recommendation essay

The Reluctant Recommender

The Reluctant Recommender

Business School applicants typically have type-A personalities, so managing the application process with zest and precision comes with the territory.  One area they can’t directly control, however, is the recommendation.  Everything works great with someone who is responsive and excited for your b-school journey, but how do you handle someone who is not so eager to help?

Thoughts on MIT Sloan's 2014-15 "Essays"

Thoughts on MIT Sloan's 2014-15 "Essays"

Quick post today, because time is short and nobody wants to read the screed I had in mind for MIT's new "essays." Why the quotation marks? Because writing your own letter of recommendation is not an essay. It's a gimmick at best, and, if I'm being honest, a bit of a mockery at worst. Yes, people write their own employee assessment reports, which is a great cheat for supervisors (heck, I had a high school "world studies" teacher who figured out that he could just the class to teach itself - no joke), but that also precedes a discussion that can (and usually does) flesh out the exercise. It's hard to imagine a company making huge promotion or bonus decisions based solely on a self-written employee report, with no discussion to follow. I mean, come on. Yet that is what MIT is basically suggesting when they draw a comparison between what takes place in the office and what they are asking candidates to do on the application. It's such a weird, weird assignment. (Okay, so I went on a bit of a screed.) That said, there are three things to keep in mind that can make it not only doable, but a chance to shine.