One of my direct reports has asked me to write her a recommendation letter for graduate school (for an MBA). I’ve never written one before. I think the absolute world of her, but I’m not sure how to convey that without sounding fake. Or is it okay to be effusive? She’s only worked for me for four months so far, but has blown the doors off my expectations for the position. Will it carry any weight given the time period?
What are people looking for in an MBA recommendation letter, anyway? (I don’t have one myself)
I recently had to write my first recommendation letter (I’m an engineer for a private firm) for a student intern applying to Stanford. For the narrative, I focused on specifc aspects of his skills related to work and on his overall attitude and aptitude. I hope that was enough.
The main thing that an MBA program has going for it is its reputation, and a large part of that comes from the quality of the graduates it produces. The purpose of the application is to give the admissions committee some evidence that the candidate is likely to succeed in the program and that they’ll go out there after graduation and make the program look good.
Your job as a recommender is to provide a perspective that they can’t get from grades or test scores or the applicant’s self-assessment. You want to convey that this person is good to work with, and that they’ll go far, and you do that by providing specific examples of why they’ve impressed you. As long as you can offer that evidence, I don’t think the length of time you’ve known her will be too much of an issue. Poke around this site for some specific pointers.
Good academic recommendation letter writing is an exercise in…well…not subtlety. Don’t worry about being too effusive, just make sure you back it up with specific examples. Also, I’m extremely skeptical of the quote in the link:
I suppose that could apply only to business school applications, but from what I’ve heard, most academic programs will take even the slightest negative comment far too seriously. Since everyone writes pretty much positive letters, they will take even faint praise to indicate a negative attitude toward the candidate. I know that quote is from a pretty impressive source, but I just don’t buy it at all. I would be willing to believe that’s what they think they want in letters, but then toss out candidates whose references follow that advice.
Just case in point…take a look at some of the example MBA recommendation letters. No “weaknesses” in those.