Ask MBA Crystal Ball

RAVI MITTAL

SUMMARY
An experienced management professional (7+ years of experience in IT industry) with proven leadership skills, success in directing multi-million dollar projects to generate consistent revenue along with profit growth.
• GMAT score 740 (50Q, 39V). 6 in AWA – 13-Oct-11 (First Attempt)
• Practical work experience in project management of cross-functional teams across different geographies.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Subex Limited (Now NetCracker Post acquisition) Bangalore, India
Project Manager – PMO Team, Aug 2007 – Present Date
• Currently handling strategic Tata automation project, one of the biggest enterprise telecom providers in world, valued $2.25 million – one third of my company’s revenue, spread over 2 years and with around 70 people involved. Also handling another strategic account – Swisscom – third biggest contributor to my company’s revenue.
• Successfully delivered “Proof of Concept” project to Tata which lead to addition of Tata as customer to my company inspite of almost no prior experience of my company in the domain required, by strategically proposing paid support from ECI – leading equipment provider in the domain.
• Successfully delivered strategic Swisscom upgrade project leading to other customers also agreeing for upgrade- first of its kind in 5 years of company’s history and lead 50 member team and earned “Above and Beyond” award & promotion.
• Successfully managed other roadmap and customer accounts – British Telecom, Qwest, Telecom Italia, Swisscom, Tata, Centennial, Telstra and AT&T.
• International exposure in terms of daily communication (phone/mails) with colleagues/clients/customers across globe/designation – Switzerland, Australia, USA, Russia, Israel, Canada, UK.
• Nominated & Completed PMP certification. Implemented techniques learnt leading to 15% reduction in customer issues and 10% reduction in cost overrun.
• Developed custom solution (across multiple projects) prior to the management experience for Swisscom.
• Went to Australia and successfully deployed the product in SOUL- Australian Telecom Operator for $1 million project.

LGSoft India Bangalore, India
Software Engineer November, 2005 – August, 2007
• Worked on different LG GSM handsets delivered in ASIA PACIFIC region including the LG’s highest selling chocolate model. Got award from Business head for my contribution.
• Worked in Korea & China & improved delivery model in India to increase time to market and turn around time for mobile handsets.
• Implemented multiple message deletion and mobile tracker feature first time in LG handsets.

Sasken Communication Limited, Bangalore, India
Software Engineer August, 2004 – November, 2005
• Implemented testing tool for Mobile towers deployed by different Telecom operators and learnt GSM standards.
• Worked in Canada to gather requirements from Ciena and setup the LAB first time in my company at offshore.
• Most active member of the fun club in Sasken and tried to learn Kannada.

EDUCATION
PMP Certified PMI, 22-Dec-10
Harcourt Butler Technological Institute (UPTU) Kanpur, India. B.Tech, Computer Science and Engineering May, 2004 (70%)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Language Proficiency: English (Advanced), Hindi (Native), Kannada (Intermediate), French (Basic)
Hobbies: Cycling, Running (5K & 10K), Trekking, Travelling, Cinema, Cricket,
Volunteering: Member of rotary blood donation club, Organized sports day, Class representative & Placement coordinator in HBTI, Canvassed for best friend to win College Election, Raised money for Gujarat flood victims, Suggested steel cups instead of paper cups to save environment and operating cost in Subex, Member of Rangde, an NGO for financing villagers.

Can you please evaluate my profile and tell me my chances in following Colleges

1. ISB (Already Applied)
2. INSEAD (Already Applied)
3. NUS (Applying this week)
4. Planning for following colleges - Oxford/Cambridge (one of them), IE/IESE/ESSADE (one of following), HEC Paris and Duke.

Important point is I want to come back to India and hence choosing colleges which have more reputation in India otherwise I will try IIMs next year.
Any further suggestion?

Sameer, Do you guys offer consulting for IMD? Essays + Interview?

Indian MBA Applicants more likely to be rejected from top b-schools

You thought it was fair game and your chances of getting into a top MBA program had nothing to do with your nationality? Not true, says John Byrne, former executive editor of BusinessWeek and founder of Poets & Quants.

According to him the rejection rates for Indian candidates are ‘dramatically higher’ than any other nationality. An Indian applicant is 3 to 5 times less likely to get an offer compared to domestic candidates from the US.

In fact, European and Latin American candidates would also fare better than Indians. What makes the P&Q survey results extremely credible is the fact that the data has been supplied officially by B-schools to Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Some schools that feature … Read entire article »

Business Plan FAQ: What is it and how to create one?

When you start your MBA program, you’ll probably have to create (or review or study) a business plan. It might be a mandatory exercise because it’s part of a graded assignment. Or it might be part of a MBA business plan competition sponsored by your friendly neighbourhood consulting firm.

If you think you’ll never have to create one for yourself, it may still be a good idea to get your hands dirty right now, even before you step into a b-school. Why should you start working on a business plan now? … Read entire article »

Thanks for posting here, Ravi.


For the ones you've already applied, stop worrying about your chances. It'll just make you take more antacids while you wait for a response. For the others, Oxford, Cambridge have a strong brand recognition in India. Though the others on your list are good schools within their region, don't assume that their brands would be automatically recognised by all employers.

You may have to educate them and explain that they aren't just some foreign school that kids of rich parents attend. They are selective programs where deman outstrips the supply yada yada...Extend that spiel.

The traditional MBA recruiters are more aware of international MBA brands. A huge majority (specially in conventional industries) have no clue about them. They'd be more aware of local brands (even tier 2/3).

But that doesn't mean you lower your standards just to make them happy. You'd be spending a lot of money on this. So ensure that you are doing it for yourself first (build new skills, a bigger network, a new perspective that you can bring to your next role) and then for your employers.

High paying Non MBA jobs in the glamour world



Today’s guest writer is Tinu Menachery, a model (yup, that’s her photo) and a content writer. She’s comes from a world that most readers of the MBA Crystal Ball blog (chasing typical MBA jobs and careers like consulting and investment banking) will probably never experience. And that’s exactly the reason why we requested Tinu to try and get at least a few folks interested in a career in the glamour world.

These ‘jobs’ (almost sounds demeaning to use that word in this industry) can earn you big bucks (monthly salaries are so passé). Plus life indeed can be one big party, rather than something you’d save for alternate weekends when your boss doesn’t overload you with official work.

Tinu started her modeling career with Gladrags in 2008 (‘reached the top 15 without falling off the stage‘ she adds) and was 2nd runner up of...Read More

Yes, we do sir. In fact, one of our consultants (from our very small team) is from IMD.

MBA Crystal Ball closing its doors for Round 2 Applications

Many of you might know that we are a very small team and we have been focussing on working only with a small set of candidates. And the good news that has been trickling in from guys who've got into top-notch schools from INSEAD to Chicago (and of course, ISB) tells us we are doing something right with our operational model and we shouldn't rock the boat.

For each admissions season and each round we stop taking new folks when we reach peak capacity. For Round 2, it's time for us to announce that we are no longer accepting new clients who are targetting deadlines in Jan.

On a very selective basis we may offer our shorter scope packages (like Turbocharge) to profiles that we really like.

For those who've been following us for a while and planning to apply in the next season, please contact us early in 2011, specially if you have the bigger scope packages (e.g. GMAT + MBA MAP + 5 schools) on your mind.

Executive MBA: How I got into Columbia with a 570 GMAT score



No, it’s not another article on careers in the glamour industry. If you think all our guest writers are hot and glamorous, it’s merely a coincidence. Or maybe it’s the MBA Crystal Ball platform. Or maybe it’s Maybelline.

Preeti Wadekar has managed to crack into an insanely competitive Ivy League school despite challenges (like a low GMAT score). What was her strategy for Columbia? What can you learn from Warren Buffett when it comes to B-school applications? Why Munni and Sheila couldn’t get into a B-school? She explains all this and more...read more

Hi MBA Crystal Ball,


My profile is as follows

Education

Top 75 US School (USNews Overall ranking) : Masters in Computer Science GPA 3.9
Bachelors in India : First class with Distinction (non-IIT)

GMAT : 720

Work Experience : 4+ years as of this email in a start up company in USA partnering with big companies. I have grown along with the company in responsibility and position/role. I work on the data analytics side of the business, providing data for profitability/pricing/accounting and big partner companies. Solely responsible for the accuracy and consistency of the data.

Second job--I voluntarily took the responsibility. After my 40 hours , I work on special projects where I take the lead in finding ways of increasing revenue in the smaller areas of the business. I have done 2 projects and was successful in improving it. A McCombs alumni guides me in this process, who is part of the management.

Wish List of Schools
1) Booth
2) Wharton
3) Darden
4) Duke
5) Columbia
6) Stanford
7) Mc Combs
8) Kellogg


Could you tell me if I am aiming too high and which fall within my reach.

Thanks,
Suri

Georgia University Terry MBA – Full scholarship with stipend for Riaz



ISB Hyderabad (Indian School of Business) didn’t have good news for Riaz Mohammed and he wrote about it earlier on our blog with some advice for others who were in a similar situation.

We had hinted that his story was going to change for the better. Riaz is back with some good news to share. News that includes feel-good terms like MBA scholarships, full tuition waiver, stipend, free ride. Music to the ears! ...Read More

Hi Suri,

I'm not sure what you mean by a second job. The way you've described it gives me the impression that you are working in the same company but focussing on areas that you aren't responsible for. Is that correct or are you working for another company (or companies)?

Either ways, what you are doing (work-wise) is good. Just ensure that you make the segregation clear in your essays and highlight what each of those roles has helped you achieve.


It would have been a good mix if you were looking to spread these schools out across Round 1 and Round 2. If you haven't already applied to some of these in the previous round, I'd say it won't hurt to go a little more conservative with the choice and include other schools where you'd have a better chance in R2.

Hi Sameer,

Let me know what you think of my profile.

Summary
* Total of 8.5 years of workex in the IT domain, mostly into software development.
* Male, 30, Married, 1 yr daughter
* B.E. from NITK Surathkal (ECE) with 82% (I Class with Distinction, Top 10 of Class of 2003)
* PMP certified Proj Mngr
* Distance Learning from IIM Calcutta (Certificate Program in Management of Software Development) in 2008
* 3 ys of Prod Dev in Oracle; then 6 months Oracle Apps consulting; then 4.5 years as Technical PM for Prod Dev in a small firm setting up the entire practice - incl training, mentoring, support, consulting, Customer Site trainings/demos, (even looking out for new office space!!); finally last 6 months as IT PM for Bus Transformation in HR function of India's biggest conglomerate.
* GMAT: 760 (Q50, V42) in 1st attempt; AWA not received yet.

International Exposure

* Visits have been short
- US: a month at Oracle HQ + 2 weeks business visit
- UK: 2 client visits - each 2 weeks
* Clients worked with belong to: US, UK, Netherlands, Australia

Extra-Curricular Activities

* School/ College Days: Quizzing, Church Choir, Philately, Numismatics (Collecting Coins), Volunteer for College Festival,
* Post School: Volunteer at Oracle for social causes, Support for orphanages, etc.

MBA Fields of Interest

* Software Product Management, Software Product Strategy, Mgmt Consulting in Tech Domain

Interested Schools

* INSEAD, Sloan, Stanford, Haas, ISB,.... (still trying to see best fit for fields of interest)

Hello Sameer,

Please evaluate my profile and provide me guidance on which B-schools should I select.

My MBA interest: FT, General Management or finance
GMAT (on July 30, 2011) - 770 (Q50, V44, AWA 6.0)

Was selected for the first batch of Indian School of Business(ISB) Young Leaders Programme, class of 2015.

Total Work Exp: FT 0 PT 2.5 years

I worked part-time alongside college for 2.5 years in a software company. I started as an intern and then eventually moved on to taking commercial projects for the company on contract basis. I helped them start the mobile software department, hiring and training people. I also was the team leader for the department and was heavily involved in dealing with the clients.

I currently hold a job offer from Citrix Systems.

Sex – Male
Age – 23 yrs
Nationality - Indian



Education:
B. E. (IT) from Jadavpur Univ, passing out in 2012.
GPA 8.52 out of 10
XII – 78.8%, CBSE board
X – 83.6%, Maharashtra board

ECs:
1. Nominated for the National Youth Award, 2012 for social service by the Government of India for my work for an NGO working for rural healthcare
2. Selected by the Government of India as a delegate to China for the India China Youth Exchange Program, 2011
3. Came 3rd in interschool debate in 10th standard in Mumbai in a city level debate competition
4. Came 2nd in under-15 throwball competition in Mumbai District
5. Best all-rounder in school in 10th standard
6. Held the post of monitor all through school life. Was prefect and assistant prefect of my house as well.


Aim: I want to join a venture capital working in the area of technology. After working there for 5-6 years I want to start up my own technology firm.

I would like to know:

1. How my profile looks for an MBA from the top 10-20 B-schools?
2. What, in your opinion, is my strengths and weakness reflected in my profile?
3. Please mention what should I do to make my case stronger for final call.
4. I am applying to HBS 2+2 and Stanford. What do you think my chances are?


Thanks.

GMAT AWA essay tips

While preparing for the GMAT, most of the candidates start planning in advance for a high GMAT score in the Quantitative and Verbal sections. The score out of 800 for these two sections seems to be the only aspect that matters. The AWA section which has a score on the scale of 0-6 is totally off the radar.

One reason for that might be because the AWA score doesn’t get too much attention on B-school websites. Almost all of the top schools talk about their average GMAT scores, but there’s usually no reference to the AWA score. So many applicants assume, if it does not figure anywhere on the school site, it may be unimportant...Read More

Greetings, Mr D'souza and a very happy new year to you!

Great variety there, buddy. In your startup experience, did you get involved in business development activities as well, or was it mainly project execution?


Good to have all three on the 'MBA interest' plate. But when it comes to career choice, and for your MBA application you'll have to prioritise and narrow it down to one, as each of these would require a slightly different set of skills.


All good programs. But you might be too old for Stanford and too young for Sloan. For schools like INSEAD, ISB you'd still be older than the average guy getting in, but still not so bad a stretch.

Conspicuous by their absence - many European bschools where you'd fit in better. Intentionally?

Master in Biotechnology Management at IE (Instituto de Empresa)



You could pass her off as a young, aspiring entrepreneur trying to learn the ropes at a top business school. Young, she definitely is. But she’s gone way past the ‘aspiring’ stage.

Sila Toksoz already had a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in Materials Science & Nanotechnology and a Bachelors degree in Molecular Biology & Genetics when she launched her Biotech startup (Biyonesil Biological Products) in Turkey.

Her entrepreneurial journey started after winning a business plan competition while she was still studying. Now she’s planning to take it all to the next level...Read More