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MBA申請者為什么自己動手寫推薦信？
譯文
克里斯托弗的推薦信到達某所頂尖商學(xué)院的招生辦公室時，它們幾乎堪稱完美。
推薦人盛贊申請者的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)才能和團隊技能，極力夸獎他的首創(chuàng)精神、好奇心和積極性。推薦信中包含許多細致入微的事件敘述，襯托出申請者栩栩如生的形象。
問題是，他的推薦人從來沒有寫過這些褒獎之詞。相反，這些信是申請者自己寫就的。
克里斯托弗(本文作者更改了他的名字，以保護其隱私)并沒有為自己親手撰寫推薦信而道歉，他也不相信哪家商學(xué)院有什么好辦法改變這種行為。
“誰會知道啊?”克里斯托弗最近剛剛從一所位居美國前三強的商學(xué)院畢業(yè)。“收到的申請書那么多，學(xué)校不會比較推薦信和申請書的寫作風格。顯然，要是他們認真比對的話，我也就上不了商學(xué)院了。”
克里斯托弗的“手藝活”并不是一個孤立的案例。國際研究生入學(xué)顧問協(xié)會(AIGAC)最近公布的一項調(diào)查顯示，38%的申請人被要求撰寫自己的推薦信。然而，大多數(shù)入學(xué)顧問相信，真實數(shù)據(jù)要高得多——每10封攻讀MBA學(xué)位的推薦信中，有多達6封是申請者本人所寫。
不過，即使這樣的調(diào)查結(jié)果也已經(jīng)讓許多招生主任驚訝不已了，因為他們認為各自的學(xué)校一直在對MBA申請者進行相當公允的第三方評估。“我們知道有些申請者被要求撰寫自己的推薦信，但我從來沒有料到這種行為竟然如此普遍，”達特茅斯學(xué)院(Dartmouth College)塔克商學(xué)院(Tuck School of Business)招生主任唐娜•克拉克說。“我不介意學(xué)生坐下來與推薦人交流，但我現(xiàn)在正嘗試著埋頭研究推薦信的真實性。”
然而，在幾位MBA申請者和入學(xué)顧問看來，真實性或許難以企及。美亞咨詢集團(Amerasia Consulting Group)的亞當•霍夫承認：“商學(xué)院申請人經(jīng)常被推薦人告知，‘你自己寫吧，我署個名就行。’4年前頭一次涉足商學(xué)院咨詢領(lǐng)域時，我就被驚呆了。我簡直不敢相信有這么多申請者自己在撰寫自己的推薦信，然后還把這些信件拿到入學(xué)顧問面前，幫忙做進一步的加工。”
接受采訪時，克里斯托弗要求不要透露母校的名稱，因為“一旦他們知道這件事，就會拼命追查這個人是誰的。”隨后他對自己的行為進行了一番辯護：頂頭上司的英語不夠流利，“根本就不知道推薦信的結(jié)構(gòu)，” 他這樣解釋道。“因此，我用合乎體統(tǒng)的英文寫了一封信，而且讓它給人一種我是一位好員工的感覺。我的確是好員工，我并沒有美化自己，他也覺得這樣做沒什么問題。”
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。“MBA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。“要是你搞砸了之前的工作，那可不是好事——特別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。”
當然，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。”
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。“那么，如果他們在周末帶領(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。“實際上，我并不覺得這是解決問題的辦法。”
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，‘漢斯的工作沒話說，棒極了。’”但她還表示，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。
MBA申請者自己撰寫推薦信的壓力也因行業(yè)而異。約有一半具有金融或會計背景的MBA申請人被要求撰寫自己的推薦信，而在具有技術(shù)背景的申請者中，僅有約28%的人被要求這樣做。“試想一下，申請人可能是一位身處鄉(xiāng)村小鎮(zhèn)的雇主。但更常見的情形是，申請人是頂尖公司的咨詢師，銀行家或私募領(lǐng)域的專業(yè)人士——這是文化的一部分，”伊斯阿丁索這樣說道。她曾經(jīng)擔任哈佛商學(xué)院(Harvard Business School)的招生官員。
此外，男性被要求自己撰寫推薦信的可能性遠大于女性——43%比27%。
大多數(shù)情況下，商學(xué)院都不愿承認招生工作中存在這樣一個問題。有些招生官員聲稱，他們不知道還有這檔事。對于這種態(tài)度，入學(xué)顧問表示難以想象�？速囁共裾f：“這種看法真是太天真了。”
即使有些商學(xué)院承認這一問題，其中大多數(shù)也很難采取行動。“這種事情肯定有，這項調(diào)查證明了這一點，”哈佛商學(xué)院二年級學(xué)生亞歷克斯•克萊納說。“我從來不會心情舒坦地做這種事。但如果你是一位招生主任，我真的不知道你應(yīng)該怎樣對付這種局面。你或許可以更加明確地表示，‘如果被我們發(fā)現(xiàn)了，你的入學(xué)申請將被自動拒絕’。除了態(tài)度非常強硬之外，我覺得沒法阻止這種行為。”
許多學(xué)校更愿意掩飾這個問題。學(xué)生們也采用了這種“不問不說”的應(yīng)對之策。前MBA學(xué)生克里斯托弗表示，沉默的動機顯而易見：“你可能會因為學(xué)術(shù)作弊被踢出局。不過，一旦真正被錄取了，沒人會在乎這件事。”
然而，入學(xué)顧問和一些頂級商學(xué)院正在提出一些想法，以遏制這種由申請人自己撰寫推薦信的行為。斯坦福大學(xué)已經(jīng)明確表示，“申請人自行起草或撰寫推薦信——即使是應(yīng)推薦人的要求——是一種違反申請程序要求的不正當行為。”
入學(xué)顧問安娜•艾維建議商學(xué)院采用統(tǒng)一的推薦表，以顯著減少推薦人的工作量，從而使他們不大可能推脫為MBA申請者撰寫推薦信的請求。“一些推薦人不得不寫比申請書還要多的文字。如果用這種工作量乘以3、4、5，那種感覺就像是推薦人自己在申請商學(xué)院，”她說。“這種要求確實有些過于苛刻。”
原文
When the letters of recommendation for Christopher arrived in the admissions office of a top-ranked business school, they were just about perfect.
The recommenders raved about the candidate's leadership abilities and team skills. They praised his initiative, curiosity and motivation. And they did so in unusually detailed anecdotes that allowed the applicant to come alive.
Problem was, his recommenders had never written those favorable words. Instead, the letters were drafted by the applicant himself.
Christopher, whose name has been changed to protect his privacy, makes no apologies for writing his own recommendations nor does he believe that a school can do much about it.
"Who's going to know?" Christopher recently graduated from one of the top three business schools in the U.S. "With the number of applications coming in, schools aren't going to compare writing styles between the recommendation letters and the applications. Obviously, if they did that, I wouldn't have been in business school."
Christopher's handiwork is not an isolated case. A recently published survey by the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants (AIGAC) found that 38% of applicants were asked to write their own recommendation letters. Most admission consultants, however, believe the number is much higher -- with as many as six out of 10 letters written by MBA applicants.
Still, even the survey results surprised many admission directors because they believed their schools were getting fairly candid, third party assessments of MBA candidates. "We were aware of the fact that some applicants are asked to write their own recommendations, but I wouldn't have guessed it would be that high," says Dawna Clarke, director of admissions at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business. "I don't have a problem with a student sitting down and talking to a recommender, but I am trying to wrap my head around the authenticity of the recommendations now."
Authenticity, however, may be fairly elusive, according to several MBA applicants and admission consultants. "Business school applicants are often told by recommenders, 'You write it, and I'll sign it,'" concedes Adam Hoff, of Amerasia Consulting Group. "When I first got involved in the business school arena four years ago, I was stunned. I couldn't believe the number of people who were writing their own letters of recommendation and who then brought the letters back to a consultant to help them with it."
Christopher, who asked that his alma mater not be named because "if they found out, there would be a witch hunt," explains that his direct supervisor was not fluent in English. "He had no clue how to construct a recommendation letter," he says in defense of his actions. "Because of that, I wrote the letter in proper English and made it sound like I'm a good employee, which I am. I didn't embellish, and he was fine with it."
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.
The pressure on MBAs to write their own recommendation letters also varies by industry. Half of the MBA applicants with finance or accounting backgrounds were asked to write their own letters, compared with only 28% in technology. "You'd think it'd be an employer in a small rural town somewhere, but more often than not, it's the consultants at top-tier firms or bankers or private equity professionals -- it's part of the culture," says Isiadinso, who previously worked as an admissions official at Harvard Business School.
Men (43%) are also significantly more likely to be asked to draft their own recommendations than women (27%).
For the most part, business schools are reluctant to admit there's a problem. Some admissions professionals claim they didn't know it was happening, a position that admissions consultants find hard to believe. "That's pretty naïve," says Kreisberg.
Even among schools that acknowledge the issue, most would be hard-pressed to take action. "It definitely happens and the survey proves it," says Alex Kleiner, a second-year MBA student at Harvard Business School. "It's something I would never feel comfortable doing. But if you're an admissions director, I don't really know how you combat that. You could be more explicit and say, 'If we find out your application will be rejected automatically. Other than being really tough, I don't think you can stop it."
Many schools prefer to push the issue under the rug. This don't-ask-don't-tell approach applies to students, too. Christopher, the former MBA student, says the motivation for silence is obvious: "You could be tossed out for academic dishonesty. Once you're in, nobody cares."
However, consultants and some top B-schools are toying around with ideas to curb self-written recommendations. Stanford already makes it explicitly clear that "drafting or writing your own letter of reference, even if asked to do so by your recommender, is improper and a violation of the terms of the application process."
Admissions consultant Anna Ivey proposes a common reference form, which could significantly cut the workload for recommenders, making them less likely to push the letter back on MBAs. "Some recommenders have to write more words than the applicants' essays. If you multiply that times three, four, five, it's as if the recommender is applying to business school," she says. "That's asking too much."
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