INSEAD Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Hello IAMUTD20,

I see good leadership experiences in both of your jobs and also happy to note international experience studying and working in the US.
Your Masters in Supply Chain from UMich (Go Blue!) is also a nice addition and will help differentiate you.

The 720 on GMAT, though not great, might be adequate for INSEAD if the other parts of your application are strong. I have helped several Indian applicants make into INSEAD, so I'm commenting from that perspective.

Your big challenge would be to write strong and reflective essays that showcase your strengths and bring out various dimensions of your personality.

If you want to talk to me personally, feel free to email me at mail@vibranture.com


I'm including the following articles for your help

How do business schools evaluate your profile
https://vibranture.com/articles/how-scho ... rofile.htm

Top 5 ways to build profile for MBA applications
https://vibranture.com/articles/build-pr ... ations.htm


Good luck!

Hi folks

Please evaluate my profile for INSEAD Jan 2021 intake.

Background -

Age 33
GMAT 710 - Q47/V40

Education:

Undergrad in Business Administration with distinction (University of Toronto, 3.43/4)
business school leadership award, innovation award and UofT leadership award

Work Experience: Total 10 years

Job 1 - 4 years Graduate Finance Leadership program, Royal Dutch Shell
Rotational program working in accounting in finance roles. Led multiple cost saving initiatives saving the company over $3 MM. Rotations include Accountant to the Heavy Oil Leadership Team and the Country Chair (Shell's CEO in country).

Job 2 - Operations Analyst, Plains Midstream Canada
Finance, planning and analysis to the EVP Operations for the entire corporation. Led the budgeting and planning activities for all head office functions. Developed and managed financial models for electricity pricing and hedging, cost benefit analysis. Developed and managed capital budget plan for over $2 billion in capital expenditures over 5 years

Job 3 - Business Development Representative, Energy Transfer
Responsible for all commercial and economic development for new gas processing and pipeline projects. Developed all project economics, financial statements and PP decks for greenfield development. Successful Final Investment Decisions (FID) for $300 MM gas processing complex and successful FID on $70 MM pipeline system developments

Extra-curriculars:
8 years in the National Guard attaining Sgt rank
Domestic operations for flood relief and COVID-19
Volunteered at Homeless Center

Was the President and Founder of the Business school undergraduate consulting association in my senior year. Director of Events for the accounting society in my junior year amongst many other contributions to my university.

Why MBA/Post MBA - transition from fossil fuel corporate development into renewables finance

Hello guys,

I have been thinking of my current profile strength for INSEAD MBA program.

I am from Egypt, 29 years old, lots of leadership roles (through AIESEC and extracurricular activities, leading 200+). 9 years of work experience (and leadership in the work environment) in Technology/SaaS/Artificial Intelligence (multi-national companies Oracle/MSFT) and leading European startups regionally), international exposure through doing business across 10+ countries, but academically low GPA (2.8/4) and not the best person for exams as GMAT/SAT..etc. I am not so optimistic about getting 680-700, I have been away from tests/exams for the past 9 years. I have applied for Jan 2021 class a few weeks ago.

Cheers!

Hi experts! Would be grateful for an honest review of my profile chances (planning to apply for Sep 21 / Jan 22 intake) -

1. Indian Male 26 year-old based in Dubai, GMAT 730(V 40, Q 49, 96th percentile)

2. Education:
1) Bachelors in Business Statistics (University Rank 1)
2) Chartered Accountant (Country-level rank: Top 50 among ~150k exam takers)
3) CFA (All 3 levels cleared - can apply for the Charter if it is worth it for apps- some advice on this would be valuable)

3. Certifications:
1) Adv Dip in Management Accounting (CIMA, UK)
2) Business Analytics (HBS Online)
3) SQL Bootcamp (Udemy)
4) Fundamentals of Digital Marketing (Google Digital Garage)

4. Languages: English, Hindi, German (A2)

5. Professional Work Experience:
1) 1+ yrs with leading tech startup in Dubai in Strategic Finance - financial modeling, forecasting, analytics, cost optimization (working closely with colleagues from 15 nationalities)
2) 4 years with 2 leading CPG companies in India (1 F500 & other part of big Indian conglomerate group) - different functions within finance (audit, fp&a, reporting, brand finance), 2 promotions, managing 1 qualified management accountant direct report, delivered multiple cost optimization projects (won Best Cost savings initiative award), 2 other awards for different projects that led to strong financial achievement, part of transformation projects, conducted cost-saving workshops and MS Excel trainings at manufacturing locations for shop floor staff
3) 2 years with a Big 4 audit firm (audit associate as a part of Chartered accountant course) - Led audit engagements independently, received an award

6. Extra-curriculars:
1) Running (several half marathons - have suffered from asthma since childhood)
2) Blogging & group management (15 + finance-related blog posts for finance pages with ~250k readership as well as a software provider's website), Manager of a LinkedIn group with ~10k members
3) Associated with an NGO involved in teaching underprivileged kids through interactive learning techniques
4) Salsa dancing (learnt for over 2 years, passed level 1 exam conducted by ISTD, UK)

7. International exposure: 1+ year working in Dubai with cross-cultural team, 4 years elementary school in the US, Worked with international teams on transformation projects while at F500 company in India

8. Post-MBA Goals: Top tier consulting or investment banking for few years, then back to industry in strategy + finance leadership roles

Hi KedKal

Great work on the profile there and I would say INSEAD is a great pick when it comes to Consulting as a post-MBA goal. As per the recent employment statistics, INSEAD placed 35% of the candidates in the consulting sector across the globe. You can learn more about it here: https://intheknow.insead.edu/employment ... im=country

Overall, your profile looks like a good mix of perceptive insights, academics, ability to contribute, leadership skills and multi-cultural adaptability (the things that INSEAD looks for in an application).

What’s going to matter most in your application is how you connect the experiential dots and build a great story to stand out from other applicants in the pool.

Cheers!
Shantanu Sharma, INSEAD MBA’17
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond
Schedule a free session
Email: shantanu@mbaandbeyond.com
What s app: +65-97158525
Call: +49-15212121641
Linkedin

Hi nitzomoe,

Overall, your profile looks like a good mix of perceptive insights, academics, ability to contribute, leadership skills and international motivation (the things that INSEAD looks for in an application).


25% of the class has over 7 years of experience. You can read more about the class profile here: https://www.insead.edu/master-programmes/mba

INSEAD is a great pick if you want to transition to renewables finance where you can leverage Impact Investment Deep Dive during the program , in which the MBA students get to evaluate social businesses all around the globe, in partnership with PE firms and Cartier. It is a great platform for you to network with Impact Investors and various PE firms. There are various conferences that keep happening, which you can definitely use for your advantage. For eg. 'The Force for Good Conference', which happened in 2018. You can read more about it here: https://knowledge.insead.edu/blog/insea ... good-10751


And like I said, your profile is strong, but in the end it’s all going to depend on how well you connect the dots and tell a story that makes you stand out in the pool of applicants.
May I ask, which round are you going for, now that we are very close to the Round 2 deadline?

Shantanu Sharma, INSEAD MBA’17
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond
Schedule a free session
Email: shantanu@mbaandbeyond.com
What s app: +65-97158525
Call: +49-15212121641
Linkedin

Oh, and yes I forgot to mention that a German certificate is an amazing advantage that you have, as you will not need to slog those hours in a language class in such a tightly packed schedule

Cheers!

Thanks for the feedback Shantanu!

Hello all,
Would be grateful if you could evaluate my chances for getting into INSEAD and suggest what all areas i can improve on.

Age: 32, Female, Indian
Qualifications: MBBS from indian college (not very well renowned college though)
Employment history: 1)Worked 4 years in India as a medical doctor
2)Moved to Singapore, worked for 1.5 years as a research assistant in a well renowed hospital
3) worked for 6 months in a pharma company
4) Registered a medical company as director in Singapore with husband and started a GP clinic in the heartland of singapore managing all the work necessary to start up and run a clinic expect seeing patients as i am not registered to practice in singapore.
My duties included right from renting the place to forming the company logo,designing floor plan for clinic, clinic website,arranging medicine supplies, contacting insurance companies to get their contracts, managing salary and company finance etc. So all in all i was working as an Admin, HR, Finance, marketing, sales personnel all together.
Relocated clinic to new place due to low profit in first one,licensed 2nd clinic in the new location,profit was ok but not great as expected so shut down clinic 2 as well.
Intention to Join INSEAD: To understand what went wrong,and restart a new venture with more informed and educated decision post MBA.
Languages spoken: English, Hindi,Marathi, conversational Mandarin, Basic french.
Countries visited apart from Singapore: Malaysia,Vietnam, Cambodia,Hongkong,Macau Phillipines,Thailand,Indonesia.
GMAT: Yet to appear(Can suggest approximate target as per my profile)

Thanks.

Posted from my mobile device

Hi,

Many entrepreneurs get into business schools. I'd like to know what you plan on doing post-MBA from INSEAD? Are you planning to be on the management side?

Hi,
Yes i am planning to be on the management side.

Posted from my mobile device

Hi digidoc,

First of all, a good profile there. It’s a good mix of perceptive insights, academics, ability to contribute, leadership skills and international motivation (the things that INSEAD looks for in an application). The fact that you are a doctor with entrepreneurial experience is definitely a cherry on top and will help you in setting your application apart.

I can absolutely relate to the hiccups that you faced in your entrepreneurial journey, as I experienced the same while running my first startup back in 2015, and they constituted a major part of my application. Your intention to join INSEAD clearly seems valid.

Looking at your profile, , considering the small pool of applicants, and taking into account your nationality, I believe that a GMAT score of 700 and above should be good be good enough for you in the current situation.

Cheers!
Shantanu Sharma, INSEAD MBA’17
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond
Schedule a free session
Email: shantanu@mbaandbeyond.com
https://gmatclub.com/chat: +65-97158525
Call: +49-15212121641
Linkedin

Hello experts! Would be grateful to get an honest review of my profile chances (aim is to apply for Sep 21). I am currently preparing for GMAT (due this June) - so guidance on target score would also be very helpful.

A. Indian Female, 26 year-old currently based in India, previously in Singapore (>3 years)

B. Education:
1) Bachelors in Economics (Rank holder in batch - 2nd position)
2) Masters in Applied Economics from NTU, Singapore (Rank holder/Achievement award - 3rd Semester)

C. Professional Work Experience:
1) Current: ~1 year with Top-tier Consulting co. in Banking and Asset Management industry (India) - deep case engagements with global case teams in banking/asset management sector, financial modeling, forecasting, analytics, client-connects; regular interactions with global Partners/clients
2) ~2.5 years with a leading (mid-size) Technology-focused Investment Banking firm (Singapore) - deep case engagements with global clients in Tech-space/large PE/VC firms, financial modelling, forecasting, valuations, international trips, direct-marketing/revenue-targets

D. Certifications:
1) Excel Modeling and Analysis, Corporate Finance Institute (CFI, US)

E. Languages: English, German (A1)

F. Extra-curriculars:
1) Associated with a leading Indian-NGO to teach language (English) to underprivileged children
2) Part of the key-organizational committee at current company for CSR and Woman Empowerment club - regularly present turnaround initiatives to senior stakeholders for implementation of plans across wider office

G. Post-MBA Goal: Top tier consulting in corporate strategy/management/TMT; private equity focused on integrating banking with TMT/fintech industry

H. What am I passionate about?: Women empowerment, education for female-children during early stages, social-impact driven business/projects

Hi atiwari19,

INSEAD is a great school when it comes to Consulting as a post-MBA goal.
Here’s a snapshot of 2019 Employment statistics: Consulting Sector constituted 35% new hires and 16% returnees. You can find out more about it here: https://intheknow.insead.edu/employment ... -time-jobs

You profile looks like a good mix of perceptive insights, academics, ability to contribute, and international motivation. In addition, you would need to bring out ‘leadership skills’ in your application. And it's great that you already have the third language (German) bit sorted.
The ‘things that you are passionate about’ really stood out for me while reading your profile, and I would say it’s definitely worth mentioning in your essays if you can put them together with good examples and connect the dots to tell a great story.

Considering your profile, the pool you come from and nationality, I’d say that you need to strive towards a GMAT score of 720+. Wish you all the luck with your GMAT in June.

Hope my answer was helpful.

Cheers!
Shantanu Sharma, INSEAD MBA’17
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond
Schedule a free session
Email: shantanu@mbaandbeyond.com
What s app: +65-97158525
Call: +49-15212121641
Linkedin

Background and nationality - Indian (male), age at application stage - 26, Business education (Undergrad and post-grad from top tier institutes in India)
GMAT: 730 -740 (Realistic target)
Undergrad Gpa- 7.48(equivalent to 4.0 acc to gmac)

Post grad Gpa - 2.93/4.33 from IIM (top 30% of class)

Work experience and leadership - 3.5 years (during application) CPG firm in India, led a team of 10+ management graduates for all these 3.5 yrs, promotion in 2 years, youngest and fastest to get promoted, youngest state head, highest growth and achievement nos. in first 2 years

Recommendations from Pan India Heads

Community and others -
1) volunteering at a free school for the underprivileged - arranged youth awareness camps and increased enrollment at school
2) Volunteering at a school for special needs children - mostly kids who don't have resources for correct diagnosis - tried to teach them nuances of human interaction and to make them independent in their daily tasks

Hosted a tedx event and achieved a blackbelt in martial arts, opportunity to represent country and state in international and national competitions

Post MBA goals - transition to consulting and then start an entrepreneurial venture



zero international experience, but experienced many cultures in India

Ideal GMAt score considering my background

Posted from my mobile device

Hi all,

I‘m an MBB-Associate looking to matriculate for a company-sponsored MBA at Insead (Jan 2022). Looking for brief feedback on my overall profile and whether retaking GMAT is necessary.

Background

• Work experience (at matriculation): Ca. 2.5 years at an MBB in Germany excl. internships at two T2s, a Big 4, and a tech consulting firm (two of which in Private Equity- / M&A-consulting)
• Extra-curriculars: Leadership-role on campus during semester abroad, started club during Masters (doubled membership within a year)
• Academic experience: B. Sc. in Computer Science, M. Sc. in Management, both at a highly ranked state school, Masters with a highly international student body
• Educational: Semester abroad at highly international university in SEA, next to English and native language, basic proficiency in one additional European language

Stats

• GMAT: 700 (Q48, V38), looking to retake and increase verbal score
• GPA: Undergrad: 2.2 (upper midfield), Masters: 1.3 (distinction, top 10 %)—both in German grading scale, not GPA

MBA Info

• Goal of MBA: Two goals: 1) continue at MBB upon returning, 2) use summer internship to explore Private Equity as a viable post-consulting career and build related network

Posted from my mobile device

Hello! Looking for someone to review my profile for INSEAD. Didn't get a response on my first post, hoping to have better luck this time.
Any feedback would be much appreciated!

Age:30
Nationality: Irish
Education: Engineering (Edinburgh University) - Mid 2-1(dont know GPA)

Career:
4 months tech start up Ireland
1.5 year in large Engineering Firm (CB&I, working for BP)
4 years in Boutique Operations Consultancy 100 people (current) - No promotions to show progression - Flat structure have remained as Consultant with Pay increases. Not sure if this is a big deal.

Extracurricular:
-Volunteer consultancy working for Marine Megafauna foundation (Very positive feedback)
-Vice President of Events at Management consultancy assocation(organised over 10 events over the last year on leadership and tech)
-Top 3 in EY Edinburgh Apprentice competition at Uni(300 contestants)
-Started a public speaking group toastmasters at last company - 30 paying members, still running

GMAT: Not completed - should be able to achieve 680-700.

International experience:
-Live and work in London, a foreign country. Studied in Scotland.
-Lived and worked in France 7 month
-2 US internships (3months)
-Volunteered in Philipines 3 months
- Mongol Rally, drove from London to Mongolia.

I have big interest in South East Asia, particularly Indonesia. I have been out there 4 times and have been learning the language(basic conversational). I would love to work in that region in the start up or investment scene. I am also very interested in social enterpises and ethical business's. Would be interested in getting strategy experience and applying to emerging markets, in what type of business, I'm not sure yet.

Chris