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Oxford MBA (Said) – How Jaskirat got an Oxbridge brand on his resume


Oxford University is a name that’s been around in the academic world for 8 centuries. If you have no clue how far back in time this was, it was after dinosaurs had disappeared from the face of earth and before internet sensation Govind Tiwari discovered the transcendental world of Photoshop. Jaskirat Baweja discovered Oxford much later, but he knew this was the place for him to pursue his MBA...Read More

Beyond The MBA Hype – Book Trailer (Pre-release)



My MBA book titled ‘Beyond The MBA Hype‘ (watch the YouTube video trailer) will be released soon. It’s aimed at working professionals, students, parents, applicants and anyone who thinks an MBA is a magic wand that can set things right.

While most of the other MBA books in the market tell you how to crack the admissions process and walk into the world of high-paying glamorous jobs, this one will prompt you to step back and ask yourself if this is the path you should be following, when there are far more easier, cheaper and less-risky options to achieve the same goals.

Read this before you spend a single rupee on GMAT prep, B-school applications, consultants (yup, including us). It might just save you 50 lakh rupees and 2 years of your productive life. Ok, serious part over. Now for some fun.… Read entire article »

The Economist team shares tips for MBA virtual fairs



We were approached by The Economist team to help spread the word for their MBA virtual fair. Most Indian applicants can’t fly out to visit international schools, so the next best thing to do is reach out to Admissions committee members in the virtual world. An online fair like this one would be a good opportunity for Indian candidates to interact with school representatives from multiple schools – no visa hassles, no expenses and no dress code.

We requested the team to share some tips exclusively for our readers, and they obliged. Simple ideas coming from a credible source takes on a new meaning. So read on and register for free.

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McCombs Texas MBA (UT) – Management Consultant Arsh gets a World Bank job



Differentiation is considered a virtue when it comes to business school admissions. And management consultant Arsh Sharma didn’t have to struggle too much to come up with interesting stories for his essays, as his entire career has been a little hat-ke. His pre-MBA resume had references to World Bank, United Nations, Government of Ethiopia. His stint as a Performance Improvement Consultant with Pricewaterhouse helped him gain some kick-a$$ experience in unconventional areas.

During his MBA, he completed an internship with the UIDAI [Unique Identification Authority of India - Government of India's National Unique IDs to over a billion people, the world's biggest project in terms of scale and impact]. Shriman Arsh mahoday stays modest and talks about his journey....Read more

Indian MBAs going to business schools in Singapore, the UK and Italy!



If you’re considering doing your MBA outside India, you’re probably feeling overwhelmed by the number of business schools out there, all of them making very similar claims about how great they’ll be for your career.

Businessbecause.com recently interviewed three Indian MBAs studying in three very different countries: Singapore, the UK and Italy. Two of them are engineers by training and one is a medic. They all have very specific reasons why they chose their MBA program. Read more

Thanks for the kind words, buddy. A few points on the highlighted phrases above, for others who are still in the process of figuring out the answers.

Most applicants are in a similar situation when it comes to selecting bschools. A quick filter on the rankings and the average GMAT scores and they're done! That's the worst way to approach the entire process. These aspects tell you nothing about 'FIT'.

There are also many misconceptions about what the Adcoms look for, and often it's a matter of 'I've read on discussion forums that this what they are looking for in candidates, so let me approach it with a tick-box kind of approach'. Again, an incorrect way of approaching the application process.

That's what we are trying to change with the MBA MAP. Hope more folks realise this early on in the game and tweak their strategies accordingly.

Business & Creativity: You could be dull in another era. Not this one.



Charismatic, mesmerising and creative. Three adjectives that are associated with the Advertising industry (what were you thinking?). Unfortunately the same 3 adjectives are seldom used while referring to MBAs or mainstream business. In a world where following ‘best practices’ (nice way to say, ‘stop getting creative’) gets incentivised, clichéd terms like ‘thinking out the box’ generate sarcastic laughter more than inspiration.

So we asked Vrinda Gupta to share some perspectives with us, about lessons that we can learn from the advertising world to add a little more zing to our day-to-day work. Vrinda completed her graduation in Advertising from Pennsylvania State University (consistently being on the Dean’s List) and has worked in New York, Los Angeles and Mumbai with the some of the best names in the business – from Nike to Nickelodeon (not saying that just for impact). Over the next few blog posts, Vrinda takes us into the overlapping worlds of creativity and business. ... Read more

Alok,

You've shared a lot of info about your professional accomplishments (promotions, salary growth, awards). But I'm still not sure what exactly you do. Are you into personal loans, investments, micro-credit, asset based lending..?


Most Indians speak multiple languages. If you are planning to work in other countries where Tamil or Bangla are the official languages and where you will be utilising these skils, then it would be an advantage. Otherwise, I'd say don't stretch this one too much.


Nice work, sir. Proud of you. Please keep the momentum going for such initiatives after you get into some top school.

MBA Essays: No NGO, Non-profit, social work experience?

After taking their GMAT test and scoring a 700+, many MBA applicants start thinking about the rest of their MBA application components and that’s when they start realising about the (most perceived) gaps and flaws in their otherwise bullet-proof armour. Then they resort to last-minute workarounds to cover up those shortcomings. And the results can be far from what you expected.

That’s the issue of approaching the MBA admissions as a checklist process. Let’s do a role-play. You are doing a status-check on your MBA application.

GMAT score: Done, 730 [smirk on the face]…I’m such a stud
TOEFL: Done, piece of cake [smirk still on]
Extra curriculars: Some sports work in college days…aah..how I miss the cheerleading…and the cheerleaders! [smirk expands to a silly grin now] ...Read more

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Hi Sameer,

Thanks for a great thread. I am sure a lot of folks who're posting their profiles fall into the Indian/IT applicant pool. I understand that applicants in this pool are required to differentiate themselves from the crowd but it is not clear what form this differentiation can be.

Can you just give a few examples on this 'differentiation' so that I can shore up my credentials? Maybe some example extra-curricular activities.

thanks
IndigoIntentions

hi sameer,

I am in asset based lending.

Awaiting your comments / feedback

ESADE MBA: Ashok checks into Barcelona’s top business school



We’ve found out a very effective way of punishing, I mean rewarding folks who comment excessively on our blog posts. We pester them incessantly to write guest posts until they give in. Latest case in point – Mr Ashok Kadam – aka MBA Roadie. In his inimitable bindaas style, our friend narrates his story. | Read on

Thanks Alok. Now the following point makes so much more sense. And it sounds impressive as well.


For INSEAD, LBS, Kellogg, a much higher GMAT would be good. For IMD, I know someone who got in with a very low GMAT score (lower than the range you are expecting), but he had a pretty unconventional profile.

When's the GMAT test?

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Hi Sammer,

I am Gaurav (24 - will be 25 in november/IT/Male). I would need your feedback on my profile based on my targeted schools. I am aiming for the latest batch in 2012 (jan or any other near Feb or March).

1. Today i took the GMAT and have scored only 690 (Q50 - %92, V34 - %69). AWA awaited.
2. I graduated from IP University in Information Technology in 2008 with 73.66% marks. Though in the common entrance test of IP University held in 2004, I scored a 12th rank all over India. And, thus was awarded an annual scholarship by the University throughout my B.Tech.
3. Xth - 84%
XIIth - 85%
4. I have 3 years of Experience in IT industry. Currently working in Amdocs India since June 2010 as Senior Subject Matter Expert on Mainframe systems in Telecom domain. Before that worked in Steria India Ltd as software Engineer in the Banking Domain
My responsibilities include:
-Peer reviews within the team
-Development, support and testing
-Actively lead the project from designing to the final deployment.

Have been recognized as a highly efficient employee within the team and also has been awarded certificate for the excellent work performed at the job.

7. Languages - Hindi / English


Extra curricular Activities
- Won 1st prize in Face painting competition held in the current company.
- Dramatics - Received several prizes from Universities and colleges in Delhi for the group play performed at the annual cultural festival of the college in 2006.
- Also, took part in the Group Dance at the annual cultural festival of the college in 2005
- Active Member at the Students Society IETE of the college. Actively involved in organizing the annual cultural festival of the college.
- Awarded certificate from National School of Drama while in School.


Hobby:
Love to play Table Tennis - conducted TT tournaments inside the Company. Haven't got chance to organize at corporate level yet.
Love travelling - have traveled almost all of India. Recently went to Japan.

Target:

- Full time MBA INSEAD / ISB/ National Singapore university/ Carnegie Mellon/ Darden


Queries:
- Is the current score of 690 together with respective &tiles in verbal and quant are sufficient for the B-schools i am aiming for. Moreover, if these schools are a stretch for me, then what all Top 40 or Top 50 B-schools I can aim for.
- How is my current IT profile together with the kind of work-ex I have.
- What all I can do to improve my profile.
- Do I need to retake the GMAT.