UPDATE: This article was originally posted on July 8, 2020. It has been updated with new information and tips below.
During the entire application process, you should work hard to present the best possible portrait of your achievements, career goals, and fit with your dream schools.
With such an intense focus on your “deliverables,” it’s often easy to overlook the only element of your application that provides an image of you from an outsider’s perspective: your letters of recommendation.
Considering this is the admissions committee’s chance to view you from this critical angle, as well as gather information on how successful executives view your talents and overall potential, you want to make sure to devote significant time and attention to this area of your application.
However, many of the best potential recommenders are too busy to write, difficult to work with, or simply deliver a sub-part letter that falls short of selling you. For this reason, bringing in an MBA consultant to help you navigate all aspects of the letter of recommendation process is an essential step to both ensure you secure standout references and land a spot at your top choice business school.
MBA consultants can help you analyze your profile
Any good marketing campaign starts with understanding who your target audience is.
This is no different when it comes to business schools. Though all schools essentially offer the same product: an MBA, the product features are as different as a Ferrari’s are from a pickup truck’s.
For example, London Business School really values internationally-minded candidates, so your personal brand for LBS should focus more on your international strengths and vision.
Every school has a different “fit,” so you should plan to tailor your application to each school. The following are just a few elements of the application you should discuss with your MBA consultant to ensure your applications are successful.
Determining your personal brand
One of the first things I tell my clients who are applying to an MBA is that you won’t get into a top program by being like everyone else–you’ll get in by standing out.
But figuring out how to stand out and how to keep your “uniqueness” consistent across your application can be very difficult if you don’t have some sort of guide.
This is why all of my clients start their MBA applications by defining their personal brands.
A personal brand is a powerful tool you will use not only throughout your application but also during your studies and later on when you re-enter the job market.
Great, right? But how do you get to the point where you have your personal brand?
One of the best ways to do this is to work with a coach or consultant you trust, as they can help you understand how to focus on different elements of your profile yet still ensure you submit a cohesive application.
Identifying your strengths and weaknesses
Do you know what sets a successful applicant apart from a dinged applicant?
Though there are many factors that determine an application’s success, in my experience, applicants who clearly understand the strengths and weaknesses of their profile have a clear advantage.
As such, bringing in an MBA consultant to help you understand the competitiveness of your overall profile can be the key to obtaining a spot in your top-choice MBA program. This is especially relevant when considering your letters of recommendation, as these are excellent platforms that can be used to overcome shortcomings in your application.
For example, if you have worked in a relatively non-traditional background and have a weak GMAT quant score, you may want to ask at least one of your recommenders to highlight your intellectual horsepower and strong quant abilities so the committee is able to see your academic preparedness.
There are endless examples of how the letters can be used to strengthen your application, so having an MBA consultant on hand to help sift through all the information and provide you with the best possible strategy for your case is essential.
What role do rec letters play in your application?
Though the format varies slightly from school to school in accordance with a particular school’s values, in general, the schools use the letter of recommendation to validate the image you have portrayed in your application. Letters can also be useful to address certain areas you were unable to cover in your essays.
Many schools, to streamline the process, use the GMAC Common Letter of Recommendation, which includes four basic questions:
- Please provide a brief description of your interaction with the applicant and, if applicable, the applicant’s role in your organization.
- How does the performance of the applicant compare to that of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? (E.g. what are the applicant’s principal strengths?)
- Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response.
- Is there anything else we should know? (Optional)
The word count allowed for each question varies but generally hovers around 500 words.
Looking for the exact Letter of Recommendation questions for your target schools? Our MBA Resource Library has LOR guides for dozens of top schools, as well as numerous sample essays, mock sequences, exclusive guides, and CV templates. Click to join!
In this space, your recommender should have ample opportunity to highlight what makes you unique while also reinforcing (through the “constructive feedback” question) that you are someone who takes criticism well and constantly looks for chances to self-reflect and improve.
Regardless of the format, letters of recommendation are one of the most important factors that will ultimately determine whether you find a spot at an elite business school or end up dinged.
MBA consultants can help you choose the best recommenders for your profile
Though you have little control over the actual content of the letters of recommendation sent on your behalf, you do have the power to choose who you ask to recommend you.
Some candidates think this is somewhat of an automatic decision, yet choosing the right people for the job will ultimately determine if your letters shine or flop. Since most candidates ultimately have multiple people who would be potential recommenders, having an MBA consultant help you choose the right people from the start is essential.
When choosing your recommenders, you should always select professionals you have recently worked with who are able to talk in detail about you as a professional. Additionally, the schools set out certain limitations you will want to be sure to follow.
CURRENT BOSS
Who knows your professional potential at this very moment better than your current boss? After all, he or she directly manages your deliverables, is responsible for supporting your promotions, and is tasked with giving you regular feedback.
Given your current boss’ in-depth understanding of how you perform at work, it’s no surprise that all MBA programs ask you to include a letter from your current boss.
In certain cases, your current boss is not in a position to write you a letter. This happens for many reasons, but the most common are that you are not able to disclose to your employer that you are applying for an MBA, your direct supervisor is a family member, or you are an entrepreneur.
For example, when working with our client Michel, his bank was laying off massive numbers of employees while he was writing his application. As he depended on his bonus to help finance his MBA and knew that he’d be fired if the bank learned of his plans to leave, we decided not to ask for a letter from his current boss, opting instead for a letter from a former boss who had left the bank one year prior. By doing this, we were able to get an accurate view of Michel’s day-to-day performance without compromising his career.
In this case, you should choose an alternative recommender — such as a business partner, board member, former direct supervisor, or even client — to write your letter. Just make sure to include this information in the Optional Essay you send to the school.
SECOND RECOMMENDER
The second letter of recommendation is slightly more complex.
Since this letter cannot come from your current boss, you must strategically choose a second person who can contribute new, valuable insights into your profile.
According to Chicago Booth:
“The second letter can be professional in nature or come from an individual who has worked with you in an organization, club, or on a volunteer project. These letters can give us a different perspective of your skill sets outside of your professional environment. There is no preference on who supplies your second letter of recommendation; our only guideline is that it should add new and valuable insight to your candidacy.”
However, the key is to choose someone who can add the right kind of valuable insight.
Though you may know the Pope well enough to ask for a letter, this might not necessarily be a good choice for your application.
As such, it can be a good idea to think about what image you are trying to portray to the business schools, then consider how your essays, CV, and letter from your current boss reinforce this brand. After mapping this with your MBA consultant, select a second recommender who can add new insights into your personal brand and complement what has already been said.
A special note for consultants
If you work as a consultant for a major firm, it can be difficult to determine who is your “current boss” considering the fact that you work on multiple cases each year, often changing “bosses” every few weeks.
The Three Rs
As such, when choosing your recommenders, consider the three Rs: recent, remarkable, and relevant.
- Recent: Make sure you have worked with the person you choose relatively recently. In consulting, 2 years is usually a long time, so try to choose recommenders from the last year or so.
- Remarkable: Try to choose recommenders from the cases that make you stand out from the crowd. Good choices include international projects and projects in which you had leadership experience.
- Relevant: Make sure you choose projects that reinforce your personal brand. If you are presenting the story that you want to be a Private Equity specialist in your firm, try to choose at least one recommender who can speak to your ability to tackle tough PE projects.
Our team can help answer every question that comes up along the way
Great recommendations can turn an average application into a standout, but poorly done recommendations can get even the best candidate a ding.
Your letters of recommendation are one of the most crucial elements of your application. Working with our recommendation service helps you maximize your efforts in this area.
We’ve worked with many students who could not quite get an acceptance letter because their letters of recommendation were working against them, not for them. By working with our highly-specialized team, you can ensure this doesn’t happen to you.
Whether you need help deciding who to choose as your recommender or your boss would like to have a confidential call to ensure he or she is able to write you the best letter possible, you can count on our years of expertise and 98.9% success rate to get the job done.
Ready to take the next step? Apply to work with us and how we can add more value to your application than you ever thought possible.
Real MBA Essays That Got People In
School-specific sample essays that got our clients accepted
