Recommendation letter

[charanya]

Hi Everybody,
I have some questions regarding the recos letter. I'm currently working for an IT company. I wonder whether do I need to get a recommendation letter from my immediate supervisor? Becoz, some of the top schools, highly recommend applicants to get one from their immediate supervisor..In that case, I am kinda hesitant what if my supervisor comes to know that I'm gonna leave the company soon..Also, will he be in a good position/mood to give me a strong recommendation letter? Please help me guys.

Thanks in advance.

[tictaktoe]

Explain that in the optional essay and take recommendation from someone else who can assess you the same way.

[tehcalvin]

Originally Posted by charanya

I am kinda hesitant what if my supervisor comes to know that I'm gonna leave the company soon..Also, will he be in a good position/mood to give me a strong recommendation letter?

Is this the only immediate supervisor you have worked with? If there have been any in your past projects, you can get one from them.

[charanya]

Thanks for all your replies!! I have a unique situation at my current work. The person, whom I report to is an architect....so, if I get a letter from him..is it ok? Also, I'm planning to get one recos letter from my manager/architect..and other one from do you guys recommend to get?(from smbdy within my work area or...

[III]

Recommendations are most certainly the least important part of your application. They should reinforce what their rest of your package says, and provide the opinion of a real person who knows you very well and can answer the school's questions directly and honestly. Every school will tell you this, and you should listen. The truth is that schools know that many applicants write their own recommendations and just get their recommenders to sign and send them.

[pareto's]

Some applicants are in a situation that may unfortunately be more common in this slowing economy - having someone who is currently unemployed write his recommendation. This is not a significant negative. It would be better if he or she could write it on company stationary. Otherwise, the key to the recommendation is to have the recommender be able to write on the basis of personal experience with the applicant. And the recommender should point to specific experiences and accomplishments of the applicant in his or her recommendation. And of course, from a recommendation point of view, the more, the merrier.

Most schools, I believe, want the recommenders to send in the recommendations directly. They should simply follow the directions given by the schools. As far as recommenders typing out one letter or filling out the forms, there's a trend, where recommenders are more frequently filling out the entire form. It used to be that they would write a letter, fill in the grid, and that was enough. Now, more recommenders are doing the form.

[LORON]

I have a question regarding recommendations. I have gotten the go-ahead from my manager to write the rec myself. He wants to use do it in letter form and NOT online. He is a very busy person, and so I would show it to him, and he will review it and make changes if necessary, and sign it. Then I put the letter in an envelop and send it. So my questions are:

1) Will schools accept a generic rec in letter format, send in via regular express mail and not email? Is it OK if we do NOT use the school's supplied form? Of course we will still try to make the letter as informative as possible, but might not match the exact questions on the form.

2) When the recs reach the school, will the school immediately sort it out and put it with the rest of my online app, or will there be downtime to find the recs and match them with my apps? I am trying to figure out, for example, if I sent in the recs by regular mail by date X, will they start reviewing by date X or will it be X + Y where Y is the time it takes to sort the recs. The rest of the apps will be submitted online so it will be there before the recs.

3) Does the manager have to sign the seal of the envelop? I mean, if I was already given permission by my recommenders to see the letter, isn't that kind of redundant?

4) Can the submitted rec be a copy? One of my recommenders is overseas and I think he wants to fax or PDF the rec to me.

[o m a r]

Originally Posted by LORON

I have a question regarding recommendations. I have gotten the go-ahead from my manager to write the rec myself. He wants to use do it in letter form and NOT online. He is a very busy person, and so I would show it to him, and he will review it and make changes if necessary, and sign it. Then I put the letter in an envelop and send it. So my questions are:

1) Will schools accept a generic rec in letter format, send in via regular express mail and not email? Is it OK if we do NOT use the school's supplied form? Of course we will still try to make the letter as informative as possible, but might not match the exact questions on the form.

2) When the recs reach the school, will the school immediately sort it out and put it with the rest of my online app, or will there be downtime to find the recs and match them with my apps? I am trying to figure out, for example, if I sent in the recs by regular mail by date X, will they start reviewing by date X or will it be X + Y where Y is the time it takes to sort the recs. The rest of the apps will be submitted online so it will be there before the recs.

3) Does the manager have to sign the seal of the envelop? I mean, if I was already given permission by my recommenders to see the letter, isn't that kind of redundant?

4) Can the submitted rec be a copy? One of my recommenders is overseas and I think he wants to fax or PDF the rec to me.

I am sure there is an ethical issue with you writing your recommendations under the guise of having a busy boss. The rec is supposed to let adcom know about you from a third party who has seen you in the workplace/school. The recs written by you is not independent, fair and unbiased. It is simply dishonest! It is considered 300% wrong to draft your reco for your recommender. The practice of getting your own drafts signed by recommender IS very common in many countries with regard to general recruitment purposes. But it is absolutely wrong, and that is underlined by all schools, to do this for application purposes. I am not judging you or giving you any lessons, just take my word as an answer to your question, and let's see if Adcom will second me. The difference between letters for recruitment and application is that in the latter your recommender has to provide detailed examples of your achievements, reactions etc. It is not a good thing to design this stuff for youself.

[o m a r]

[deleted]

[y u c k]

Originally Posted by o m a r

I am sure there is an ethical issue with you writing your recommendations under the guise of having a busy boss. The rec is supposed to let adcom know about you from a third party who has seen you in the workplace/school. The recs written by you is not independent, fair and unbiased. It is simply dishonest! It is considered 300% wrong to draft your reco for your recommender. The practice of getting your own drafts signed by recommender IS very common in many countries with regard to general recruitment purposes. But it is absolutely wrong, and that is underlined by all schools, to do this for application purposes. I am not judging you or giving you any lessons, just take my word as an answer to your question, and let's see if Adcom will second me. The difference between letters for recruitment and application is that in the latter your recommender has to provide detailed examples of your achievements, reactions etc. It is not a good thing to design this stuff for youself.

There is absolutely NO ethical issue with you writing your own letter -- a lot of supervisors run this way. It's one thing if you write the letter and sign his name. It's another for him to read it, add or delete from it, and then sign his name, essentially agreeing and endorsing what you wrote. Is it how people looking for recommendations would prefer it being done? No, probably not. Is it unethical? No, absolutely not.The only way it is unethical is if you operate under the guise of not having access to your letter. If you claim you have not seen your letter nor read your letter of recommendation, that's obviously a false statement. Schools do not *require* you to sign anything that says you have not viewed your rec letters. You have to choose one or the other: either you do waive your right, or you don't. No one is holding a gun to your head requiring to give up your right to view them. If you have written your letter, or have seen it already, then you obviously should check the "I do not waive my right" box.Additionally, it's pretty weak to make a distinction between "recruitment" and "application purposes." LORs in each case are used to judge who deserves a limited opportunity, whether it be a job or a spot in a graduate degree program. There's little to no difference.