Suggestions needed

Hi Bhavik,

Thanks for your reply. I studied Engineering in Electronics & Communications. I joined the bank as a Probationary Officer. I want an MBA for learning management skills especially in Finance and consulting, for my career growth and to become more confident in my life. No, I have never taken GMAT but I have appeared for CAT2010, where I scored 80.56 percentile. Yes, I have passions I can speak to but sometimes my passion changes.

Thanks,
Harshvardhan Singh

Hi Harsh,

Thanks for the additional information!

I've attempted to break up my response by category and, in addition to providing some comments, have asked some clarifying questions. Let me know your thoughts!

1) Professional Experience: So you joined the bank in June of 2013...so this month? You mention you graduated in 2011 so I may be misunderstanding your statement here but what did you do between 2011 and 2013? Or have you been at the bank since 2011? Unfortunately, your specific work experience at this bank isn't exactly ground breaking. If you have leadership in this position, then that will help but at the moment if you do not then you're going to fail the first litmus test of an adcom - they look for proven leadership.

2) Extracurriculars: Were you involved at university in other activities? You're up against stiff competition. Either you had to be extensively involved in your undergrad, or since, or, preferably, both. Without this, adcoms will doubt you have what it takes to become involved in their programs and give back to the broader community. If this is a lacking point in your application, then you absolutely have to fill it before you can apply. That's why I asked about passions - what do you enjoy? Finding what you enjoy can lead to a natural list of options to get involved in.

3) Academics: How did you do at university? What was your GPA or percentile? This, coupled with your GMAT, will be critical to putting you on par with other Indian applicants. Note, I didn't say differentiate you. Your academics, in the pool you're in, will probably never differentiate you. But you have to perform at a higher standard to make the middle of the pack so your GPA and GMAT are critical. Take the GMAT once and that'll give us a better idea of where you sit.

4) Goals: I am going to be honest here - you cannot say you want an MBA because you want to become more confident. That simply won't do. If you want to transition to finance or consulting, ok, but you need to hone in on exactly how an MBA will help you. Will it fill knowledge gaps? Network gaps? You have to be specific. Career growth and becoming confident are vague and should never be stated.

If you can answer some of the questions above, that'll help us continue this conversation and hone in on exactly what to focus on. But if I got SOLELY on what you have entered above, it is not competitive nor inspired. I don't mean this to be rude, merely honest. There's some work to do here before you would have a successful run at the application process.

Look forward to hearing from you!

Bhavik