Fuqua Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Hi,
I would appreciate if you could evaluate my profile.

28 Year(while matriculating) Indian Male.
Work Ex- 6 Years
Started as a Software Developer in Tier 1 Indian IT firm. Got promoted after a year. Went onsite on a more client-facing role.
year 3: Came back joined sales in the same organization. was in Belgium for a year again.
Year 4: Started a company, failed miserably. Joined a startup worked for 7 months there as a Field sales specialist.
Year 5: Joined a F500 tech company as an Account Manager.

GRE:326
GPA: 3.0 had family troubles in 3rd year have a good reason for that which I would mention in the optional essay.

EC: During college was a part of the club which regularly visited rural children to teaching and guidance.
was president of the college fest finance department.
A lot of fest organizing experience.

EC during Employment:
Worked closely with the CSR committee in first company regularly visiting schools for Blind students, orphanage and old age home.
Started a CSR team in the startup I joined.
F500 company where I work now has a strong CSR committee and I'm an active member there.

Short term goal:
To move into product management after my MBA had a talk with a lot of product managers from my current firm and they say my profile is a good fit after MBA. I have a mix of tech and Business skills so it makes it a natural progression.

Thanks in Advance

Hi Gonner,

Things look ok to me. At Fuqua, its all about the execution of your application. Show the school you understand their program and love hem, and they will love you back.
Here's my analysis of the 25 random thing's essay, that will help you

Hello Folks

I am a 33-year-old Indian planning to write the GMAT soon. I have average grades throughout. I would be extremely grateful if I could receive your feedback on certain aspects -

1. Class X- ICSE -89%
2. Class XII -ISC - 86%
3. Engineering - Private Engineering college - CGPA - 8.46 /10
4. Masters in Engg - CGPA - 8.81/10
5. Work Exp - 8 years (now)
(a) 3 years with TCS
(b) 5 years (till date) with an Indian Public Sector Bank - working in several profiles. In the process, I have acquired certain certifications from Indian Institute of Banking and Finance -
(a) JAIIB (First Class) - June, 2015
(b) CAIIB (First Class) - December, 2015
(c) Certificate Course in Foreign Exchange - January, 2017

After my MBA, I would like to work in the Finance domain. I could also look at Consulting profiles, but Finance would be my first choice.

Extra-curricular and other achievements -
I do not have much extra curricular activities -Was adjudged the “Best Table Topic Speaker” at Toastmasters International during my stint at TCS, ranked third in my M Tech course, was an associate editor of my college magazine, won a certificate at an in-house L&D and CTO initiative at TCS.

I have mediocre academic grades so far and do not have much leadership roles to write about. Should I do CFA level1 before I apply to B schools in 2020 ? Please advise on the profile.

Hi ,

I am looking for some guidance regarding selection of MBA colleges as I am planning to apply for Fall 2020 intake

I would appreciate if you could take a look at my profile and give me a realistic approach regarding my chances and guide me further regarding how to approach essays.

Here is some information regarding my background :

GMAT : 710
IELTS : 8 Bands

STD 10: 82% (90 percentile) - 2011
STD 12: 83% (95 Percentile) - 2013

Bachelors (2013-2016)
BBA
Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
CGPA : 6.02
*Not fantastic , I know*

2016-2017
I worked with my father to learn the ropes of family business but did not find it interesting and decided to move on.

2017-2018
Post Graduate Diploma in Advertising and Marketing Communications
Xavier's Institute of Communications, Mumbai ( Ranked in top 5 across nation for communications and media)
B+

2018 -2019
Brand strategist
Shobiz Experiential Communications
I got to conceptualize activation, campaigns and events for various multinational brands . My role often required me to coordinate with various other departments in order to get the pitch ready and present it to the client. I have led projects which required me to give non-traditional creative ideas for a unique experience.

2019- CURRENT
Senior executive - conceptualizer and copywriter
Wizcraft International Entertainment
My profile has the added responsibility of writing content for various clients. Wizcraft is an international entertainment agency ; IIFA is an intellectual property of Wizcraft.
Currently , I conceptualize events and experiences along with designing content in the journey as required.

Post MBA Goal:

Short term
Consulting - Strategy
Mainly for new ventures / start-ups

Long term
Entrepreneurship


Total work experience upon matriculating : 2.5 years

I recently met some MBA schools at an admission fair and asked them whether my GMAT would be a hindrance since I do not come from a conventional background of engineering or finance and hence scoring near 730 or 740 is a tad bit difficult for me. Most of them were open to considering a lower score given my background.

Would duke be a good shot with this profile?

Nationality: Indian

GMAT: 690 (Q49 V36)

Age: 30 (31 soon)

Total work exp: 9 yrs by 2020 intake

Graduation: B. Com Mumbai University, received a First Class - Graduation

Professional Certification: Company Secretary

Work Experience:

I work for a mid-size manufacturing Company in electrical Industry as a Legal Head and Corporate Secretary.
My work entails, assisting business functions and Board of Directors with legal advice, various compliance, litigation management, Intellectual Property Rights - Registration, Filing suit.

My major achievement is establishing an Entire Legal Department from scratch of a INR. 1000 Crore size company.
And have done lot of collaboration internally with various dept. such as Product Development, Sales, Procurement and transportation and also outside the organisation with Regulatory Authorities and Government Inspectors, and Raiding premises where duplicate goods were sold/manufactured (Macho!).
Also, I run a team of 3 people and have had leadership roles in past too.

I felt my role was very entrepreneurial and looking forward to your feedback.

I deeply reasonate with values and mission of Duke Fuqua.

Looking forward to your honest assessment, also I am not willing to give gmat anymore.




Extra curricular
Have worked for a child rights NGO for past 3 years almost. Basic teaching and stuff nothing extra-ordinary.

MBADecoder MBAPrepCoach

Request you to evaluate my profile and highlight the weaknesses.

Indian - Male - 27 years
GMAT - 740 (V40, Q50)
Undergrad - B.Tech Chemical Engineering from one of the top 3 National Institute of Technology (NIT) (Top 15 Engineering College in India)

Professional Experience: (Total - 6 years at Matriculation)

First Job - Converted internship to a full time role at Reliance Industries, India's largest publicly traded company by market capitalization. Worked with the production data analytics team there. Gained interest and experience in data analytics.

Second Job - Joined a Big-Data startup in the Ad-Tech industry as analyst. Promoted to Manager within eight months. Was responsible for marketing performance delivery for and revenue from all the clients in South East Asia and Australia- New Zealand Geographies. Mentored and managed a team of 3 associates. Responsible for $1M of quarterly revenue.
Was chosen one among 5 managers to work with a small team to develop a new SaaS Tech Product from scratch. Scaled the new product from 0 to $1M Revenue and team from 1 to 6 product analysts and account managers. Worked mainly with the product strategy team at the end stages of my stint here. Traveled to Dubai and Malaysia for work but wasn't there for more than a month at a time.
- Won two STAR Performer of the quarter awards.
- Won one SPOT Award for outstanding performance.

Current Job - Core team member (Founding Team) of an early stage startup in the Ad Tech industry. Heading product and business operations. Scaled the business from $100K - $1.1M within eight months.

Extra Curricular Activities and Positions of Responsibilities Held:
- Vice-Captain of College Cricket team
- Additional Secretary - Innovation and Entrepreneurship Club at College.
- Taught Mathematics and Physics to underprivileged children for six months (Weekends).
- Took a month's Sabbatical from Work after my second job and went to my native village. Helped the farmers and students build a common platform to help learn from each other.

Post MBA Goals:
Short Term - Work as a Product Manager in a Tech (E-commerce, Internet) Firm and help build Products and Businesses.
Long Term - Build a new tech company.


Questions:
1. While I have significant experience of working with top global brands in E-Commerce and Banking Industries, I have never worked full-time in a country other than India. How to undermine this?
2. While my first employer is a huge name, the other two are not known names. How to highlight my startup experience in Resume and any of the essays?

Hi,

Thanks for tagging me.
International experience is desirable by business schools, but it is not a must have. Focus your application on the strengths you have, and show your fit with the business school, you shall be good. (p.s. - you have worked with foreign clients. you can leverage this experience to show how you have gained new insights/skills).

Typically an experience is valuable on the resume ONLY if you are able to show what you ACHIEVED doing it. What ($$$$) IMPACT did you create? From the tiny message you have posted here, I could see that you have made an impact by scaling companies. So I don't see non-name companies as a big challenge. B-schools like applicants who follow a passion. If you quit your big name company to join smaller ones, created an impacted and delivered value to customers - then you have a story to tell, even in the resume. Lastly, your current experience and your future goals should have some common threads between them. You are working in the adtech space, working upon building a product. Your goals is to learn XYZ skills through an MBA and get into product management - so there are synergies there.

So my suggestion is : don't doubt your profile. connect the dots in your past and future life and dive into the applications wholeheartedly

Hi, please evaluate my profile.

Female, 25 years old, India

Secondary education : 9.4 gpa
Senior Secondary : 81.9%

Graduation :
Bachelors of Architecture
(5 years course including 6 months internship)

College : NIT

CGPA : 7.67

GMAT : 710 (Q49, V 36)

Work Experience : 25 months at Larsen and Toubro
(as on august 2019)
Role : Senior architect

Have taken up more responsibility than is usually awarded at my cadre. Have handled one project in last year and am handling another project on my own as of now.(project values upwards of 100 crores)

Co Curriculars :
1. Regularly volunteer for ngo camps ( elderdly health camps etc)
2. Was part of organizing committees of college fests, department functions, functions in school
3. Was involved in dramatics and debating in school


Why mba ?

I know the technical aspects of a building, from the floor plans to the ventilation system, from the effect it can have on a person to the how livable and sustenable it can be .
I want to able to look at the same built environment from a business/financial/economic point of view also, to be able to have a more cohesive bigger picture.

Thanks !

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Hi, please evaluate my profile.

Female, 25 years old, India

Secondary education : 9.4 gpa
Senior Secondary : 81.9%

Graduation :
Bachelors of Architecture
(5 years course including 6 months internship)

College : NIT

CGPA : 7.67

GMAT : 710 (Q49, V 36)

Work Experience : 25 months at Larsen and Toubro
(as on august 2019)
Role : Senior architect

Have taken up more responsibility than is usually awarded at my cadre. Have handled one project in last year and am handling another project on my own as of now.(project values upwards of 100 crores)

Co Curriculars :
1. Regularly volunteer for ngo camps ( elderdly health camps etc)
2. Was part of organizing committees of college fests, department functions, functions in school
3. Was involved in dramatics and debating in school


Why mba ?

I know the technical aspects of a building, from the floor plans to the ventilation system, from the effect it can have on a person to the how livable and sustenable it can be .
I want to able to look at the same built environment from a business/financial/economic point of view also, to be able to have a more cohesive bigger picture.

Thanks !

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Hi,

Please, if you can, evaluate my profile as an international applicant for the MBA program

Nationality: Indian
Age: 29
Undergraduate Qualification: Bachelor in technology with specialisation in computer science engineering.
GMAT: not taken yet
Work experience: 6+ years
About me - An engineer turned entrepreneur, started a textiles manufacturing and trading business, while studying, with my father (as his prior experience and willingness to work in the same industry he's ever been). Completed my engineering side-by-side. Then left for job, but kept involved in business somehow of the location benefits as my manufacturing process used to take place in the same city I got a job in. Then moved back for business, leaving my job. Since then, been in business and have turned quite a lot of things around for us, and for the market in a good way.
key achievements --
Turned everything from credit to cash.
Took things online,
and added a customer-centric approach.

All these things and ideas were new for the market and my customers, but now productivity has increased for both.
I think entrepreneurship is a good idea for my MBA, but not sure if it’s a good idea in case I want to experience something different like a job maybe for some time. Also, I am so much involved into everything I do, I don't want myself to not make use of my 2 years at an MBA program, so I am a little cautious of schools where I may not find the right mindset of people whom I can be with.

Why MBA?
I have some ideas related to my field which I think can really help and change the way things are done. I want to incorporate tech into small scale manufacturing, and I don't mean just computers. I am looking for a school where I can get some tech exposure along with my MBA, as I may need to take 1-2 tech courses along with an MBA.

Extracurriculars: I am an active sports guy. I play tennis, have coaching experience of swimming (summers only :P) have formed 2 groups in my city -- running and cycling, started with 2 people now each group has around 500+ participants, 60% of them are moderately active, 80% are somewhat active.
I trek a lot and have taken most treks closer to my place, as I work 7 days so it's hard to take an off as treks need a lot of days, but I manage that somehow by minimizing risk.
I am a cyclist, too. you'll find me cycling in the hills, if not trekking.
I have taken part in brevet, 200 km one.
I am a part of the national cycling group and I represent my city for the group.
Also, I am a participant of a blood donation group, we provide blood to blood banks and the ones in need, in person, too. we don't charge for it, it's a free community service for anyone in need. we are presently handling 3 states and the group has around 5000 members, most of them are active. It's run by the people for the people, but then there are too many things to do.

References: From clients to these groups, I can ask anyone to recommend me, but I think it makes more sense if I ask my clients or business people.

shall I apply?

Hi everyone.

I am looking at Fuqua as a school I want to go to the coming year. Request your comments and any suggestions for schools other than IMD would be highly appreciated.

Nationality: Indian ( Male, 30 )

Undergrad: Nirma University, Ahmedabad, CGPA : 7.76, First Class with Distinction,

GMAT: 660 ( Q 48, V 33) - Less than Gmatprep mocks given so will be attempting once more

Work experience: Project management , 7 years of experience in development and delivery of
capital infrastructure(T&D) projects with Tata Power
• Have been part of core teams in developing energy assets( capex) acheiveing capitalisation ranging USD 5M to 75M.
and increasing installed transmission capacity upwards of 2000 MVA.
• Led project execution at site for major capex projects managing site team of OEMs, large contractors and local vendors( team size approx 150+)
• Have managed multidisciplinary engineering site activities for a major project transition from EPC to BOQ model( short close contract of major EPC player midway in the project led to change in execution philosophy).
• Have led department HSE activities as departmental coordinator for 6 months. Prepped HSE dashboard for senior management, analysed operational and audit data for multiple sites to help bring two important safety improvements that were showcased in company's annual innovation event.
• Worked on project sites with international teams of various OEMs for a consistent time frame. ( 5 years)

Community and others:
• I have worked at an NGO full time for 6 months involved in installation of solar equipment in remote villages in gujarat. I spent a significant portion of this time also working on literacy campaigns for such remote villages on the use of solar pumps and panels.
• While working for transmission line projects in Mumbai, I have been actively involved in regular programs where people living below high voltage transmission lines are sensitized on the dangers of EHV lines.
• I have worked also with a couple of tourist organisation in Goa for 2 months where I had been involved in sustainable cooking practices in a small village for a large tourist crowd.

Post MBA goals
• Post graduation I want to continue in the energy sector as my interests are strongly aligned with the renewable space. My short term goals include getting to work on the manufacturing side of the project supply chain ( Companies like ABB, Vestas, Siemens) as till now I have worked for a utility and client side. Long term goals are to work on large scale distributed energy sufficiency programs for developing economies.

Looking forward to your comments. Thanks.

I wanted your advice on my profile and whether the mba programs i am targeting for the 2021 admit realistic and within my reach. (IE not in the dream school category).
My target schools are Columbia, Kellogg, Michigan ross, Berkeley haas and tuck.

I am a bachelors of commerce graduate with 6.4/7 cgpa from hr college in mumbai (Mumbai University) and a gmat score of 740.

I worked full time while in college , 2 years in an equity research and mutual fund sale firm and 1 year articleship as i was pursuing CA at that time. ( cleared 2 out of the three levels but finals are left which i will not give)

I am a US CFA charterholder and US CMA certificate holder. Have also completed US CPA and US CAIA (chartered alternative investment analyst).
I have been working past 3 years in a mid sized accountancy firm based in small city in rajasthan, india.
I had to shift to rajasthan due to severe family emergencies therefore started working there as my presence was required for family.
I left my job after two years as i found a wonderful opportunity in mineral and mining and have started my own venture in partnership.
Though it can be managed and is stagnant while in the state , i wanted to make it a wholly export unit and establish in strategic locations across couple of countries like in canada and portugal and run it as a more corporate and an organized business organisation, much different from how mining is run in this state.
Therefore i planned on pursuing an mba which will help me manage and organize my business in the manner i want to run it and expand it.
I am ready to invest and grill myself for a 2 year mba in order to take the maximum out of it. 

On the extra curricular activity note, i am a registered mumber of the heartfulness organisation (for meditation) for the past 4 years. Travelled all across the country and have organised various seminars and workshops, played a big part in the green initiative and planted by myself about 40 plus trees. Have also organised meditation sessions for army personnel in my state and have also successfully implemented heartfulness for kids in various schools wherein we are training teachers on how to plant this seed right from a very young age in students.
While in college, one of my most proudest moment was when i lead an NSS team ( national service scheme) and did something out of box by forming a union for the domestic help who were in very bad condition in mumbai so that the local police as well as the members themselves can protect the right of others and to make sure that they are not exploited, due to this the police area head and i had an exclusive coverage as well.
Despite my work experience, the thing i am concerned about is my international exposure in job. That is an area i lack.

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Hello,

Could someone please evaluate my profile too?

Demographics (nationality, gender): Indian, male, will be 30 years old, this July.
· Education (undergraduate institution, GPA, major - high school/entrance exams not needed): Visvesvaraya Technological University, (India), Bachelor's in Electrical and Electronics engineering, GPA : 2.78
· GMAT or GRE (include section breakdown): 730 (Q49, VA 45 )
.Work experience (highlight amount of work experience, industries, roles, promotions, special accomplishments, international exposure):
- Started with IBM as an IT analyst and moved to Deloitte as an IT consultant. Was an individual contributor, and received a 'stellar performer of the year' award. Planned three
different platforms to address client issues. Worked with the development teams to outline a ticketing tool, curated for my team needs.
- Joined British Telecommunications as a network engineer, and later got promoted as a manager - workforce management consulting ( Individual contributor) . Designed a sharepoint
site for global clients to analyse their project data. Brainstormed different versions to come up with something closer to their operational goals. Received 4 quarterly awards for
process improvement, and 5 (senior) client recommendations. Massively improved operational performances for 3 different projects which was performing pathetically poor, leveraging
the benefits of the dashboard I designed. I have also been involved with several business transformational projects.

- Have a brief ( failed) entrepreneurship journey after bachelor's. I brought together a team from few of the best IITs to build a product, however, failed to gain clients. Learnt a lot from the experience.

IBM : January 2014 – August 2015
Deloitte : September 2015 – December 2016
British Telecom : December 2016 – Present.

· Extracurricular activities (highlight notable undergraduate and post-undergraduate ones):
- School :
- Was the cultural captain : Was responsible to host cultural events and collaborate with other schools on cultural fests. Received 4 gold medals in school level athletics.
-Was the captain of the school's cricket team, for two years. (captaincy rotated every two years.

- Undergraduate:

o Founded the college's first heavy metal band
o Started the college's first Music club with a separate brick and mortar house.
o Received several gold/silver medals for different inter-college sports/game/music competitions.
o Founded a poetry club.

. Post-MBA goals: I want to get into management consulting or finance.


· Other information relevant to your profile: I have no international experience, but most of my clients have been from diverse nationalities.

Regards,
theleopride

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Thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to provide your feedback! I will go through the link you have provided.

Posted from my mobile device

GMAT Club community,

Hoping to get a quick profile eval, and will try to keep my description concise!

Work Experience:
US House, US Senate. During senior year, I campaigned for a Congressman, who I then worked for on Capitol Hill after graduation. I rose through the policy ranks, and when my boss announced candidacy for the Senate, I became a campaign policy advisor and helped with fundraisers in DC and NYC. When we won, I was promoted to handle the Senator’s national security work, serving as the lead for the Armed Services Committee. Led successful legislation, met with thousands of people, did Top Secret tours/meeting, and participated in other political shenanigans.

Stats:
-GMAT is definitely a blemish.
670 GMAT. Q43, V39, IR8, AWA6
-3.3 GPA (Upward trend) in Finance. Midwest state school.
-HBS CORe (pass with high honors)
-5 years of work experience

ECs:
-Army National Guard (retired)
-led a large division of a foreign policy nonprofit that consists of hundreds of members who meet to discuss current global issues
-read to underprivileged youth in DC
-“pen pal” to child in Kenya and donor to sponsor church

Goals:
Post-MBA I’d like to transition to IB, with the eventual goal of returning to my home state and starting/joining a VC firm that invests in Midwest tech businesses.

Essays LORs will be solid, and definitely doing deep school research and talking with students/alum. And yep, I’m a white dude.

Thank you and stay well!

Posted from my mobile device

Hi ryanpnelson3,
Hi,

You have got a great profile. Fuqua is a great school when it comes to Finance and since your post MBA goal is to join a VC firm, it can serve greatly to your career.

Fuqua looks for majorly these qualities:

1. Leadership: Fuqua itself believes in bringing out the best out of people and thus expects its students too to possess this leadership quality.

2. Diverse Personality: Fuqua is very unique in giving great emphasis on the personality of a candidate beyond work and academics with an apt mix of poignancy, fun, deep, sad, striking experiences of life.

3. Impact on the community: Fuqua is very considerate about having a positive and robust impact on the community and society as a whole and even has a separate essay question in its application for it. And thus an aspirant must exemplify this value throughout the application process.

4. Clear Vision: One with clear career and post MBA goals will create a positive impact on his application.

I can see a perfect mix of all the 4 in you. Your work experience in US politics exemplifies the leadership quality in you plus a great impact on the community, a value Fuqua greatly stresses on. Your extracurriculars are very strong and apt for Fuqua. The idea of having a pen-pal relationship with a child in Kenya really caught my attention and you should definitely bring this story on the table.

Considering your stats, yes GMAT is slightly on the lower side (as the median GMAT for Fuqua is 710), but I believe with aptly drafted stories of your work ex and volunteer services you will tide through the admission process. Are you also looking at other schools (considering your GMAT score?) or have you considered reappearing for GMAT?

If you'd like, I am happy to hop on a call sometime this week to understand how you are tackling your situation and assess your chances in detail for Fuqua.
Feel free to book my calendar as per your convenience.



Cheers!
Shantanu Sharma,
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond
Schedule a free session
Email: shantanu@mbaandbeyond.com
What s app: +65-97158525
Call: +49-15212121641
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