ISB applicants - Ask GyanOne!!

Hi GyanOne,

I have read a lot about you and would request you to provide your opinion on my candidature for ISB this year.

GMAT: 720
Female / Indian
Languages: English, Hindi, French (Basic)

Bachelor of Commerce: 71% (top 10% of batch)
10th: 89%
12th: 92%
CFA: all 3 levels

Work experience:
5 years in PE / financial modelling with the Big 4. Have travelled to France and Singapore for projects.

No major extra-curriculars / community involvement.

Due to some personal issues, i was not able to take up an overseas MBA offer at an earlier point in time. I intend to continue and grow in my current field.

Thanks in advance for your time and advice.

Dear Gyanone,

10th: 83.6% CBSE
12th: 89.2% CBSE
B.Tech. electrical - NIT Allahabad: 8.39 CGPA
Work ex: Siemens Ltd. (Project management) - 47 months as on date

I have been working as a project engineer for the execution of EPC projects. The projects are energy centric and are focussed to meet the power requirements of Discoms , industry and transmissions utilities.
My work involves the overall execution of project right from project planing, profitability, site co-ordination to timely delivery as time is the essence in EPC .

Professional Achievements:1. Have been able to successfully cater the requirement of Delhi discom ( Tata Power Delhi distribution Ltd.) 100 days ahead of the schedule which resulted in capitalization within the previous FY and ensured teh power availability for more than 1000 houses in the northern part of Delhi before the onset of summer season.
2. Have been able to increase teh profitability of the project by 3% of the project value (approx. 8 MINR)
Moreover, I have worked with clients like Reliance industries, PGCIL, Deepak Fertilizers, Tata steel, BSES etc.

ECA:
1. CL & CC certified by Toastmasters and have worked as former VP- Public relations and contributed to the success of teh club heavily by improving its digital presence
2. Gold medal winner in chess during college sports fest
3. Winner in Badminton tournament of Siemens ltd. Business unit
4. Recepient of scholarship awarded to top 1% of students in Btech 1st year
5. Selected for employer branding by Siemens Ltd. to encourage more female candidates
6. Team leader for project during trainee period at Siemens Ltd.
7. Event co-ordinator for Avishkar (college technical fest)
8. 2nd runner up of speech evaluation contest conducted by Gurgaon Toastmasters Club

GMAT: 650 , planing for a GMAT retake and apply to the ISB during R1.
Request you to evaluate my profile and let me know a decent target score.

Hi Sheenu

Thanks for posting.

Lady professionals working in EPC are rare, so your profile has some differentiation right there. The fact that you are working with a known name (Siemens) helps further. The Delhi Discom/NDPL territory too can be especially challenging around the time of summers, so your work there stands you in good stead. Your ECA are strong as well, with a good variety across activities too.

However, the GMAT score, at 650, may be bordering on insufficient. While even this score does not put you out of contention (we have had clients with similar scores get through in the past), we would ideally encourage you to raise it to 680 and above. If you can do that, given the rest of your profile, you should have an excellent chance to make it.

You might also like to go through the following posts:
Made it to ISB with 660 GMAT
Made it to ISB with 670 GMAT

Hi Shalini

Thanks for posting.

You seem very well set for an ISB admit (with the caveat that the application is still important, and should be focused on well). Strong acads, good GMAT score, excellent experience, and some international experience as well. All of these are valued by ISB.

Now, onto some of the slight concern areas. The absence of ECA might pose a bit of an issue, so focus on highlighting not just achievement, but also participation. Community involvement is not a necessary pre-requisite anyway, so no worries there. On the work-ex front, do note that ISB is not very strong when it comes to PE/VC roles, so continuity will be important for you, than a move to a large PE/VC player immediately (may happen, but is not an ISB strength).

Hope this helps, and feel free to come back with more queries as needed.

A list of all upcoming PGP info sessions for the benefit of ISB applicants:

PGP Admission Infosession - Hyderabad
July 17, 2016 | Sun | 11:00

PGP Admission Infosession - Chennai
August 07, 2016 | Sun | 11:00

PGP Admission Infosession - Mumbai
August 14, 2016 | Sun | 11:00

PGP Admission Infosession - Mumbai
August 14, 2016 | Sun | 15:00

PGP Admission Infosession - Kolkata
August 28, 2016 | Sun | 11:00

PGP Admission Infosession - Hyderabad
September 11, 2016 | Sun | 11:00

PGP Admission Infosession - Mohali
September 25, 2016 | Sun | 11:00

PGP Admission Infosession - Gurgaon
October 23, 2016 | Sun | 11:00

PGP Admission Infosession - Gurgaon
October 23, 2016 | Sun | 15:00

PGP Admission Infosession - Bengaluru
November 06, 2016 | Sun | 11:00

PGP Admission Infosession - Bengaluru
November 06, 2016 | Sun | 15:00

PGP Admission Infosession - Mumbai
November 13, 2016 | Sun | 11:00

PGP Admission Infosession - Mumbai
November 13, 2016 | Sun | 15:00

PGP Infosession - Hyderabad
December 11, 2016 | Sun | 11:00

Hi GyanOne,

Thank you for your insights. Can you please help in understanding the kind of roles i can expect post MBA from ISB, for my profile.

Regards

Shalini

If you wish to continue in PE, you will have a few niche roles there as possibilities, though you should keep in mind that this is one domain that ISB is not very strong at. The same goes for a move to investment banking, which is functionally quite feasible, but again not a strength area for ISB. Beyond these, Corporate Finance and Banking remain options for you.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a switch, you would be a good fit for both operations and strategy consulting as well.

Hope this helps. Feel free to come back with further questions as needed.

ISB Placements 2016: ISB’s Best Ever Yet, But What Does it Mean?

In 2016, the Indian economy may be struggling in terms of creating new jobs (in spite of its fastest growth every), but it seems that ISB graduates are not having a difficult time finding them! ISB placements 2016 were the school’s best ever, with more than a thousand offers received by the 812-strong ISB Class of 2016. The average salary amount offered increased by a whopping 18%, and settled at more than INR 22 lakhs (INR 2.2 million) after placements were done. These are glad tidings for ISB, which has also welcomed its new Dean, Prof Rajendra Srivastava, who began in January 2016.

ISB placements 2016 – key highlights and trends

In all, ISB students of the Class of 2016 received 1151 offers made by 297 companies, including top names like McKinsey, Apple, and Amazon. ISB has clearly mentioned this as a success, and in fact the maturity of, its ‘one school, two campuses’ recruitment model, which is a lateral hiring process spread out over several months, and involves students from both campuses. The number of offers made has increased by more than 16% over ISB placements 2015, the number of recruiters by more than 11%, and the average salary by more than 18% (looking at mid 80 percentile figures for the salary).

ISB Placements 2016

Got Into ISB with 670 GMAT: Yes, It Is Possible!

Every year, we hear stories of many applicants who apply to the Indian School of Business (ISB) and make it with low GMAT scores. The ISB admit with a low GMAT score is not a myth, but reality. However, ISB applicants who wish to be able to make it through a rigorous application process need to demonstrate excellent planning and execution to be able to make it. This is not about ‘hoping’ for an admit, but making it happen through an outstanding application and interview. Every year, many applicants make it to ISB and other top schools with lower than average GMAT scores. This article is the story of SV, an ISB with 670 GMAT and excellent planning.

ISB 670 GMAT admit: Preparing for the Application
The first thing that many people say when hearing the story of an applicant who made it with a lower than average score is that he/she must have been out of the world in terms of other parameters. Perhaps he/she was a global investment banker, a leading strategy consultant, or at the very least an IITian. None of these hold true for SV, but that does not mean that SV is not outstanding on her own steam. She has spent more than 8 years at Infosys and at Deloitte, and has won multiple awards for her work. Her current work in Sharepoint and IT consulting helped her to showcase her technical and managerial ability, and from multiple aspects (including the appreciation garnered from her seniors and peers), SV would be considered an outstanding professional. However, her GMAT score was only 670, and SV wondered if this would be enough when she approached GyanOne. Made it to ISB with 670 GMAT

Thos post was first published on the GyanOne Blog

Hi GyanOne,

I wish to first appreciate the advice you have been helping applicants with. I have been a long time reader on gmatclub for my GMAT preparation. Mentioned below is a summary of my professional and academic background. Please evaluate my profile for ISB.

Age- 27.5
Nationality - Indian
GMAT 2- 690
GMAT 1- 670

WE- 5 years in Retail Analytics. Currently leading a team of 3 members.

Undergrad- Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from NSIT
Undergrad Score - 65%

NGO work- working in my spare time with a charitable NGO which provides schooling to under-privileged slum kids

Thank You

Hi Utkarsh

Thanks for posting.

Your profile seems decent, even though your GMAT score isn't the highest (but will still work), given your work experience in Retail Analytics. Please post more details on your work - what is your role/key achievements. Also mention your ECA in more detail.

Hey ! I would really appreciate, if you could evaluate my profile for ISB/NUS/NTU/INSEAD Singapore

Name- Shubham Chauhan
Age-26
GMAT Score- 680
 Work Experience- 37 Months till now
• Polyplex Thailand Public Company Limited
Duration- 25 Months and continuing
Location- Thailand

• Polyplex Europa
Duration- 6 months
Location- Turkey

• Polyplex Corporation Limited
Duration- 6 Months
Location- Noida, India

 Graduation – Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Gandhinagar
CGPA – 8.15/10 (Mechanical Engineering)
Internship – Underwriters Laboratory, Chicago, USA

 12th Board- 88%
 10th Board- 93% (Merit Holder)


Job Profile – I am the youngest person in the company to have been hired at the post of Manager in the company’s history of 30+ years.
Polyplex Group of the 4th Largest manufacturer of Polyester Film in the world with locations in India, Turkey, Thailand and USA

Operational Analyst
For 2 years, I have been working under Head-Operations (General Manager) of company as operational Analyst. In this profile, my work catered to the data analysis on various aspects for the plant improvement; I have been involved in high decision making body for the turn-around of the company. I was completely responsible for CAPEX proposal, MIS Generation. One of my proposals accepted by top management resulted in saving of USD 1 million. I got a fair exposure of general management of the company including the financial aspects.

Process Manager
Looking into the good performance, I have been shifted to the core operations as process Manager, responsible to handle a team of 40 members of local community (Thai Nationals). I am responsible for all process related trouble shooting and all new product development related activities.


Looking forward to it.

Hi Shubham

You have a strong profile and with strong applications should be able to make it to the options you list out, except for INSEAD (should try and increase the GMAT score to 700+ there to have a better chance).

You have strong acads overall (the IIT tag helps too, though not as much as it would if it were from one of the older IITs), and so does the international experience and the work profile. Moving from Operations Analyst to Process Manager is rare, so that is definitely noteworthy about you as well. When did you take over the Process Manager role? If you have gained some experience there, that will help too. If new to the role, it will still help, but less.

Cannot comment on ECA as you have not mentioned anything on that aspect. That aspect might be important, especially at INSEAD.

You are well set to apply to ISB, NUS, and Nanyang. INSEAD - try and raise the score a bit.

Hope this helps. Feel free to come back with more questions as needed.

Hi,

can you evaluate my profile with the details given below?

GMAT 740
10th - 83% cbse
12th - 94%
graduation - 70% ( computer science engineering)

work experience-

1 year with Deloitte consulting
3 years in a startup ( 33% partner) - focusing on Branding solutions and digital marketing

other important experience -

preparation for civil services examination - reached the interview stage where only 1500 get selected from over 8 lakh applicants


hobbies and interests -
designing websites and blogs - Managed a website and a couple of blogs during engineering for side income
college basketball captain for computer science team

Can you also let me know what areas to focus in essays?


Regards
Manish

Hi

I am an ISB aspirant for the class of 2018.

Kindly find my profile below and let me know
1. What are my chances?
2. Anything else which I should focus on and Improve?

Academic Credentials:
X (tenth standard) - 88%
XII - 97%
B.E (manufacturing Engg) - 9.02 (CGPA)
GMAT - 690 (Q49 V36 IR 4 AWA - pending) - Do I need to improve on this?

Work experience:

Worked in a manufactuing MNC- rubber and tyre machinery unit (manufacturing Unit) - 20 months
1. Green field factory
2. Involved in the commissioning and tuning of complex CNC machines
and robots.
3. Moved on to supply chain. Worked as a procurement executive. Dealt
and improved various aspects like cost cutting, negotiation, contract closage
with more than 100 national and international level suppliers
4. Handled fabrication and machine shop (more than 20 members)

Worked in an educational based startup - 5 months
1. Developed online course creation policy
2. Developed and frameworked learners studying pattern
3. Data analytics on learners pattern of study

Got interested in Consulting. Since Data is the key today, joined a full time
6 month program offered by IBM on data analytics.

PGCBA (post graduate certification in Business Analytics) - 9.5 (CGPA)

Got an offer from a Global Manufacturing/Automotive MNC as a "Data scientist"
1. Currently working on supply chain/manufacturing analytics
2. Working on Internet of Things (IOT) and Big data
3. creating regression models and developing BI solutions to various clients.

Extracurricular : Active sports person in my school level, Quiz, Drama , Running
a blog for explaining concepts in an easier way.

Total Work Experience as on March 31,2017 - 42 months

What I want to become:
1. I enjoy solving problems of clients and providing solutions in a understandable way
2. This predominantly drills down to the area of "Consulting"
3. Consulting and Data are complimentary. Considering this has my strength

Thanks
Karthick

Hi Manish

Need some more information on your profile:

- Any gaps in experience while preparing for the CS exam?
- Which experience comes first - Deloitte or the startup?
- Any other extra curricular involvement to report?

Hi Karthick

Thanks for posting. Here is our assessment:
- Your role in manufacturing, followed by your experience in analytics, would put you on solid ground. The engineering and operations experience only adds to it.
- Your GMAT score, at 690, is not very high, but given the rest of your profile, we feel this will work. No need to retake. Further, your academic performance (CGPA) is outstanding, so that helps as well.
- Extra-curriculars are decent as well. Will do the job.
- Your key goal right now should be working on creating a strong application, through clearly highlighting your differentiators, creating a strong fit with ISB, and expressing your ISB goals clearly.
- Perhaps also look into expanding your school set beyond ISB (perhaps you have done that already; this is just a suggestion).

You might also find the following articles helpful:
Analytics MBA programs and opportunities
ISB Admit with 660 GMAT
ISB Admit with 670 GMAT


Hope this helps. Feel free to come back with more queries as needed.