Letter of Recommendation (LOR) for Management: Structure, Sample for Popular Universities

Letter of Recommendation (LOR) is a letter or document written by a recommender to attest to an applicant's work experience or academic performance. The recommender tries as much as possible to vividly outline the study abroad aspirants professional expertise, educational prowess, aptitude, academic performance, qualifications, and skills as concerning the job they did or educational training they've received. LOR for Management is the supporting documents that are written from a third-person perspective outlining valid reasons the applicant is considered a perfect fit for the program he/she is applying for.

When used as a requirement for admission application into a management program of universities across the world, it plays a greater role as it is used by the admission team to assess the applicant's fit for the program. Usually written by an individual with much credibility, LOR for Management is usually considered to serve as a check or counterbalance for claims made in the personal statement by the applicants.

Letter of Recommendation (LOR) for Management: Structure and Guidelines

Letter of Recommendation for management helps admission committee know about applicant’s academic and non-academic expertise through recommender’s perspective. Following is the general structure that an applicant can ask his/her recommender to follow while writing an LOR:

• Introduction: Recommender should write about his/her qualifications, relationship with applicant and time period for which he/she has known the applicant in the letter of recommendation.
• Second Paragraph: Recommender should highlight applicant’s academic performance. Scores and percentage obtained in management related subjects should be mentioned.
• Third Paragraph: If recommender is project guide, he/she should describe the project topic undertaken by the applicant and how applicant has played an indespensible role in the successful completion of the project. Publications, presentations, internships and work experiences should also be highlighed depending upon who is writing the LOR for management at universities of Canada, UK, USA, etc.
• Fourth Paragraph: All the extra-curricular activities and additional skills of the applicant should be flaunted in this paragraph.
• Conclusion: At last, recommender should conclude all the above points and suggest that applicant is ready for taking up the futher studies in the management.

Sample Letter of Recommendation (LOR) for Management

Below is a sample of a LOR for a management program

Date

The Recipient’s Address

Salutation

LETTER OF REFERENCE FOR [Name of Applicant]

I write in respect of [Name of Applicant] who is seeking admission into the management program in your institution. I have known him for over 10 years, two years after he joined the [name of the company]. I have been his supervisor in the department of [ name of department] where he was first assigned to. He worked assiduously and was promoted to the rank of [name of position] six months after the resumption. The basic criterion for this position is usually two years but due to his diligence, teamwork spirit, dedication, and leadership capability, the Management of the institution had to make an exception and promote him.

In the new role, [name of applicant] achieved yet another feat achieving over 50% ROI in less than 2 years. This led to the promotion to the position of [name of new position] in the department of [name of department] working under my supervision. I have no reservation in giving my assurance that he will excel in his studies as he has the spirit of hard work inculcated in him.

Yours Faithfully

[name of referee]

[referee portfolio]

Letter of Recommendation (LOR) for Management: Guidelines for Popular Universities

Professional LOR is more important for admission to management programs than academic LORs. Detailed guidelines regarding such recommendation letters for popular universities are discussed in the following sections.

LOR for Management at London Business School, UK

London Business School requires applicants to submit details of two referees who are either their current employer/ a colleague at work or someone else with adequate knowledge of the applicant's work culture. An example is a former employer or long-standing client. The names and contact information are submitted during the online application form.

An email with login details into the school’s online reference system is sent to the referees shortly afterward. It demands them to log in and provide the necessary answers to very specific questions and assessment based on specified criteria to ensure uniformity and fairness in reviewing all applications.

The specific questions asked in letter of recommendation for management program at London Business School includes:

• How do you know the applicant and for how long?
• What are the applicant’s key strengths and talents?
• What are the applicant’s key weaknesses or areas calling for improvement?
• How do you rate or evaluate the applicant’s potential, performance, and personal qualities compare to those of other individuals in similar roles?
• In your opinion, where do you see the applicant in ten years' time and give reasons for your opinion?

Referees are required to give honest and unbiased answers to the questions. In addition, they are to evaluate the applicants on the following qualities in the LOR for Management:

• Intellectual or academic ability
• Quantitative skills
• Initiative/ability to make decisions
• Problem-solving skills
• Organizational skills
• Leadership skills
• Team skills
• Impact/charisma
• Self-confidence
• Self- motivation
• Oral English communication skills
• Written English communication skills

The answers and evaluation by referees will remain confidential and will never be disclosed to the applicant and the same is also demanded of the referees by the school. The school, however, reserves the right to contact the referees for further information regarding the applicant's application.

LOR for Management at Said Business School, University of Oxford, UK

Said Business School requires applicants to submit two academic or preferably two professional references using the online application form. Referees are sent a link and instruction to write and submit the letters to via mail immediately the applicant input their details on the form.

The email address of referees inserted on the form must be a valid work/professional/institutional email address and not from free mail providers like Gmail, proton mail, Hotmail, etc. This university of UK will not accept any of these mail addresses formats

LOR for Management at Harvard Business School, US

The admission board of Harvard Business School requires applicants to provide two recommenders' names and email addresses into their online application during the application process. These recommenders are individuals who have adequate knowledge of the applicants and can attest of his/her leadership ability preferably as a work supervisor. Recommenders will be sent a link to upload their recommendation letter via email.

The following guidelines should be noted while submitting a letter of recommendation for management at this US business school:

• The application and the Letters of recommendation are to be submitted separately but the LOR will be subsequently added in the application upon submission. Thus, applicants should submit the application as soon as they are done instead of waiting for recommenders to submit their recommendations before submitting their applications.
• It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all LORs are submitted through the appropriate channel on or before the deadline for the round of intake the applicant is applying.

LOR for Management at Stanford Business School, USA

Application for admission into a management program at Stanford Business School requires two letters of references; one reference from a current direct supervisor at work and the other from someone who has supervised the applicant’s work in the past. These letters must be submitted on or before the deadline of the round the applicant is applying for admission.

Stanford University warns against the involvement of applicants or the contribution of the applicants towards the letters. Applicants must not partake in the drafting, writing, or submission of the letters. The letter of recommendation for management program at Stanford University must not be reviewed by any third party before submission.

The referees are asked to provide an assessment of applicants' character traits and competencies that are instrumental to successful leadership and to answer three fundamental questions. Thus, the referees need to:

• Have direct involvement with the applicants within the last three years and know him/her intensively
• Provide detailed explanation, anecdotes and examples to back their assertions
• Provide a well-balanced letter in English. Thus; significant time and must be invested in writing the letter.

If the referee is not an original speaker of English or if English is not his first language, he can write in his/her native language then have it translated to English by a certified translator. Besides, Stanford ignores minor grammatical and syntax errors when reading the LOR.

The two LORs must meet the minimum requirements in context and structure. The first one is usually the Current Direct Supervisor Reference letter. However, at instances where the applicant cannot get it from a current direct supervisor for reasons discussed below, an alternative can be used:

• being self-employed,
• working for a family business in which a family member is a supervisor,
• just resuming a new position where the direct supervisor does not know the applicant well,
• have not informed the direct supervisor of his/her interest in Business School or a student;

It is in the jurisdiction of the applicant to use an alternative source like a previous supervisor, an indirect supervisor/manager, a client, a member of the board of directors, or any other individual who had supervised or is supervising his/her work

The second LOR for management can be from anyone (although the most preferable is the workplace) who has supervised the applicant's work who will write extensively about professional, community, or extracurricular experiences.

LOR for Management at University of Pennsylvania, USA

The University of Pennsylvania requires two letters of recommendation for management preferably from a current or former supervisor with sufficient knowledge of the applicant’s performance in a work setting and the ability to speak directly about the applicant's aptitudes and capabilities.

Students are to submit the names and contact information of the recommenders and they will be contacted shortly. The recommenders are required to submit the LOR for Management in two sections

1. A selection of ten positive personality characteristics in which the recommenders will be asked to choose three characteristics from a list that best describes the applicants they are recommending.
2. Two free-form questions:
   1. Example(s) that illustrate why they believe this candidate will find success in the Wharton management classroom. (Word count: 300)
   2. Example(s) that illustrate why they believe this candidate will find success throughout their career. (Word count: 300)

LOR for Management at University of Toronto

University of Toronto requires applicants to submit the names and contact details of two individuals who will submit reference letters on their behalf. The recommenders should be employers/supervisors or two individuals in academics if there is no supervisor/employer.

The letter of recommendation for management usually comes in the form of open-ended questions, basic information requirements, and psychometric details about applicants. This information should be uploaded by the recommender on the school portal

Letter of Recommendation is one of the basic requirements for admission into a management program. The focus of this letter is to determine the applicant’s leadership quality, previous business acumen, performance at previous quality, and professionalism for the course.