str1der wrote:
Dear Alex,
Trust all's well. Resonating views of some of the other people who have posted here, your style of answering questions on this website is much appreciated. I do feel you provide very accurate and to the point suggestions on a candidature. In that respect, am detailing my profile below to get some pointers from you
Background: Indian male, computer engineering (first class) from a top public university (non IIT)
Full Time Work Experience:
- Headhunter (Since late 2010), work at the India office of the world's largest executive search firm which has offices in 50+ countries.
- Promoted to Associate Consultant in Jan 2012 - the youngest and only non MBA to get this promotion in the India office's 18 year history
- Led business development activities with the managing partner which resulted in $250K of won business, successfully recruited the CEO of a $750Mn company while working on one of those projects
- Have led various projects such as the CEO of $1.5 Bn steel major, Global CEO of a $1 Bn Swiss conglomerate (working with a swiss client, international search for Indians and expats run from India), Chief learning Officer for a $30 Bn+ conglomerate etc.
- Lead the Socializing and CSR initiatives at office, successfully raised funds for a Green initiative
- Recognized as best performer in the India Office last year, received a Rookie of The Year award in our annual offsite in Thailand
Between Jun 2009 and late 2010
- Ran part of HR operations for a research captive of one of the worlds most prominent consulting firms
- Part of the global talent management and professional development team for employees
- Ran the allocations function, responsible for staffing the entire 250 member workforce, across all designations, in India, China and South Africa
- Received a perfect annual evaluation - one of only three such individuals company wide, and only one in the HR team
- Responsible for the revenue reporting function, where I reported to the Global CEO, and was responsible for billing and reconciliation of $10Mn+ of global revenue
- Led a team of two, whom I recruited, and which received the first ever outstanding client service award for an HR team
Part Time Work Experience:
While in college started a web design studio. made good margins and profits working across 8 projects with a global team (freelancers recruited online through portals like elance)
Achievements (Outside of Work):
- India's youngest Microsoft Certified Professional at the age of 13
- Among the top three students consistently throughout school, in the top 15% in college
- Won Various National & State Level Declamations, Debates and Quizzes
Interests & Other Info
- Won the Best New performer award for Stand Up Comedy for an impromptu performance at one of Delhi's most prominent bars
- Highly involved in fund raising activities, teaching initiatives, and my school alumni board
- Love to travel - have traveled/backpacked to the US, UK, UAE, China, Japan, Thailand, and most of India
GMAT: First attempt in 2008: 690 (Q48, V36, AWA 6), Second attempt in 2011: 690 (Q48, V35, AWA 6), Third Attempt in 2012: 730 (Q49, V42, AWA 6)
School Selection:
Main Targets
Wharton
Kellogg (Reapplicant - interviewed last year, rejected)
Tuck (Reapplicant - rejected without interview last year)
Cornell
Darden
INSEAD
Columbia (Reapplicant - rejected without interview last year)
Dream Schools (will apply only after applying, or hopefully getting in, to schools above in Round 1)
HBS
Stanford
MIT
As you probably know, what certainly helps is that you are *not* an engineer like your Indian compatriots. Hard to say what happened last year, but it looks like you've had a solid career thus far, and as such I think that schools in the top 8 are stretches (but worth applying to 2-3: Columbia, Kellogg, Tuck, Sloan, Booth, Haas), and top 16 are more likely your sweet spots (choose 3-4: Ross, Darden, Duke, Yale, Cornell, NYU, UCLA). INSEAD and LBS are in between - I guess call them slight stretches. H/S/W are likely long shots to be honest (you're up against too many people with more pedigree than you and who can claim to be just as accomplished in their careers as you - and they aren't exactly shoe-ins for these three schools either simply because there are more folks of a similar caliber than there are spots).
In short, try again - which it sounds like you're doing. Your essays could've been an issue - but I would guess that it's not that they were bad, but that they were simply "okay" or even "good" - but that you just simply fell through the cracks or got lost in the shuffle (which may sound strange since you're not an Indian engineer - but strip away your nationality, and your work profile is that of a corporate professional - which isn't totally unusual).