aps1611 wrote:
Hi!! I want my profile evaluation mainly for ISB and also for NUS/HKUT/HEC/IE/INSEAD/IMD/BOOTH/YALE/TUCK/McDonough/ROSS
1)I have 2 years of work-ex in a fortune 500 state owned Indian oil major (Bharat Petroleum). I am in the downstream LPG marketing business. I have seen 3 profiles in two years viz Production, Logistics and currently I am the shift in-charge of one Bharat Petroleum's smaller LPG plant. My work includes to oversee the overall plant operations that includes maximising production, optimising distribution, plant maintenance, minimising operations cost, interacting with vendors, distributors and also workforce management. I lead a team of 50 workers that includes technicians, electricians and semi-skilled workmen. I also co-ordinate supplies to over 80 distributerships.
2) GMAT: 720
3) College : B.Tech in Mechanical Engg. from an Indian Institute of Technology.
GPA= 7.65/10. (rank in top 5 of class).
4) Extra-curricular: nothing much. Won in few technical events in inter-college competitions, won gold medal in contract bridge for college in inter-college competition, participated in case study competitions, volunteered for two NGOs (although I dont have any certificates for proof), won prize for paper presentation etc. I maintain a blog dedicated to Oil&Gas industry.
5) Target programs : mainly ISB and also NUS/HKUT/HEC/IE/INSEAD/IMD/BOOTH/YALE/TUCK/McDonough/ROSS.
6) Wish to apply in R1 2014-15.
7) Post MBA goal: Short Term:Management Consulting (Mckinsey,BCG,Bain) or Investment Banking (DB,Citi, Standard Charted,GoldmanSachs),both focused on Oil&Gas sector.
Long Term: Wish to setup an energy research firm in India (something on the lines of CERA).
Hey dude,
So let's have a look!
OVERALL: You have a good profile, with some weaknesses. The best news is that your weaknesses are very addressable. although you will have to move QUICK! More below…
PROS:
- REAL and COPIOUS leadership experience. As a leader of a team of 50, you have more leadership than 99% of Bschool applicants. This is something you absolutely have to put in every application. And I'm sure you have one or two great leadership stories to share from your job. Niiiiice!
- IIT! Yep.
- Excellent GMAT
CONS:
- Indian applicant pool makes it a bit tougher.
- Good, but not great grades.
- No Intl' experience
- Only two years experience (How many will this be though in months if we figure a matriculation in Sept. 2015?)
Actually all of your weaknesses are relatively minor ones. The biggest challenge in your profile is that you have no extras - meaning extra curriculars, volunteer work. And this is a problem, especially since there are gonna be sooooooo many Indian Tech candidates in every one of these schools. And the single BEST thing you can do (and you can start doing NOW) is making sure you have one or two UNIQUE things in your profile. You cannot have nothing, dude! So get started NOW! Find some amazing volunteer organization that you have always loved, find some cool things to do that would look good on your resume… You have a whole lot of time actually.
Next, a question I would ask myself if I were you: Given that you are on the young side of things, do you want to apply this year or next? How many months of work would you have? In a year and a half would you get a promotion? Be able to significantly improve your volunteer work and extra curriculars? What would be the advantage of applying this year? Of waiting? Open-ended questions for you, dude, that we can discuss here.
As for the schools, I think that for IMD (and maybe INSEAD too) you are a bit on the young side. IMD average work experience is SEVEN years! And INSEAD I believe around five. So if you want to apply there, you may want to wait a bit. For the US schools, Booth and Tuck will be quite tough. But the others on your list should be doable with your fantastic leadership, as long as you get one or two more things on your resume in terms of extra stuff.
Good luck!
And if you got any more questions, juuuust drop a line.