A Few Pointers on the Letters of Recommendation
1. Don't get one from Lee Iococca. There's nothing wrong with Lee (not that I know of, anyway), but he doesn't really know you and it shows in his letter. The most common mistake applicants make with respect to the letter of recommendation is getting one from a hotshot at work or from a brand name like Lee Iococca. The admissions people are not impressed by your boss's boss's title, and they are regularly bombarded by generic recommendations from celebrity business people. So don't send them another.
You need a recommendation from someone who knows you well, preferably someone who works with you daily and can provide personal insight into your character. The job title of that person is meaningless to the admissions committee.
(And just to confirm, yes, my students have submitted recommendations from brand names ranging from Lee Iococca to Charles Schwab. In fact, the person who submitted the Lee Iococca letter and the person who submitted the Charles Schwab letter ended up at the same MBA program.)
2. Have your recommender discuss specific details of the jobs you've done. Detailing specifics will shed more light on your personality than will mouthing vague platitudes such as, "Billy will make a good leader" and "I think he is very conscientious."
3. This one may sound a little obvious, but pick someone who can write! You know Maury, the section manager who thinks you're the greatest thing on earth but who reads at a 3rd grade level? Don't ask him for a recommendation.
4. When the recommendation asks for a flaw or area of personal improvement, don't let your recommender say, "Billy works too hard." No one buys that line.
5. Give your recommender an outline of the assignments you have handled at work. Include in that outline some suggestions on how he might address specific issues such as leadership potential and motivation for attending business school. In addition to improving the recommendation, providing this information should encourage your recommender to write the letter himself rather than ask you to do the dirty work.
