Is an employer in a non medical field an acceptable LoR

[Destalchemy]

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I have worked with a family business for the last 4 years. I could get a letter from a number of people but the guy I started with and worked with for the first 2 years knows me the most. He and I have spent thousands of hours together going house to house, either just the 2 of us, or with a 3rd guy. He likes me, has a college degree, could attest to my strong work ethic (he's a hardass who gave me that work ethic), knows my family and my character. Ive eaten dinner at his house a couple times. His son and my brother have autism. My other brother and his other son both have avms. Thing is, its carpet and tile cleaning. I do work with mostly older retired people, and he could attest that I have really good people skills. I'm 26 for reference. Is it worth it to ask him? Thanks

 

[Blueprint Med School]

I have worked with a family business for the last 4 years. I could get a letter from a number of people but the guy I started with and worked with for the first 2 years knows me the most. He and I have spent thousands of hours together going house to house, either just the 2 of us, or with a 3rd guy. He likes me, has a college degree, could attest to my strong work ethic (he's a hardass who gave me that work ethic), knows my family and my character. Ive eaten dinner at his house a couple times. His son and my brother have autism. My other brother and his other son both have avms. Thing is, its carpet and tile cleaning. I do work with mostly older retired people, and he could attest that I have really good people skills. I'm 26 for reference. Is it worth it to ask him? Thanks

I would love to get the wisdom of the crowd, but I would cautiously lean towards saying yes. As long as you have strong letters that check all the other boxes (e.g. academic, medical) then having a really detailed letter like this could 1) be strong and 2) be unique. In a world full of very similar resumes, a strong unique story cuts through the noise.

Hope this helps,

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[Destalchemy]

some schools will recommend or require a letter from employer /supervisor if you are a nontrad and/or graduate with full time job. A co-worker may not fulfill that. I would want to see someone who lnows you AND had the experience with supervisor other employees in order to discuss and compare your qualities. Since this sounds like an older guy who can discuss your professional work attributes, dealing with people, and also some petsonal items that delve a little deeper than most, it would past muster. However, you still need strong academic letters.

Ah that's good to know some schools may even require it. Yes, he is one of the owners of the company so he should definitely come across as such rather than a coworker. Thanks

 

[Destalchemy]

I would love to get the wisdom of the crowd, but I would cautiously lean towards saying yes. As long as you have strong letters that check all the other boxes (e.g. academic, medical) then having a really detailed letter like this could 1) be strong and 2) be unique. In a world full of very similar resumes, a strong unique story cuts through the noise.

Hope this helps,

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

It does, thank you. I was hoping it would really make me stand out. So use it as icing on the cake and still present an app that can stand on it's own without that particular lor. Let it be the icing on the cake. Thank you

 

[Blueprint Med School]

It does, thank you. I was hoping it would really make me stand out. So use it as icing on the cake and still present an app that can stand on it's own without that particular lor. Let it be the icing on the cake. Thank you

Of course! In general, uniqueness combined with competence is greatly rewarded in this world. My application talked heavily about my astrochemistry research, space rocks and whatnot. Was the work all that different from standard lab work? No. But talking about rocks that fell off of Jupiter opened eyes all over.

Glad I could help 🙂

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors