theAspirant7 wrote:
Hi,
Can you kindly share your inputs on my MBA profile?
GMAT - haven't taken yet. Plan to give in July 2016. My target is around 720-740.
Age - 34 Yrs. (Year of Birth: 1981)
Indian male.
Work experience 12 years (Experience in US, UK and India.)
My goal for doing an MBA: I am currently holding a position in middle management in an IT consulting firms. I have worked on projects in eCommerce, Retail, Telecommunications ,Information & Media, Banking, Finance, Insurance, Manufacturing industries. I have been managing projects in the eCommerce domain for the past 4 years.
I wish to broaden and enhance my skills so I can take up more responsibility in a larger firm and move into executive management. I also want to move from IT consulting into a tech product based company.
I wish to apply for a full time MBA, Sept-2017.
Target business schools: Stanford GSB, Haas-UC Berkeley, Kellogg-Northwestern, Foster-University of Washington, Anderson-UCLA, ISB (India)
Education
1998-2003: B.Tech (Computer Science and Engineering.) From JNTU, Hyderabad. 68%.
2011: Certificate in Screenwriting, UCLA.
Work experience
Feb 2004 - Oct 2006:- Worked as a software developer in Syntel Inc., Chennai India.
Oct 2006 - Jul 2007:- Worked as a senior software developer in CSC, Hyderabad, India.
Jul 2007- Jun 2009: Worked as a Senior Software Developer/Lead (Contracting) for clients in OH, CA, IL, WI.
Jun 2009 - Jan 2013:- Worked as eCommerce Lead in Accenture in Chicago and Los Angeles.
• Managed timely delivery of several eCommerce projects.
• Led a team of 12 to support multiple eCommerce client applications.
Jan 2013-Current:- Working as a Manager in Cognizant Technology Solutions.
• Recently led a team of 9 to complete a multi-million pound project in UK.
• Managed onsite and offshore teams for eCommerce projects.
• Spearheaded research and implementation of roadmap activities.
• Hired and trained resources for multiple projects.
• Managed proposal signoff and approval.
Hobbies and extracurricular activities
• Theater, improv, filmmaking.
• Snorkelling, hiking, biking, photography.
• Tech enthusiast.
Doubts
• I'm concerned about my Bachelor's marks. It's not a very impressive score. Will that be a blocker?
• Do I have too much work experience? I realize I might be amongst the older applicats, but am I too old for the aforementioned B-Schools?
• I am a part of Cognizant's Outreach volunteering program. Do you know if I need to elaborate on any specifics relating to volunteering?
• The schools I have listed are the schools which hire from the companies I want to end up in (Tech giants in CA and WA). Can you suggest any schools that would fit in as safe bets?
Thanks and Regards,
Vikram.
Vikram,
Thank you for your post. See below for my answers.
Doubts
• I'm concerned about my Bachelor's marks. It's not a very impressive score. Will that be a blocker?This will not help you, but if you do well enough on the GMAT, it will start to compensate for the undergraduate performance.
• Do I have too much work experience? I realize I might be amongst the older applicats, but am I too old for the aforementioned B-Schools?
Have you considered other program structures? A part-time or Executive MBA, or 1 year program would make more sense at your age. You would be at the upper end of the age range for these schools for the FT program.
• I am a part of Cognizant's Outreach volunteering program. Do you know if I need to elaborate on any specifics relating to volunteering?
This can be handled in the application. Volunteer experience is good and there are different places to talk about it in the application.
• The schools I have listed are the schools which hire from the companies I want to end up in (Tech giants in CA and WA). Can you suggest any schools that would fit in as safe bets?
The list you have is pretty aggressive for the most part. Foster is more realistic, though the others would be tough for a FT program (save ISB). I recommend looking at programs such as Georgetown, Emory, USC and similarly ranked schools.
If you would like to discuss your profile further and a plan of attack for your applications, send me an email:
scott@personalmbacoach.comBest,
Scott
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