Let's Talk Recommendations: What Admissions Needs To Hear From Someone Else

Your recommendations should not simply repeat what your résumé and essays already say. They should tell admissions something only another person can credibly say about you. In this session, we’ll break down how to use MBA recommendations strategically so they add evidence, dimension, and credibility to your overall application. We’ll cover how to: - Choose recommenders based on depth of insight, not just seniority - Decide what each recommender should uniquely reinforce - Use recommendations to validate your leadership, judgment, growth, and character - Show how other people actually experience you - Avoid generic praise that sounds positive but adds little - Help recommenders recall specific stories without writing the letter for them - Handle the “constructive feedback” question well - Create alignment across your résumé, essays, goals, and recommendations without unnecessary repetition - Use recommendations to fill gaps or add dimensions the rest of the application cannot fully capture The goal is not to make every recommender say the same thing. It is to make sure their perspective strengthens the overall picture of who you are. You’ll leave with a clear framework for deciding who to ask, what each person should speak to, and how to brief them effectively.