推薦函ㄚ...

最近老妹要參考我的舊推薦函檔案, 讓我想起 2005 年申請 MBA 時, 當時我自己草擬的推薦函寫的有夠爛.

回顧過去, 我自己寫的推薦函實在可笑. Vandy 願意青睞錄取我, 本人心中充滿感恩.

爛的原因有幾個, 英文爛當然是主謀之一 (說故事能力爛), 另一個主謀是想法爛 (故事本身很爛).

若比較兩者孰爛多一些, 我認為後者嚴重性甚於前者 (echo 我跟 Tamar 聊過的想法: 說清楚想法不等於想法有價值...)

Well.... 既然不須重寫, 我應該會重新架構一次思維, let's give it a shot...

Your recommendation letter ought to answer the following questions authentically …

1 Who is reading this recommendation letter and for what reason?

2 Why (reasons, examples) should the candidate be considered for what (the “what” should align with the “why”)

3 Who would benefit and how if the candidate was considered/accepted (associating the candidate with who’s reading)

4 Who am I to give relevant recommendations based on Subjective observation/objective fact

o relationship with the applicant, applicant’s job title, and full-time employment period

o the applicant's major job duties, applicant’s track record and major accomplishments

o examples that demonstrated how the applicant seize the opportunity and brought value to the community

Bottom line: Justify the recommender’s capacity and knowledge of assessing and recommending the candidate appropriately.

-------------------------------------------------------------- Sample--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr./Ms. XXX,

It is my pleasure to recommend Mr. Shawn Yen to you for MBA Full-time program, or Promotion, or Competition because Reason 1, Reason 2, Reason 3. Mr. Shawn Yen was a full-time employee at Company Name from period of time as a Job title under my direct supervision in doing what (ex: developing new products). During Mr. Yen’s X-years employment, he established a proven track record of:

• delivering measurable results with established success metrics

ex: Shawn fund raised over $ 100MM for the O-baba campaign (outstanding revenue driver)

• leading business initiatives supported by key stakeholders

ex: Shawn and Mickey Mouse went to school together (close partnership)

• collaborating actionable strategies based on fact-based analysis

ex: Shawn facilitated Buzz Light Year’s plan to land on the Moon

• inspiring team members with his approachable personality and a can-do attitude

ex: Shawn and Hello Kitty were seeing each other during his internship (business intelligence and in-depth knowledge)

• operating to a higher calling with business ethics and work integrity

ex: Shawn has keys to the White House back door (tremendous influence and political capital)

It is my belief that Mr. Yen is a great fit for (MBA Full-time program) or (Promotion) or (Competition) because Mr. Yen delivered X-value, has Y-skills, and has experience about What with Who on What Basis; his job involved X, Y, and Z…

Bottom line: You and your organization will benefit from this candidate in what way, a.k.a. what can you expect.

On top of my head, just throwing out examples. Let’s recommend Shawn for a leadership position at a theme park because …

I remember in 2007 when Donald Duck caught bird-flu and got hospitalized, many of us panicked that we might suffer from failing our commitment to our customers, wide-spread risk to our people and our property, and an unstoppable long-term revenue loss potentially.

Unlike many whose initial reaction was frustration and , Shawn stepped up, answered the challenge with strategies and leadership that encouraged everyone to work together to solve the crisis. Shawn structured the problem and established a strategy based on the hands-on experience. He leveraged his relationship with Mickey Mouse and got buy-in from key stakeholders (i.e. Buzz Light Year, Shrek…). Everyone participated, functioned as a team, and working towards a common goal.

Not only were efforts focused on streamlining resources within, there were also communications reaching out and collaborating outside support. Hello Kitty agreed on a co-brand campaign visiting trip during Donald’s absence. In addition, communication efforts from the public and the private sector provided timely updates and prevented over-reacting.

At the end, Donald was back safe and sound, revenues went up (give credit to the co-branding campaign with Hello Kitty) and we grew stronger as a team in difficult times when we quickly turned it around into an opportunity. Bla, bla, bla..

Bottom line: Real-life examples always speak louder than philosophies…

Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via e-mail or phone number. I would be more than happy to talk about Mr. Yen’s credentials in greater detail.

Yours Sincerely,

Name: signature:

Title:

Company/Entity: ____________