ISB Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Hi Shashi

Let us look at the "three Es" - that's how a B school would evaluate your profile.

1. Education: You already have a masters degree which will give you an edge over other applicants.

2. Experience: 10 years is 2x the class average at ISB and average for other schools such as IIM A, IIM B etc. Quality of experience seems good with marquee names such as Microsoft Windows, Office on your resume. A mix of startup and big corporation experience can also be presented well to showcase the value you will bring to the class (usually an essay topic for most schools). If you have international experience, ensure that gets its due in your application too.

3. Extra curriculars: Good mix of toastmasters, volunteering and Sanskrit. However, ensure that you talk of achievement and not mere participation in your application essays.

Overall, this is a strong profile, which has the right ingredients for a successful application. However, it needs to be presented well, especially on areas such as "why MBA?", "why now?", "career goals", etc.

Being ISB alumni, we can say by experience that you need not worry about age. Every year, ISB has many 30+ students (some even 40+). The school also has a "senior executive club" which specifically looks into the interests of such people.

Since you come from a tech background, we would suggest you also apply to IIM A and IIM B as they are focused on senior tech applicants.

Like any other exam, the higher score, the better. However, for your profile, even a 650 on the GMAT will be fine. We have had clients in the past who got into ISB with 640 (8 years of experience).

Hope this helps. Do let us know in case of any further queries.

Team S4G

Hi PatrickJack

Looking at the three Es, given below are our views on your profile:

1. Education: Good scores and a good brandin BITS. A masters degree is an added advantage. You seem to check all boxes here.

2. Experience: Fast track promotion and a brand (I assume a top ride hailing co means Uber or OLA here, both are recruiters at ISB) helps. You should be able to talk about how you solve "real problems" at work in such a startup. By next year, you will have around 4 years of experience, which is the sweet spot for ISB.

3. Extra curricular: Teach for India, football and workshops are a good mixed bag. However, talk about achievements in your application, not just participation.

730 is a great score and should give you an edge.

Overall, its a great profile which has all the ingredients. Ensure you cook a "sumptuous dish" in your application by highlighting the right areas.

Good luck! Feel free to reach out in case of any further queries.

Regards,
Team S4G

Very good profile, let me know if you need any help with STAR to project your TFI classroom experience and its impact on you personally &/or professionally.

Good luck!

Hello PatrickJack,

Your BITS background, GMAT score, and fast-track promotion are going to be really helpful in projecting a strong overall profile. Of course, you must try and ensure that your career goals are portrayed in a manner that they sync with all that you have achieved. Besides, in case there is a leadership angle in your profile (direct or indirect), be sure to project it appropriately.

The work with Teach for India sounds good; however, if possible, elaborate on the impact achieved rather than focusing only on the volunteering angle.

All in all, you have a good chance of cracking ISB; just focus on putting forth a set of stellar essays.

All the best!

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to apply to ISB in fall 2020 (for admission in fall 2021).
Please evaluate my profile and let me know the areas I could improve upon. Thanks in advance.

GMAT - 750

Graduation - B.Tech in Electrical Engineering, IIT Gandhinagar; CGPA 6.99

International Experience - Research internship at ISCTE Business School (Portugal) in tourism management; research published in the no. 1 tourism management journal

Work Experience -
4 years (at the time of joining in fall 2021) as software test engineer in Capgemini;
rated 'outstanding' in 3 out of 3 performance reviews;
automated tests that reduced execution time by 75% thus enabling faster product go-live;
led testing on the critical admin module as part of the biggest product release (cloud migration), reported 100+ bugs, zero leakage to production.

POR - Sports secretary of the student council; represented a student body of 950+ students

Extra curricular - State level high jump player; Gold medal at the state level in Taekwondo; Institute 'Award for outstanding performance in outdoor sports'

Why MBA -
learn the fundamentals of business for my long term goal of running my own business;
transition to a more business oriented career such as consulting;
learn from a network of diverse peers

Hi Aditya,

You have an excellent GMAT score. Congratulations on that. The GPA is not that impressive but the GMAT will make up for it. Now, I'd also like to add, you will need to still work hard on your application - a spectacular GMAT, though beneficial is never enough to get an applicant admitted.

Your work experience sounds competitive. I am happy to note that you have an understanding of the business impact that your work creates - many applicants don't have that perspective, but its really important for building your resume and demonstrating how your achievements are bigger and better than your peers'. When you work in a company/ industry which is over-represented in the MBA admissions process, then your work achievements and business knowledge can help you to differentiate yourself from other applicants.Work upon this for the rest of the year until you apply. Also, try taking more responsibilities as they will help you show your drive, initiative, ability to get things done, and ofcourse, the corresponding achievement.

Your ECAs are dated. What have you done in the past 4 years? If nothing substantial, you should get into an activity (not a hobby) where you are able to help others.

Lastly, I am not very well aligned with your career goals. IT to management consulting to entrepreneurship. Why consulting? Its the odd one out here.

Hi aditya01512

Lets look at your 3 Es - education, experience and extra-curriculars - the typical way a top B school would evaluate your profile.

1. Education: An IIT gives you an edge but the scores are decent, not stellar. Overall, decent academics.

2. Experience: You lie in the 3-4 year sweet spot for ISB. Additionally, the brand Capgemini helps. International experience and research is an added advantage as not all ISB applicants would have it on their resume.

3. Extra-curricular: This stands out as you have achievements at the state level, which again not everyone would have.

GMAT: 750 is very comfortable for any school and ISB is no different.

Overall, it is a good profile which can make it to the interview stage, provided you present your story well. Focus on the key points - dont try to write too many of them to impress the admissions committee - this is a common mistake various applicants make and fail to get an interview call, despite having a solid profile.

We appreciate that you are clear about your career goals (at least directionally). As ISB alumni, we have seen cases in the past where people coming from such backgrounds get into consulting and then startup a few years later. Hence, this is surely achievable. Having said that, the admissions committee will need to be convinced of this and this is where a cohesive story in your application essays will come in.

Hope this helps. Feel free to reach out to us in case of any further queries.

Hi rohitsubr

Thanks for posting. Overall, looks good. Can you provide some more insight on your functional expertise within Oracle as well? Will provide a detailed evaluation post that.

Hello Everyone ,

Looking at excellent profiles posted here. I don't know where do I stand so kindly request experts for a profile evaluation. I will be grateful.

Age - 33
X th - 83.4 (CBSE)
XII th - 61.5 (state board)
BE in computer science - 79.6 (University of Burdwan)

GMAT - 690 (trying to improve attempting again this year)

Work Experience :-

9 years in Indian Armed forces and one year of mandatory service left being short service commissioned officer .

Served in counter insurgency

Had been in adminstration and leadership role all these year.

Have been instrumental in facing and solving many varied and demanding challenges.

Designed two Softwares for army int requirements which is being used at a very high level .

Awarded General officer commanding commendation twice (it's an award that you get for your exceptional word)

Excellent hold on Data science , certified by Microsoft .

Extra curricular :-

Working to help children's of martrys in continuation of education .

Was state level coordinator for national service scheme during college days

Traveller and a photographer been to remotest corner of India.

Post MBA Goal - with my skill set I think will do good in consultancy.( I welcome comments on this as well)

Thanks and Regards

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Dear sushantsatyam

Thanks for posting and welcome to the profile evaluation thread. Our assessment:
- Your army service is your biggest differentiator. While we would encourage you to enhance your GMAT score, in your case, you would have a fighting chance and more even with a 690. ISB values defense profiles a lot. Please go through [url=https://www.gyanone.com/mba-for-indian-army-navy-airforce/] this article on the MBA for Indian army officers [url] as well. It will be helpful.
- ECA, GPA, age are all good. While, at around 10 years of experience, you are on the slightly higher side of work experience for ISB, that will not be a problem in your case, as an SSC officer.
- Your post-MBA goal might need a bit more refining. While the possibility to get into consulting ultimately is not ruled out, it may not be the best career fit on your application.

Hope this helps. Feel free to come back with more queries as needed.

I am grateful for your prompt response . Thank you .

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.

Hello!,
You have an impressive profile with a healthy mix of academic and extra-curricular achievements. In addition, work-ex across financial services and now in the luxury fashion start-up adds to the diversity. Regarding GMAT, while it is on the lower side, you could aim for 720+ and 'complete' your profile. The challenge for you would be to ensure all elements are structurally embedded in the application and they're duly highlighted.

During this impending recession due to Covid where your current sector would be impacted, a turnaround story at your start-up would a good one to add to your profile.

Hope this helps!

Regards,
Team S4G
www.strategy4gmat.com | info@strategy4gmat.com

Hi,

I am primarily interested in applying to ISB Co 2022 and would like your invaluable advice as to how I can improve my profile to increase my chances of a convert.
I'll have to wrap my application till August 31st so as to qualify for R1 submissions.

Please help me with evaluations and further feedbacks -
a) On a scale of 1-10(Low-High), rating and chances of Interview call/conversion as a guess.
b) What could be done in the next 4-5 months to boost those chances?
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My background is as follows:
Age 25, Indian Male with ~37 months of Exp as a Business Analyst across two $1B+ valuation worth companies.
And almost 4 years of Work-ex aged 26 at the time of Class initiation. Hence standing at almost the Average WE of a general class at ISB.

GMAT - 730 (Q50, V39)
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WORK EXPERIENCES: (All offices based in India, but well exposed to global clients/stakeholders and International spheres)

1. Currently employed as Senior Analyst with a leading AdTech company since Jan 2019 (1.5 years before R1), managing and leading the delivery for a Business pod in the whole APAC region that generated $2.5 Mn of Revenue and witnessed consistent growth in QoQ Margins for FY2019.
- High cross-functionality based role, involves skill-sets ranging from Analytics Consulting, Account Management, Product Business Analyst and owning a bit of Strat & Ops(P&L).
- Proven results of scaling up App business models & solving tough KPI problems of the clients from diverse industries, as some of which have also been translated as Case studies, and hence a very solid understanding of Mobile Marketing/Programmatic Trading in AdTech as an industry.

2. Prior to this, I Was employed as a Business Analyst with the owning group of one of the most prominent Print Media brands of the world for almost 17 months soon after my UG.
I was part of the Retail division of the company's offshore Analytics center based out of Bangalore & worked on several projects spanning the Retail Demand Planning, Forecasting, Marketing & Ops Analytics for these popular brands, covering the whole of Supply Chain right from Paper projections allotment till the final Newstands delivery in USA & Canada.
Worked closely with Research and Marketing teams for consulting them with useful insights based on Statistical models.

3. Interned at TCS and a Research-based Internship under a Professor during College summers.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND CAREER PROGRESSIONS SO FAR AT WORK:
CURRENT ROLE-
Being the only member of my BU to be get promoted in FY2019.
Received an Annual Best Emerging team award.
In interim, filled in for leading the regional Delivery consisting of a team of 4. Introduced projects like Traders dashboard and training programme for the associates.
Rated and trusted as an SME of my Business cum Product line. Working closely with the Leadership in key decision makings, Projections and Strategies.

PREVIOUS ROLE-
Was bestowed with the Spot Award for outstanding contribution in Q1+Q2 for FY2018.
Was the only hire out of 200+ candidates for the Recruitment drive with 0-2 years of Work-ex, despite being a Fresher at that point of time.
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EDUCATION-
UG -
B.Tech in Electronics & Communication Engineering Co 2017 from a State Govt college ranked amongst Top 5 in the state. (Not much known at the national level though).
- Very Competitive admission through the State Entrance Exam securing a rank in the Top 3% of the takers.
- 66% GPA, Average position, Gold medalist being at 80%.
+ve is Highest marks awarded for the Final Year B.Tech Project in my Dept out of 60. Also featured in a Hindi national daily and recognized for brilliant innovation by the State Govt.
-ve is repeated an Engg Maths course in 1st year.

+2: 74% from CBSE
10th: 88% (A grades in most of the subjects) in ICSE

No gaps anywhere either during the education or the professional career.
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ECA:
- Attended a weeklong Pre-MBA Bootcamp at FT's Top-ranked Business school in 2019 July. Cohorted with 70 young professionals represented by 23 nationalities, the Bootcamp gave an overview of how it's like to be part of an MBA class with lectures and cases from globally renowned Profs. Also undertook Industry visits to some dream companies and interacting with the Business Heads.
- NTSE State level qualifier (Top 10%), Olympiads School Gold medals, Intl Physics and Chemistry Olympiads Nationwide top 10% appreciation certificates.
- Singing: Performed multiple times on stage as Solo/Band with 500+ audience sizes. Participated in a Kids singing reality TV show.
- IIT Roorkee technical fest runners up in Project Presentation and a Quizzing event.
- Led the Sponsorships and Marketing team for the Regional tech-fest, gathering 120% increments in funds.
- Co-founded a Readers' club in College and scaled into a not-for-profit business model.
- Secretary for the oldest and most selective College council. Led a team of 45, responsible for the overall management and designing Literary and personality development event calendars.
- Partnered with a popular National coaching Insitute, and conceptualized a Career Guidance aimed Aptitude test for College students to help them with the right choice of career based on combinations of test inputs.
- Organized an IEEE regional conference and published my project results in the conference proceedings.

IN PIPELINE:
- Basics in Spanish
- BCG Strategy Virtual Internship
- Six Sigma training certificate

VOLUNTEERING:
- No Substantial Volunteering certificate from any recognized NGOs or Campaigns.
- Pro-Bono consulting and mentoring people on Career post 12th/Engg. Not well recorded!

LORs:
- Alums from ISB, INSEAD, IIM-A, IIM-B, IIM-Kozhikode, IIT KGP.
- Direct reporting managers, Heads, Directors, VP, some of with portfolios ranging from an Annual revenue scale of $5 Mn - $35 Mn.
- Moderate to Strong Recos.
- College Dept HOD (if reqd) very strong.

Why and What At ISB?
- More electives on Marketing, Operations, and Analytics in ISB MBA. Less inclined towards Finance as coursework.
- Want to experience the academic rigor of a B-school, brilliant case method of learning, interactions with best of the best business minds. Finishing in the Dean's list is a scholarly target with at least one publication based on my past practical experiences coupled with theoretical funda.

Post-MBA?
- Long term: Want to startup after 5 more years of Work Ex necessarily needing an exposure of more near to Leadership roles.
- Short term: //IN ORDER//
1) Strategy, Leadership Associates or GM roles in conglomerates.
2) Sales/Product Marketing in Product based fast-paced Tech companies.
3) E-Commerce: Product or Program Managers.
4) Management Consulting outside MBB.

Hello everyone ,

please evaluate my profile

I have applied for ISB YLP 2020

Name- nishanth s
Age-21

Education -
10th-93.6%(state board)
12th-90%(state board)

Currently in pre final year -MBBS(KIMS,Bengaluru) with a 66% aggregate(approx 3.2/4,after conversion)

Essay 1- have written about my entrepreneurship- author of a medical book for the first year MBBS students - self published

Awards and achievements (those mentioned in the application )

1)best outgoing student in school
2)winner of state level TT championship- team event (conducted by University )
3)runner up in national level street and stage play competitions (team event)
4)completed two internships at Plexus Md
5) co author of a research paper ,published in international journal,two other will be published shortly


Extra curriculars

1)Represented University in cricket(national level competition)
2)State convener for Karnataka State -Indian medical association- Medical students network
3)music- plays flute - classical and non classical concerts
4)have organised few fests heading PR and finance teams
5)volunteer at CRY for 3+ years

Hobbies- dancing, public speaking, photography

Yet to take GMAT
Can a score less than 700 get me through the second round ??
Hoping that my essays are decent.

Would be happy hear back from you

Thank you

Hi, I would like a profile evaluation for MBA program at ISB in 2021.
I was about to take a test now, but due to COVID-19 ,things are at a halt.
Here are my details:
10th - 85%
12th - 82%
B.Tech- Civil Engg- from VSSUT-, Burla- Govt College of Odisha- 9.1 CGPA
M.Tech- Structural Engg,IIT BBSR- 9.45 CGPA
JOB EXP- 5 YEARS
working in an MNC, have worked in startup as well. Involved in detailed design and project management of projects related to Power Plants and Bridges


I would also like to know a tough estimate of score needed for me to get into ISB

Thanks in advance


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