sivasbanda wrote:
Can someone please help me with profile evaluation?
GMAT - 680
10th - 92%
12th - 96%
Undergrad - 6 CGPA with Masters in Mathematics at BITS Pilani (high number of C's and D's on the transcripts)
Experience : 5.5 years YTD
Worked at 2 startups till date, joining as an early member at both of them. Worked in research consulting space and eventually had the opportunity to manage global VC clients and Fortune 500 CIOs. At the first startup, I hired and managed a team of 8 analysts to manage the clients deliverables and team development. Was a core member of a micro-fund where I was responsible for diligence and competitor analysis of 10+ startups across several industries - analysis carried out for investment purposes.
Also, was the core team member to build an Angel syndicate from scratch and grew it to 4000+ network across India.
Joining as an early member at the second startup, was responsible at hiring an analyst team, setting up the product roadmap and collaborate with the technology team to don the hat of a product manager for the development of the SaaS platform. Released several industry reports on several technologies. One of them was released by IT Minister of Karnataka, Priyank Kharge at Bangalore Tech Summit event. Till date, I was responsible for generating $600k+ in revenue from Healthcare clients.
Awards / accolades : Several promotions and core-member roles in the first startup, but it was not a 'recognizing/awarding' culture. Won several accolades as the team member of month / quarter for my contributions to the fast growth and development of the organization and the SaaS product in the 2nd startup.
Career goals:
Management consultant role would fit well provided my experience in understanding both the innovative startup solutions and business challenges that various Fortune companies are facing currently. I envision to start out as a generalist, but eventually develop an industry expertise in verticals like Education and Healthcare. In the long-term my ambition is to join an impact initiative in the education space or start one myself. Before that, would like to get the relevant industry exposure to develop my understanding of these verticals.
Extracurriculars:
- Volleyball team member and captain in final year during undergrad at BITS Pilani
- Cultural secretary of a regional association on campus. Was responsible for organizing 2 major cultural events of the association.
- Several performances as a Violinist during schooling and undergrad
- Coordination of a Creative Activities Club. Was responsible for managing team projects, organizing events during cultural fests on campus and fund management for the club activities.
- Active member of the BITS Sparks committee where I helped in the fundraising activities of several campus based projects
Why ISB ?
The ecosystem is growing leaps and bounds in India. It would be exciting to witness this growth and be part of it first-hand rather than go away abroad to earn $$. So staying back in India, taking a shot at working in the consulting industry : as business problem solving, market research, evidence based corporate strategy and long working hours have been the norm for the past 5 years.
Thank you very much for your time!
S
Hi
sivasbanda ,
Good to see a fellow BITSian here!
I went through your entire profile and here is my take on it:
1. Weak areas - GMAT score is low. Anything above 700 would have made your chances much higher. ISB, or any school for that matter consider GMAT scores to evaluate your aptitude and ensure that you can survive the rigorous 1 year MBA curriculum. You will have to leverage other aspects of your profile to cover for this. Normally, applicants would refer to high undergrad scores but even that is missing here (Msc. Math must have been hard even back then I guess, haha) Also, I believe that your reasoning for ''Why ISB' and 'Why a PGP' has to be deeper than what is currently is. You could definitely add some pointers about the value an ISB education would bring to you and also the network. Even for the consulting roles that you have mentioned, you can be more specific and highlight some recruiters that you are targeting.
2. Strong areas - Your startup experience will be extremely helpful in creating a story of a strong leader, something that ISB values highly. Try to also show a 'spike' in your profile. For this you can leverage the $$ you generated in revenue or the 4000+ network you created. Basically, show that you achieved an amazing feat at work. Your extra curricular activities are quite a few and this can easily be leveraged to show diversity in your profile.
Lastly, I think the goal of becoming a management consultant definitely makes sense with the reasoning that you have given, however, you can also throw in entrepreneurship as a backup or long term goal as that would make sense too.
I'm connected with the President of both, the Consulting club and the Entrepreneurship club at ISB and I can help you with a more thorough
profile review and mentorship session for your ISB admissions. A good essay is all it takes to get into ISB and these mentors can help you with it.
Please feel free to inbox me if you need any help.
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15 Feb 2019, 05:39
