Berkeley Haas Recommendation Questions 2016-2017

University of California, Berkeley – Haas School of Business

Full-time MBA program – LOR Prompts

We require two letters of recommendation and prefer that at least one come from a current employer. Select individuals with whom you have had considerable professional interaction, such as your supervisor or a major client. The title or status of those you select is not important. What does matter is how closely your letter writers have worked with you and whether they can attest to your value as an employee, your professional accomplishments, and your personal qualities and interpersonal skills in an organizational context.

For this reason, we strongly discourage academic references.

Letters of recommendation from co-workers, someone you have supervised, relatives, or personal and family friends are inappropriate and can be detrimental to the review of your application.

1. Please provide a brief description of your interaction with the applicant and, if applicable, the applicant’s role in your organization.
2. How does the applicant’s performance compare to that of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples. (E.g. what are the applicant’s principal strengths?)
3. Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response.
4. In the Berkeley MBA program, we develop leaders who embody our distinctive culture’s four key principles one of which is “confidence without attitude” or “confidence with humility.” Please comment on how the applicant reflects this Berkeley-Haas value.
5. (Optional) Is there anything else we should know?

Please give us your appraisal of the applicant in terms of the traits listed below. Compare the applicant with others whom you know have applied to business school or with individuals who are being groomed for leadership positions within your organization. It should be extremely rare for any candidate to receive “truly exceptional” in all areas.

	Truly exceptional (top 1%)	Superior (top 5%)	Very good (top 10%)	Good (top 25%)	Average (top 50%)	Below average (bottom 50%)	No Opportunity to Observe
Self-confidence
Communication skills
Self-awareness
Maturity
Open to different viewpoints
Empathy
Ability to influence without authority
Ability to accept constructive feedback
Intellectual curiosity
Analytical ability
Quantitative ability
Ability to question the status quo
Initiative
Adaptability
Resilience
Personal integrity/ethics
Relationship-building skills

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