Hi,
Hi @munchkin123 -- happy to give you my thoughts on your profile for HBSIndian, Male, Age - 26 (Sep 1991 Born)
Graduation - IIT Madras - B. Tech in Biotechnology (2009-2013)
Graduation CGPA - 7.55/10
12th - CBSE - 92.4% (2009)
10th - CBSE - 92.6% (2007)
Work Ex - 2013-2019 (By the time I join a B-school) - 05 years
• Assistant Central Intelligence Officer, Intelligence Bureau (IB), Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
o District Post In-charge, Border Intelligence Post, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.
o Have been issued the Annual Commendation Certificate - 2017, a Letter of Appreciation signed by the Joint Director (Bihar), and have received 04 cash rewards from the Indian Government for my work in these 02 years.
o Classified clandestine activities of secretive nature. (May 2016 – Continued)
• Co-Founder, IAS-Baba Educational Services for Civil Services Examinations (Start Up) (Jan 2015 – Mar 2016)
o Broke even within 3 months of launch; Achieved a turn-over of 1.5 million INR within 12 months of operation.
o Content Generation, Management of Offline Classes and Marketing Head.
• Studied for and attempted the Government of India’s Civil Services Examination, conducted by the Indian Union Public Service Commission. (Dec 2013 – Dec 2014)
POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY
• Core, Events, BioFest 2012 – IIT Madras Biotechnology Department’s FIRST festival. (2012)
o Organized and structured the first edition of Biofest which attracted over 500 participants.
o Headed a team of 35 students to organize 12 Events for the first time.
o Conceptualized 5 new Biotech-based events which were not implemented before in any college fest.
o Impressed with the quality of the events, sponsors offered to support for an additional two years.
• Core Committee Member, Al Gore Sustainable Technology Venture Competition 2011, IIT Madras. (2011)
o Headed a team of five coordinators to conduct this international event at IIT Madras.
o Increased the sponsorship amount from 50,000 INR in the previous edition to 350,000 INR.
o Doubled the participation by implementing new publicity strategies, as a result had foreign participation for the first time from Dhaka University, Bangladesh.
• Coordinator, National Services Scheme – Environmentally Conscious Group, IIT Madras. (2011)
o Headed a team of 20 students and organized humanitarian activities throughout the year.
o Includes a beach clean-up & teaching in flood-affected schools for 5 days in rural parts of Andhra Pradesh.
• Counselor, Narmada Hostel Freshers, Guidance and Counseling Unit (GCU), IIT Madras. (2011, 12)
o Mentored 6 freshmen by conducting personal guidance sessions to ensure a smooth transition to college life.
HOBBIES, SKILLS AND INTERESTS
• Quora Top Writer – 2017. Followed by over 50,000 users and have over 08 million views on my content in the popular Q & A website, Quora.
• Motorcycle Riding – Rode over 1000km across the mountainous Himalayan roads, in my Royal Enfield Classic 350.
• Cycling – Chennai to Mahabalipuram – 100km in one day cycling. Chennai to Kovalam beach - 60km in one day.
• Secured All India Rank 225 in National Cyber Olympiad held by the Indian National Science Foundation.
GMAT Score - 690 Q48, V35 (Will be re-taking it. Some issue at the centre -
https://gmatclub.com/forum/horrifying-g ... 61187.html)
Your profile is very interesting-- it is not the usual experience-- and so this could be a real strength. But that 690 makes HBS tougher-- they will take some here-- but it is a more crowded space-- but at the same time I can see that IF you put together a compelling application-- you could maybe break through-- although for sure if you can improve that GMAT between now and R1 2018 you have even better odds.So, after graduation, while I studied for the Indian Government Civil Services Examination, I had to study history, geography, politics, international relations, science, economics and everything else under the sun. I had become a jack of all trades, trying to understand a bit of everything. And then when I started the company that teaches syllabus and provides test series for Civil Services Examination, I became better at analyzing any issue of any topic on any subject.
Then, when I joined the Government of India, I quickly rose to become a head of the entire post in a district. I had to handle the issues of the district with my staff. So, leadership skills were also imbibed, alongwith application of real-time solutions to real-time cases, of a variety of topics. (Had to work through devastating floods, helping people, in a rural setting, set up elementary schools for the poor etc, which all are well-documented in my online blog and Quora profile.)
But, as of now, I am stuck in middle management of the Government and raising through the ranks in a Government sector takes years, if not decades. I have potential to manage issues at a much larger scale, and I have received recognition and awards within a very short span of time. But, promotions are seniority based and the pay is uniform. So, I shall get promoted only after 5-6 years minimum and for almost negligible pay rise. So, I thought an MBA at this stage would be logical, where I have stagnated a bit career-wise, but where I still have potential to take more responsibility for a faster rise on the career ladder.
This story-- the I am stuck where I am-- so I want to roll the dice and head back to B school-- is NOT the strongest story-- rather than think this way-- when you present yourself to HBS or any program-- think more about what you are looking toward-- and how the MBA-- and specifically HBS MBA helps you get there.Because I have had a history of understanding a lot of topics on a lot of subjects, and since I have applied solutions on a variety of cases as a District Head, I thought a career in Consulting would do me good. Where the entire job is to find the most optimal solutions for a variety of case studies. And the best way for a career switch from a Government job as a District Incharge (Which doesn't give much responsibility, cannot get faster promotions based on merit, nor can offer a raise in performance based pay), would be pursuing an MBA.
That way, I can switch careers to Consulting or General Management.
I am not interested in Finance, nor in Sales nor Marketing or such. I want to sit and solve real life issues, cases and provide out of the box solutions. So, yeah, Consulting or General Management.
I am focusing on schools in and around Boston / New York area. So, where do you think I would fit? Thanks! I am new to all this. I just know what I want to do. But, dont know how to proceed or where to apply.