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Columbia LOR

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Columbia LOR Questions: 2023-2024

  1. How do the candidate’s performance, potential, background, or personal qualities compare to those of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples.
  2. Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response.
  3. Please share how you feel the applicant will contribute to the Columbia Business School classroom and community.

Columbia Letter of Recommendation Example – 1

1)How do the candidate’s performance, potential, background, or personal qualities compare to those of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples.

I believe Abhishek’s principal strengths are the willingness to go beyond the scope of his role and the ability to engage with clients. 

He has undertaken numerous initiatives beyond his pre-defined roles and responsibilities. Impressed by his “go-getter” attitude and leadership potential we awarded him multiple fast-track promotions eventually culminating in the AVP role. 

Abhishek started working with me directly in 2018, when he was handpicked to be the seed member of the CEOs office. This was a responsibility he took in addition to his existing role. During these projects I got a first-hand view of his strategic thinking and problem-solving ability. He was able to grasp the intricacies of the company operations and build them into the operational model. At the time, we were expanding to another location and Abhishek was able to come up with clear outputs which was vital to the decision-making process. His contribution helped the firm grow. The senior leadership  greatly appreciated his willingness to go beyond the scope of his role.

Another quality which I have observed in Abhishek and he is really good at is that he excels at building client relationships which have helped him navigate crisis situations. For instance, when he transitioned to the AVP role, one of his long-term clients saw a significant decrease in work quality. The situation escalated and eventually it got to a point where the client almost decided to not renew the contract. Upon communicating the feedback I had received from them, Abhishek was able to rally his team he had extensive discussion with the client and resolved all the concerns. He leveraged the equity he built with the client over the years and within a month he was able to deliver outstanding results. This helped us renew the client contract and that is why I believe Abhishek is good at managing client relationships.

2)Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response.

Abhishek’s established track record of delivering results has made him the professional he is today. However, at times, I believe Abhishek tends to overestimate his ability to tackle multiple work streams by setting aggressive targets for himself.  

As an AVP, Abhishek started managing 8 clients, in addition to that he was working with me in the CEOs office and was leading recruitments/training activities. This made it challenging for Abhishek to meet his budget targets. During this time, some parts of his client work also started suffering. I received a few escalations from our clients on some recent lapses in delivery of projects. 

After a discussion with his manager, I had a one-on-one discussion with him. I explained the need to take a measured approach to all his responsibilities. I also explained managing client contracts was a fundamental part of his responsibilities and must take priority. 

Since then, I have seen him work actively to achieve the right balance and say no where appropriate. He is now engaged in fewer initiatives and has spent more time on his core responsibility to engaging and growing his client base, which he was able to successfully execute. Therefore I believe he took the feedback positively but as he grows higher in his career this is one area I would advise him to focus on and learn how to delegate at appropriate times if needed. 

Columbia Letter of Recommendation Example – 2

1)How do the candidate’s performance, potential, background, or personal qualities compare to those of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples.

Abhishek was an extremely talented and valued employee at TresVista. He started out as an analyst when the firm was around 60 members strong and has been a part of the explosive growth trajectory to 500 employees. Over his 6 years at the firm, he has performed exceptionally showing extreme prowess with his technical and analytical ability. His sincere work ethic and ability to connect with his team and peers have been equally, if not more important in his success at the firm.

Through his career, he has been instrumental in delivering projects to a range of clients and winning contracts for the firm. In his very first year, Abhishek spent multiple weekends in office catering to the highly stringent deadlines for a large family office in New York. He was able to successfully navigate diligence for a $800 million transaction. Another instance was when a large corporate client needed overnight support to create an investor presentation. Abhishek stepped up and spent almost two days in office ensuring all deadlines were met and the output was of the highest quality. His efforts earned us the contract for the next few years. Examples like these are what made me appreciate Abhishek’s commitment to team goals and this is what distinguished him from other well qualified individuals in similar roles. 

Apart from that, I think Abhishek has always been able to connect with peers and team mates. He had a deep understanding of the firm’s values and culture and helped spearhead an internal branding initiative to facilitate top down communication. He regularly holds after hour sessions to help team members in areas such as financial modeling and CFA. 

These factors coupled with his friendly demeanor made him a leader his team mates and peers could approach. Overall he shows great commitment to delivering team goals and helping the team learn and improve which I believe are great qualities and would make him a valuable addition to the Columbia Business School program. 

2)Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response.

Abhishek started leading a team at the early age of 26. Early in his role, he believed that all projects delivered by his team were his own personal responsibility. This inevitably resulted in him micromanaging projects and his team. 

Within the first six months of his AVP role, it became evident that micromanaging would not allow him to reach the growth trajectory that he and the firm envisaged. Another consequence of this was that Abhishek wasn’t tracking the broader health of his team in terms of utilization, retention and development. 

I discussed this problem with him in a one-on-one session as well as during his 6-month review. I advised him on the importance of ensuring team satisfaction, and trusting the team as well as his own ability to manage critical situations. 

I saw Abhishek take this feedback in stride and regularly checked in with him thereafter. After multiple discussions with his manager and myself, I saw him grow into the leadership role of being an AVP. He consciously started delegating tasks better, addressed some key pain-points on his teams performance metrics to ensure better management of his team budgets. Infact, in the year after his team almost doubled in size. 

Abhishek has come a long way in growing as a leader. I believe that an MBA from a leading school such as Columbia, will help him gain a deeper perspective on the softer aspects of management enabling him to achieve his career goals.  

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