HBS Recommendations for the Class of 2015
Jun, 28, 2012
Categories: Admissions Consulting | application | HBS | Key Posts | MBA | MBA留学 | Recommendations | Stanford GSB
This is the fifth in series of eight posts. My analysis of the HBS Application for the Class of 2015 (and 2+2 Class of 2017) consists of:
My comprehensive service clients have been admitted to the regular HBS MBA for the Classes of 2014, 2013, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2005 and one 2+2 client admitted to the Class of 2014. My clients’ results and testimonials can be found here. In addition to providing comprehensive application counseling on HBS, I regularly help additional candidates with HBS interview preparation. I have worked with a large number of applicants from Canada, Europe, India, Japan, other parts of Asia, and the United States on HBS application. I think that this range of experience has helped me understand the many possible ways of making an effective application to HBS. In the posts in this series, I provide insights based on that experience.
For more about recommendations in general see my previous posts, “10 Key Points For Writing An Effective Recommendation: What Every Recommender Should Know” and “Further Comments on Selecting the Right Recommenders.“
You will need three recommendations for applying to join the HBS Class of 2015 (2+2 applicants need only two recommenders). I like the HBS recommendation questions best because they are short and sweet. Many other MBA programs torture recommenders with a series of
typically 6-10 questions, while HBS takes a relatively recommender-friendly approach. Another
thing that I like about the HBS recommendation questions is that they are found
on the HBS website and don’t require registering as a fake recommender to
obtain. It is really annoying to have to go through the process of a
registering as a fake applicant and then registering fake recommenders in order
to look at recommendation questions! I try to avoid doing that. Some
schools seem to think that no one has figured out how to get access to these
things or that there is something wrong in having applicants have easy access. Applicants need to see the questions because there is a very good chance
that they will need to advise recommenders on the questions, especially if their
recommenders are not familiar with this process. Why make something
that should be so easy to obtain so difficult?
In the next part of this post, I discuss some issues related to selecting HBS recommenders. I then discuss the four recommendation questions. Finally, I discuss the place of the recommendations within your overall HBS application strategy.
There is only one type of situation where HBS has stated that it will accept a peer recommendation:
It’s true, we are not a School which asks for a recommendation from a peer. However, if there is an important part of your candidacy which can only be validated by a peer (a start-up, for instance), that’s a fine choice.
Another Supervisor: For HBS, there is ultimately no problem with having three workplace recommendations from supervisors. For Stanford, it would be fine to have two supervisors and one peer from your workplace.
HBS is quite clear on the fact that three recommendations can all come from the same workplace:
So, in the hope that this will add clarity, let me re-phrase our guidance: we are fine if ALL the recommendations come from the workplace. Even from the same firm. We are not trying to add the additional hurdle of needing to hear a voice from every phase of your past and present life. If it’s not possible to get ANY recommendation from your current workplace, you may wish to explain this situation briefly in the Additional Information section of the application. This is NOT an unusual occurrence – we don’t expect every boss in the world to be excited about losing top talent to business school. As is always the case, use your best judgment about this.
PART 2: THE FOUR QUESTIONS
Adam’s Quick Interpretation: How well do you know the applicant and what do they do?
As I
emphasized in my 10 Key Points Post, “#2: YOU BETTER KNOW THE APPLICANT OR
CREATE THE APPEARANCE THAT YOU REALLY DO,” it is critical that the
recommender establish the legitimate basis upon which they are making this
recommendation. A clear description that is explicit about the
time knowing, organizational relationship to, and extent of observation of the applicant is critical. In addition, this answer should, even though it is
not stated, begin the act of advocating for the applicant (My key point #10: BE
AN EFFECTIVE ADVOCATE FOR THE APPLICANT). In the process of describing
the applicant’s role in your organization, highlight the ways they have added
value to the organization.
Quick Interpretation: Show how the applicant adds value in ways that are distinct from his/her
peers.
compare the applicant to his or her peers in the process of explaining the
applicant’s role in your organization or similar organizations. While you
should not unrealistically overstate the applicant’s role, I highly recommend
that you clearly indicate what makes him or her special. You will not be
helping the applicant very much if they are not positively distinct in one or
more ways. Provide at least one very concrete example of what makes the
applicant special in comparison to others. You should make it clear who you are comparing the applicant to. Ideally you will make that comparison in a way that favors the applicant. If you come from an organization with highly talented people and the applicant is just one of many talented people, you should especially focus on ways that differentiate the applicant from others, most likely through a very specific example. Don’t be afraid to praise the overall group that the applicant is being compared to as long as you especially identify the ways the applicant adds value to your organization.
Quick Interpretation: If you are qualified to write this recommendation, you have provided
constructive feedback to the applicant!
consider this to actually be the ideal question for determining whether a
recommender actually knows an applicant well. After all, casual
acquaintances, your dad’s friend, the President of your country, and other such
personages that often take the form of bad VIP recommendations, cannot
effectively answer this question. As this will be a situation where you are
criticizing the candidate, Key Point #7: BE CRITICAL, BUT NUANCED applies.
Clearly describe what the candidate did that resulted in you providing
feedback. Next describe how the applicant responded. An effective
and applicant friendly answer here will be one where the applicant learned from
and was, ideally, able to implement your feedback. Assume that HBS believes
that great leaders learn from their mistakes and they are trying to gauge the
extent to which the applicant has the potential to be such a leader.
schools will often ask two questions or more to address this same issue as HBS
does in this one question. What I really like about this is that the
recommender is not forced to fit the applicant into a specific category. Such
attempts at fitting round pegs into square holes can certainly take much time
for a recommender to address. HBS makes it easy for recommenders to focus on
what they consider most important to say about an applicant. This space
should be used to focus on the absolutely critical selling points about the
applicant that the recommender really wants HBS to know and that have not be conveyed in the first three questions. Core accomplishments,
interpersonal and/or professional skills, and future potential are the ideal
topics to write about here.
The following table should help you really plan for this.
Recommendation Strategy Planning | Diversity | Habit of Leadership | Analytical Aptitude and Appetite | Engaged Community Citizenship |
Recommender 1 | ||||
Recommender 2 | ||||
Recommender 3 |
(To use the above table for yourself, simply copy and paste it. I checked it on both Google Docs and MS Word and it works.)
For each recommender consider what stories or examples you would want them to provide to cover 1 or more of the four core criteria. Consider noting both abstract qualities (For example, “decisive” under Habit of Leadership) and specific examples (For example, “Led team in March 2011 on a complex project” under Habit of Leadership). Your objective is to try and provide as much coverage as possible of your key selling points and experiences that you can’t fully cover in your own essays and/or want additional supportive evidence for.
While I assume that you will be in an effective position to let the recommender know what you would like them to write about, it is important to keep in mind that you don’t want your recommender to write something that completely duplicates what you wrote in essay as that does not look authentic and/or is a lost opportunity to make another point. You are not recommenders, so do keep in mind that you don’t want their recommendations to sound like you wrote them. In any case, you want to actively play a role in making sure that your recommenders are making the best possible case for your admission. You want your recommendations to be both perceived as authentic and as making an effective case for you.
In the next post in this series I discuss interviews.