Take a look at the executive MBA letter of recommendation samples below to get a feel for how this portion should be constructed. Provide specific examples of how they manage responsibilities and why this trait contributes to their eligibility for acceptance to the MBA program. Keep in mind that the purpose of the letter is to honestly review why the applicant is the best choice for acceptance into the MBA program.
That said, mild criticism if applicable can go a long way in terms of objectivity and credibility when coupled with your praise of the applicant. For example, you can describe how the candidate responded to an adverse situation or criticism if their response was negative in nature. Make sure to follow this up with how they are improving on this trait.
In the conclusion of your letter, summarize why you are recommending the applicant for acceptance in the MBA program. Briefly reiterate your observations of the candidate throughout your relationship and their strongest qualifications for acceptance. Finally, leave the university an invitation to contact you should they require further information, and finish the letter of recommendation with a formal sign off—your printed name and signature beneath it.
I have directly supervised Jane for the past three years at [Name of company]. In my time working with Jane I have personally witnessed her dedication and hard work for the organization. Jane is responsible for capital purchases, information technology equipment, and pediatric care equipment.
She always volunteers for new assignments and demonstrates an ability to learn and retain information quickly and accurately. Jane is always willing to do what it takes to get the job done and truly lives up to the company ideals. I believe Jane will be very successful in your MBA program and is well equipped to handle the challenges and learning experiences that Augsburg can provide for her. She is fully capable of balancing the workload between her job responsibilities and school.
Joe was given a very free hand in this work because I counted on him. Joe held this position until his graduation three years ago. Managerial, Great negotiation skills, Tremendous sense of initiative, highly organized, great team-player and able to handle a complex process from above, delegating when necessary and always keeping his finger on the pulse of things.
Joe took over the job of directing public affairs from a young woman who was the Vice President of Student Council, actually. Joe amazed us all. He not only took up the job but he changed it and upgraded it.
I was disappointed with each and every one of the students that replaced him — none were able to match his efforts or motivation, nor bring in the quality of performance Joe did. Since he left, the standards have slipped and it is clear to see how much of the success of the office was on account of Joe. Joe had the opportunity to meet many managers and industry people in the course of his position.
Sometimes it was only Joe meeting with a manager of hundreds and his staff to discuss technology. Joe held up his end in these meetings. I received very positive feedback from the managers about him, and as time went by I felt more and more confident to just leave him to do the job. Seeing the way Joe grew into managing this project, which was really his baby, was very rewarding. He received great leadership and management experience and also learned a great deal about the industry and relations between companies.
In regards to maturity, Joe came and took this job as seriously as anything else. I was again and again impressed with how someone so young was so able to take this up, and make it such a success, alongside a full course load and a job at Motorola Semiconductors.
It was very difficult to coordinate between everyone here — the secretary, the Student Council, the managers coming in and all the timings and technology involved, but he did it well. Joe did all the coordination and told everyone what to do regarding the publicizing of the events and the organization of the lecture, and he did it with professionalism, care and a great attention to detail.
If the tables were reversed, would you enjoy working for the applicant? Joe worked under me and another professor who was in charge of the academic staff. As said, we also heard many good compliments about him from the managers who came to lecture from all the companies.
They all said how the process of coordination went so smoothly. Joe had no peers in this position, so I cannot comment on that. He did have subordinates, however. Joe gave instructions to a number of staff members — all of them working on a volunteer basis. Joe needed to inspire them to take the projects as seriously as he, and to encourage them to commit their best efforts to the project. He patiently explained to all of them the relations with the industry, and how important it was to establish these programs and have them succeed.
He inspired them with visions of how the students could be enriched with lectures from different fields and how much they could gain from strong relations with the hi-tech industry. By the time he was done people were enthusiastic and excited to follow him.
In what ways could the applicant improve professionally? There were mistakes in judgment, such as sometimes bringing over a number of lecturers from the same field, rather than bringing more diversity. Again, this is something that improved over time and with the experience. Sometimes fewer people came to events than were expected, and it turned out to be that the event was just before an important exam so everyone was home studying.
Each time a mistake like this happened, Joe would review it and make adjustment for next time. Whenever we gave Joe pointers he immediately adapted his way of going on.
He was always willing to listen, and actually welcomed whatever feedbacks we had, to help him to improve and do a better job. How well has the applicant made use of available opportunities? Consider his or her initiative, curiosity and motivation. Joe knew that the engineering faculty at his University, especially the Nanotechnology department, was well known and respected in the industry.
He used this to attract senior managers as much as possible from different companies. He would bring in CEOs, General Managers and other senior officers, winning their participation by presenting his proposal as if it was in their interest to come, rather than ours.
Joe really developed this angle, showing them how they had a chance to present what their company does to a roomful of bright new students. He identified that he had a great product to sell these managers, and he used that to help everyone succeed.
When Joe came into the job, there were only 2 lecturers per semester and no recruiting events to hold. Recruitment events were organized by external bodies from the dept. Joe collaborated with these external bodies to combine these events with the lectures and the open forums he was organizing. These all-day happenings raised the level of excitement throughout the department. He built them to be even more exciting by inviting students from other departments — computer science, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, etc.
Joe never missed an opportunity to bring the different departments together, and this had a strong impact on the entire faculty. He came at this job with all the enthusiasm and motivation as if he were pulling in a huge salary for it. He was proud of his work, and was motivated to do a great job just for that and because he believed that what he was doing was important and could have great beneficial effect on others.
Sometimes Joe saw that other departments — such as physics — from time to time organized lectures. He began to develop a relationship with them so they could organize together lectures that related to both fields. Once he collaborated with the public relations person from the physics department to bring a guest lecturer who spoke on physics and its relationship to electric engineering. It was a great success, with students from both faculties invited.
They did all the organization together, and their teamwork was evident in the smooth running of the event. It caused low turnout and I was very disappointed. When I asked him what happened he told me right away that he thought it was because of his mistake.
Joe never tries to put the blame off on anything or anyone else. As well, at Motorola, a person from their public affairs department told Joe they wanted to initiate a program for excellent students. They consulted with him and asked what he thought the prize should be, and asked for other recommendations about it, etc. They asked him to speak to no one about it, and Joe never mentioned it until the prize had been established and it was okay to speak about it.
No question, Joe is completely realistic in his goals. Joe and I have spoken a bit about his plans and why in particular he is interested in Kellogg, and with what little I know about your program, it sounds to me like a great fit. I know as well that his wife is applying to Northwestern Medical School, and they are hoping to both go to Chicago to study together. Are there any other matters which you feel we should know about the applicant?
These were 3. No one was able to fill his shoes — the program has really fallen down since he left. These students saw someone willing to invest time and energy because of what he believed, and it affected many students and caused them to reevaluate their own priorities and values. At the end of his time here, I thanked him publicly at the last lecture in front of all the students and the staff, for all his hard work. Please comment on the context of your interaction with the applicant.
How long have you known the applicant and in what connection? Joe has worked with our station for a few years and was integral to setting up operations in the new location. He manages teams of journalists in the field while liaising with departments across our four broadcast centers. We have also always been able to count on Joe to fill in as Bureau Chief when needed. Joe has proven himself as a talented journalist, reliable producer and ambitious professional and as such has frequently been deployed for coverage overseas.
He lobbied strongly for deployment and the chance we took on him paid off: The coverage he delivered on both occasions was bold and imaginative considering the extremely challenging conditions. Later, his colleagues on the ground spoke to me about his dedication and impressive leadership.
Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. However, I feel that in some occasions in the past he has been somewhat overconfident in his abilities to deliver coverage on certain stories and events — at times stories and interviews would cancel at the last moment.
Although our line of work is very dynamic and last minute changes are part of the operation, there have been instances where he conveyed confidence and even promises that coverage would turn out a certain way, when in the end the result was different.
I believe that Joe needs to temper expectations in order to minimize last minute changes. I have raised these issues with him and while commending him on his ideas, I suggested that he not be blinded to the details by the broader picture. Joe was very responsive and welcoming of my comments and I believe he has taken this to heart as I have not seen evidence of such a tendency since.
Overall, Joe is very thorough in his work and his confidence is central to the challenges he seeks. A recent story he produced was met with skepticism when first proposed, but he convinced us of its importance. The final report was powerful and had massive impact. Joe is one of our more driven producers. He has keen analytical skills, an inquiring mind and a strong passion for journalism.
Joe has detailed knowledge and a deep understanding of the region, particularly in politics, media and the military. Working from a busy news bureau, Joe has demonstrated his ability to think creatively, making connections between stories and finding original ways of approaching material.
He has shown a capacity for problem solving and an ability to think on his feet, often in stressful or physically dangerous situations. Joe well foresees challenges and provides results that lead to praiseworthy journalism. Joe is also very adaptable, quickly mastering skills to operate successfully in all situations. Though comparatively young for his role, Joe is mature, reliable and has strong interpersonal skills that propel the coverage teams he leads.
Joe has developed strong diplomatic skills and succeeded to build good working relations with colleagues, who in some cases might be ideologically ill-disposed to a person from his background. Joe seeks an MBA to advance his career towards new media development and use his experience to develop what he sees as the next phase of journalism.
I know he feels his work will have a broader impact this way and I believe this ambition is commendable. I fully support his wish to gain skills needed to enact his goals and fulfill his considerable potential, and look forward to following his successes. How long have you known the applicant, and in what context? Please comment on the frequency of your interaction. Joe and I were in the army together, we worked in parallel sections and sometimes collaborated on projects. In addition, I was one of his guard duty officers, in charge of supervising overnight base watch.
We met at least once a week for this purpose, and frequently on a less formal basis. Joe and I worked together from to , until we both finished our military service. His responsibilities evolved more than those of his peers mostly because Joe was always looking for opportunities to improve the quality of service in the base.
I was often amazed by his suggestions for improvement. One case in particular I can remember is when he asked my department to prepare a computerized report of all new recruits who have yet to complete their processing, sorted by birth date, and sub-sorted according to the specific parts they were missing in the processing.
It was so obvious that I wondered how no one else had thought of it before. How would you rate the applicant in comparison to others with similar responsibilities in your organization? Joe stands out from his peers in several areas, but the two I think of most are his quick analytical skills and how easy he is to work with. His high intellect makes it easy to collaborate with him. Few of his peers had his level of talent for the computer environment.
I often did surprise checkups, and under his command, everything was always perfect. This is not true of some of the other sergeants: I might find that the soldiers were not doing their jobs, or were permitted to work without their uniforms. He was always smiling, always taking it easy, even in demanding situations. He did his work very well and was never stressed about it, even though his section was really stressful—the 50 soldiers on his team worked from 7 in the morning until as late as 11 at night in the recruiting bureau.
Of all the sections of our unit, his was the most demanding place of service. In what areas can the applicant improve? Has he or she worked on those areas? There were a few instances where I remember Joe giving his subordinates assignments that were beyond their capabilities.
This brought negative results and also lowered their morale. When I discussed this with him, he understood and it never happened again, to my knowledge. I see it as an indication of how ambitious Joe is to achieve excellence, which is a good thing overall.
Many of the recruits he worked with were very difficult to interview — they sometimes were attempting to evade army service, and sometimes lied. I remember cases where people burst out shouting and once, a recruit started throwing a table and chairs. Joe, however, always kept cool and in control.
He had no trouble managing people who were in crisis, but at the same time he never lost his temper. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. By Karen Schweitzer Karen Schweitzer. Karen Schweitzer is a business school admissions consultant, curriculum developer, and education writer. She has been advising MBA applicants since Learn about our Editorial Process. Featured Video. Cite this Article Format.
Schweitzer, Karen. Sample Business School Recommendation Letter. Sample Recommendation Letter for Graduate School. A Guide to Writing Recommendation Letters.
0コメント