Re: Engineers: Ask Vocaz
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16 Nov 2010, 17:05
Hi Gil, Manish,
I found this post very informative. Many thanks for sharing the much needed information. Could you please evaluate my profile, which is as follows:
1) Demographic Information:
30, M, Indian (Working in Europe for the past 3 years)
Languages: English, Hindi, Urdu. I can also hold small conversations in German.
2) Academic Information:
Engineering from IIT (Indian Institute of Technology). Completed the program with honors (top 10% of the class)
GMAT - 770 (Q51, V42) AWA 6.0.
Received merit scholarship for 3 out of 4 years.
3) Work Experience:
- Working in ERP Products industry(worked with 2 of the Big 3 software product companies) for 8 years, working with my current employer for the past 6 years
- Currently working in Europe as Product Manager (working in this role for 3 years). Responsibilities include evaluating product ideas, defining product roadmap, defining product requirements, building competetive intelligence by analyzing other available products, and managing the product across various releases. I have no direct people and budget management responsibilities in my current role. However, I must ensure that the development of product features does not exceed the allocated budget.
- In the past, I worked in India as Software Developer and then as Technical Lead. Led a 9 member tech team for two years.
- Won Employee of the Year award as Tech. Lead.
- Two small entrepreneurial efforts till date, both ending in failure right at the initial stages. (first one due to interpersonal clashes, second one due to personal health problems)
4) Extracurriculars
Led several initiatives in the area of teaching and fund-raising for the under-priveleged throughout my undergrads and during work, led blood donation camps, organized quiz competitions at the workplace at a large scale and was actively involved in organizing and volunteering for cultural events, expert talks, guest lectures etc. during undergrads.
5) Short/Long Term Goals:
Short term - Management Consulting (would like to work on projects related to education industry or internet businesses as these closely relate to my future long-term goals.)
Long term - Entrepreneurship in internet based education industry.
6) Target Schools
Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Kellogg, Booth, LBS, Duke, Ross, INSEAD
A) Kindly advise whether the school selection looks unrealistically ambitious, given my profile and background. If yes, could you please advise which top US /international schools can I realistically target.
B) Would you consider my age (30+ at the time of matriculation) an obstacle to gaining an admission at top 10 schools? If yes, how can I overcome this obstacle?
C) Besides coming from Indian/Male/Engineer background, could you please point out the other weaknesses that you see in my profile and suggest ways to address them?
D) How can I mitigate the Indian/Male/Engineer factor in my application?
Many thanks in advance. I would really appreciate your answers.