Hello,
Was hoping to get some initial feedback on my profile (a more complete resume with details is available, of course), so I know what my realistic chances are and where I can put in a little more work. I have a rough semblance of a story in mind, and will be getting help on essays from consultants.
Nationality: SG
Age: 30
Academics:
- Finance Major, Entrepreneurship Minor -- NUS, GPA of around 3.1 (yeah, I know
)
- GMAT - 750 (50Q/41V/8IR/6AWA)
- Passed all 3 levels of the CFA charter. I have also accrued enough relevant work experience, so I can become a proper charterholder once I get through all the red tape
- Currently struggling with the FRM syllabus. It's winning on points thus far.
The context for my academics thus far is that I blew it in uni and did not take results seriously enough until the last year -- my GPA would have been 3.7-ish if taken in isolation. I consider that my wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee moment, and blew through the CFA excams in the shortest possible time upon graduation. My GMAT score could have been better as well -- a fever on the day of the exam meant that my brain melted during the verbal section -- I'd back myself to do better there on an average day.
I have also shown myself to be comfortable with theory and numbers in work, and my recommendations will reflect that.
Experience:
- I've worked for approximately 5.5 years in a top US investment bank, likely the premier name in the market right now.
- I started with several months in the treasury function, doing analysis on product changes and doing impact analyses and communication. Within the treasury function, that becomes a lot more important as client retention and thus the bank's funding is based directly on success in that area.
- I spent approximately 3.5-4 years in the risk space (fixed income, HUGE balance sheet). Reporting of figures, monitoring of limits/VaR/assessment of trading risks/participating in new business initiatives etc. I have examples of leadership, not necessarily managerial but in the form of taking the lead on projects, showing initiative and creativity and displaying a comfort with the technical portion of the role.
- I've spent 1-1.5 years doing project management in the risk/finance space. Again, there are examples of leadership (especially when I have taken the lead on the running of projects), utilisation of soft skills and an ability to search for creative solutions.
- I interned twice with Paypal/eBay, doing business development and marketing. It was an awesome experience.
- I did some minor consulting during my school days as part of a uni tie-up with various top SMEs -- one was a wealth management firm, one was a plastics engineering firm and one was an offshore marine corporation. I made presentations to the firms' management to highlight their strengths, weaknesses and financials and wrote articles about them that were published in the local paper.
- I spent two and a half years doing military service, mostly on the supply chain management of ammunition. There is more to add, although a public forum probably is not the best place
I am known, however, to be horrible with a M16 in night ranges
- I was part of a team that made it to the semi-finals of a local start-up competition, presenting our business plan and financials to a panel of VCs and angel investors. It was a company that placed immersive adverts in video games. Great idea, the VCs loved it. Shame that my team and I did not do it justice.
Extra-Curricular:
This is where I am doing some work to shore up the application. I have done quite a bit of work, but there is a lack of continuity or leadership. Some examples:
- I have taken part in fundraising for charities numerous times across the years
- I did a couple days of voluntary forklifting after the 2004 tsunami to help load supplies onto ships leaving SG for various countries. I volunteered to go on a trip to forklift supplies but alas, I was in the military then.
- I have taken part in festive gathering of gifts for charities -- there are various organisations that do this to brighten up the festive season for the less fortunate every year.
- I play football (soccer) at least once or twice each week. I do a variety of sports, including mixed martial arts, tennis, badminton and basic running less frequently.
- I have represented my schools at various age groups in football competitions, and have also played intra-school competitions between houses. I won the NUS inter-faculty games for football in my third UG year.
- I organise football evenings at work with my colleagues, and was invited to represent the company in its Sunday leagues. Have not been able to make that happen as I already have prior football commitments with my pals during the weekends.
- I was part of the student council in school, and helped out on freshman orientation camps.
- I have signed up for bankers-without-borders hoping to lend some assistance to projects which require project management or better construction of financial models.
- I will also be starting to mentor undergrads as an alumnus.
Something else to note:
I am an extremely avid reader, and there is a separate story about how reading ignited my intellectual curiosity and helped me turn it around during my undergrad years. I am pretty well versed in literature (The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky being my favourite), but my first love has always been philosophy. I came pretty close to going for postgrad studies in philosophy instead of pursuing a business-related postgrad, and even had an entrance essay written on the ethics behind trolley problems in various pop culture and literature-based moments that have influenced my thinking.
I am also in the midst of writing a book on a portion of philosophy (50k words right now, and there is definitely evidence of this available), and I am extremely confident I can articulate the impact reading has had on my life, especially in recent years when I had to balance work, a social life and research for my writing. This is mainly to show that I have something that sets me aside from most applicants, and something which I have actual passion over which transcends the need for translation into $s. Reading has also given me a form of curiosity and humility when it comes to learning that I believe will be useful in any environment, once it has been properly attuned. Additionally, I have written a bunch of essays that I intend to compile into a self-published set in the future.
Essays and recommendations:
Will be getting some help on the former, and also on what to aim for on the latter. I will definitely be focusing on soft leadership examples, how my soft skills have improved, my attitude towards work and my problem-solving skills.
My MBA goals:
I would like to be able to apply what I have learnt in the risk space and in my CFA/FRM studies, and pick up some knowledge in the investment/asset management space. I consider the fact that I have not been overseas for an extended period of time a strike against my life (not just my resume), and I see a mba as a good chance to kill both birds with a single stone, while meeting new people that I can learn from.
Schools:
I'll admit that I have not read on every school available, but Wharton, Booth, Columbia, Stern and Insead are the ones which appeal most to me. This is mainly to get some preliminary feedback on my profile before I fully decide on a set of schools, though.
Thanks everyone in advance! Hope it was not a slog to read
It is not a bad profile, but it be can better.
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12 Mar 2015, 03:53
