ISB Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

hello alphak3nny001

Thanks for the detailed info around your profile.
You seem to have a lot going for you.
ISB will evaluate your profile on the admission factors mentioned here.
If we dissect your profile this is what we get-
Your past scores are good, extracurricular activities look strong and the international experience will really help your profile stand out. A GMAT of 700+ will give you a fighting chance at ISB.
Needless to say, for someone like you key is execution of essays- what stories to highlight and tell the admissions committee.
You even have a potentially good story to what got you hooked towards an MBA (now you just need to show why ISB)
Make sure to do the following in your essays-
1. Showcase how your career progress and contributions make you better than your peers.
2. Portray your key achievements at work (how you have impacted the business of your company positively)
3. The real stories behind those extracurricular activities- why you do these, what sort of role do your play here and how has it made you a better person/candidate. This will be helpful in the diversity essay. Also you will need to choose one or two stories or theme instead of a laundry list so do that carefully
4. Career goals seem organic, just make sure to link them seamlessly with your past experience/skill and the gaps you want an MBA to fill. (you can read more on career goals here)
To conclude, you have the goods, just need to deliver it in the essays.
Should you have further questions, feel free to reach out.

Best
Varun Sharma
+919137133507
MBAkarma.com
GMAT Score Predictor
info@mbakarma.com

Hello ravi725

Yours is a mixed bag. A profile is made up of 4 factors- Academics + Work Ex + Diversity + Career Goals (you can read more on that here)
Let us start with the positives.
Past scores and GMAT are good.
CA + CFA level 3 will help you stand out.
Big Brand Name & investment banking as a role on the CV also helps.
This was all the 'quantitative' stuff.
Now let us come to the missing pieces of your profile-
What have you done in these 3 years matters more that your company or role. Your strengths will come out from your career progression, key achievements and real business impact. This info is missing to qualitatively evaluate your profile.
Also as your have mentioned extracurricular activities are missing. That is fine, past is past. But who are you as a person outside work? What do you do in your free time? How do your constructively spend it- making life better for yourself or others? Sometimes we miss out on the small/obvious things. It may not necessarily be something formal. So you may need to go on a self discovery process to identify answers to these.
Overall on paper, I believe you have a strong profile. Now you need to put this together in your essays by choosing the right stories to tell the admissions committee.
Let me know if you have any further questions.

Best
Varun Sharma
+919137133507
Free Profile Review
MBAkarma.com
GMAT Score Predictor
info@mbakarma.com

Hello oneMBAcoach

Professionally, I am an integral part of the sales team at BYJU's. During the initial 3 months I dealt with both B2B & B2C in the National market. As I topped the sales team, I got shifted to the international Market (Middle East, Asia, SA). Since I topped there as well, I was blessed with an opportunity to be one amongst 30 out of 2000 people to attend a company sponsored leisure trip to Spain & France. In the last 22 months, I have personally generated revenue of 1 Cr. for the company.

Since it was a start-up, I took multiple roles such as training candidates holistically, also a core member of the Interview panel working closely with the VP of Marketing.

I consider myself built for this field as the pressure in the game is interesting. I'm looking forward to expand my knowledge in the field given that I'm a B.Tech Grad. In university, I anchored and coordinated multiple intercollegiate events was also a part of the modelling team which we won 2 out of 3 competitions.

I love driving and when I go back to my hometown once every month, I volunteer in sponsoring two day's food and water to an orphanage. I'm a positive person who is still discovering himself..

Hi Dr Yash

Looks decent overall. As a doctor, you do have the diversity in your profile that they look for. However, creating a case for an MBA will be important here, especially as your work experience so far has been mostly clinical, and is just 1 year in magnitude. You have not posted a GMAT score here, but as long as it is over 680 (and of course the higher the better) it should be good.

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

Hi Ravi,

The career switch from IB to consulting is a possibility- both careers demand some common skills. You should present valid reasons in your application about why you wish to make the shift. As ISB is a consulting-strong school, don't sound like you are giving these career goals only to please the adcom.

Your other concern about the extra-curriculars is not alarming to me. YOur work experience gains precedence over your extra-curricular activities- after all you are applying for business education. Ofcourse, ECAs are a plus to have because they bring diversity to your profile, but other things being great, they will not hold you back from an admit. Just know your story well, and connect the dots between the whats and whys- what achievement? what impact at work? why MBA, why career goals? why career change?

Hi Ravi

Your profile is certainly a strong one professionally. IB to consulting will raise a few eyebrows, as not many people really take that path, so this one needs to be addressed very carefully by you - expect questions on it for sure. The international experience (even if brief) helps, but the lack of ECA may need to be looked at in greater depth. Please post more details around these.

Hi! Your undergrad score is too low and anything less than 720 on the GMAT may make it really difficult. Additionally a strong set of essays demonstrating strong industry and functional exposure will remain important.

All the Best!
ISBmantra / Admit Square Consulting

Hi! It looks really difficult at this point. Low undergrad score, just 2 years of work-ex, working with Byju's (pretty niche in terms of industry exposure) - unless you have some super awesome achievements to talk about, the "Senior Business Development Associate" tag isn't going to help in itself. Anything less than 730 will make it very very difficult to secure an admit.

To increase your chance, you may take up projects (at work or pro bono) that clearly establish your leadership potential. Through your essays, make your positioning very strong (ed-tech, sales etc.) instead of trying to talk about a bit of everything; and if you don't see all this happening this year, don't mind waiting for another year if you have to. Also, don't hesitate to wait till Round 2 if you must, but we wouldn't advise applying with a GMAT less than 730. Even if you get an interview call, getting an admit will be extremely difficult.

All the Best!
ISBmantra

[Edit after reading your subsequent post about professional achievements and career progress]: 2 years it too less a time to achieve so much and if you have, it will need to be explained really well "how" you achieved all this. With the kind of advertising Byju's has been indulging in, you will have to present your contribution very clearly. Nevertheless, your profile does look more exciting in light of these achievements.

Pretty good profile in principle. A 700+ GMAT and a strong set of essays should seal the deal. Are you looking to apply to ISB only or a few international programs as well?

Request profile evaluation

26 yr M, Computer Science engineer from IP University, Delhi (7.13/10)

Work ex:
- Spent a year as a software developer with a startup in Noida.
- Post that, moved to development sector in the capacity of a grassroot researcher with Pratham (specifically ASER).
Impact created:

1. Managed multi crore large scale grass-root quantitative research spanning across multiple states, managing over 200 blue collar workers. The report and its recommendations fed to the larger education narrative within the ecosystem. Liaisioned with the government and tracked over 20,000 children over 2 years.
2. Responsible for managing the famous and impactful ASER survey for 2 Indian states (Uttrakhand and Odisha). The result of the ASER report is widely known around the world
3. During my two year stint at ASER, I have worked in all Indian states and traveled over 100,000kms across remote Indian locations, holding 1-1 dialogue with over 10,000 people from all sections of the society

- Left ASER and freelanced for a year where I did the following:
1. 3 months of farming to understand how technology and data can be used in the agri-sector - did not make much sense
2. Co-created a design thinking program which now impacts over 7000 kids in more than 60 schools - I also designed the monitoring, data collection frameworks for the program that led to its expansion
3. Was the tech advisor to a participatory policy making platform

- Now working as a consultant in a social sector consulting firm where I lead all data analysis within the assessment vertical, advising CSR on program impact and strategy.

ECA
1. Founded the college Literary club
2. Core committee member of the college Quiz club
3. Chief Organizer to the college cultural Fest.

1. Core organizing committee member for a National Youth Forum under the aegis of Ramakrishna Mission, Delhi: attended by over 5,000 people
2. Invited delegate to 2 intl. conferences ( ISFIT, Trondheim (among 450/6000 applicants) in 2013 and World Business Dialogue (Among 300/5000 applicants) in 2015 3. Semi-finalist in an ASEAN level entrepreneurship contest in 2016
4. National finalist in 2 pan-India comptt. ( one leader's discovery contest (Final 20/100000) in 2012 and another organized by Telenor in 2016 where I pitched my idea on education to an esteemed panel of judges).

Recently designed a data driven election campaign for a political party in the recent state elections 018 (analyzed data of >5 lakh people) - now being assigned the task to setup a Research Wing for the party and lead the initiative to direct the party's developmental agenda and actions

Expectations from MBA: require a business toolkit to complement the rich social sector experience and a degree in technology
Long term goal: Social business in India and Africa focussing on peer to peer skilling leveraging data and tech.
Immediate post MBA goal: move to strategy consulting to understand impact within business and build network therein.

Please let me know of my odds at ISB!

Hello neo92

ISB will look at all the admission factors mentioned here holistically to evaluate your profile.
You have quite a few things going for you, which will make you stand out as a diverse applicant (industry, nature of work, achievements).
However, a few questions from my side to understand in more detail-
1. Maybe I'm missing this- but not very clear how long you've spent in each role. This will ultimately decide the impact your career story has and how you link this story to ISB and future goals. Especially if you are fresh into a new job why do you wish to leave it and pursue and MBA now. It is in no way a deal breaker, but show clarity and deliberation around your decisions and an organic link to ISB.
2. What sort of GMAT score are you expecting? An important detail to know.
3. What extracurricular activities have you been involved in the last few years (after college). Graduation activities do not carry the same weight (unless you have done something with a big impact). Again- this will not be a deal breaker for you as you have other things to show from your experience that make you unique.
4. Career goals- Firstly, why does your long term goal need an MBA at all? Secondly, not entirely sure how you plan to move into consulting and how it will help you move into your long term goal. I hope you have done some research around this. What transferable skills have you gained in the past few years to make this a successful transition? Make sure to seamlessly connect past with ISB/consulting.
To conclude you have some pretty unique and exciting deal going in your profile. However joining the dots is very critical for you. With the current information I'm not being able to see that connect in the story. And of course GMAT score is missing. However, if you get a 720+ and execute your essays well (with a cohesive message) you stand a good chance.

Best
Varun Sharma
+919137133507
Free Profile Review
MBAkarma.com
GMAT Score Predictor
info@mbakarma.com

Hi Neo,

I loved reading your profile. You have some outstanding leadership experiences, which will really set you apart from applicants with your level of work experience. In my experience as an admissions consultant for 10 years, candidates with social sector experience do very well in MBA admissions. We have had applicants going to ISB (FES), Tuck (Technoserve, Malawi experience in agriculture analytics), Yale, LBS (agriculture startup) and INSEAD. I am telling you this so that you can consider programs abroad if it fits your MBA plans.

I have a panel member who went to ISB from FES. If you are interested I can connect you with him to find out more, although I know social impact consulting firms regularly pick up candidates from ISB.

Hi,

Your profile would definitely interest the ISB Adcom especially your international work experience. We would advice you to target a GMAT score north of 700 to improve your chances. You have to write essays highlighting your diversity factor and your leadership skills. Definitely your international work experience and your startup experience can be utilized to create a unique and impressive story.

You might also want to look at international B-Schools. We can provide you a detailed profile evaluation and also help you narrow down on your target B-Schools. You can connect with us at beyondthegmat@gmail.com

Hey man, instead of asking forum members, why dont you ask Byjus GMAT people? They seem to be pretty confident at guiding students with their MBA aspirations considering the amount of spam SMSes and emails that they send.

Hi,

Please evaluate my profile.

GMAT:
A 28-year-old male from India
GMAT Score: 710 (Q49 V37) IR-6, AWA-Awaiting

Academics:
Xth - 80.67% (UP State board - In Top 1%) - Completed in 2004.
XIIth - 86.40% (UP State board - 25th Position out of 2,000,000 Students) - Completed in 2006.
CGPA - 8.23 out of 10 (IIT Dhanbad) - Dual Degree Program (B.Tech. in Petroleum Engineering with M.Tech. in Petroleum Management) - Completed in 2011.

Work experience: (Total 6 Years as of Now) - Mostly all 6 Years of International Experience - Currently holding NRI status in Abu Dhabi since last 3 Years

1. Multinational Company (HAIMO) - 1.5 Years - Worked as a Field Engineer in Oman, UAE, China and India
Responsibility and Highlights: Leading a crew of 4 members for all kind of field operations, Direct Dealing with the Client for all kind of arrangements)

2. Multinational Company (Weatherford - 4th Biggest Service providing company in the world) - 4.5 Years - Worked in multiple positions (Production Optimization Engineer, Petroleum Engineer, Senior Petroleum Engineer) - In Kuwait, UAE, India
Responsibility and Highlights:
a. Petroleum Engineering related Consultation to the Client.
b. Working on the projects which generated a Value of more than 200 Million dollars (Real case studies are already published on these)
c. A short stint as a Team leader for a group of 4 people.
d. Part of the team which completed 4 different projects worth more than 10 Million dollars for the company.
e. Strong evaluation from my manager for the last 3 years.
f. Mentoring a group of people from the client.

I have got 10+ professional reviews on Linkedin (Mostly from managers and clients).

Extra-curricular:
1. School captain of cricket team (I don't know whether it matters much)
2. The representative of the school at various levels (Physics Olympiad, Quizzes)
3. Winner of Certification of top 1% student of Physics Olympiad)
4. Winner of scholarships in school. (Was a candidate also in college but disqualified due to father's income being > 3 Lacks)
5. Part of Cultural Fest Organization team in the college. (Organized "Petroguya" event which had participation increased due to social media advertisement initiative)
6. Was part of an NGO for 3 years in the college (Kartavya - Education imparting organization for slum children)
7. Involved in setting up a formal Alumni Association in the Middle East for my college.
8. Soon going to involved in an NGO in UAE.
9. There are some more but not writing them here.

Got an Admit to IIM Bangalore 2 Year PGDM Program in 2015 but had to leave it due to Financial responsibilities I had at that time. Working in UAE since past 3 years has helped me to overcome that challenge. So ready to take the next step now.

Hi Deepak,

Your profile looks quite impressive. You have good academic credentials and ISB would definitely like your international work experience. Your GMAT score is also decent. ISB does look into people with Oil and Gas work experience. A lot will now depend on how you structure your application.

As you are aware diversity and leadership potential are two of the key areas that ISB looks into. You need to start working on your application and highlight your achievements to tell your own unique story and the value that you will bring in.

You can also look at international B-schools. Please connect with us at beyondthegmat@gmail.com to get a free detailed profile evaluation and insights on potential B-Schools for your profile.