The schools send thank you notes to your recommenders.  (Remember, they have to include an address with their recommendations.)  If your boss suddenly gets a note from Kellogg thanking him for taking the time to write you a recommendation, you might be leaving your job earlier than you had planned.  I know a few people who have made this mistake.

Don't forge your recommender's signature.  Just between you and me, the admissions people know that many of the recommendations are written by the applicants.  They expect, however, that the recommender at least had a chance to review the recommendation before signing it.  

You need to play along with the game.  Sure your boss may ask you to do the dirty work, but let him read the final product before you send it in.

A Special Note if You Do Write Your Own Recommendation s  

I'm an experienced editor, so it's easy for me to spot writing habits.  I can usually tell when a set of essays and an accompanying letter of recommendation have been written by the same person.  The voice, the diction, and especially the errors of grammar and style are all unique identifiers.  I have seen people use the exact same phrasing in recommendations that they used in their essays.  That's why it's a bad idea to write your own rec's.

While the admissions people may not be professional editors, I know from first-hand experience that they too catch applicants by noting their unique phraseologies.  Most of you will have to work with your recommenders in crafting your letters, but don't write them wholesale.  At the very least craft your recommendations as a joint project.  Even if your recommender would prefer that you write them alone, encourage him to do some of the work so the language will assure the reader that someone other than the applicant wrote the recommendation.

A Few Pointers on the Letters of Recommendation

1.  Don't get one from Lee Iococca.  There's nothing wrong with Lee (not that I know of, anyway), but he doesn't really know you and it shows in his letter.  The most common mistake applicants make with respect to the letter of recommendation is getting one from a hotshot at work or from a brand name like Lee Iococca.  The admissions people are not impressed by your boss's boss's title, and they are regularly bombarded by generic recommendations from celebrity business people.  So don't send them another.

You need a recommendation from someone who knows you well, preferably someone who works with you daily and can provide personal insight into your character.  The job title of that person is meaningless to the admissions committee. 

(And just to confirm, yes, my students have submitted recommendations from brand names ranging from Lee Iococca to Charles Schwab.  In fact, the person who submitted the Lee Iococca letter and the person who submitted the Charles Schwab letter ended up at the same MBA program.)

2.  Have your recommender discuss specific details of the jobs you've done. Detailing specifics will shed more light on your personality than will mouthing vague platitudes such as, "Billy will make a good leader" and "I think he is very conscientious."

3.  This one may sound a little obvious, but pick someone who can write!  You know Maury, the section manager who thinks you're the greatest thing on earth but who reads at a 3rd grade level?  Don't ask him for a recommendation.

4.  When the recommendation asks for a flaw or area of personal improvement, don't let your recommender say, "Billy works too hard."  No one buys that line.

5.  There is no number 5.

6.  Give your recommender an outline of the assignments you have handled at work.  Include in that outline some suggestions on how he might address specific issues such as leadership potential and motivation for attending business school.  In addition to improving the recommendation, providing this information should encourage your recommender to write the letter himself rather than ask you to do the dirty work.

7.  Whatever you do, don't let your recommender question your leadership or communication skills!  If he completes the grid boxes, make sure he gives you high marks in those categories.  The whole point of business school is to develop leaders, and that means you have to communicate well.