ISB Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Hi,

You seem to have had stellar career progression and that's going to help while you build the MBA applications. You must focus on how you have grown in your roles, given some great results (quantifiable achievements) and are now trusted in your company to work on new initiatives. B-schools look for leadership among students and all of these points above will help you demonstrate just that.

Your relevant extra-curricular activities will be the ones you have taken part in, in recent times- say, over the past two years and those during undergrad. This is an area that you may want to strengthen in the coming months before the deadlines.

Your GMAT is at ISB's class average of 710. Its an ok score, I think you can submit with this, but your application will have to be super strong. A special mention goes here to career goals and the reasons for a PGP from ISB. Think this through really well, talk to current and recent students and figure out what makes sense for you. Ill-defined career goals can cause trouble for sure, just a head's up here.

Hi There,

I'd be happier with some more info about you. Let's see what I can advise with your short profile description.

Work experience- an operations role gives professionals great chances to make impact. How have you helped improve processes, take initiatives, impact the bottom line in your organization?

ECA- are you doing anything at present? Your undergrad volunteering experience is good, but can be viewed as a bit old. So there's scope for you to strengthen this area in the months following up to the application deadlines. Your weight loss is a personal feat for sure. However, its also good to have experiences where you have helped others. Taking up some volunteering will help you achieve this.

Goals- vying for a strategy consultant role at a consulting firm is a viable option. But, I am sceptical of mentioning entrepreneurship as a long term goal if you are not already an entrepreneur or are doing something about it. Why would you wait for the long term to be one? If the itch to start something of your own is there, then it should manifest sooner than that, right?

You have good acads and your GMAT is above the average GMAT of the current class of ISB. You have spent considerable amount of time in the IOCL and I am sure you could bring out instances in which you have displayed leadership abilities, team player etc.

It's great that you have clearly figured out your short term and long term goals and all you need to focus on right now is to tie the story as to how PGP and your experience so far will help you achieve these goals.

While teaching revenue during undergrad displays your self initiation and entrepreneur capabilities, you need to have some more points in extra and co-curricular section (ISB application has enough real estate to mention). Also these activities allow an individual to grow and bring out different facets in their personality. Even at this stage, you can pick up activities that you like to do or want to contribute in. Since your GMAT is sorted, you have to focus on your essays now and hence I can suggest to pick up some extra/co-curricular activities.

You can tie up your long term goals with the example of teaching and how you earned revenue out of it.

All the best !

Hi all,

Thinking of applying in September 2019. I am a bit of a job hopper & thinking whether I should apply next year instead.

23, Male
GRE - 328

Work experience: 26 months (at the time of matriculation)

Large UK bank 6 months, Finance ( think SC, HSBC, RBS ) in private banking - Dealt with several high net worth clients. Handled risk profiling for the client's portfolio
& coordinated with relationship managers from the UK.

Real estate - Family business, Sales & marketing role - 9 months Worked in a family business environment in Hyderabad. Handled client queries, organized property visits, did market research on various properties & assisted the real estate agents. It was largely a communications role.

Mid-sized Netherlands environmental services firm - Marketing associate - Presently working here Executed digital marketing activities such as email & social media marketing to increase traffic.
Handled allocation of the marketing budget for trade shows, seminars and print collateral. Collaborated with sales team to draft proposals & presentations for clients. I have 2 interns reporting to me.

Education

10th - CBSE - 9.6 GPA
12th - CBSE - 78% ( Science )
Graduation: Famous private college ( Manipal, VIT, etc ) in BBA, 8.2 GPA

Extra Curricular:

Played for the school & college teams in both football & athletics.
Was in the National cadet corps for 2 years.
Have been volunteering with the Rotary club for almost 3 years. Been on immersion programs to Sri Lanka, Singapore & Malaysia.
I can speak 5 Indian languages excluding English.
Certifications in Google AdWords + analytics, Adobe suite, 2 Himalayan high altitude treks & few others on Udemy.

Hobbies include - Landscape photography, stargazing, medieval novels & playing the guitar.

Conclusion -

I just want to know if I would be a strong applicant with good chances for Round 1 ISB. Post-MBA goals would be B2C marketing in either sports or media firms.

Thanks

Hi,

You have worked in 3 different industries and in different roles in the past 2 years. Diversity of experience is valued, but in your case, the time you have spent doing each job is minimal. To top this, your goals are in a new industry. Combined, this doesn't give the impression that you know where you are headed.
Waiting another year and building some depth in experience is a good idea after all. You are young and below ISB's age and WE at this point. A little more experience, more maturity in personality and logically evolved career goals would definitely help to strengthen your case at business schools.

Your GRE score will work just as well next year.

Thanks, I appreciate the insights. Just a quick follow up question.

By next year ( assuming I show good growth at my current job ) would I be a competitive applicant for the following programs -
Wharton, Fuqua, Darden & Marshall - These 4 schools offer a STEM certified MBA in the US for the 3 years OPT & I'm thinking of applying to them as well. Any thoughts?

Hi Praharsh,

Either you can give your GRE again and aim for a 335+ before applying this year or you wait it out for 1 year (for schools such as ISB) and upto 2 years (for schools such as Wharton/Fuqua) to have strong chances. Remember it is better to have a strong profile and then apply rather than applying early and get sub-optimal results. Wait it out, it will definitely pan out good. And please do build the depth of experience as well (in the current role possible) to show stability.

Also, whenever you start your essays, you should have a strong story explaining why multiple jumps and how it eventually leads you to your goals.

While your GMAT doesn't look like an issue, the depth of your work experience might be. In case you def. want to apply this year, take a disciplined approach to essay writing and convincing your admissions panel how you bring maturity to incoming class. Else, I would advise to wait it out and gather more work experience to have a hit at better schools and increase your chances. Also, would need to know your current experience in depth to really make a decision and guide you.

Hi guys!

I am looking to apply this year in Round 1 so any help in my profile evaluation would be helpful!

Undergrad - BBA in Management and Entrepreneurship from Thailand
Total Work Ex. till April 2020 - 4 years
GMAT - scheduled for July 2019

I was born in India but grew up in Thailand. I completed my schooling from Bangkok, and attended university there as well. My first job was as a Senior Sales Executive where I worked for a local lifestyle publication in ad sales. Alongside the publications, I also was part of the team which hosted the largest Indian wedding fair in Thailand for 2 years. My first job relied heavily on field sales, event management, and networking with clients.

My current job is with Uber Eats as a Team Lead for the sales team. I have been part of the teams launching the service in different markets across India and have led various sales sprints. I lead a team of 11 individuals, all who come together to meet deadlines and project requirements efficiently. My job is heavy on project, people and stakeholder management.

Some of my extra-curricular activities in school include President of South Asian Club, President of International Club, Spiritual Vice President, Assistant Editor for Yearbook, and President for Drama Club. I have initiated a few clubs on my own in college when I saw that there was a need for it and have participated in all cross-cultural events as well.

I consider myself to be culturally sensitive and a passionate leader with global experience - one who's not afraid to try new things!

I am aiming for a 750 on the GMAT for a strong chance to get in during Round 1. Any feedback is welcome

Hey Prerna,

You've got a great GMAT target score and I wish you all the best in achieving it. You have a great experience and I believe you can really bring out important stories from your Uber Eats experience. Also, do focus on why you want to get your MBA from ISB (or any other school you maybe targeting) and maybe focusing on your south east asian experience may help. We can def. build a great story around your experiences as we know more in detail.

For now, all the best for your GMAT!

Hi,

I've planned to apply for ISB in the first round of 2019.

Undergrad- B. tech from Tier 2 college with a CGPA of 7.6.


Work Ex- 32 months with IFB in service operations as well as business development for additives category.
Designation- Area Manager
My work primarily revolved around handling service operations of a given territory in Bangalore. Apart from the operations aspect, I was responsible for driving the service business in particular categories and maintain the required targets month on month. I do have some quantifiable achievements to be presented through my work experience.
A small caveat though, I've recently resigned from my job to prepare for CAT as well as GMAT.

Extra curricular- Participation in Marketing events for literary event in college.
Head of the engine and transmission department for fabrication of vehicle in Formula Student competition .

Hi, I am reaching out to you as I intend to do my second MBA and want to know what are the realistic chances for the same.
I would prefer 1 year resident courses and was thinking of colleges like Insead, ISb and others if you could suggest.

Please find below my profile and it would be great if you could evaluate the same.

Curriculum:
Indian Male, 30 yrs. Class X - 78%, Class XII - 63%, Bachelor's of Engineering in Electronics and Telecommunication (Mumbai University) - 63% and Masters in Management Studies (Mumbai University) - 73%.

Work experience:
- Total 72 Months experience.
- 22 Months as a Strategy planner for offline brand communications. Was selected as a part of Young leadership council to bring effective changes at workplace.
- Moved to a digital communication company as an account manager to gain digital marketing experience, worked there for 21 months
- Moved to another communication agency to work as Senior strategy planner on large brands like HSBC, Hindustan Unilever Limited. Worked there for 26 months.
- From last 3 months I am working as Digital marketing manager for an upcoming brand in healthcare sector.
Already managed to achieve All Time High numbers through key digital initiatives.

Co-curricular activities:
- Elected as the Chairman of IEEE student chapter and the Head of advisory committee. Lead the chapter of over 500 students.
Organized engagement activities and Social initiatives in partnership with Department of directorate of environment of Maharashtra
- Appeared on multiple debate panels for the RKB show on Lemon TV, which later moved to Sahara TV
- Organised blood donation camps in partnership with State Blood Transfusion Council
- Conceptualized and created a mobile app that used the untapped real estate of mobile lock-screens. Learnt the ropes of digital marketing while creating this app.
- Currently trying my hand with a small e-commerce brand that sells products in the international market
- Recently won a Silver medal at State level for 'MuayThai Association Maharashtra'

Career Aim:
I have always wanted to work on the overall brand development. While earlier I focused on the communication area of brands, I have now developed skill sets on performance and funnel marketing.
With the second MBA, I intend to achieve 3 things:
- Work for a mid to large size organization where I get to play an active role in overall brand marketing and strategy
- Avoid slotting myself as single channel expert
- Fast-track the above mentioned objectives

Posted from my mobile device

Hi sugamsindhi

There are few missing information that would help evaluate better..points such as your 10,12 score.

With 32 months of work experience and operations background, you need to bring out strong aspects in your profile such as direct contribution to growth in revenue/business over a period in your area. You need to mention quantifiable numbers, including crucial KPIs that indicate your performance and gives a glimpse about your work and you.

Since you have left your job, you might have to explain later as to why you took this decision because majority of candidates prepare for CAT, GMAT while doing their job full-time.

Extra curricular activities are few in number. Please note that ISB application gives a lot of scope to display your extra curricular activities. Do reach out for any additional queries/help.

All the best !

Hi Shweta,

Thank for the response. Understanding that the profile would be difficult to evaluate from the insufficient information provided, allow me add a few more points.

Class Xth - 9CGPA,
Class XIIth-84%.

In addition to these aforementioned extra-curricular activities, I think I can mention my passion for biking as well as a few more small hobbies.
The decision to leave my job was out of necessity for the career transition.

Please let me know if this weakens or strengthens my prospects any further.

Thanks.

Hello Everyone,
I plan to apply for ISB in 2nd Round.
GMAT score - 620 ( planned retake in Sept hence second round)

Undergrad - 62.14 percent , B.E ( Computer Science) , Pune University.

Work experience - 3 and a half years as a software developer. Currently working at Cognizant as a Programmer analyst. Previously worked with Bentley Systems and Caterpillar inc.

Started my career in Caterpillar inc as an associate It analyst. Quickly realized I was in the wrong place. Non tech job, work on the shop floor etc. Quit after 6 months and secured an internship at Bentley Systems. Converted internship into a full time opportunity. Developed crucial features for the product I was working on. Worked with colleagues of different nationalities namely Americans ,English, Polish , Chinese , Canadians etc. I was the go to man for team presentations, have given presentations in front of senior vps. Since there was no client interaction, I moved to Cognizant. Spent 3 months at client location (domestic). Currently working offshore delivering critical systems

Cocurricular - I have authored a research paper which was presented in an IEEE conference and published by IEEE.

Extracurricular - I was a frequent participant in speech contests , debates and elocutions . Won my first debate in class 4 and was amongst the top 3 every year. Participated in a state level Hindi elocution competition. I used to play tabla and performed regularly at the school annual day. The speaking continued in my college days and I won modern youth parliament event in college.
Was the campaigning head for a national tech fest. Also, I was the secretary of the student union of my department.
Post college joined toastmasters, and I have been a club secretary, VP membership and president. Currently I serve as an area director, responsible for 5 clubs (150 people approx)
Have won many awards while serving these roles. Have organised events in school, college, toastmasters and my work places.
I was a part of csr committee of Bentley Systems, helped organise donation drives for students and hosted cultural events.
Currently part of a core team working on creating an organisation focused on education for poor.

Posted from my mobile device

Can you please evaluate my profile?

Academics
10th : 93%
12th : 86%
BE in Mechanical Engineering : 72%

Age: 27-28

Work Experience
6 Years of experience in a manufacturing company with a profile of Project Management.
Was promoted from Sr. Engineer to Assistant Manager in 3 years.
Have handled projects with value of about 100 Cr.

Extra curricular
Have won prizes in Acting in college at State/Zone Levels.
Have worked for sanitation and Adolescent hygiene causes under the company CSR.

Languages Known: English, Hindi, Marathi, Spanish.

Want to change industries preferably to the media industry. (Will this be a problem?)

A couple of things I want to know.
Will a 710-720 GMAT score suffice?
What else do I need to improve with my profile?

Hi,
Coming from the most competitive pool of applicants, your biggest challenge will be to differentiate yourself from others with similar profiles. Work experience is an important criterion for evaluation and the adcom would definitely seek some qualities that make you stand apart: your leadership skills, accelerated career progression,and the level of impact you have made on your 3 organizations. If you think another year's experience will allow you to build these, given that you have moved around a bit, then i'd suggest you do that.
You seem to be consistently involved in extracurriculars, which is a good thing.
You already know about the GMAT so I will only add: score 730+ and all the best.