PE/HF/VC maybe difficult options for US MBAs as the large shops require local market expertise and the boutique shops don't have the capacity to absorb international students given their own constrains. An Investment Banking Associate is the most tried and tested path and maybe making the pivot to a buyside role after a couple of years on the sellside. Best to stick to schools in NY as they will give you the option of doing a long term internship with a PE/HF fund in the 2nd year which will be a good stepping stone to build your network. The only aspect you need to ponder upon is whether you will be open to an IB Associate position post your MBA after having spent close to 8 years in the industry, as far as I have seen Banks are not open to negotiate higher designations for candidates with relevant experience.
LBS will open doors for a lot of the buyside opportunities in London (one of the biggest market for Funds) so you can maybe think about applying there although the UK economy is facing several headwinds and the job market isnt exactly buoyant. INSEAD will open doors to MENA markets and there are some good fund houses (predominantly SWF and Family Offices) located in the market, they also have a decent recruitment for VC opportunities in EMEA and SEA markets.

Hope that helps? Do reach out at info@thembaedge.com if you want to have a detailed discussion.

Cheers and all the best!

Can you please tell me about my chances for consulting as an exit option?

Consulting is a tried and tested career path for a lot of MBAs. Your IB experience will be valuable to Consulting firms since you would have a strong quant background which proves to be an asset during the problem solving, and the IB hours are well know across all industries which would showcase your ability to work hard. Additionally, both roles also have a high degree of client interaction which is another good overlap. To sum up, you will have a slight edge over other in the consulting recruitment process, just that you will need focus on the academics and build strong problem solving (read case study) skills.

Thank you very much! This is super helpful!

Hey Vinrick,

You work experience in the renewable energy space is solid and the international experience will definitely be helpful in your overall candidacy. On the GMAT front, your score maybe below median, so do evaluate if you can retake the exam and bump up your score by 20-30 points. The higher GMAT score will increase your chances of admit to the domestic MBA programs.
For the international program, will suggest that you have a deeper look at European MBA since those programs are big sustainability and cleantech. There are increasing opportunities for sustainability professionals in the EU market given their push towards carbon neutrality. Programs like IMD, LBS, HEC, INSEAD will be great fits given that their median work experience is on the higher side and most of them are big on sustainability.
Hope that helps? Do reach out at info@thembaedge.com if you want to have a more detailed discussion regarding your profile.

Hey divyechugh,

14 years is more on the experienced side for traditional MBA programs, while some US schools are open to older candidates, I have received the feedback that a lot of Canadian MBA programs may not be open - specially Rotman and Ivey. Would suggest you schedule a 1x1 with the school admission committee to determine whether they are open to candidates with profile like yours or is totally out of the question, the response will vary from program to program thus the best approach would be to reach out to the individual schools. Broadly speaking your GMAT, experience and your career goals are aligned and hence there shouldn't be any major hurdle from the candidacy point of view.
Hope that helps? Do reach out at info@thembaedge.com if you have any further questions.

Most finance profile for MBA tends to be in the Investment Banking, Corp Finance, Private Wealth space. Have seen very little recruiting in the retail banking domain, so do reach out to your target schools to determine whether retail banking is a feasible career options. Your accounting background will definitely help during finance recruitment although it will be difficult to comment on your chances without knowing more details about your work ex and your test score.
All the best for the upcoming admissions cycle!

Hey legacyindeed123,

You have a pretty good GRE score and given that you belong to an underrepresented demographic your profile is well positioned for the schools that you have shortlisted. Since your target is the TMT space, would suggest exploring schools like UCLA Anderson, Ross School of Business, CMU Tepper which have a strong recruiting pipeline in the Bay Area and larger tech industry. Telecom as an industry tends to be a little apprehensive of hiring international students, however they have done so on a case by case basis and given your solid Telecom experience I am sure they will be open to you. Your product experience will be relevant for PM/PMM roles within the Big Tech space as well. US MBA program should ideally be your #1 preference given their dominance in the tech space followed by Canada and UK, not entirely sure how the RSM program made it to your shortlist.
All the best for the upcoming application cycle! Do reach out us at info@thembaedge.com for any further queries.

Hi, could you please help me connect and share your advice? I wish to have your help! Thanks much

Hi, would you mind lending a help ? Thanks in anticipation.

Hi, would you mind lending a help ? Thanks in anticipation.

Hi, would you mind lending a help ? Thanks in anticipation.

Hi, would you mind lending a help ? Thanks in anticipation.

Hi, I have received waitlist communication yesterday, Please help me to know any step you took to get admit from the waitlisted , like contacted the ad com or sent any add info . Please help me so that I am able to get admitted. Thank you in advance.

Hi, I have received waitlist communication yesterday, Please help me to know any step you took to get admit from the waitlisted , like contacted the ad com or sent any add info . Please help me so that I am able to get admitted. Thank you in advance.

Hi, could you please help me connect and share your advice? I wish to have your help! Thanks much

Hi, could you please help me connect and share your advice? I wish to have your help! Thanks much

Hi, could you please help me connect and share your advice? I wish to have your help! Thanks much

Hi, could you please help me connect and share your advice? I wish to have your help! Thanks much

Hi, could you please connect. I wish to have your help! Thanks much

Hey a2105,

You have got a decent profile with your background in economics research in the financial services industry and your undergraduate education (hopefully in economics I suppose) all of which will typically fall in the underrepresented segment of the application pool. You test scores and details of your experience are not mentioned and hence it will be difficult to provide a detailed assessment of your profile. From the looks of it you are applying to too many schools so the first advice would be to have a more targeted approach for your school shortlisting, ideally 5-7 schools should be good enough with a mix of ambitious and safe choices. Since you have a desire to be a part of the Financial Services industry, keep in mind that bulk of the roles are in the Investment Banking space (will be close to 70%) and the remaining split between PE/VC/AM and Corp Banking, so purely from a probability perspective you will have higher chances landing an IB gig although there are candidates who do manage to score a good AM gig. Cant stress on the importance of being in NY, Chicago for the purpose of cracking that AM role, since they rely heavily on networking and entail extensive ground work. Thus, would suggest have some of the schools in these areas or close by in mind while thinking about your application strategy. Also, most of these schools would require a GMAT north of 740 from Indian candidates, so do have that factor at the back of your mind . Do hedge your bets with some other schools that have a strong recruiting pipeline for the financial services industry.

Hope that helps? Do reach out at info@thembaedge.com in case if you want to have a more detailed conversation.

All the best!

Thanks.

My undergraduate degree is in the field of Economics and Finance, from University of London. I have a Upper second (2:1).

I have a 640 on the GMAT as of now. I understand this is low, wanted to assess my possibilities as of now

With below median work ex, GPA and a GAP year in your profile, you will need to focus on offsetting these constrains with a solid GMAT score. Additionally, the schools in your mind tend to be ambitious even for candidates without your constrains and robust GMAT scores, hence would suggest putting in a lot more research and analysis in your school shortlisting strategy. Try to adopt a portfolio approach with a mix of ambitious and safe options to have a better outcome.

With below median work ex, GPA and a GAP year in your profile, you will need to focus on offsetting these constrains with a solid GMAT score. Additionally, the schools in your mind tend to be ambitious even for candidates without your constrains and robust GMAT scores, hence would suggest putting in a lot more research and analysis in your school shortlisting strategy. Try to adopt a portfolio approach with a mix of ambitious and safe options to have a better outcome.