA admission prospects are the recommenders that you choose. Most b-schools will ask you to submit 2-3 recommendation letters from your bosses/superiors at work or your professors from your undergraduate program. You want to make sure that you make the right selection. Here are a few tips from top MBA admission consulting firms, on finding the right recommender.

Finding an Effective Recommender

When choosing the right recommends you need to make the right judgments. Choosing someone who appears to have dubious qualifications or is ineffective with regards to the MBA program you are applying for can not only put your admissions to risk but also raise doubts amidst the admission panel about your ability to judge your interactions with others. To be able to make sure that your letters are taken seriously and are as effective as possible, you need to take into consideration the following -

The recommenders you select should come with tremendous seniority in your school or workplace, with an exception of when you are asked to provide a peer recommendation. The admission committee tends to give letters by superiors more importance than those provided by your peers. This is because it is assumed that the peer is essentially a friend who is bound to give you a positive recommendation.

Make sure that the recommender is able to provide specific anecdotes of examples of your academic or professional achievements. This means that you need to choose someone who is extremely familiar with the work you do and someone you interacted with on a regular basis at school at your workplace. Applicants should choose former or current direct supervisors as against individuals within the organization who hold an impressive title.

By choosing a recommender solely on the basis of their title or name implies to the admissions panel that you lay undue importance to such qualities as against making intelligent judgement about who the ideal person is to give you a recommendation. In addition to picking someone who knows you well enough, make sure that selection you make has a list of people with whom you have a positive relationship.

Even when choosing between existing or former supervisors, you need to account for a number of factors. Here is what MBA admission consulting experts believe you need to look into -

For starters, you want to pick people who are able to provide the admissions panel with a detailed outlook on all your academic and/or professional experiences. It is ideal to get in touch with a supervisor from the job you held immediately before your current job.

You may also find it viable to select two recommenders from the same company. While doing so, make sure that they are highlighting different aspects of your work or experience. This will help you submit letters that complement each other as against those which repeat information.

Speak with each one of the recommenders to discuss the qualities and anecdotes they would like to cover. This will help you submit two distinctive letters about your profile.

You could also get two letters from two different companies, i.e., one from your current employer and another from where you were working in the past. Get in touch with the individual that you have maintained a strong relationship with. This will help you make sure that they mention good things about your professional potential and development.