| Topic Name: |
Recommendations & Asking the Boss |
| Message Name: |
Other alternatives |
| Date Posted: |
01/31/2000 |
| In Reply To: |
I'll be applying for b-school this fall but I'm already wondering how (or if) to ask the boss for a recommendation.
Are rec's from the boss absolutely necessary to get into a top 10 school? Are business colleagues sufficient?
What about using good Performance Reviews written by the boss? Can they count as a recommendation?
Its not that I'm worried he'd give me a bad rec but I'm not in the consulting world so ditching work for an MBA isn't as common.
Thanks in advance. |
| Message: |
Generally, I think that the boss letter of rec is pretty damn important, but sometimes the situation can make it too hard to get this letter without causing yourself real damage in your job. Given the somewhat random draw that b-schools seem to be doing with admissions (not so much letting in unqualified people as rejecting people every bit as qualified as those who were accepted), it is quite a gamble, especially if you're at an organization that discourages pursuing an MBA.
My employer before b-school was totally against MBAs (this is Andersen Consulting, Process, not strategic services), so going to my partner or mentor would not have been wise. In the event I was rejected, I think I would have had a really unpleasant career there.
You don't need the rec to be from your direct supervisor, just someone who is really familar with you. Has anyone left the firm? Do you have any clients you work with regularly? Do you have access to a higher up in another group? Do you have any consultants working with your group? You want to choose people who aren't plugged into the political network in your company, so you can keep the grapevine from talking too much. For example, I had a consultant that AC had hired (actually retaining her rather small firm) write one. I also had my mentoring partner who had left the firm write a letter. Then as a backup I had a client director write a letter. When I announced I was leaving, it was a surprise to the Firm, so I knew my efforts to keep it quite had been successful.
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