INDIAN BANKER - REQUEST A PROFILE EVALUATION

Question

Hiya,

Thank you for taking the time out to review my profile. Let me give you a brief on my resume so that you can have a better understanding of the same:

a) Work Experience: Currently working for an Indian investment bank as a PE/M&A analyst. I am planning to apply for 2013 batch and hoping to work till early 2013. I would have gained ~3 years of work experience (front end investment banking + micro Finance manager ) which I think should prepare me to apply to a business school. I have worked on various deals, some of them have been the biggest in their sectors in India and also been part of the bank's business development exercise. Was solely responsible for originating a see side mandate for an Indian sugar company ($20 mn)

b) International Exposure: Apart from my one year stint in the UK during my masters (A top British Uni), I don’t really have any international exposure. Having said that, I do work with a lot of mid-market and boutique investments banks in US and UK which might count as “international exposure”.

c) GMAT: I have a GMAT score of 710

d) Social Involvement: I have worked with C.O.R.P for one year teaching English in a municipal school in Mumbai and a six month internship with a microfinance firm as a principal manager for new initiatives and business develoment covering rural areas and villages in the state of Rajasthan, India. Helped setup special help groups and also led firms communications with international peers and VC funds

e) Investment banking background: Mid-market investment banks in India give a better profile and exposure to its analysts as compared to their peers in the US and Europe. I have worked on live deals and also been a part of the business development exercise of the bank which is rare in global banks or US banks where analysts have a limited role.

f) Education: BA (Economics) Top of the class and university topper at Mumbai University, one of the oldest and prestigious arts and science college in India. Masters in Finance and Economics from a top British b-school.

g)Internships: 2 internships with large global financial services firm with private banking and asset management divisions in India

h) Schools short listed: - Wharton Business School

- Yale SOM

- MIT Sloan

- Chicago Booth

- Kellogg

- Tepper School

- Columbia

- NYU

- Darden Virginia

Plan to continue with IB after MBA. Help companies in the Education sector to raise capital and go public. Also work with banks which have a specialised focus on micro-finance companies. I would like to leverage my sector knowledge and deal experience to raise money in nascent but very potential sectors.

Please do let me know if my choice of schools is apt for my resume. Your thoughts will be deeply appreciated. Thank you again for all your help and support.

Hoping to hear soon from you.

bryantmichaels · Answer

hiya back! you have a great profile for b-school. Great GMAT, Great WE and Great community service--the classic trifecta of preparation. I like that you are top of your class and also have a Masters degree particularly because you are applying from the Indian applicant pool, where you must really distinguish yourself due to the sheer size of the pool. Additionally, there are fewer Indian i-bankers applying to b-school, so you when they start comparing you against your industry peers, you will actually have some diversity to offer, with fewer Indian applicants in that sector. With a well crafted and compelling story you should be able to matriculate as planned to one of your target schools (with probability of more than one acceptance in my opinion, again, assuming your application is well put together. The fact that you are laser focused in your career and plan to use the MBA to leverage your existing career track to new heights should resonate with the adcoms. good luck and let us know if we can help.

sarveshmehta · Answer

Hi Bryant,

Thank you for such kind words and showing confidence in my profile for top business schools.
I have been trying to distinguish my profile from the gigantic pool of Indian applicants and hope that i'll be successful in that.

Couple of queries:
1) My employer, who is well known Indian investment banking and wealth management firm with a strong capital markets and cross border M&A practice but does not have a global recognition. Will that make a difference compared to applicants from global banks or my work at the company is what the addcom is looking to evaluate?

2) Given my list, which schools should i stress on (in terms of fit and higher chances of getting in). Which schools will you categorize as 'stretch', 'reach' and 'safety'.

Thank you again for all your help and guidance. Really appreciate it. Cheers

bryantmichaels · Answer

1) It shouldn't make that much difference that your firm is not internationally known. Sometimes that can help, but generally only for recognition purposes and identification to exactly what you do. If you explain your job well in your application, it shouldn't be a detriment. Also you could play up the advantages to working for a smaller firm (more access to deals and management, etc).

2) As for which schools are more likely than others to show you favor, it's hard to say. Certainly the New York schools are going to pit you against more applicants from banking most likely than some of the other schools (like Tepper of Virginia, for example). Another way to look at it is sheer application numbers, with MIT, Kellogg, Chicago likely getting the most applications. Good news is, applications seem to be down across the board this year, so that could work in your favor.

INDIAN BANKER - REQUEST A PROFILE EVALUATION

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