1. Look to undergrad first. Contact your old undergrad counselor and see if they are willing to write you a recommendation, or get back in touch with your old professors. Anyone whose class you particularly enjoyed or struggled with?

2. Don’t feel badly about asking. If you succeed in graduate school, your old teachers, employers, and friends will be thrilled that they were able to help you along the way. Everyone needs recs, so don’t ever feel guilty about asking.

3. Give your recommenders some tips. Don’t write their letter for them, but do give your recommenders your personal statement, recent resumes/transcripts, and describe for them your “story.” They should know how you want the admissions committee to perceive you, so they can gear their letter towards your strengths. 

4. Explain why them. Make your recommender feel special by explaining why you want them to write your letter more than anyone else. Are they in a unique position to provide insight to the committee on a specific aspect of your personality? Did they witness a growth in your character or a change in your ambitions?

5. Find alumni. You may not realize that a family friend or distant relative has already attended one of your dream business schools. Alumni connections can definitely play a part in the admissions process. Even if they aren’t the best person to write you a recommendation, perhaps they could give you an email or a phone number of someone in the admissions department, or better yet, write an email or call on your behalf.

6. Be clear on deadlines! The worst scenario is that you ask your recommender, they agree, and then never write the letter. Give them a clear “due date” and check in with them a week beforehand. Be polite, but firm. There’s nothing wrong with calling to ask if there’s anything else they need, or to keep them updated on your application process.

7. Gather all the necessary materials early. Have lots of extra transcripts, resumes, and essays ready to go as it’s possible your recommenders may lose or misplace the information you’ve given them. You’ll be busy completing your applications and studying for the GMAT while they are focused on the rec, so it’s better to be more prepared than you think you’ll need to – this application process always involves more paperwork than anticipated!

8. Meaningful supersedes famous. Don’t feel like you need to get the most illustrious person you know to write you a letter of recommendation. A letter from Donald Trump is worthless if Donald Trump doesn’t really know you. Who knows your passion and energy best?

9. Send thank-you cards. This should be the bare minimum – a small gift like a Starbucks gift card can be nice as well. Make sure your recommender feels appreciated from start to finish. Don’t bribe them, but do let them know how much you appreciate their time.

10. Include a stamped, addressed envelope with your request. Some recommenders prefer not to let you read their letter and would like to mail it themselves. Give them the option by including envelopes that are stamped and already correctly addressed. This will ensure your letter goes to the right address. This is just one more way to make the process as simple as possible for your letter-writer. Remember, they are doing you a favor!

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In general, submitting extra recommendations is not recommended as the schools are overwhelmed by these additional letters. However, in some situations it might make sense and you will need to consider each case in the context of the individual, the MBA program’s policy, and the information that will be put in the letter. Some business schools have more flexible policies than others. While it will be unusual for an MBA program to encourage additional letters, some take a much harder stand against them. If a business school states that it does not want additional letters, take it seriously and think hard before sending them something that they say they would not like to have.

For more robust guidance on your MBA application essays, check out the Stacy Blackman Consulting Essay Guide Series – school specific guides with essay tips, sample essays, information on what your target schools value and more.

Visit http://www.stacyblackman.com/essay-guides/ to learn more.

Founded in 2001, Stacy Blackman Consulting has helped thousands of MBA applicants gain admission to the most selective business schools in the world.  The Stacy Blackman team, comprised of MBA graduates, former admissions officers and expert writers, editors and marketers, helps clients develop and implement a winning marketing strategy.  Stacy Blackman clients have a significantly increased probability of admission to top schools and are frequent recipients of merit scholarships.  The company is regularly featured in publications such as BusinessWeek, the Wall Street Journal and the Economist.   Visit the Stacy Blackman blog for daily news updates and admissions tips, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

Entrepreneurs

While you as an entrepreneur will have an excellent story to tell in your application, it can be very difficult to find the right recommender because you are the owner of your business. The overseer position is not possible. Some options that should be considered for the entrepreneur are:

• · investor
• · employee
• · partner
• · board member
• · mentor
• · client
• · strategic partner

You may also need to look outside of your working environment for at least one of your recommenders. This is a moment when it may be the right decision to ask someone outside of a working setting.

In the Family Business

If you currently have a career in a family business you may face essentially the same hurdles as an entrepreneur. If you are working for a parent or other family member, it will be difficult to find the right person to write a recommendation on your behalf. Asking a family member is not recommended, so like the entrepreneur you will have to consider a number of options. The suggested list for entrepreneurs is a good place to begin.

Prestigious Recommenders

Many candidates consider asking their father’s colleague who was the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Or perhaps they want to have a well known individual who they had only met a few times. MBA programs have seen all of this and will likely not be impressed by the fact that you know someone who is well known. It’s a far better idea to choose people who fit to the criteria set forth above, who know you well and can write a sincere recommendation for you.

MBA Alums as Recommenders

It will definitely not hurt your application to have your letters of recommendation written by alumni from the MBA program you are applying to. If you are considering between two recommenders who can write equally strong letters for you, it would make sense to go with the alum. An alumnus can show an understanding from their experience of what the business school is looking for and state that you will be a good candidate for the program. Even alumni of a different business school understands the type of individual who will succeed in an MBA program and so can speak with some authority regarding you as an applicant. Typically, the pedigree of your recommender is not as important. A letter from a Fortune 500 CEO will be more beneficial, just as a high GPA from a strong undergraduate university means more. All else being equal, you can look to a prominent alum or seasoned executive, but make sure that these individuals actually knows you well. You should know that MBA programs often make phone calls to recommenders to ask for additional information, so the recommender must be able to speak about you.

For more robust guidance on your MBA application essays, check out the Stacy Blackman Consulting Essay Guide Series – school specific guides with essay tips, sample essays, information on what your target schools value and more.

Visit http://www.stacyblackman.com/essay-guides/ to learn more.

Well, let’s hope they do, at least, because once you’ve requested that your transcripts and documentations be sent to schools, it’s time to find a few people who are willing to vouch for your aptitude for graduate business studies:
Step 5: Solicit and obtain letters of recommendation.

Adcoms (admissions committee members) don’t know you. Some MBA programs don’t even offer interviews, though most of the top ones do. In most cases, all they’ll see of you is a short stack of paper, and they’ll probably have hundreds or thousands more very much like yours from other applicants who want to get into their program just as much as you do. Standing out from the pile can be difficult, but it’s absolutely crucial to gaining acceptance (and, perhaps, scholarship offers) to your desired program(s).

Chances are good that your “numbers” are more-or-less set. If you’re considering business school, then you’ve either finished your undergraduate education (in which case you can’t do anything to nudge your GPA up any more) or are very near the end of it (in which case you have very little time to make even a small positive change in your GPA). You may still have time to improve your GMAT/GRE score(s), which can definitely help. But more likely than not, your best opportunity to shine comes from two sources: your application essays and your letters of recommendation.
Solicit recommendations early.

Since the letters of recommendation aren’t fully under your control, you should solicit them before you start working on your application essays. Give yourself two to three months before you plan to submit your apps so your recommenders (who are probably busy people) have time to write an insightful, well thought-out, glowing recommendation.
Ask the right people.

Hopefully, when you started this process, you took my advice and followed up with some potential recommenders. If you haven’t done so yet, now’s definitely the time. Make a quick phone call or send an email. Invite him/her out for lunch or coffee.

But who should you ask? Schools typically have guidelines for applicants regarding who should recommend a candidate and how many letters must and can be sent. Before you start asking around, visit each school or program’s website. Peruse the “admissions” section. If you haven’t already done so, print out the application and slip a copy into your application file box. The admissions page or application will contain guidelines for recommendations.
Follow instructions.

Nothing bugs an adcom more than an applicant who doesn’t follow instructions. Don’t send more letters of recommendation than a school accepts. It won’t make you look any better. Two letters of recommendation is a fairly common requirement; three are often accepted (and some schools will accept even more). Most schools want at least one recommendation to come from an academic source, although there is a little bit of wiggle room on this guideline. Unless otherwise specified, it’s usually best to solicit at least one academic recommendation and one professional recommendation.

Some highly competitive programs require a Dean’s Certification form/letter, either during the application process or sometimes after acceptance, which can be tougher to obtain, so work on making communication in-roads as soon as possible to facilitate the process.

Applicants come from a variety of backgrounds and apply at various stages of their lives, and adcoms know this. If you’ve been out of school for quite some time and you have a difficult time contacting your old professors, schools will generally accept recommendations from less traditional sources. It’s not uncommon for candidates still in undergrad to submit exclusively academic recommendations; similarly, candidates returning to school after years in a career path often submit exclusively professional recommendations. While this may not be ideal, it’s certainly acceptable.
Get the best recommendations possible.

Most importantly, your recommendations should be absolutely stellar. If you’re not sure how positively a potential recommender will endorse you, ask. Try something direct, but courteous, such as: “How strongly would you be comfortable recommending me to [business school]?” If he or she seems at all hesitant, this is probably not your recommender of choice.

You may know an alumnus of one of the programs to which you’re applying. If so, a targeted letter is a great idea. A targeted letter is one written particularly for one specific program by someone who has close ties to that school or program. In such a letter, the recommender can address your aptitude for that particular program. Such a recommendation is likely to carry more weight, considering the intimate knowledge the recommender has with the school. But here’s a word to the wise: make sure you don’t send the targeted letter to any of the wrong schools. Want to insult an admissions committee? Then send Stanford a letter that outlines why you’d be such a great fit at Harvard Business School. That’s almost a guarantee that you’ll be placed in the “reject” pile.

While an alum or board member can be a great recommender if he/she knows you well enough to endorse your application to graduate studies, submitting “celebrity” letters just for name recognition won’t do you any favors. Like I said before, the most important element of any recommendation is its quality. Your recommenders should be able to address your aptitude for graduate studies in your particular program of choice. They should mention things like your work ethic, your attention to detail, your attitude and how you interact with other students or co-workers, your intellectual curiosity, your written and verbal communication skills, your logical aptitude, your critical analysis skills, etc.
Provide resources.

I hope this point is obvious, but it’s still worth stating. Make sure you provide your recommenders all the proper forms and guidelines they need. If a particular school requires a specific form, make sure you provide it along with your request.

To make their jobs a little bit easier, provide a résumé to each recommender and supplement the résumé with notes. Include a story that illustrates a particular skill or trait that he or she might include in the letter, but make sure the story is relevant to the particular recommender in question. If you have them done, provide a draft of one of your application essays or another writing sample.

Also, be sure to provide envelopes that are already addressed and stamped. Recommending you shouldn’t cost the gracious writer anything and shouldn’t be a hassle. And I’m sure you want the letters to get to the right places, so do the legwork yourself. In short, make it as easy as possible.
Set a deadline.

Don’t forget that recommenders are people, too. They have other priorities, most of them more important that writing a letter of recommendation for a business school applicant. To help the process along, set a deadline for him/her and make sure to follow-up on occasion–maybe every two weeks. Don’t be annoying, for sure, but check in with a quick email asking if he/she has had a chance to look over the forms and materials you presented and ask if he/she has any questions you might be able to answer to help with the process.
Show your gratitude.

Be forewarned that some schools require a very specific recommendation form, and any good recommendation will take some time and effort to be well-written, so you should be extremely courteous and thankful of anyone willing to jump through such hoops for you. Once your letters are in, do more than just say thank you. Send “thank you” cards to your recommenders. Take them out to lunch or coffee. Make sure your recommenders know they did the right thing by signing their names to your application to schools. A little bit goes a long way.

Once your letters of recommendation are taken care of, it’s time for you to start writing. Next up in the series: application essays and personal statement.

Check out other articles in this series:
The Business School Application Process Part 1 – Building Your To-Do List
The Business School Application Process Part 2 – Managing the Application Process
The Business School Application Process Part 3 – Test Preparation
The Business School Application Process Part 4 – Transcripts and Paperwork