Letters of recommendation are an important aspect of getting into any university not just for the fact that they are usually compulsory, but also because of the fact that it speaks volumes about who you are and where your contacts from. A good letter of recommendation has the ability to convert an almost-student into the admit pile of students. The same is true otherwise as well. Bad letters or recommendations, or letters of recommendation that seem to do an intentional job of sounding vague risk ruining the reputation that you worked so hard to create in every other way. Therefore, mentioned underneath are some of the tips that you need to keep in mind before submitting in a good letter of recommendation
One of the most important things that you can do while asking someone to vet yourself to a third party that is very important to you, is to vet that third party person. It is worth keeping in mind that universities asking for two letters of recommendation usually prefer them to be professional rather than academic. However, the current one always tops the list. Ensure that your recommenders are those who know your work well, and can therefore speak confidently about your qualifications and substantiate the claims you made in your other parts of the application to the university. A mediocre letter might not really do much harm, but it doesn’t serve much purpose if it can’t bring the required punch to your profile, or highlight the relevant skills that you want highlighted. Therefore, it is advisable that you pick those people that are most familiar with your work
There are several aspects when you ask your recommenders to give you a recommendation. One, they don’t want it coming back and biting them so they are bound to be careful. Plus, in more cases than not, people would not have time outside productive work and personal time. Therefore, your time management, scheduling and itinerary has to be crystal clear. You might also need to give them some time to look at your profile, think over what you are going to say before you negotiate and compromise on what the content of the letter is going to be. Therefore it is best if you send your CVs, SOPs, schools you are applying to, the points you want covered etc. This would be a good starting point especially for MBA considering the fact the course you are opting for is going to be practical intensive as well, and is closely linked with who you’ve worked with and how you’ve worked with them
Sending you your required letters is a task that they have taken time out for doing which, to be honest, is a great gratification given to the person seeking the letter. Hence, the thank you note is usually a polite thing to do. Besides, a thank you note usually reminds them that they would have sent the letter by then. For that purpose, try sending it well in advance before the deadline.
Dhruv is Content Creator at 扒哥黑料.com. He is fond of words and everything related to them. Writing about different things from around the world gives him immense pleasure, and a very healthy by-product is sharing the information and helping others in the process.
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Categories: LOR