Tips on Writing a Recommendation
Tips on Selecting and Preparing a Person to Write
a Recommendation
Background
Most students, parents, teachers, and many others who write letters
of recommendation for admission to a high school or college do not seem
to appreciate how much of a difference they can make. Consequently those
who take them seriously and work to make them the best they can, get
an edge on the competition. Below are some tips for recommendation writers
and for those who request them.
In addition to personal experience, these tips come from discussions
with guidance counselors and people who are part of the admissions process
at a number of private high schools, universities, and colleges including
Harvard, Princeton, University of Massachusetts, and scholarship programs
including the Rhodes scholarship. From these sources it is clear that
the SAT and grades top the list of factors considered important in judging
an application. For example they note that:
- SAT scores have proven to be the best predictor of how a student
will perform in their first year of college.
- Grades, factored for the school attended and courses taken, are
far and away the best predictor of how well a student will perform
overall.
After grades, the most important source of input is uniformly considered
to be letters of recommendation. While it would take a heroic effort
to follow all of these tips, those who do reflect a take-charge attitude
that breeds success.
Tips on Writing a Recommendation
Be selective:
Only accept the task to write a recommendation when you have the energy,
time and interest to do a good job and when the applicant and the school
are well matched. If you feel the applicant is not right for the school
then tell that to the student.
It is easy, especially for teachers who write many recommendations,
to slip into a format that is so generic that it fails to differentiate
one student from another. If not committed to doing a first-rate job,
it may be in everyone's best interest to refer the applicant elsewhere.
Write to, not just about, the applicant:
Whether or not you plan to send a copy to the applicant, it is best
to imagine that he or she will see the final product. This raises the
stakes and motivates you to provide some of the best and most important
feedback the applicant might ever receive.
Know your subject:
Spend some quality one-on-one time with the applicant just prior to
writing the recommendation to get in touch with what is important to
them. For example, go on a long walk and ask questions to make the applicant
think. Draw them out. Do not say anything to impact their thinking.
Simply seek to understand. This guarantees an intimate connection that
provides ample material with which to work.
Prepare:
Read the personal statements, review the resume and work samples,
and contemplate time spent together. Make a rough outline of the key
themes and major points you plan to make.
Establish credibility:
It is important to establish your own credibility in three distinct
ways. Specifically, it must be clear that you -
- Have intimate knowledge of the applicant;
- Know the school's values,ojectives, and culture; and
- Are able to objectively evaluate the match for this applicant with
this school.
A recommendation from a heavy-hitter will carry more weight but only
if it is clear that he or she really knows and understands the applicant
and the school.
The objective is to be seen as an extension of the admissions committee
with the school's interests at heart, and having applied considerable
judgement to the case at hand. Below is an example:
I have worked with over 2,000 students and young adults over the
past thirty years having been a business executive, camp counselor,
Sunday school teacher, soccer coach, and an occasional classroom teacher.
I have guest lectured at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sloan School of Management, the Stanford Business School, George Mason
University Business School, and the Stonier School of Banking. I have
also personally recruited and mentored dozens of new employees as
they enter the business world from the nations top MBA schools
Create a vision:
Describe specifically what the applicant might become or accomplish
to make them and their future come alive, particularly in a manner that
is consistent with the school's values and goals. For example, if you
can see the applicant playing to a full house at Carnegie Hall or presiding
as a judge in a tense courtroom some day, say so. Such imagery is a
powerful way to drive home a point about just how special this applicant
is.
People need to know that we have expectations, hopes and dreams for
them to accomplish. If you share your recommendation with the applicant,
the images you project about their future may inspire and stay with
them perhaps their entire lives.
Target growth:
Mention what you know the candidate is working on improving to add
balance and improve credibility by revealing an intimate and constructive
connection with the applicant, not just a passing interest.
Promote strengths:
Everybody shines at something. In that spirit, rank the candidate in
the top 3-5 of all people you have ever known in some dimension or capacity.
This is the crown jewel of a good recommendation. You have established
your credibility and breadth of perspective, made it clear that you
know the student and are in touch with school values. It is time to
think deeply and to identify precisely, compared to everyone you have
ever known, what this student is really good at that is important to
the school.
Consider how powerful it is to say, for example, the following:
Among all the adolescents, teens and young adults that I have
worked with in my twenty years of teaching, I rank Susan in the top
five in terms of native intelligence, sensitivity to others, and social
consciousness.
Be specific:
Throughout the recommendation, use specific and detailed examples that
illustrate important points to bring them alive, and eliminate empty
phrases. For example, rather than saying that the applicant is a strong
individual performer make specific mention of what you personally know
that gives evidence to the statement. The following excerpt is an example:
Frank has participated principally in the sport of Tae Kwon Do
and he is fond of hiking; both activities he has engaged in with formal
groups outside of school. These activities are similar in that they
are performed by individuals who happen to be a group but not a team.
Frank has not developed a strong tie to a team or a club such as a
football or soccer team or scouts. He is more comfortable participating
as an individual. I do not see this as a weakness so much as an indication
that Frank's personality is more that of an artist or craftsman who
operates with great skill and accomplishment as an individual performer.
Be concise:
After more than a page, the reader might lose interest or feel like
they have to work too hard to get the point. You may need to tighten
the focus. For example, if you ran the soup kitchen the student has
volunteered at for the last five years, then focus on community involvement
and not on academic or athletic accomplishments. If the applicant is
a friend, focus primarily on character and coming of age.
Tips on Selecting and Preparing a Person to Write
a Recommendation
Be selective:
It is best to select someone who knows the school and even better if
it is someone with whom the school is familiar, such as an alumnus with
a strong record of financial support. Talk through the reasons why this
school is right for you.
It is vital that writer agree wholeheartedly that the choice is a good
one as their concern or support will show through in what they write.
If there is any question along these lines then draw them out and take
their input graciously. It could be among the best advice and counsel
you ever receive.
Become known:
Target the person to write your recommendation far in advance so you
can develop a close connection. The better the person knows you, the
better the recommendation can be. If someone doesn't know you well,
it is not possible for them to write a compelling recommendation. Select
someone who will take time to get to know you by talking to you, reading
what you write, and who will spend some time with you with no agenda
other than to get to know you better.
If you target a classroom teacher, coach, or instructor (e.g., for
dance or music), engage in interactions outside the normal venue. The
extra dimension will make you more special to them and will let them
get to see more of the whole you. You might invite them to dinner or
for a walk a few weeks before the recommendation is due.
Aim high:
Select someone who writes well and whose input will be regarded highly.
For example, the long-time, well-respected head of a thriving high school
academic department might be a better choice than a first-year teacher.
On the other hand, keep in mind that the school will ignore input from
heavy hitters unless they know you well.
With enough lead-time you can target to become known to anyone you
have access to, so aim high and be proactive. Your recommendations,
as a group, need to reflect a whole person. If the application requires
a guidance counselor, a teacher and a free choice, don't make the third
one academic too.
Top schools look for talent beyond just academic performance and SAT
scores, and appreciate references that speak to other talents, interests,
abilities and efforts that add dimension to their campus. If only three
recommendations are required, it is okay to send a fourth if it adds
perspective, but do not send more than one extra.
Secure commitment:
Secure the commitment to write a recommendation long before the deadline.
Set expectations about when you will provide materials and forms and
when the recommendation is due. Given several months notice, there is
plenty of time to work the required effort into even a hectic schedule.
Provide background:
About three to four weeks prior to the due date, provide the person
writing your recommendation with:
- A signed cover letter asking for
the recommendation with specific points that you would like made including
one or two detailed examples they might mention. Be perfectly clear
about what you want covered to seed their thinking without compromise
to the integrity of the process because there is no obligation for them
to use what you provide.
- A resume or a document that summarizes major
accomplishments in chronological order.
- Personal statements and essays
from the application. These help communicate what is important to you
and prepares the writer to reinforce and be consistent with your points.
- Work samples you are proud of having completed.
- A photograph of
yourself to bring you powerfully to mind when working on your recommendation.
- Stamped, addressed envelopes, with properly and fully filled out forms
to make the mechanics as easy as possible. In the lower left hand corner
of the envelope record a date a few days in advance of when the recommendation
must be mailed.
- A copy of these Tips on Writing Letters of Recommendations.
Package the above in a form that is consistent with who you are and
deliver it. Thoughtful preparation signals that this really matters
and should be taken seriously. Go through the materials in person or
on the phone, answer any questions and confirm that the commitment to
complete the task on time is intact. Indicate that you will call a day
or two in advance of the mail-date to be sure the recommendation is
on track to get out on time.
Follow through:
Arrange to confirm that the recommendation was sent in, perhaps by
receiving a copy but only after it has been sent in and only if it does
not compromise the content in any way. A few days later, check with
the school to be sure that the application and all the recommendations
were received.
Send a thank-you letter to the writer and when your application is
accepted or rejected, send another note to let them know how things
turned out.
Finally, keep the writer informed of your progress because you just
might need them to write another recommendation someday!
