How Vanilla is this Employer Letter of Rec? Forum

[jcm043]

A previous boss composed this letter for me. Yes, even though he is president of the company we had daily direct contact. What do you think/ how will an admissions committee view this?

I would like to recommend "jcm043" to the University of Mississippi's School of Law. Jcm043 worked in various areas of our Marketing Departments at Said Company. Jcm043's work ethic and eagerness to was very impressive during his time at my company. His outgoing personality contributed to the friendly, family culture at Said Company. He has an ability to work wit any individual in any environment.

Jcm043 possesses many other qualities which I believe will make him a very successful student of law. He is highly motivated, takes pride in all of his work, and manages his time effectively. His communication skills are excellent and have contributed to his success with our employees, retailers and consumers.

In conclusion, Jcm043 is an outstanding young man who has a very strong interest in studying the law. He had demonstrated the character and work ethic that I am confident will lead to success in his legal studies and legal career. I recommend him without reservation fort a spot in your law school program. Please feel free to contact me if you need further information.

Sincerely,

Company President.

[WanderingPondering]

Pretty weak effort. Not going to hurt you though. It is positive after all.

[cahwc12]

This will probably sound highly elitist, but because it's a positive letter, I'm not sure much else matters since you're applying to a T4 school.

...Unless you replaced Michigan with Mississippi, in which case it is an extraordinarily weak letter and probably going to hurt you when weighed against someone with the same numbers who got a LOR with specific examples of how he is an "outstanding young man" and how he has "demonstrated the character and work ethic" that will lead to success in law school. Your company president says that you were "very impressive" and your excellent communication skills have "contributed to [your] success" but he offers not a single concrete example.

Lastly, although this may be a translation error, there are a number of typos in your letter.

[jcm043]

This will probably sound highly elitist, but because it's a positive letter, I'm not sure much else matters since you're applying to a T4 school.

...Unless you replaced Michigan with Mississippi, in which case it is an extraordinarily weak letter and probably going to hurt you when weighed against someone with the same numbers who got a LOR with specific examples of how he is an "outstanding young man" and how he has "demonstrated the character and work ethic" that will lead to success in law school. Your company president says that you were "very impressive" and your excellent communication skills have "contributed to [your] success" but he offers not a single concrete example.

Lastly, although this may be a translation error, there are a number of typos in your letter.

My exact thoughts. My buddy still works there as a VP, I might have him type up a letter with specific examples.

Yes the typos were my fault when retyping the letter.

Thanks for the input.

[cinephile]

I wouldn't worry at all. This is normal.

[rinkrat19]

This will probably sound highly elitist, but because it's a positive letter, I'm not sure much else matters since you're applying to a T4 school.

...Unless you replaced Michigan with Mississippi, in which case it is an extraordinarily weak letter and probably going to hurt you when weighed against someone with the same numbers who got a LOR with specific examples of how he is an "outstanding young man" and how he has "demonstrated the character and work ethic" that will lead to success in law school. Your company president says that you were "very impressive" and your excellent communication skills have "contributed to [your] success" but he offers not a single concrete example.

Lastly, although this may be a translation error, there are a number of typos in your letter.

My exact thoughts. My buddy still works there as a VP, I might have him type up a letter with specific examples.

Yes the typos were my fault when retyping the letter.

Thanks for the input.

You're having your buddy write your LOR and he's letting you approve it? That's...professional.

[CanadianWolf]

This LOR is fine if the company is located in Mississippi, but might be problematic if located in the northeast US.

[shntn]

You in-state? I know tons of folks at Ole Miss, and I really don't think the LOR matters much. I'm sure half of them were written by family friends and sound generic as all hell.