Ask MBA Crystal Ball

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DG sir, I haven't forgotten your queries Just been a little busy.


More than enough time in that case.


Can I answer this one in a slightly convoluted mannner, by sharing the thoughts of someone from another discussion forum? Check out the next post.

Testimonial from another forum.

Please evaluate my profile - Questions are at the end

DEMOGRAPHICS: Indian/Male/23

GMAT: Yet to take. Consistently scored 720-750 in the prep exams taken. Expect the same score in GMAT.
Plan to go for an MBA degree in around 2015. Reason: Financial constraints & lack of work experience.

EDUCATION

Delhi University, Faculty Of Technology -- New Delhi, India (Aug 2006 – Jun 2010)
Bachelor Of Engineering, Manufacturing Processes & Automation SCORE: 74.0 % -- top 15% in a batch of 60 -- Academic scholarship recipient

Senior School Certificate (CBSE, India) -- 90.8 % (2006) -- School Rank 1 -- Academic scholarship recipient
Secondary School Certificate (CBSE, India) -- 95.0% (2004) -- All India Rank 16 and District Rank 1-- Academic scholarship recipient

WORK EXPERIENCE

Working as Drilling Fluids Field Engineer in Halliburton Energy Services Group, No.2 energy services company in the world. Based in India (July 2010 - Present)
I provide technical consultation and the following On-site services to clients:
• Drilling fluids formulation and maintenance. • Contingency management
• Fluid testing and well site data analysis • Documentation and costing
• Inventory & associated logistics management • Ensuring adherence to HS&E standards

• High responsibility job; I solely represent my company to the client on the field.
• People management or leading people is a part of my job. Often have to improvise at work.
• I have not done anything extraordinary or exemplary at work yet except maybe securing 3rd position in a class of 20 during a 3 month training program (I do not really consider this an achievement).
• Mostly technical and analytic work and it is expected to be the same in the coming 4 years or so, although with increased responsibilities and more complex operations.
• My job profile provides a fair share of international experience for work as well as work related training. I also get frequent opportunities to work with expats when working in India. I have work experience in India, Houston(USA), Papua New Guinea, Indonesia.

EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

• Freelanced on a strategy consulting project for a small scale production firm in India. Because of the great results of the project, the company granted me another project (operations optimization) next summer for its sister concern.
• Worked as summer intern in a startup analytics & business modelling firm in India on a market research project for 2 rival automobile brands.
• Worked as summer intern in a IT services giant in India.(Completely irrelevant to my profile - this was my first internship ever in first year of college - served as a first step towards corporate grooming)
• Served as the Vice-President of the organizing committee of the annual cultural festival of my college - 4 day fest with footfall of about 20,000. Led a team of about 120 people in different departments.
• Served as PR coordinator of an NGO in New Delhi region for an year.
• Worked as Creative Head in the filming of the first ever promotional video for my college.
• Served as Head of Student Council in school - led various teams in cultural, academic, technical and sports events management.

INTERESTS: • Fitness Training Enthusiast • Amateur Nutritionist • Avid Basketballer • Science Fiction Reader

LANGUAGES KNOWN: English (Proficient), Hindi (Native), Punjabi (Native), French (Basic - No Certification)

POST MBA GOALS

Operations management roles preferably in the energy sector (Not very keen to change careers though not totally opposed to it). I am keenly interested in energy sector consulting and hence open for jobs in general management consulting firms but in relevant roles.
My goals are subject to change and refinement as I progress in the industry in terms of knowledge and experience.

FINANCIAL PLANNING

I feel, in about 5 years time, I would be able to save more than 20 lac INR for MBA through systematic investments which I have already started implementing.
I am interested in ISB and IIM A(PGPX), as an MBA degree in India would definitely cost less than one abroad. But on the other hand, I really want to have global exposure preferably in Europe - INSEAD is my dream B-school . Only constraint is lack of finance.
More interested in a one year program.

QUERIES

1. Please provide a general evaluation and let me know about specific strengths and weaknesses of my profile. And any advice on how to improve/correct them over a long period of time to suit my goals. Also, if you don't mind letting me know which part of my applications may be too unproductive to mention.
2. Since, I have been working only for 15 months now, how much work experience should I gain in order to achieve desired goals? Is my target of 5 years a decent choice?
3. Suggest some schools (if possible) which would best serve my interests considering my financial constraints.
4. All of my extracurricular activities, except for my personal interests as listed, are a thing of the past now. This is due to the hectic nature of my work. Is a that a negative point?
5. Any other advice.

Thanks in anticipation !!
Really appreciate the mentoring for MBA aspirants.

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GMAT preparation: Why you should not over-focus on it

Three applicants with different profiles decide to apply to bschools:

Rishi (Chhupaa) Rustom:
IT professional | 2 years work experience | GMAT score 740 (confident of cracking 770+)

Gautam Gulgulaa:
Marketing professional | 6 years experience | GMAT score 640 (got 630 in the first attempt)

Arundhati Champavati:
HR professional | 4 years experience | GMAT score 710 (pleasantly surprised as she was getting 650-680 in practice tests)

They are all willing to take the GMAT again. What advice will you give them? Hold on to your answer and read on.

Not yet, buddy. But some of the online shops (uRead.com, BuyBooksIndia.com) ship it abroad.

Cheapest option is to get one of your friends/colleagues who are travelling from India to carry a few extra copies to share...like it usually happens with MTR ready-to-eat meals, Lijjat papad and Baidyanath cough syrup.

MBA vs Masters in Management: Which is better for you?

The big MBA versus Masters in Management fight always gets its fair share of viewers. It is one of the common topics you’d see on MBA discussion forums where fresh graduates preparing for CAT (and GMAT simultaneously) hang out. After reading 20-30 responses you end up more confused than ever. So here’s a simple way to look at the two. … Read entire article »

Ayyo! Shekhar anna...keeetna bada post, saar. You are forcing me to give you an equally long response.

Both perfectly reasonable reasons to hold on and not jump onto the bandwagon with everyone else.

Though you haven't had too much time to pick up a whole lot of impressive stories at work, I like the scope of responsibilities you've been given. If you hang around for a few years, and I'm sure the stories will develop.

Well aligned goals. I like your thought process.

Already addressed parts of this earlier. Additionally, I think you come across as an intelligent (from your acads), hardworking, patient guy who loves to plan out things well in advance (I wouldn't be surprised if you've already thought about your wedding reception menu list).

Pick up a copy of Beyond The MBA Hype, so you know what to expect before, during and after the MBA.

You've mentioned a preference for 1 year programs. So 5-7 years would be good. For PGPX, the avg work-ex is double that number.

If you change your mind along the way, and if 2 year US programs sneak into your list, then 3-4 years of work-ex would get you into good shape to start working on the apps.

Too premature to get into this now. Think about the MBA MAP in a couple of years when you are ready. Rather than a quick tick-in-the-box right now, let's do it in a rigorous manner when you are ready.

Does not need to be. But for your own sake (not for Adcoms), I suggest getting involved in something that you like. It'll help avoid burnout at work and keep you sane. Corporate life has a tendency to turn people into zombies.

Yes. Considering your interest in fitness, a few important tips:
- Reduce your dependence on protein shakes.
- Mix and match your upper body, biceps/triceps, cardio and resistance training workouts.
- Rest each body part to avoid injury.
- Please include rasmalai in the dessert section of your wedding menu.

On a serious note, don't try to plan everything. Life tends to become mechanical and the spontaneity is lost. Enjoy the journey as well.

Good luck, Shekhar bhai. Crystal Ball gazing tells me, nice things are in store for you.

Darden MBA – MBA Crystal Ball Interviews Associate Director of Admissions Wendy Huber



Mention the Darden MBA program at the University of Virginia to any MBA applicant, and what is it that first pops into their mind? Top ranked MBA program, case studies, management consulting industry, competitive admissions process, will I land an internship, what about MBA jobs?

Recently when I had the opportunity to interview Wendy Huber, Associate Director of Admissions at Darden, those are exactly the topics we talked about. And Wendy was kind enough to share her thoughts.

If you have been confused with all the information on discussion forums and blogs, here’s your chance to hear directly from someone who’ll read your MBA application soon and decide whether you’ll be eligible to attend the Darden alumni events in a few years. MBA Crystal Ball: Wendy, thanks for agreeing to share … Read entire article »

Freely downloaded GMAT prep material: Best avoided

‘I’ve got 50 MB of the best GMAT test preparation material with me, good GMAT verbal and quant questions, full-length exam software…downloaded for free from the internet. Plus my friends gave me another 25 MB of practice questions. I think that is more than enough for anyone to crack the GMAT, hai na sir?’ The 24-year-old candidate from Delhi on the phone who spoke at 60 words-a-minute asked me.

And he was definitely not the first one to come up with that question. Apart from copyright and IPR infringement issues which he was completely ignorant (?) about, he was also missing another bigger point. Several inter-related ones actually… Read entire article »

Hi MBA Crystal Ball,

I just joined this forum and woud like to know where I stand in terms of targeting MBA programmes in UK. I have already applied to some schools (results below) and don't want to spend an extra year to figure out the right category of schools I should be applying to.

My profile:
GMAT: 740
Current status: Indian citizen, UK Permanent Resident
Education: IIT-Bombay Dual degree 2003. GPA 6.91 (its low)
Work-ex: 3 year in India, 5+ years in UK. Total 8+ years. Currently working in UK
International work ex: Have been to around 30 countries for various assignments while living in UK
Sector: IT (too competitive for B-school applications I guess)
Company: Worked for Motorola while in India, now working for a small company (25 people) in UK
Designation: Services Manager (Reports to CEO).
Work profile: Resposible for programme management, professional services and applications development. Speaker in trade shows, etc ...
Extra-curriculars: Loads of them during and school and college years in the area of sports and performance arts. Currently involved in sports coaching in UK for juniors and also a non-profit club committee member.
Expectations: Want to work in UK post MBA in business development area to start with. Long term is not clear - may be UK or India. Definitely not US - have been there many times for work/holidays and its not my type.

Recent results: Insead jan 2012 R3 (rejected), Judge R1 sep 2012 (rejected), LBS/cranfiled 2012 (applied and waiting), Said 2012 (will apply). Thinking about ISB too (applied there 6 years ago, was shorlisted for interview but eventually rejected).

Should I be targeting a different set of schools? Waiting for comments ....

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Hi all Indian aspirants / MBA crystal ball,

I would like to know feedback on HULT - i have been hearing many things about this school - all not so good - does anyone know enough to share few things

5 signs that you are not a serious MBA applicant

The MBA applicant from one of the elite engineering institutions in India had posted some very basic questions on a discussion forum about his application to the toughest bschool in the world. And the query ended with – ‘Deadline is very close. Please answer urgently!!!’

This is not an isolated case. If you spend enough time on the MBA forums you come across many such queries that make you wonder if the people posting it are really serious about their MBA plans. No doubt, these are smart, intelligent people who can do wonders if they get the right opportunities (which is what a top MBA is all about), but their attitude towards the MBA application process … Read entire article »

Hi oblix,

I've responded to your post on the other site. Do check it out and let me know if you have further follow-up queries.

NUS Singapore MBA – MBA Crystal Ball interviews Alan Chua (Marketing & Admissions)



NUS Singapore’s MBA program has been quite popular with Indian applicants, for reasons that we covered in an earlier article on NUS way back in March. Many months later when we shared the article with Alan Chua, responsible for marketing and admissions at NUS, he felt it was a ‘very interesting and independent take on the program‘.

We asked him if he’d be interested in an interview with MBA Crystal Ball. Over the last few months, Alan has been travelling extensively, attending MBA fairs, meeting prospective candidates. Despite his super-hectic schedule, he agreed to answer our questions and we really appreciate the gesture. In this tête-à-tête, Alan shares with us key aspects of the MBA program at NUS, what applicants need to keep in mind. ...Read more