Hello! The business of finding people to recommend you is very important to your application for the Purdue MS‐MBA. I’ve found some randomWebpage excerpts that should help you choose. I took the liberty to have changed some of these to reflect our personal preference here at Purdue.

A Few Pointers for you on the Letters of Recommendation

  1. Get a recommendation only from the people that know you well and know your work
  2. Have your recommender discuss specific details of the jobs you've done. Detailing specifics will shed more light on your personality

than will comments such as, "Billy will make a good leader" and "I think he is very conscientious."

  1. This one may sound a little obvious, but pick someone who can write!
  2. When the recommendation asks for weaknesses, don't let your recommender say, "Billy has no weaknesses”. Have them site specific

business weaknesses – not personality or character weaknesses.

  1. Give your recommender an outline of the assignments you have handled at work. Include in that outline some suggestions on how hemight address specific issues such as leadership potential and motivation for attending business school. In addition to improving therecommendation, providing this information should encourage your recommender to write the letter himself rather than ask you to dothe dirty work.
  2. Mention to the recommender that they can fill out page one of the online form and then, instead of filling out page two, they can

write a letter on company letterhead and answer the questions that had been on page two and upload as a pdf into the form. Thesequestions are:

  • How long have you known the applicant and what their association is to you
  • Would the applicant be successful in the program
  • What business weaknesses could the applicant improve upon

You can cut and paste the rest of this document into an email for your recommenders.

Here are some questions for the recommender that might help

  1. In what context and for how long have you known the applicant? Please comment on the frequency of interaction.
  2. Is this person still employed by your organization?
  3. In your answers, please describe specific activities or accomplishments that demonstrate this candidate's strengths and weaknesses.
  4. What are the applicant's principal strengths and special talents?
  5. Provide a short list of adjectives that describe the applicant's strengths.
  6. Discuss the applicant's competence in his area of responsibility or specialization (i.e. organizational skills, attention to detail, ability to

complete assignments).

  1. How does the applicant's performance compare with that of his or her peers?
  2. How has the applicant grown during his employment with you?
  3. Comment on the applicant's ability to work with others, including superiors, peers and subordinates. Would you enjoy working for the

applicant?

  1. Please discuss observations you have made concerning the applicant's leadership abilities and group skills.
  2. Comment on the applicant's maturity.
  3. What do you think motivates the candidate's application to the MS‐MBA program?
  4. Do you feel the applicant is realistic in his professional ambitions?
  5. Has the applicant given careful consideration to his plans for entry into the program?
  6. In your words, why is this concentration in food and agribusiness important to the application?
  7. Please comment on your impression of the applicant's capacity for graduate work.
  8. What is your overall assessment of the applicant's potential for success as an effective and inspiring upper‐level manager? (questionnumber 1)

Weaknesses

  1. In what ways could the applicant improve professionally?
  2. What aspect of the applicant would you most like to change?
  3. In which areas could the applicant exhibit growth or improvement? Has he worked on these areas?
  4. How well has the applicant made use of available opportunities? Consider his initiative, curiosity and motivation.
  5. Do not write that the applicant has no weaknesses. If the applicant is applying for a challenging business program then the applicant

has business weaknesses. Try and discuss those.