Importance of LoR writer's designation

[nycpolicy]

Long story short, I held two roles in my earlier job. In the first one my work was not related to policy/administration - I was part of a 2 member team working on the company's latest product, and reported to the CEO of the company. In the second one I worked directly with governments, NGOs, impact eval agencies, again not exactly public administration, but as close as I could get in a private company setting, and with the kind of clients I would be working with after graduating from an MPA/MPP degree - in this role I reported to the head (VP) of the department.

I am getting recommendations from the VP for all my schools, but should I get one from the CEO simply because he is a CEO? I have no doubt that he will write a good recommendation for me, but I worry that it will not serve my overall narrative. Still does the 'CEO' tag hold a lot of weight with AdComs?

Edited December 27, 2017 by aaprabhakar

[Revolutionary]

Princeton WWS Blog on LoR's;

"Don’t chase references with lofty titles because you think their position is impressive to us … we don’t care. We want to see sincere letters from faculty, administrators and professionals with whom you’ve worked and who know you."

 

[yellina122]

So I actually got a LOR from my direct supervisor who knows me very well and our CEO who I work with as well, and directly, but in a very different capacity. For all my schools that required 3 recs, I sent both of those plus one from an old professor. But for the schools that only wanted two, I stuck with my direct supervisor and the professor. The person who knows you best will pretty much always write you the best, most sincere letter.

[Damis]

Be strategic about your recommendation choices. You have to ask yourself not only who can write you recommendation letters, but also whether or not they can assess you on your potential. I know from one of my recommenders, for instance, that HKS requires them to fill out some sort of matrix that assesses a bunch of factors. 

• First off, ask yourself whether or not the CEO would be able to write you a compelling recommendation. If not, then you know it's a no.
• If the CEO could write a compelling recommendation, ask yourself how much work she would have to do in order to effectively bifurcate her letter from that of the VP. I would think one letter that speaks on your ability to handle both roles would be much stronger than two letters, in which the message your recommenders are trying to convey may become diluted. 
• Ask yourself the hard question of what an AdCom would think in reading two letters from the same place. I don't know your background nor experience, but I'm assuming you'd also need an academic reference as well? Ask yourself whether or not you could possibly get a strong, sincere letter from another source. If it's a no, then feel comfortable in moving forward with the CEO. Just know you're going to have to coach them up a bit so that they can massage the overarching themes of your recommendations well.

Good luck!

[nycpolicy]

@Damis thank you so much for the detailed reply - your points were extremely helpful in cementing my decision regarding the third recommendation!!