Guidance with regards to profile building

Question

I am a final-year undergraduate student from a top 3 IIT and have secured placement as a developer at a startup specializing in identity and governance management. I will be joining them full-time in June. I am keen on pursuing an MBA after gaining relevant work experience and plan to work for at least 3.5 years before applying. 
  Academic Background:  
 
   Class 10:  92%  
   Class 12:  96%  
  Recognized by an institute for prototyping a self-driving car during school days  
   International Talent Hunt Examination:  Global Rank ~900  
   International Mathematics Olympiad:  Global Rank ~1900  
   National Astronomy and Science Olympiad:  Awarded for excellence  
   BTech (Non-Circuital) from IIT:  GPA 8.2/10 (approximately 3.61/4 as per WES)
   
  Extracurricular Achievements:  
 
  Youngest head boy in school  
  Represented school in inter-school competitions:

Won  silver medal  at an inter-school science exhibition competition  
  Won  gold medal  at an inter-school quiz competition   
 
  Won  silver medal  at the district-level chess competition  
  Won  gold medal  at a district-level football tournament  
  Captained the team to win a  silver medal  at an inter-school football tournament  
  Represented the district-level cricket team for under-16s  
  Captained school cricket and football teams across inter-school competitions  
  Selected for an Argentine Football Academy  
  Represented IIT in sports competitions as part of the football team thrice  
  Captained the IIT hostel football team across multiple inter-hostel tournaments  
  Secured runners-up position in an intra-state cricket competition held at IIT  
  Achieved a global rank of ~1900 in the Meta Hacker Cup coding competition  
  Rated 1602 (Expert) on Codeforces, and 2250 (guardian) on Leetcode  
  FC Champion rated in FIFA esports with over 1800 wins  
  Manager at the Alumni Relations Council, IIT, overseeing alumni engagement initiatives  
  Business Executive for an autonomous vehicle team:

Pitched directly to high-profile stakeholders, including India's Commerce Minister  
  Secured major sponsorship deals with multinational firms   
 
  Finance & Operations Associate at E-Cell, IIT, contributing to entrepreneurial initiatives
   
  Key Questions:  
 
  Should I transition into a fintech role to align better with my MBA goals?  
  How do startups compare to FAANG companies in terms of strengthening my profile for M7 business schools?  
  When should I plan to take the GMAT?  
  What steps should I take next to optimize my profile for MBA applications?
   
 I would appreciate any advice on how to proceed strategically. Thank you!

lordbeerus · Answer

Your profile is already strong with an IIT background, extensive extracurriculars, and leadership roles. Moving into fintech could align better with an MBA in finance or strategy, but it's not essential if your current role allows for impactful achievements. FAANG companies offer stronger brand recognition, but a startup can provide diverse, hands-on experience—especially if you take on leadership roles or drive significant projects. Plan to take the GMAT in 1-2 years, allowing retakes if needed. Focus on measurable career impact, leadership growth, and strategic networking to strengthen your M7 application.

MBAGuide · Answer

SparklyDropBear High-quality work experience is the most important thing in the MBA application process. No amount of storytelling can make up for a superfluous career progression if you want to be accepted to one of the best MBA schools. Do you want to enter the fintech industry after your MBA? Then you should look for opportunities to make that transition before your MBA(even if you dont get the best functional role), and honestly, it shouldn't even be hard given your credentials. But this thoughtful move would bring adcom a lot of confidence in your willingness to take risks and your ability to hack growth on your own. FAANG companies on an applicant's resume show that the person has already gone through a rigorous selection process and is therefore a top performer. But it's not that schools will only select FAANG employees over people from other start-ups. It also depends on the uniqueness of the experience. There are a lot of boring/individual contributor type roles in FAANG companies, and many applicants with those backgrounds won't know how to best present their experience to an MBA admissions committee. The overall personality of the applicant comes into play when admissions committees are deciding on admits. You should take the GMAT when you are best prepared. Ideally 6 months to 2 years before applying so that you have time to improve in case you don't meet your target score. As for how to optimise your profile, I would need to know more about the company you are joining. In any case, feel free to set up a discussion Best wishes Aanchal Sahni (INSEAD MBA alumna, former INSEAD MBA admissions interviewer) Founder, MBAGuideConsulting LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/aanchal-sahni-83b00819/ |WEBSITE: https://mbaguideconsulting.com/ | Message(WA): +91 9971200927| email- mbaguideconsulting@gmail.com

himomaki · Answer

Your profile is outstanding. Transitioning to fintech could provide industry-specific insights linked to MBA aspirations, but both startups and FAANG firms offer unique strengths. For GMAT, plan 1–1.5 years before applying to allow for work experience development. Meanwhile, focus on leadership roles, impactful projects, and networking to optimize your profile.

SparklyDropBear · Answer

hey,  
  Thank you for replying to my post, but some folks told me that achievements from school days don't matter as much. Is that true?  
  I feel like that was my personality and them saying not to mention those in my documents make me feel I'm being suppressed. Am I overthinking and are they correct?

MBAGuide · Answer

SparklyDropBear

There is meaning behind every piece in the application. When schools ask about your ECs, they primarily want to know how you have managed to stay true to your passions and interests outside of work. The notion is that those who can stay committed to following their interests have a higher sense of self worth and will likely be more proactive in job hunting and will bring better results for the MBA program.
If you had a very busy formative year with lots of engagements, you can briefly set the tone by mentioning your ECs in your personal essays, but they won’t formally count toward your candidacy, which is focused on the person you are today. As you mentioned, yes you can use them to show your personality development in the past.

Best wishes
Aanchal Sahni (INSEAD MBA alumna, former INSEAD MBA admissions interviewer)
Founder, MBAGuideConsulting
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aanchal-sahni-83b00819/ |WEBSITE: https://mbaguideconsulting.com/| Message(WA): +91 9971200927| email- mbaguideconsulting@gmail.com

SparklyDropBear

hey,
Thank you for replying to my post, but some folks told me that achievements from school days don't matter as much. Is that true?
I feel like that was my personality and them saying not to mention those in my documents make me feel I'm being suppressed. Am I overthinking and are they correct?

Guidance with regards to profile building

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