| 10 Tips for Letter Of Recommendation |
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- Review a copy of the applicant's personal statement or application essays so that your letter of recommendation can dovetail with--not conflict with or duplicate--the rest of the application.
- Ask the applicant to supply you with additional information like a résumé.
- Describe your qualifications for comparing the applicant to other applicants.
I have been teaching for twenty years and have advised approximately 450 students on independent research projects over the last five years.
I have personally supervised ten interns every summer for the last five years plus worked with over two hundred college graduates in my capacity as trainer for Big Bank Corp.
- Discuss how well you know the applicant.
I was able to get to know Mr. Doe because he made it a point to attend two of my sections every week when only one was required.
Ms. Smith reported directly to me for two years prior to her well-deserved promotion to the position of Senior in our Big Six Accounting Firm.
- Choose two to three qualities that you observed in the applicant.
Jane has a rare blend of top writing and interpersonal skills.
The combination of tenacity, analytical abilities, and good communications skills found in Mr. Doe is truly unique.
- In discussing those qualities, support your statements with specific instances in which he or she demonstrated those attributes. Be as concrete and detailed as possible.
He is the only student I ever had who came to all my office hours as part of a relentless, and ultimately successful, drive to master financial theory. He was one of just ten percent in the class to receive an A.
Because of Jane's writing skills, I didn't hesitate to ask her to write a report which was used by our PAC as the basis for a major policy statement. Congressman X eventually used the statement, based on Jane's sophisticated 20-page analysis of Middle East politics, in lobbying for increased funding.
- Try to quantify the student's strengths or rank him or her vis a vis other applicants that you have observed.
He was in the top 10% of his class.
She has the best analytical skills of any person her age that I have ever supervised.
- Avoid generalities and platitudes.
- Include some mild criticism, typically the flip-side of a strength.
The only fault I have encountered in him is his retiring nature. His modesty sometimes hides a young man of remarkable strength and broad interests.
Occasionally, her fortitude and persistence can turn into stubbornness, but usually her good nature and level-headedness prevail.
- Discuss the applicant's potential in his or her chosen field.
I enthusiastically recommend Mr. Doe to your business school. This well-rounded student will be a fine businessperson.
With her exceptional leadership, writing, and quantitative skills, Ms. Smith will be an outstanding strategic consultant and a credit to the business school she attends
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