London Business School MBA Recommendation Questions
London Business School is located in the heart of London, giving its students unparalleled access to global businesses and government agencies. The school’s industry ties allow its students to work on projects and internships through the LondonCAP, LondonLAB, and Business Week programs.
The school is also known for its highly international and diverse student demographic. LBS’s focus on developing a global outlook is evident through the Global Experiences via company visits, expert panels, workshops, and immersive experiences in international markets.
So if you’re applying to LBS, you should demonstrate clear goals, an ability to work well with a diverse group of people, and how you plan to lead and positively impact the LBS community both during and after your MBA. When guiding your recommenders to write your LBS letters of recommendation, ask them to highlight these values to show your fit with the school.
How Many Letters of Recommendation Does London Business School Require?
LBS requires one professional letter of recommendation. The school advises that your recommender should be someone who “knows you well – someone who can attest to your overall character, your day-to-day work, who can assess things like how you work in a team, how you handle pressure and what your leadership potential is like”.
This means that your direct manager/supervisor should ideally be your first choice recommender, given their close working relationship with you and knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses. Don’t pick a very senior person in the company, like the CEO, to write your recommendation simply because you think it may hold more weight! Your relationship and interactions with your recommender should guide your decision.
If you haven’t informed your company of your decision to apply for an MBA, or if there are other reasons as to why you cannot ask your current manager for a recommendation, ask a former manager.
The school encourages applicants to brief their recommender on their goals and motivations for attending LBS before sharing the recommender form with them.
London Business School MBA Recommendation Questions 2024-2025
Recommender Information & Ratings
Recommender Information
Please rate the applicant, comparing them with other members of his or her peer group, on the qualities listed below using the following scoring system: 1 = High, 3 = Average, 5 = Low.
Intellectual or academic ability
Quantitative skills
Initiative/ability to make decisions
Problem-solving skills
Organisational skills
Leadership skills
Team skills
Impact/charisma
Self confidence
Self motivation
Spoken English communication skills
Written English communication skills
Please indicate your overall recommendation on a five point score from (1) Highly Recommended to (5) Not Recommended
Please feel free to elaborate on your recommendation.
London Business School MBA Recommendation Questions
As a guideline for completing the reference form you should aim to write no more than 500 words per question. Please note that 500 words is the maximum amount and not a requirement.
How do you know the applicant? How long have you known them for?
What would you say are the applicant’s key strengths and talents?
What would you say are the applicant’s key weaknesses or areas for improvement?
How do the applicant’s performance, potential and personal qualities compare to those of other individuals in similar roles?
What do you think this person might be doing in ten years’ time? Why?
Analysis
Ratings
The London Business School Letters of Recommendation form provides your recommender with a list of 12 leadership qualities that you will need to apply in the MBA classroom.
We recommend that you ask your recommender to choose the highest rating (1) for 9-10 questions, second-highest (2) for 1-2 questions, and third highest, or average (3) for 1 question to show an area of improvement. It’s important not to choose the highest ratings for all qualities. Your recommender should be able to critically evaluate and rate your skills, showing that they have engaged with the ratings truthfully. If you had flawless ratings in every skill area, you wouldn’t need an MBA!
Overall, your recommender should select “1 - Highly Recommended”. For the optional question, your recommender may like to add their comments about the ratings, especially the lowest marked rating.
Recommendation Questions
1. How do you know the applicant? How long have you known them for? (500 words)
Ask your recommender to keep their response to this question brief and direct. They should state their relationship with you, the duration you have worked together, how frequently they interact with you, and provide a brief overview of your role.
2. What would you say are the applicant’s key strengths and talents? (500 words)
To make their response impactful, your recommender should include two to three anecdotes that illustrate specific qualities or strengths. Avoid generic statements like “This applicant is a diligent and creative problem-solver”. Instead, the examples your recommender chooses should be structured to show your actions and response to a challenge/task and the quantifiable results you were able to achieve.
Structure your anecdotes using the SCAR method:
Situation: Describe the context or situation in which you demonstrated your strengths.
Challenge: Explain the specific challenge or obstacle you faced.
Actions: Detail the actions you took to address the challenge.
Results: Describe the positive outcomes or impact of your actions. Quantify these with figures, percentages, dollar amounts, etc. to show impact.
Ensure that the highlighted strengths align with LBS's values, as business schools prefer applicants who align with their culture. Some of the cornerstones of LBS’s school culture include:
Academic strengths and a strong track record of success
Global outlook
Original and provocative business thinking
Ambitious and driven leaders who look for new challenges
3. What would you say are the applicant’s key weaknesses or areas for improvement? (500 words)
This question isn’t meant to catch you out. The AdCom uses this information to understand your ability to reflect on your shortcomings and respond positively to criticism, given that your MBA program will push you to debate with others, learn from them, and reassess what you know. They want to see how you work on your weaknesses to enhance your approach, performance, and leadership skills.
Your recommender should provide a specific instance using the SCAR (Situation, Challenge, Action, Result) format to show your areas for improvement. They should also explain how you learned from/are learning from this weakness and how you have incorporated this learning in your work.
As an applicant, you might be tempted to ask your recommender to go easy on you here and offer a wishy-washy weakness. But schools value self-awareness and the ability to grow from mistakes. So “The applicant works too hard” is not an acceptable response here! Don’t try to sugar coat your weaknesses. An alternate answer (backed by a real-life example) could be “The applicant initially struggled to manage their time as they were still adapting to their increased responsibilities”. This must be followed with an account of how you were able to improve your performance and build better time management capabilities.
Steer clear of character weaknesses, like being short-tempered, impatient, or unwilling to cooperate with others.
4. How do the applicant’s performance, potential and personal qualities compare to those of other individuals in similar roles? (500 words)
Your recommender should benchmark your performance and qualities against your peers working in similar roles. For example, “I would rank this applicant in the top 5% of analysts I have worked with”. Guide your recommender to back this claim up with an example of how you demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities or exceeded expectations in your role. A solid example would indicate how the results you were able to achieve were uncommon for someone in your role, thus differentiating you from your peers.
5. What do you think this person might be doing in ten years’ time? Why? (500 words)
Like LBS advises, it’s best to share your goals and motivations for pursuing an MBA with your recommender in advance. This will help them write about your potential for long-term success in your intended industry and role. They can also point to conversations where you have discussed your career goals with them, and briefly comment on how the LBS MBA will help you achieve them.
Our complete Recommender Guide course on MBAConsultant.com has all the advice (and sample letters based on real applicants) you need to create a compelling letter of recommendation. Check it out here.
Want personalized support for your letters of recommendation? Book a chat with us today!
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