Letters of Recommendation

[PapaK]

I hav already acquired three letters of recommendation from my current boss, my faculty advisor and from a former boss, all civilians. I am interested in adding two more: a retired Army MAJ and a current Army CAPT. My recruiter perfers to keep the number to three. He recommends quality more than quanitity and while I do agree, I still feel military recommendations might add that certain "je ne sais quoi". Any thoughts?

 

[wrecklessfool]

I would have to agree with your recruiter...less is more sometimes. Quality trumps quantity in this case. I would keep the Army Capt out, submit the Army Maj letter, and choose the two best other ones from civilians. Just my $.02.

ETA: I think an O-3 is fine to sit in on a required interview panel, but when it comes to letters of rec, I wouldn't submit anything that came from someone below O-4...unless it was all I had.

 

[Devil Duck]

Agreed. I think quality is driven by the relationship as well as the individual's position. I think it's best to keep recommendations from folks who have supervised you and can testify to the qualities indicated on the collection sheet. If your previous recommendations are lacking, provide recommendations and ask the provider to improve. I left only a little to chance with my three recommendations. I provided concrete examples and lists of areas to cover. Now, that's not to say those examples were all used, but a couple did make it in. If nothing else, those provided examples spurred others that I omitted.

My three recommendations were from my work chain of command, all Army officers, a major, GS-14 (LTC ret), and colonel.