INSEAD Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Hello,

I would like to request your help in my profile evaluation and help me in knowing chances of getting into my target B schools.
Here is a brief snapshot of my background & experience:

I am an Indian male currently working in a top multi-national Indian mobile technology solutions company in India. I am working as an inside consultant and international business development manager for a range of technology products in in South East Asia, India & Europe. I was chosen for the international sales leadership program in my company last year, which is a program aimed at developing emerging leaders.
My main job responsibilities include leading sales, marketing & developing business strategies in assigned territories.
Prior to this, I worked at Tech Mahindra and Mtree Software as a business analyst working with multiple clients from US.

I have travelled extensively in Europe & Asia for trainings, conferences, network development, sales & business meetings.

I currently have 7 and half years of work experience.

Business venture:
I have always had an interest in e-commerce ventures and cars. We started a e-commerce venture looking to solve the problem of fragmented aftermarket in cars segment in India. So what we started off as a part-time engagement has now been turned into a small business since 1 year. We have registered 200+ partners on board and have more than 50 transactions daily on our website. I do this as a part time activity with some support from my friend, who is also a business partner.

Social responsibilities:
I started a small community program with my wife where we serve food to poor people every night. We call this program as “Roti Bank” where more than 30 families prepare some extra food and wheat pancake(Roti) daily and we serve it free of cost to more than 50 people daily. In last 6 months, we have increased our community from 2 families to 30 families and plan to make it to 100 by end of next year.
I am also a volunteer for one of India's leading NGO- Teach for India. Here I am responsible for working with the full time teachers to develop curriculum, activites etc, for students from low income background.

GMAT:740 (Q51, V40)

Education:

Bachelor of Engineering- Computer Science Engineering (No GPA, 71%)
Jss Academy of Technical Education (Within the Top private engineering colleges in India)

Post Graduate Diploma in Management – Sales & Marketing(GPA - 5.7)
Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow(Among top 5 post graduate colleges in management education in India)

Grade 12 :81%
Grade 10: 87%

Post Graduate Diploma Experience
During my post graduate diploma, my focus was completely on international marketing and sales. I took electives which included Cross-cultural communications, effective communication skills, international marketing, B2B marketing etc. Considering my prior experience, education and keen interest in international business, I was handpicked by Mahindra group for leading the international sales in their Mobile Technology division. Having worked in international sales for almost 5 years, I have gained valuable insights how different markets work.

Post International MBA goals :
Strategy consulting for International market entry .
Considering my background, current experience and passion for international projects, I am keen on pursuing a career in strategy consulting for International Market Entry post my MBA. I have good exposure of market knowledge gathering and holding discussions with people from executive level to CXO level. With MBA degree, I aim to gain knowledge of Strategy management and core finance concepts like corporate finance, transfer pricing etc. MBA will also help me in knowledge sharing sessions with students from different countries and I will be able to gain more insights on how business works and how people think in different parts of the world. My experience within the international sales and marketing has given me a lot of knowledge & ideas that will be helpful in framing business strategies around international market entries in different situations and scenarios.

Target schools :
INSEAD, London Business School, MIT, Wharton, Cornell , Ross, SAID, Judge

Can you help me with your views whether these schools are best aligned for the kind of work i am looking for post MBA. And also whether my profile would be considered as a good fit in INSEAD.

Hi,

Can you evaluate my profile for INSEAD, SAID and Cambridge?
Age: 26
GMAT Score 1: 670 (Taking the test again in December)
10th - 87%
12th - 51%
Graduation- BTech - GPA 3.3
MBA/PGDRM from Institute of Rural Management Anand, Batch of 2014. - 2.92

3.5 Years of experience in the Corporate Banking space: 1.5 years with Citibank N.A. and 2.0 years with Yes Bank in Multinational Corporate Banking as a relationship manager handling the MNCs present in entire state.

Achievements: Recognition by Business Head in Yes bank for onboarding a large AAA corporate.
Recognition from the Transaction Banking Head for promoting retail sales through Alliance: Ranked 3rd across India.

Consulting activities: Have devised a Customer Relationship Management strategy and built tools to enhance the customer persistency for a micropension product f National Pension Scheme of India.
Have devised a go-to-market strategy for Vasudhara Ghee brand of AMUL.
Successfully developed an implementable marketing plan for AXIOSTAT. It is a product developed by Axiobio Solution Pvt. Ltd.

Extracurricular: Have been a cultural secretary during my tenor in MBA program and have successfully organized many cultural nights/events in IRMA.
Have been a founding member of IRMA Social Entrepreneurship Cell and made a proposal to the board of IRMA for setting an incubation centre for IRMA. Three years hence, they have successfully raised seed capital for the incubation centre.

Social work - associated with Kisan Party of India for supporting/guiding farmers for arranging the financing requirements to invest in modern farming techniques- microirrigation in particular.

Post MBA Goals: To start my own fintech company that focuses on transaction banking product- factoring and forfaiting- for easing the working capital requirements of Small and Medium Enterprises. Connect SMEs with the large factor agencies/corporation through a platform.

Hi,
Can you please go through below profile details of mine and tell me what additional I can do to add that extra feather to gurantee fit in all criteria of INSEAD

Gender: Female
Nationality: Indian
Education: B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from one of the best and 125 years old institute of India with CGPI of 6.6
10th Grade: Topper of school with 91.53% with 98% in Mathematics
12th grade: Major in Science with 86% with 96% in Mathematics .
Special interest in Mathematics with expertise in Speed Maths and Vedic maths.

Extra curricular:
National Level winner in Essay Competitions from school.
Expertise in debates and elcoutions. Sports enthusiastic and won many tournaments in school level mainly in Kho-Kho and Kabbadi.
Chief sponsorship Executive of Entrepreneurship cell of graduate school. Single handedly handled events which demanded managerial and entrepreneurnial skills of participants.
Event manager experience in graduate school. Event management experience in corporate level. Active team member of Event's commitee of Organization.
Mentor in Mentor me India programme which involves mentoring underprivileged kids for skills like self awareness, aspirations, social behaviour etc.
Conducted schooling experience for underprivileged schools from slums in my locality(have no proof of it)
Active member of CSR of Organization.
Bharatnatyam dancer for more than 6 years(certificates of it are no longer with me)
International exposure: 0

Work-experience:
27 months
Organization name: Citiustech IT healthcare solutions
Client name: Davita(Fortune 500 company based in Denver USA)
Post: Software engineer working mainly as Quality Analyst
Excelled in my work so whoopingly that management assigned me two highly demanding teams to work with. Role involves rigorous testing of web application and mobile application. Cross functional activities, cross cultural activities and deliverables always on or before the deadline. Quick learner at work and active team player. Youngest member in team to work at production end( It requires atleast 3-4 years of industrial experience) which involves directly encountering incidents of clients. Received client appreciation many times for great and quality work. Recieved appreciation from supervisor and manager for always taking up extra responsibility and delivering high quality work and raising bar for fellow members.
Lead team of 3 members (Software Trainee) . Knowledge transfer to fellow team members and single handedly handled a team for more than 5 months of period.

GMAT :
Giving it on 27th Jan, 2018 target is 730
Mock score of GMAT: 690-700

Courses:
Completed:
Basics of project management from University of California Irvine
Fashion and Luxury management from SDA Bocconi

Currently pursuing:
Business Analytics from Wharton school

Post MBA plans:
Preferred:
Want to work in same domain i.e. Healthcare management with analytics and big data knowledge .

Dream:
Want to work mainly in Fashion/Luxury management industry with analytical skills I have.

Other language proficiency:
Basic level of French
Pursuing Intermediate and Advanced level of it .

Please free to suggest what else I can add to get an admit in INSEAD/HEC/ROTTERDAM/SDA
INSEAD is my main target


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Hello!
Thanks for your info and post. A few questions... what is the timeframe you are looking to apply and/or matriculate to INSEAD ? That may be somewhat relevant as one thing you can 'do' so to speak is simply gain a bit more work experience and within that, continue to aim for leadership opportunities and impact. The average INSEAD incoming student has 5-6 years of full-time work experience after undergrad.

Additionally you mentioned 'graduate school' somewhere, I'm not missing that you did already do a masters am I?

It looks like you've gained some good management experience in only a couple of years so be sure to focus on the quality of experience and opportunities work with and lead teams in your apps. It looks like you have a good breadth of ECs though I can't easily ascertain what if any you are still regularly active in today, so that could be another opportunity to improve your profile perhaps.

And yes the GMAT will be quite important!! Your undergrad grades are not helping much so a stellar GMAT would be important given how competitive INSEAD and these other programs are. Feel free to check back in once you have the GMAT under your belt, and if you'd like to reach out directly at that point we do have a free 30 minute consultation option where you send over a resume etc, at www.mbamission.com/consult. Good luck!

Hi there,
So as I've mentioned on other threads, it can be quite tough to gain admission for a 2nd MBA, as you essentially have to convince the committee that you should have a spot over someone who does NOT already have a similar degree.... it happens, and does happen at INSEAD, but know it's not easy. You'll definitely of course have to emphasize the WHY you feel this degree is also necessary to reach your goals, and at this point in your career. Your work experience looks solid but academics are lacking, so to even have a shot you'd definitely need that higher GMAT. It may be an uphill battle for the schools you are interested in, in my view, so consider some alternatives if you'd like safer options and if you truly feel you need this additional MBA. Best of luck.

You have got impressive stats for both the programs. However, it would be important for these b-schools to understand your inclination towards doing an MBA from their institutes, give all your experience so far is in India.

IMO, you will have to make a solid case about what is it that drives you in your career and why is an MBA from these institutes absolutely necessary to achieve those goals.

Hi Arpit,

The criteria INSEAD most values are : academic performance, leadership experience and international exposure.

You seem to have a good deal of leadership experience. The international leadership development program sounds interesting. To this, do add how exclusive it is- among how many were you selected for the role and how difficult is it?. You have a sales role, so you must present your impact through the sales numbers- largest deals concluded, new territories added, new partnerships etc, and their business impact.

Your own venture shows resourcefulness and an entrepreneurial capability, which is highly valued by b-schools. To top it, you have a profitable venture. I am particularly impressed with your social venture - I wish I can replicate it in my city someday . Again, the ability to initiate something and make it a movement, show leadership skills.

Your international experience looks good. While writing your applications, draw out meaningful insights from what you learned, and how it has made you more adaptable.

Academics- Your GMAT score is good, undergrad is average and the MBA is a cause for concern. If the reason for doing an MBA is to gain international exposure and knowledge, then why is the first MBA in international studies poorly scored?

Also, your goals about moving from sales to consulting will need refining. An idea for you to explore further: why move into an entry level position(consulting) when you have substantial experience in sales?

Hello 1412,

Thanks for your query.

You definitely have strong achievements at work, as well as decent extra-curricular activities at the grassroots level While these elements will add value to your profile (provided they are represented in an appropriate manner in your essays, with your career goals logically syncing with your existing professional experience), the second MBA is always a bit of a challenge. Hence, in your case, it will be essential to suitably establish why you need the second MBA at this point (what will it give you over and above your previous education and why you must be considered for the same).

It is good that you have already identified your need to retake the GMAT and are working towards the same The GMAT score will be crucial! Do figure out if you would like to apply to a couple of other one year programs beyond the three mentioned by you It is always nice to have a few more options.

Should you feel the need, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We will be happy to discuss this in greater detail.

All the best!

Can you please evaluate my profile for INSEAD R2?

Indian Male
Age: 32 years(33 when joining the program)

GMAT: 710(Q49 V36 IR6 AWA4.5)

Work Ex: 7+ years
- Was part of a family owned green field project. Got the factory running from ground up. Handled entire Supply-Chain and Exports. Was with the company for 6+ years
- Started a manufacturing unit with a friend. Handled Operations and govt. liaising. Experience here of a year

Education
- PGD in Global Business Operations from Delhi University. Scored ~62%
: Co-editor of the college finance magazine
: Executive member of the College Finance Society
: Received a Certificate of Performance from a voluntary organization involved in CSR activities

- BA(Hons) in English from Delhi University. Scored ~53%
: Received the Certificate of Proficiency from the college for active involvement in the overall development of the college.
: Part of the editorial board of the college magazine, Rambler
: Volunteered with Prayas Juvenile Aid Society for the rehabilitation and upliftment of underprivileged children

- Also worked with Society for a Cause of People which helped poor women and children
- Played cricket for the school team and local district level club
- Have traveled to 22 of the 28 states in India and 9 countries internationally

Hi,

Keen to have a profile evaluation for INSEAD

Male, 29, Malaysian

Education: Bachelor of Laws from University of Melbourne (Top uni in Aus, and apparently top 5 law school in the world now according to Times?). Average is around equiv to 2:1 UK standards. Leadership at uni- VP of the Law student association.

Languages: Malay, English, Mandarin (and Cantonese).
GMAT: 650 (Quant 60%, Verbal 71%, IR 7, AWA 5)

Professional Work experience:
Management Consulting: Started my career in Accenture Melbourne in Feb 2014 as a management consulting analyst. Joined Infosys Consulting as Senior Consultant (double promotion) in 2016. On track for my next career level (Principal consultant) in the next 6-8 months. Currently involved in projects involving disruptive technologies with blue chip giants in Australia with benefit profiles exceeding AUD$60M. Depending on the project, I lead teams of up to 3 consultants in different locations (such as Philippines). Hold several internal leadership positions - functional lead in my focus area, diversity lead etc.

During my time at Accenture, part of winning team that won an innovation competition. Named as one of the inventors of the global patent.

During my uni years, I have done internships in Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam), Hong Kong and Singapore at top law firms.

Entrepreneurship: Had my first start up in 2014 - an online fashion e-commerce store - which was featured in fashion mags such as Harpers Bazaar etc. Company lasted for two years and succumbed to a few commercial mistakes. Learned from these mistakes, and started a functional fitness apparel company in late 2016 (driven by my passion in functional fitness sports such as Spartan Race, Bootcamps etc). Company growing and expanding. These ventures all happened while I had a full time job. All products sold are personally designed ( I don't have a design background, so learning it on my own can be challenging during time crunches).

Extra-curricular: - I train and compete in Crossfit and Olympic Weightlifting. Highest achievement is placing 4th in the National Team event in 2016 in Crossfit (not sure anyone knows what Crossfit is here...).Other fitness goals is to qualify for the National Olympic Weightlifting championships in July 2018.

Other achievements: former state and national swimmer for Malaysia. Competed in international competitions etc.

Post MBA goals - as foreshadowed above - entrepreneurship, to continue expanding my company.

Hi manoj1115,

Thanks for writing in.

Among the things that INSEAD really pays emphasis on are your leadership experience, GMAT and academic scores, cross-national exposure, and your ability to contribute to the program. Considering the fact that you have played an integral role in your family-run business, you will definitely be able to showcase strong managerial experience, coupled with entrepreneurial abilities. That said, a lot will also depend on how well you are able to project the fact that your entrepreneurial experience coupled with your interest in varied extra-curricular activities will enable you to contribute to the school.

On the flip side, however, your scores in both the degrees that you have pursued are a bit of a concern. Hence, while a 710 is around the average GMAT score needed for INSEAD, we also suggest that you put some thought into boosting your GMAT score (GMAT expectation from Indian students is anyway on the higher side). A higher score will help cover up (to a large extent) for the low academic scores, as well as the fact that your age is much higher than the average age of students at INSEAD.

To sum it all up, the process of gaining an admit will quite obviously be a very competitive one. However, if you focus on working on the above-mentioned point as well as draft out essays that showcase a logical flow between your existing experience and future career goals, you will have a good chance.

Hope this helps

All the best!

Thanks for all that you have shared here. I feel that INSEAD will appreciate the breadth of experience you bring to the table (strong consulting career, interesting entrepreneurial experience, extracurriculars and national swimmer, international experience, etc). The main drawback I am seeing on review is the GMAT, so tell us more about that... how many times have you taken it and how recently, and is there a re-take planned? You would rather that not be a reason to hold you back, so consider a re-take.... if easier to speak by phone we do offer consultations at www.mbamission.com/consult, and/or feel free to post back here. Good luck to you.

Your profile looks quite interesting and complete. If you feel you have time to work to increase your GMAT abit go ahead but I think it could be fine. I applied with a 670 and made it to interviews and I feel your profile is stronger than mine. Will get answer this week so we'll see if it's all good for me.

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may I ask one more time?

I am briefly summarizing my profile, looking for your feedback regarding the instead MBA autumn intake

Background and nationality
Turkish national, 27 yo, love discussions and suck at sports, grew up in Turkey, 1Y high school exchange in US, living in Austria since 9 years

Undergrad Information
graduated from Bachelors in Technical University of Vienna in Business Informatics with GPA 3.53 (one of the best universities in Europe in Computer engineering). Prior to University I have spent 1 year in US as an AFS exchange student, during which time I was very active in extracurricular activities/ volunteering. I volunteered in AIESEC and AFS during my undergrad, served as team leader in AIESEC for a semester leading 5 volunteers. I was in Brazil for a social responsibility project where I had to teach in Portuguese and head to Brazil without knowing a word. In this project I was responsible for designing and facilitating workshops in 3 different NGO run schools. This so far was my greatest leadership demonstration to be honest with

GMAT:
710 Q49 V40

Work experience and leadership
Altogether excluding internships 3.5 years of work experience of which 1 year in IT Consulting 2.5 in corporate banking(front office large corporates) this 2.5 years were incorporating 1 year of traineeship and half year of long term internship(same responsibilities as my full time job). 4 different internships prior my work experience á 1 month.

I have graduated from the traineeship program of the bank. The program is offered with the academic partner Vienna University of Business and Economics, some of the courses from their executive MBA are incorporated in the traineeship program and graded by them. I have finished the program as top of the class with a 4.0 GPA.

Here is my problem, working as a junior for all these years (recently and informally promoted to an associate) I have hard time identifying leadership during my career. I can think of few occasions during my traineeship but that is basically it. I have to admit after trying to start some initiatives and make change in the organization, and always being cut by basically everyone around me, I gave up trying to demonstrate leadership or make a change and ceased to identify my self with the Organisation I am working during the last 12 months. One of my motivations to join an MBA program to boost my skills in leadership and get active again

Community and others
Additionally to what I have mentioned in my undergrad section, I have helped refugees settling in and orientating in Vienna for a very brief time recently.

Post MBA goals
Pursue an investment banking, PE or strategy consulting career with the purpose of achieving my lifetime goal of establishing an investment venture with few of my colleagues primarily investing in companies(soft infrastructure or essential goods) post-crisis situation contributing to reconstruction and redevelopment.

Anything else?
I love traveling, I go on a back packing mission every 2-3 years extending 4 weeks, mingling with the locals trying to stay out of the main touristic ares. During my travels I take my DSLR with me and spend a lot of time taking pictures.

My next goal is to travel Africa (in one of the post-crisis regions) and offer pro bono services most probably in micro finance operations.

Just wondering, could recommend other one year programmes asides Insead.

Thanks

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IE Business School, HEC (16 months), Northwestern University, etc... search for ranking of 1 year MBA's online you should find a few.

Hi guys!!
Need some feedback on my profile and steps ahead as I plan on applying in fall 2018! It would be great if I get some solid guidance amongst alumni with prior application experience
So, basics:

GMAT score: 710
Degrees:
B.Sc. (Statistics) with Economics honours certification, GPA: 3.85/4
M.Sc. ( Economics) with GPA: 2.92/4
Work experience:
2 years of analytical consulting experience within the retail domain with a recent promotion and several on-shore assignments.
Lookout for a job currently in the social consulting space/ holding offer with a consumer products company.

Several internship experiences ( National Stock Exchange, wealth management firm)

Extra-curricular:
Mentor at an educational NGO that aims at ensuring sustainable outcomes for students of shelter homes where I lead a group of 40+ volunteer workforce that looks after teaching students in the subjects of English and math, raised around 1 lakh funds for the same in the course of a year, organized several city wide events and awareness campaigns for the same.

Trained classical dancer and singer with certification of 3 and 5 years respectively.

Learning French on a professional level.

Participated and won in regular elocution, debate, seminars, festivals in school and college in capacity of an organizer and a delegate.

Selected for a 3 week Indian leadership exchange program by NYU Stern School of business in New York while pursuing undergraduation

The above captures briefly about my accomplishments so far. Please advise on the kind of colleges I should reach out for and the value additions that would help me in the next year before applying. Thanks in advance

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