Ask ARINGO Consultants- INSEAD Profile Reviews

Hi Aringo Team!
First of all I’d like to thank you for taking the time to read through and respond to my profile.
I’m planning to apply for the Jan-2021 intake, and appreciate your insights for my profile.

Background:
Nationality: Indian, Male, 25 years old
GMAT: 730 (Q50, V38, IR7, AWA5.5)
TOEFL: 114 (R30, L30, S28, W26)

Education:
B.E in Computer Science from BITS Pilani (non IIT - top university in India), GPA: 9.55/10 (Top-5 of my batch of 650+)

Professional Experience:
1. By the time of Joining i.e Jan2021, I will have 41 months of experience in a US based cloud company (Nutanix).
2. Moved into a new role of Product Management - which contributes to half of my total experience.
3. Technology consulting for IRENA on the side for about 8 months now (will be close to 15 months by the time of joining) - on sustainable energy technologies

International Exposure:
1. Worked for Empa (Swiss Lab) - on a 3 month internship with 3 professors. [REMOTE]
2. Travelled to Bay Area (my company HQ) for projects.
3. Handle customer requests and discussions in the EMEA/Americas/India regions. [REMOTE]
4. Have been working for IRENA (international renewable energy agency) - collaborating with researchers, technologists, etc. from over 10 nationalities [REMOTE]

Achievements:
1. One of the few employees to get a quick promotion in 1 year.
2. youngest PM in the entire company of 5000+ people.
3. Undergraduate merit scholar (for all semesters of study).

Co-Curriculars:
1. Started an NGO chapter in Bangalore - formed and led a team of 5 - deals with financial education for the underprivilideged (> 1.5 year)
- conducted camps, collaborated with other NGOs to increase our reach to over 1000+ people, 1 case study of helping a group of people
2. Volunteered for another NPO remotely - creating a platform called “sing for needs” - product owner leading a team of 8 to deliver the solution (~ 1 year)
3. Worked as a mentor to a undergraduate startup (~ 1 year)
- helped scale their business to 50+ clients in 6 months (from 10)
- helped the team to get incubated at Atal Incubation Centre

Post MBA goals:
Goal-1: I would like to work in technology in a general management or a product management role for a tech company like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Tesla, Apple, etc.
Goal-2 (Backup): I want to try management consulting for a while before moving to tech (hence the Jan intake, so as to secure a summer internship).

Questions:
My work experience is on the lower side, is that going to be a big concern for me?
Is my GMAT score enough to get into INSEAD? Since Indians generally tend to have higher scores?
I have experience interacting with international nationalities, but not travelled to those places. Will that be a big issue?

Thank you so much for reaching out to us, sorry for the belated response.

1. Short work experience can be overcome with stories about the extracurricular work, especially the NGO you founded and the startup you mentored. You can emphasize managerial experiences in these settings.
2. GMAT - there is no hard answer for this - they can be flexible on GMAT if you have an inspiring and believable career trajectory. Advancing in your career is, of course, an objective of all MBAs, but it's not compelling enough to be admitted to a top school. Focus on your future, leadership experiences thus far, and what you can bring to the table.
3. If the work was in real-time at some point (phone or video calls), then these are international experiences. It's also perfectly ok to want an MBA to gain more international experience!

Don't hesitate to reach out to us if you need any additional help,

Georgia

Thanks Aringo team
I would really appreciate if you could evaluate my profile for MBA

Profile
28 years old Indian
Xth: 93%, XIIth: 83%
B.Tech. from National Institute of Technology Allahabad (NIT Allahabad, non-IIT), GPA: 7.2/10 (2010-2014) - Top 10 Engineering college in India
MBA from Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (GPA: 2.8/4.33) (2016-2018) - Top 10 MBA college in India
CFA Level 3 cleared

Target MBA: LBS, Oxford, Cambridge, INSEAD, HEC

Work Experience
Analyst, HSBC Investment Banking, India (2018-Present)
Worked with Managing Directors, Directors based in UK in transaction origination and transaction execution. Performed market and sector research for clients and highlighted key activities and trends. Analyzed business models, developed detailed business plan and 3-statement financial models. Hands-on experience with Leveraged Buyout (LBO), Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and merger model. Prepared pitch books, IMs, RFPs, financial models and did intrinsic and relative valuation.

Closed £3bn of transactions for various global clients. Received recognition multiple times by senior leadership

Worked in London for 3 months to support transactions at advanced stage, coordinated with clients and other banks to close transactions

Samsung Research Institute, India (2014-2016)
Interacted regularly with world’s leading telecom operators to identify key business requirements and coordinated with Product Engineering team to implement them in the solution stack. Provided uninterrupted Service Management to see that all the services are always functional. Closely worked with third party network vendors to ensure seamless delivery of our solution stack

Achievements - Business travel to Taipei to oversee commercialization of Samsung Galaxy S6 for Taiwanese operators

MBA Info
Why I want an MBA:
My schooling and work experience are all geographically limited (except 3 months in London with HSBC and 1 month in Taipei with Samsung). The longest stint I had outside my country of birth is 3 months in London for HSBC. I am looking to develop 1. an international network; 2. move into technology companies in roles like corporate M&A, general management

Why I want one now:
Organic career growth prospects are limited on my current trajectory and I find it difficult to have international mobility

Awards
Top rated analyst (in the batch of 26 from best B-Schools of the country) at HSBC
National finalist in HSBC's case competition
Authored ‘Why Putin should move on’ for the February issue of IIM Rohtak’s finance magazine ‘FI’
Avid quizzer and chess player

Extra-curricular
Avid traveler, having visited 8 countries since 2016.
Passionate about EDM and attended 15+ concerts all across the globe

Application
I will apply during September or October (R1 or R2)
Career goals: Corporate strategy (Tech-focused), Corporate M&A, PE/VC

Thanks Aringo team
I would really appreciate if you could evaluate my profile for MBA

Profile
28 years old Indian
Xth: 93%, XIIth: 83%
B.Tech. from National Institute of Technology Allahabad (NIT Allahabad, non-IIT), GPA: 7.2/10 (2010-2014) - Top 10 Engineering college in India
MBA from Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (GPA: 2.8/4.33) (2016-2018) - Top 10 MBA college in India
CFA Level 3 cleared

Target MBA: LBS, Oxford, Cambridge, INSEAD, HEC

Work Experience
Analyst, HSBC Investment Banking, India (2018-Present)
Worked with Managing Directors, Directors based in UK in transaction origination and transaction execution. Performed market and sector research for clients and highlighted key activities and trends. Analyzed business models, developed detailed business plan and 3-statement financial models. Hands-on experience with Leveraged Buyout (LBO), Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and merger model. Prepared pitch books, IMs, RFPs, financial models and did intrinsic and relative valuation.

Closed £3bn of transactions for various global clients. Received recognition multiple times by senior leadership

Worked in London for 3 months to support transactions at advanced stage, coordinated with clients and other banks to close transactions

Samsung Research Institute, India (2014-2016)
Interacted regularly with world’s leading telecom operators to identify key business requirements and coordinated with Product Engineering team to implement them in the solution stack. Provided uninterrupted Service Management to see that all the services are always functional. Closely worked with third party network vendors to ensure seamless delivery of our solution stack

Achievements - Business travel to Taipei to oversee commercialization of Samsung Galaxy S6 for Taiwanese operators

MBA Info
Why I want an MBA:
My schooling and work experience are all geographically limited (except 3 months in London with HSBC and 1 month in Taipei with Samsung). The longest stint I had outside my country of birth is 3 months in London for HSBC. I am looking to develop 1. an international network; 2. move into technology companies in roles like corporate M&A, general management

Why I want one now:
Organic career growth prospects are limited on my current trajectory and I find it difficult to have international mobility

Awards
Top rated analyst (in the batch of 26 from best B-Schools of the country) at HSBC
National finalist in HSBC's case competition
Authored ‘Why Putin should move on’ for the February issue of IIM Rohtak’s finance magazine ‘FI’
Avid quizzer and chess player

Extra-curricular
Avid traveler, having visited 8 countries since 2016.
Passionate about EDM and attended 15+ concerts all across the globe

Application
I will apply during September or October (R1 or R2)
Career goals: Corporate strategy (Tech-focused), Corporate M&A, PE/VC

Hi shreypankaj132
You certainly have a strong profile with good experience between product management and analyst role. If you've had any promotions will add to your competitiveness.
Honestly, the MBA isn't exactly helpful - better if it was a PGP or PGDM (I know, semantics) - schools will want to know why you "need" a 2nd MBA. Depending on your GMAT (landing around 720+ would be ideal) here is how I would rank these schools:
Reach - INSEAD (we can leverage your professional AND personal travel)
Target MBA: LBS, HEC, Oxford, Cambridge

Happy to speak on a personal level - email me at JeniferT@ARINGO.com and we can talk about the best way to pitch your profile and goals for each of these schools.

Hi Aringo team,

I'm posting here as I am planning to re-study for the GMAT to apply in R1 for 2022 entry at INSEAD (Singapore), but at the same time I have an optimistic vein that I may go for it with subpar GMAT with Aringo support, so a provisory assessment would be great...:

My details, same structure as previous poster:

Background:
Nationality: German, Male, 30 years old (would be 31 at beginning 20210
GMAT: 640 (Q36, V42, IR5, AWA6)
IELTS: 9.0 (live in London)

Education:
BA in Political Science, with Concentration in Political Economy and Minors in Economics and Business Administration. GPA 3.9. I completed exchange semesters with equally good grades at Pennsylvania State and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. With my GPA I was one of the top 10 students (graduating class of 700) and the top student in the Political Science Department. Also won an outstanding achievement award for contributions to my department.
University: American University in Cairo

Professional Experience:
1. After graduation, one leap year (travel + various jobs)
2. Started out at boutique consultancy in Germany (after internship, asked to stay as Business analyst)
3. Two years in London at larger, but still niche consultancy (promoted after 1.5 years Associate to Sr. Associate)
4. Two years at Accenture (promoted from Consultant to Team lead)
5. Now at BCG subsidiary (promoted from Sr. Consultant to Project leader after one year)

International Exposure:
1. At 15 moved to Canada, completed high school there (2 years)
2. Travelled North Africa for 1 year after graduation
3. University in Cairo, exchanges in Hong Kong and Pennsylvania
4. In first job in London (following German boutique) completed projects on-site in North America, four countries in Europe
5. At Accenture completed projects on-site in Middle East (Turkey, UAE) and various countries in Europe
6. Significant travel...

Co-Curriculars:
1. Avid climber, have scaled the highest mountain of 18 countries so far, in addition to 3 of the highest 7 of the 7 continents
2. Have worked with two refugee families for the last few years to provide handywork and administrative support
3. In general, very entrepreneurial engaged in a high amount of improvement and business development activities at my firm, with a few examples of strong value-added

Post MBA goals:
Goal-1: Looking to move to the Middle East and continue, at accelerated pace, my career in operations consulting with a top player. Want to expand from currently largely procurement to comprehensive restructuring including business model shifts. Also, want to expand my horizon for business purpose advisory

Questions:
My GMAT is painfully low with a very weak quant. tilt. and I am a German male - how would you rank my chances for a Singapore INSEAD entry?
Is my motivation (which is my explicit motivation) too generic? I am truly passionate about turnarounds and continuous improvement, I look for better, quicker, automate ways in everything I do, but realize that many candidates have more profound motivations.

Hi Raphi

Thanks for sharing your profile and MBA aspirations
My name is Shimri Winters, I head the strategy here at ARINGO

To be honest, you have one of the stronger profiles I have seen this year 😊 From what I can see:

Academics – AMAZING with a great undergraduate degree and GPA. And 2 exchanges? WOW! Very good

Work Experience –so, this is your biggest advantage!!! What a fantastic career path you have had to date with more and more responsibilities and 2 tier 1 brands. WOW!
Your move to London is also a huge achievement and helps with your general international character (something that INSEAD really value

Your International experience – not sure I have met someone who has moved around so much. Not sure where you were raised, but Germany then Canada then Egypt with two exchanges in the US and Hong Kong, then Germany and now the UK (and I probably missed a few 😊 )WOW WOW WOW!!!

Other – Very nice extra-curricular activities And if you have examples of your entrepreneurial character theme, fantastic

In regards to the GMAT. So, we have had a few 640s who got into INSEAD (well, 3 to be exact). If you are only applying next year, even for Jan-2022, the deadlines are enough time away for you to retake the GMAT again and again. Even with the 640, I feel you have a reasonable chance, but they might ask you to improve it, and I think, with a 670, you will have a much stronger chance!

Happy to help further with a detailed review and perhaps work together on some amazing apps if you send me your CV and any other info to Shimriw@ARINGO.com

GOOD LUCK!

Re-took and am now applying with a GMAT of 740, wish me luck!!