????這位雇主在信上簽了字。但許多推薦信甚至沒有獲得這枚象征嘉許之意的圖章。一些MBA申請者的推薦信是自己寫，自己簽名，最后也是自己遞出去的?！癕BA申請者最關(guān)心的事情是如何跨進商學(xué)院校門，他們可不想把這個前景交給某個人拍腦門寫就的一封評價信來決定，”克里斯托弗解釋道?！耙悄愀阍伊酥暗墓ぷ鳎强刹皇呛檬隆貏e是如果上司自己郵遞推薦信的話，你都不知道他們寫了些什么?！?/p>

????當(dāng)然，在一般情況下，獲得一封給予MBA申請者強有力支持的推薦信是一個需要高度協(xié)作的過程。供職于HBSGuru.com的入學(xué)顧問桑福德?克賴斯伯格說：“誰都不喜歡寫推薦信。這有點像出任陪審員的義務(wù)。沒人想干這件強加在自己身上的工作。這種事對他們沒什么好處，所以往往需要申請者和推薦者進行合作?！?/p>

????入學(xué)顧問對客戶推薦信的介入之深也可能會讓一些招生官員感到驚訝?？速囁共衤暦Q，他對推薦信質(zhì)量的重視程度跟他對申請書的關(guān)注度相差無幾。

????“許多申請者都可以提前看到他們的推薦信，在入學(xué)咨詢界，這是一個公開的秘密，”MBA入學(xué)咨詢公司mbaMission創(chuàng)始人兼總裁杰里米?施恩瓦爾德說。“我們不會坐在那里對推薦信進行編輯修改，但我們會做一個健全性檢查，以確保信中不包含可能有害的內(nèi)容。”

????安娜?艾維咨詢公司（Anna Ivey Consulting）創(chuàng)始人、國際研究生入學(xué)顧問協(xié)會會長安娜?艾維相信，雖然國際研究生入學(xué)顧問協(xié)會的調(diào)查沒有深入挖掘自己撰寫推薦信的學(xué)生究竟有多少，但這個比例可能非常高。人們通常指望入學(xué)申請者會要求他們的頂頭上司寫一封推薦信，但如果老板推脫或直接拒絕的話，事情或許會變得非常棘手。

????“甚至那些試圖維系誠信操守的申請人也有可能陷入這種困境，”她說。一些商學(xué)院建議，如果老板推三推四的話，申請人可聯(lián)系一位本職工作之外的管理者?！澳敲矗绻麄冊谥苣ьI(lǐng)一幫童子軍（Boy Scout）參加某項活動，他們是不是應(yīng)該使用童子軍領(lǐng)袖的推薦信呢？”艾維問道?！皩嶋H上，我并不覺得這是解決問題的辦法?！?/p>

????對于非美國裔申請者來說，找人寫推薦信可能是一件更加讓人頭疼的問題。這項（基于337位MBA申請者反饋意見的）研究報告發(fā)現(xiàn)，國際申請者被要求自己撰寫推薦信的可能性是美國申請者的兩倍。比如，有高達61%的日本申請者表示，他們有過被要求自己撰寫推薦信的經(jīng)歷。

????即使國際推薦人的英語非常棒，一封內(nèi)容扎實的推薦信也有可能會迷失在異國語言之中。MBA入學(xué)咨詢機構(gòu)Expartus公司CEO、國際研究生入學(xué)顧問協(xié)會董事基奧瑪?伊斯阿丁索表示，不同的文化推崇不同的品格，推薦信往往會體現(xiàn)出這種傾向。“美國人的推薦信通常帶有一絲夸大成分，每個人都才氣過人，令人驚嘆，不可思議。德國人則直截了當(dāng)，‘漢斯的工作沒話說，棒極了?！钡€表示，大多數(shù)入學(xué)申請咨詢團隊都能夠洞察文化的細微差異。部分責(zé)任落在申請者的身上，即幫助推薦人了解每所學(xué)校的價值觀，以及這些學(xué)校為什么適合他們自己。

????The employer signed off on the letter. But many recommendations don't even get this stamp of approval. Some MBAs write, sign, and send off their own references. "An MBA's motive is to get into school, and they don't want that left to someone's whimsical evaluation," Christopher explains. "If you messed up at work the day before, then it's not going to be good -- especially if they mail it themselves, and you don't know what they've said."

????In general, of course, getting a strong letter in support of a candidate's MBA application is a highly collaborative process. "People don't like to write recommendations," says admissions consultant Sanford Kreisberg of HBSGuru.com. "It's kind of like jury duty. No one wants to do it. It's imposed on you. There is nothing in it for them. Collaboration is the standard."

????The extent to which admission consultants advise their clients on recommendation letters may also surprise some school officials. Kreisberg says he pays as much attention to the quality of a recommendation letter as he does to the application essays.

????"It's an open secret in the admissions world that a lot of candidates get to look at their recommendation letters beforehand," says Jeremy Shinewald, founder and president of mbaMission, an MBA admissions consulting firm. "We're not going to sit there and line edit something, but we will do a sanity check to make sure there's nothing in there that can be harmful."

????While the AIGAC survey doesn't dig into how many students actually write their own letters, the percentage is likely high, believes Anna Ivey, founder of Anna Ivey Consulting and AIGAC president. Candidates are generally expected to request letters from their direct supervisors, but if the boss pushes back or refuses to write one, things can get tricky.

????"Even applicants trying to act ethically find themselves in this bind," she says. Some schools suggest contacting an extracurricular supervisor in lieu of a reluctant boss. "So if they're leading a Boy Scout troop on the weekends, are they supposed to use their scout leader's recommendation instead?" Ivey asks. "Realistically, I don't think that's the answer."

????Letter writing can be particularly problematic for non-U.S. candidates. The study, based on 377 responses from MBA applicants, found that international candidates are twice as likely to be asked to write their own letters. A whopping 61% of applicants in Japan, for example, said they were asked to draft their own letters of recommendation.

????Even if international recommenders are fluent in English, the art of writing a solid recommendation letter can get lost in translation. Different cultures value different traits and this?comes through in the letters, says Chioma Isiadinso, CEO of MBA consultancy Expartus and AIGAC board member. "American recommendations are a bit over the top -- everyone is brilliant, amazing, and incredible. German ones tend to be very direct, 'Hans did a good a job.'" However, she says most admissions teams can pick up on cultural nuances. And part of the responsibility falls on the applicants to educate their recommenders about each school's values and why they're a good fit.