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May 0507:00 PM EDT
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In this live 60-minute masterclass, How to Get Ahead of MBA Recruiting Now, we’ll walk through the four biggest mistakes incoming MBAs make and how to avoid them so you’re not scrambling to catch up once recruiting begins.
May 0706:00 AM PDT
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A strong MBA application is built long before you start writing essays. In this session, Scott Edinburgh (Founder, Personal MBA Coach) shares 6 practical ways to improve your MBA profile before MBA application season
May 0710:00 AM EDT
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Sia Admissions Founder Susan Berishaj is covering this live on YouTube, May 7: how admissions committees actually evaluate goals statements, who is in the room, and why the goals statement most applicants submit wouldn't survive that conversation.- May 07
11:30 AM PDT
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Most MBA resumes fail not because of weak experience — but because of how that experience is presented. In this episode, we break down what makes an MBA resume effective, and how to shift from listing responsibilities to demonstrating impact... - May 08
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MBAGuide
Joined: 24 Jul 2019
Last visit: 05 May 2026
Posts: 2,390
Given Kudos: 28
Location: India
Concentration: Operations, Marketing
Schools: Insead Sept'18 (A$$) ISB '19 (A)
03 May 2023, 22:06
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AvantikaK
Hi AvantikaK hope this finds you well
With 8 years of professional experience, you will be a great fit for all the schools on your list. However, the IIMs are better focused on catering to more experienced professionals seeking MBAs. Therefore if I were in your position, my order of preference would be-
1. IIM A
2. IIM B / ISB
Your academics are decent but the undergrad pedigree is not clear. Definitely target a solid 700+ on the GMAT. Your banking and trade finance background will give strong backing to your candidacy. The key aspects the schools will evaluate in addition to good academics are
1. Growth Progression in your career - Make sure you demonstrate how you attained incremental responsibilities and leadership opportunities with every growth step in your career. Unpack your experiences and construct your stories in a way that shows that working on your projects has given you much more hands-on experience, more experiential maturity, and more capability to contextualize business problems (specific to your area of work). Nothing works better than a strong industry focus.
2. Post PGP Goals/ Employability- You did not mention your post PGP goals. It's important to be pragmatic, clear and authentic about your expectations from an MBA/PGP. Admissions committees have a long memory of applicants with vague/generic goals like consulting. To stand out, take time to reflect on your professional background and where you see yourself in 5-10 years, identify areas of growth, and research the necessary skills for any post MBA transitions (if needed).
You can read more about this here - Fail-proof strategy for acing that ISB Interview
Avoid these pitfalls in goals essays
3. A well rounded personality- You haven't mentioned any current ECs or hobbies/interests. For Finance professionals seeking MBA, showcasing a balanced right brain thinking and search for meaning beyond the numbers is also important.
But I would not worry too much about the extracurricular at this point. For your ECs, I suggest that you think deeper and analyze whether you have missed considering any mundane/ unobvious/ subtle initiatives you may have taken through the years ( travel, learning a new language, certain diversity initiatives at work, for example, raising voice against gender discrimination, voicing strong opinions for diversity in the workforce, providing financial or moral support to someone in need, teaching the underprivileged kids, organizing diversity talks or off-site activities for better collaboration among teams, and so on). In my experience, I have seen that applicants struggle to recall in early stages of application how they contributed toward the betterment of their community. It could take a little introspection to unravel it all.
Feel free to write to us at mbaguideconsulting.com should you wish to schedule a candid discussion about your MBA prospects.
MBAGuideConsulting
WEBSITE: https://mbaguideconsulting.com/ | Message: +91 9971200927
Feel free to write to us at [email protected]
03 May 2023, 23:17
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Hello Avantika,
I am assuming here that you have not written the GMAT yet. The chances can be good at each of your target schools (ISB, IIMA, IIMB), provided you have a strong GMAT, the application is well thought out with goals mapped out clearly, and the interview goes equally well. Your approach should be to present well researched goals. If you are considering a transition it is important to work on your transferable skills, and present a preparation to achieve your goals.
Your extracurriculars seem to be outdated now, you could see if you can keep your interests current.
All the best!
I am assuming here that you have not written the GMAT yet. The chances can be good at each of your target schools (ISB, IIMA, IIMB), provided you have a strong GMAT, the application is well thought out with goals mapped out clearly, and the interview goes equally well. Your approach should be to present well researched goals. If you are considering a transition it is important to work on your transferable skills, and present a preparation to achieve your goals.
Your extracurriculars seem to be outdated now, you could see if you can keep your interests current.
All the best!
AvantikaK
04 May 2023, 01:03
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hello AvantikaK
ISB or IIMs are going to evaluate your profile on primarily four factors-
1. Academic potential- the b schools want to ensure you will be able to handle the academic pressure of the program and decent past scores along with a strong GMAT/GRE are needed to give that confidence. Now in your specific case, past scores are good, but any information on GMAT (even an expected score) is missing and makes it tough to give a complete feedback.
2. Work experience- while you have mentioned 8 years and banking, this is not enough information for an assessment. Sure, 8 years puts you in a sweet spot in terms of work ex, but more than years what matters is what have you done in those years. What has been your career progress, what are some of the key achievements worth talking about. With current information, even the role is not very clear.
3. Diversity- ISB loves to boast how diverse its class is. In fact that is one of the essay questions. Answer what unique traits, qualities and experiences do you have that will help you add value to theb experience of your batch mates inside and outside the classroom. While extracurricular activities usually help, in your case there is low understanding of the achievements, impact and relevance of activities. Based on the current information, we don't even know what activities you've been involved in. Also, keep in mind that school/university activities usually do not add much weight unless the achievements are absolutely stellar and are still relevant.
4. Career goals - ISB is looking for leaders with a clear vision of their career broken down into long term, short term and how ISB will act as a stepping stone to help to achieve your goals. The goals must be realistic too, both from your profile and school's point of view. No mention of goals, so impossible to comment on this element as well.
Based on the information shared, it is virtually impossible to gauge your chances, so the only advice I can offer is that work on all of the four factors mentioned above in order to build a profile worthy of getting an interview invite.
You may want to read here on what factors work in a profile and here to add to your research on career goals.
Best
Varun Sharma
+918452954888 (WA message for a quicker response)
MBAkarma.com
[email protected]
ISB or IIMs are going to evaluate your profile on primarily four factors-
1. Academic potential- the b schools want to ensure you will be able to handle the academic pressure of the program and decent past scores along with a strong GMAT/GRE are needed to give that confidence. Now in your specific case, past scores are good, but any information on GMAT (even an expected score) is missing and makes it tough to give a complete feedback.
2. Work experience- while you have mentioned 8 years and banking, this is not enough information for an assessment. Sure, 8 years puts you in a sweet spot in terms of work ex, but more than years what matters is what have you done in those years. What has been your career progress, what are some of the key achievements worth talking about. With current information, even the role is not very clear.
3. Diversity- ISB loves to boast how diverse its class is. In fact that is one of the essay questions. Answer what unique traits, qualities and experiences do you have that will help you add value to theb experience of your batch mates inside and outside the classroom. While extracurricular activities usually help, in your case there is low understanding of the achievements, impact and relevance of activities. Based on the current information, we don't even know what activities you've been involved in. Also, keep in mind that school/university activities usually do not add much weight unless the achievements are absolutely stellar and are still relevant.
4. Career goals - ISB is looking for leaders with a clear vision of their career broken down into long term, short term and how ISB will act as a stepping stone to help to achieve your goals. The goals must be realistic too, both from your profile and school's point of view. No mention of goals, so impossible to comment on this element as well.
Based on the information shared, it is virtually impossible to gauge your chances, so the only advice I can offer is that work on all of the four factors mentioned above in order to build a profile worthy of getting an interview invite.
You may want to read here on what factors work in a profile and here to add to your research on career goals.
Best
Varun Sharma
+918452954888 (WA message for a quicker response)
MBAkarma.com
[email protected]
AvantikaK
