I need advice from those who are in PE/have done MBA.
Did you/did you consider having an MD from your banking days to write you a letter of recommendation when applying for MBA?
I personally think it’s useless but I wanted to get advice from those with more experience/insight.
Who do PE associates usually ask for rec letters?
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Absolutely. Yet, the last thing they would want to do is to write the damn thing. I recommend drafting a letter, putting it in front of them for edits, then have them send a signed copy back. Ask them first and if you get any push-back, explain your process.
It's working for me. In fact, I have had two of the letters come back to me in much better form than when I sent them.
Thanks for the reply. Do you typically ask MD or just whoever you worked most closely with?
I’m trying to assess what/who really matters for the remainder of my time at my bank before moving to PE
Generally speaking, unless they have a special connection to a particular school you're trying to get into and are willing to go to bat for you, I would ask the letter from whoever has had the most interactions with you rather than a very senior person on your team. At the end of the day, an insightful letter from a Director or VP is a way more powerful than a generic letter from an MD
I'd strongly recommend against writing the letter yourself and having an MD rubber stamp it. I believe it's extremely unethical, and adcoms can sometimes sniff out which letters are not the real deal.
I agree with mtnmmnn re: going for quality over title. If you're worried about the quality of letter, why don't you just ask a lower level employee who worked more closely with you? I was a PE associate and asked my VP staffer at my bank and a partner at my PE firm to write my rec. Both had extensive interactions with me, which I know came out in the letters.
Edit with some additional thoughts:
The other thing you could do to help is make a "cheat sheet" for the recommender. You could list all of the projects you worked with him / her on, your specific role on those projects, and anything else you'd want to highlight from your time working on that project (e.g. you have a special achievement you want to highlight, etc.). The senior folks work with a lot of junior folks, and it can be hard to remember who did what, even if they know you well.
Also, you can speak with him / her about having the recommendation letter highlight specific things to help fill holes in your application. For example, let's say you're really lacking on leadership-type activities (which is common for PE associates). If you felt as though you showed leadership in certain areas while working with the recommender, you could ask your recommender to highlight that in the letter.
Also make sure you give enough time to the recommender to ensure a high quality product and to avoid annoying him. Ideally you'll be able to have a conversation with him and walk him through the materials I mention above and still have a month + of wiggle room before the due date. (I'd recommend even longer.)
SB’ed. I’ll msg you a question separately.
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