Warwick Letter of Recommendation Questions
- What are the applicant’s major strengths? (Upto 750 words)
- What are their most significant limitations? (Upto 750 words)
- How do you rate their intellectual & academic ability? (Upto 750 words)
- Below, please give any further comments on the ratings you have made, and your assessment of how the applicant would contribute to the Warwick MBA. (Upto 750 words)
- What is the connection between you and the candidate? (Upto 750 words)
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Warwick Letter of Recommendation Example – 1
1. What are the applicant’s major strengths?
I believe one of Ammy (Name Changed)’s principal strengths is effectively collaborating with cross-functional teams involving stakeholders across multiple geographies. In mid-2018, Ammy (Name Changed) had to deliver a project that involved interacting with cross-functional teams from three different regions. He was able to successfully navigate through the ambiguous scope of the project and manage more than 30+ stakeholders from different cultural backgrounds with relative ease. I observed that he put in commendable efforts while collaborating and coordinating with risk, operations, marketing, customer service, and legal teams to get the alignment on day-to-day tasks.
Another key strength of Ammy (Name Changed) is taking complete ownership of the project. Due to the high attrition rate during a specific period in our practice, Ammy (Name Changed) had to lead the Data Privacy project even though he had limited experience in this domain. To get on top of the project, he took the initiative to learn about the subject by reaching out to experts in the team and achieving BS 10012 Personal Information Management Data Privacy certificate. He also conducted training and supported team members to develop the skills in this topic. Under his guidance, the team was able to come up with excellent recommendations that were appreciated by the client’s top management.
As a result of such strong performances, he was awarded the “Above & Beyond” award in the fourth quarter of 2018. Such performances provided enough confidence to the leadership team that he can handle added responsibilities, and he is ready for the next level.
2. What are their most significant limitations?
Ammy (Name Changed) has an established track record of delivering results under his belt, which makes him a reliable professional. However, I feel that he needs to improve upon his Project Management skills.
In one of the projects, Ammy (Name Changed) and his team were running way behind the project schedule. The team tended to side-step on project schedule to focus more on carrying out extensive research and covering out of scope areas to add value to the client without informing the engagement manager and project sponsorer. Ammy (Name Changed) also failed to highlight the challenges regarding delays in the project to me or the project coordinator during our weekly meetings. Eventually, the team was able to deliver the project just in time by working extra hours for the last two weeks. However, the uninformed intermittent delays led to a few escalations during the project that could have hampered the long-lasting relationship with the client.
I raised these issues with him in our mid-year career conversations in 2018 while commending him on his deliverables. He was very responsive and welcoming of my comments, and I believe he has internalized this feedback because I have not seen any evidence of such a tendency since.
3. How do you rate their intellectual & academic ability?
I would rate Ammy (Name Changed)’s intellectual and academic ability as excellent. Completing his masters from one of the reputed institutes in India, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, Ammy (Name Changed) has an exceptional academic background. Although Ammy (Name Changed) never had a traditional Information Security background, he was able to grasp the concepts extremely fast. Within a month of Ammy (Name Changed)’s joining PwC, he grabbed the opportunity to work on an international project to conduct an Information Security assessment for one of the leading Zinc manufacturing and processing companies in South Africa. In PwC’s Technology Risk Consulting practice, Ammy (Name Changed) is a subject matter expert of IT regulatory compliance in non-banking and investment space. His updated knowledge about the latest regulatory guidelines has made him the go-to person in our practice.
4. Below, please give any further comments on the ratings you have made, and your assessment of how the applicant would contribute to the Warwick MBA.
Ammy (Name Changed) has demonstrated excellent leadership skills and team spirit while working with me on more than four projects. He has been able to communicate complex technical risks in a straightforward and impactful manner to the business stakeholders. However, I feel Ammy (Name Changed) has to work on his time management skills, which will help him prioritize his work to complete the project well in advance and focus more on practice development activities.
Ammy (Name Changed) is passionate about technology and its impact on our daily lives. His immense knowledge in areas such as Information Security, Business Continuity Management, Data Privacy, and experience in Risk Consulting space will help him contribute extensively in the program that emphasizes peer learning. He is also extremely dedicated to solving the healthcare and literacy challenges in India. I remember vividly that during a town hall, he asked questions to the partners about when the practice would start focusing on CSR activities and what would be the practice social vision. I am sure he will be able to provide a helping hand to support Warwick’s social initiatives.
Warwick Letter of Recommendation Example – 2
1. What are the applicant’s major strengths?
I think a few qualities that make Alex (Name Changed) stand out from his peers are his ability to understand the requirements of the client to come up with impactful solutions and lead leadership presentations.
Recently we had a meeting with the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of a leading Non-banking financial company to present an approach to help them comply with IT regulatory requirements. At the last minute, I had to ask Alex (Name Changed) to fill in my shoes and lead the presentation. Within a few hours, Alex (Name Changed) was able to understand the requirements and to structure the approach to deliver a successful presentation. He also went a step ahead to clarify the client’s questions on project management, team structure, and industry best practices. Because of Alex (Name Changed)’s professional demeanor and ability to handle leadership discussion, we were able to win this project.
During another instance, because of yearly review meetings with the PwC leadership, I requested Alex (Name Changed) to deliver training on Information Security & Business Continuity challenges within a bank to 50+ stakeholders at one of the Public Sector banks in India. For his research, he reached out to multiple managers within PwC to gather actual use cases to present during the presentation. The Chief Information Security Officer of the bank, through an appreciation mail, appreciated the content, case studies, and the delivery style.
Hence, overall after knowing him for three years and observing him grow and learn, I think he is a well-rounded guy with a strong sense of task ownership and versatility, which made him stand out from his peer group and earn him a well-deserved promotion.
2. What are their most significant limitations?
One significant area where I feel Alex (Name Changed) needs to improve is his inability to delegate the task to peers and juniors. Just after his promotion to Senior Associate in April 2019, I felt that Alex (Name Changed) was struggling to juggle between multiple responsibilities such as managing two projects and contributing towards business development activities at the same time. I observed that Alex (Name Changed) was not delegating tasks such as conducting on-ground interviews with the stakeholders and preparing the first draft of proposals to the Associates and Analysts. He also faced challenges in prioritizing among the tasks. This led to overrun in the project schedule and the submission of the deliverables at the last minute.
During our monthly feedback sessions, we had numerous conversations on this and on how best to channel his energy and time. Now he has started delegating the tasks to juniors and empowering them to manage the tasks independently. He has started focusing more on performing quality reviews of the deliverables and proposals. He is now more involved in building client relationships and managing the overall project’s quality and profitability.
3. How do you rate their intellectual & academic ability?
As a consultant at PwC, Alex (Name Changed) is extremely good with data sets and data modeling. He has worked on a couple of data-intensive projects, such as designing the IT Risk Assessment model and Business Continuity framework to capture financial, operational, and regulatory risks. Other teams have also reached out to Alex (Name Changed) during challenging scenarios to solve quant problems. In one instance, he supported another team in redesigning the Risk Assessment methodology for a client to capture industry-specific risks. In another case, he worked closely with the Chennai team of our practice in designing a model to quantify the business-specific risks to derive the potential loss due to business disruption.
4. Below, please give any further comments on the ratings you have made, and your assessment of how the applicant would contribute to the Warwick MBA.
Alex (Name Changed) has a natural analytical bend, excellent problem-solving abilities, and organizational skills. During his three and half years at PwC, he has undertaken a lot of challenging projects and delivered them as per the client’s expectations. He is also assertive and has excellent communication skills, which helps him to conduct impactful discussions with the stakeholders and convey essential points in a structured manner. I also feel that to become a Manager at PwC, Alex (Name Changed) has to improve upon his time management skills and work delegation skills to enhance the performance of the project.
Alex (Name Changed) has worked on two international engagements in South Africa and Turkey and multiple engagements across the Indian subcontinent. He has also attended an exchange semester in Germany. His ability to manage multiple teams across diverse geographies will contribute to the Warwick MBA in understanding the nuances of different cultures and their working styles. During one of our discussions, Alex (Name Changed) had mentioned that he wants to continue in consulting post his MBA. Alex (Name Changed)’s prior consulting experience will be beneficial in understanding the nuances of the consulting world. He can also contribute by taking up a leadership position in the Technology Club or Consulting club to support his cohort to achieve their aspirations.