ISB Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Hello gsgirija4,

You have rich work experience and fair academic percentages. The GMAT score is below the class average. If you are targeting R2, then do think about writing the GMAT again to improve your score. If not, R1 is your best bet.

Regards
Team ISBMantra
https://www.isbmantra.com | info@isbmantra.com

Hello Folks!!

Sai Vivek here 👋. 25-Indian-Male-Marketer

X - 9.2 GPA
XII - 96.1%
UG - 63%
GRE - 326

Work Experience:
I am currently working as a Growth Marketing Manager for 2 years at an E-Commerce company.
Before that, I ran a Digital Marketing Agency for 2 years. Worked with over 30+ clients in India & Abroad and scaled to 11 people team.

Highlights at Work:
1. Setup CRM - Retention function & scaled retention orders from ~150 to ~1200/day in just 14 months.
2. Set up a scalable referral system contributing about ~100 orders/day.
3. Was a key player in launching one of our brands in 8 countries across the globe.
4. Started as an executive & now managing 5 team members across the marketing function.
5. Part of a well-renowned Growth community called Reforge. Actively learn from Growth leaders & train my team to increase the outcome.

Awards:
1. "Digital Marketer of the Year" award by Govt. of Telangana in 2019 considering the knowledge & contributions I made to the startup ecosystem.
2. "Best Student Startup" Award by our college in 2018 considering the revenue we have made since inception.
3. "Digithon Digital Leader" Award for leading a team of ~80 for a mass digital literacy campaign by Telangana Information Technology Association (TITA)

Achievements:
1. Launched a product called Eamcetrank which helped engineering aspirants find the best college for their EAMCET rank. Over 60k+ aspirants got benefitted from this initiative. Also, we have successfully monetized it with personalized ads.
2. Addressed over 400 students at Startup Utsav - a student startup summit at Kakatiya University on "Starting a startup while in college"
3. Conducted end-to-end Due Diligence & acquired 2 Affiliate marketing websites at 14X ARR from India & UK respectively.
4. Founding member of Smartzworld - An encyclopedia for engineering students to find lecture notes. Scaled to 120k visitors per month with digital marketing strategies.
5. Consulted a reputed Real Estate developer in Hyderabad & Generated over INR 30 Crore revenue in just 7 months using digital marketing strategies with less than 40L marketing budget.

Hobbies:
1. Avid reader of Non-fiction/business books. Really got fascinated by "Atomic Habits" & use them in my daily life & work.
2. Adventure sports & Trek when I feel low. Adrenaline sports such as trekking help me to feel motivated.
3. Active hunter of SAAS products. Early adopter for over 30+ products & helped 3 SAAS founders get the right insights to make the products better.

Short-term goal: Want to Head Growth function at a large consumer-based company.
Long-term goal: Want to launch my own SAAS product.

Kindly evaluate my profile & let me know which area I should focus more. Targeting Round 1 this year.

Thanks in advance,
Cheers ✌️

Hello yashah12

While your profile is good w.r.t. academic scores (decent), GMAT (checks the box) and work ex (impressive and unique), there is a major plot element missing- Career Goals.
What is it that you want to do post MBA and how clear and realistic are those goals will be one thing schools would especially want to know with your entrepreneurial and diverse work ex.

Best
Varun
[url]MBAkarma.com[/url]

Hello gsgirija4

Acads are ok, the GMAT inspires low confidence, but could get compensated via achievements and career progression at work (that show the making of a leader), stellar extracurricular (that add diversity) and clear & realistic career goals (that show a leader with a vison and a fit with ISB).
Unfortunately, all the details that can help assess whether you will be able to compensate for the score are missing in the post.
You'll need to bring these qualitative details out to get an interview invite.

Best
Varun
[url]MBAkarma.com[/url]

Hello ritingupta2010

Very few qualitative details to go by in order to recommend a score.
Sure, your public work ex and extracurricular (YouTube channel) will help add diversity, but what has been your career progress, what are the key achievements, and most importantly, what are your career goals (why PGP especially after public service).
In absence of this 'specific' information, most advice you will get will be 'vague'- go after target score of the school etc.
You need to think about your profile as more than few bullet points and more as a cohesive narrative that ties your past experience, present job and extracurriculars with your future goals and the need of an MBA.
If you don't think like that, building a strong application is going to be tough.

Best
Varun Sharma
+918452954888 (https://gmatclub.com/chat)
MBAkarma.com
info@mbakarma.com

Hello saivivekreddyg

Very strong profile with no evident weakness. (the 326 is almost at par, but will not be a deal breaker in your case)
Work profile is unique and full of achievements that will make for good story telling.
Extracurricular (along with the digital marketing profile) add diversity that ISB is looking for.
Career goals seem organic and realistic (of course a detailed narrative will be needed here, but seems you are on the right track).
The strongest suite, however, is your attitude of looking at the application- the kind of effort put into this profile sharing gives me good confidence that you would do a strong job in your essays as well.
As long as you don't (absolutely) mess up your essays (which I'm sure you won't) you have a strong chance of an interview invite.

In case you are curious to know what elements to focus on in the application- You can read here on what factors work in a profile.

Best
Varun Sharma
+918452954888 (https://gmatclub.com/chat)
MBAkarma.com
info@mbakarma.com

Hello saivivekreddyg

You have a good academic percentage in 10th, Intermediate and a fair percentage in graduation. A good GRE score and rich work experience which also comprises of entrepreneurial experience, will be highly valued. Your Interest and participation in extracurricular areas showcase a strong personality with leadership traits, skills ISB looks for in the candidate.

The focus in your application can be on the skills like learnability, entrepreneurship, Leadership, analytics, communication and team.

Wishing you all the best with the application process.

Regards
Team ISBMantra
https://www.isbmantra.com | info@isbmantra.com

Need feedback on profile. Applying for ISB EEO.

GMAT - 680 [Q49, V34]
Undergrad - 8.5/10 CGPA [Bachelors in Commerce (Hons) from Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi]
12th - 96%
10th - 10/10 CGPA

Other key points:
1. Working at Urban Company (a unicorn startup) in the Growth team since June'21
- High-impact work; understanding consumer problems, building hypotheses, running and tracking experiments with pricing, and working towards solving core consumer problems
- Owning projects; working with multiple stakeholders
2. Did a research project, which is published in the International Journal of Business Insights and Transformation
3. Cleared CFA Level 1
4. Led the finance cell of the college as the Vice President [led a team of 60+ students]
5. Played Table Tennis at the district level

Post-MBA goals - career to switch to Consulting/General Management/Product roles

Any feedback will be helpful. I think the GMAT score can be a blocker here - if yes, what's the ideal score for my profile?

Need feedback on profile. Applying for ISB EEO.

GMAT - 680 [Q49, V34]
Undergrad - 8.5/10 CGPA [Bachelors in Commerce (Hons) from Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi]
12th - 96%
10th - 10/10 CGPA

Other key points:
1. Working at Urban Company (a unicorn startup) in the Growth team since June'21
- High-impact work; understanding consumer problems, building hypotheses, running and tracking experiments with pricing, and working towards solving core consumer problems
- Owning projects; working with multiple stakeholders
2. Did a research project, which is published in the International Journal of Business Insights and Transformation
3. Cleared CFA Level 1
4. Led the finance cell of the college as the Vice President [led a team of 60+ students]
5. Played Table Tennis at the district level

Post-MBA goals - career to switch to Consulting/General Management/Product roles

Any feedback will be helpful. I think the GMAT score can be a blocker here - if yes, what's the ideal score for my profile?

DhruvMaheshwari:

The general rule of thumb for candidates such as yourself / for ISB:

(a) ~700 - good, but not great. You will need to outperform in other components of your application.
(b) 710-720 - definitely acceptable. You will be fine. No need to worry.
(c) 730+ you are more than fine. You are competitive. Additional points well above 730 are not going to make a huge difference. The difference is marginal.

Are you open to retaking the exam? Hopefully you can gain another 20 points, if not more. You have room in both component scores to improve, which is good because the calculation of your overall GMAT score favors balance across both the verbal and quantitative components.

Good luck,
Admissionado

Hi all!!

27-Indian-Male here

X - 10 GPA
XII - 88.4%
UG - 69.6%
GMAT - 690

Work Experience:
I am currently working as a Business Operations Consultant for ~5 years at ZS Associates.
I joined ZS directly out of college and have gained 2 promotions in 4.5 years tenure. I am currently in the role that ISB graduates join in post MBA (don't know if this matters).

Highlights at Work:
1. Designed field force targeting and compensation strategy for two blockbuster products (>$1B sales) launched in 2018 and 2020 for a top 10 Pharma company
2. Leading a team of 10 personnel for past 1 year
3. Direct US client POC
4. Led innovation summits with client to discuss latest innovation in practice area and was able to implement few of them into the project with overall cost of $250k
5. Worked with senior leadership for business proposal spanning 30 countries and overall cost of $2M
6. Mitigated extra charges on project by introducing efficiencies to usage of external services
7. Automated internal processes that led to decrease in turnaround time by 25%

Awards/Certificates:
1. Achieved IC Design expert certification from ZS
2. Recognized as a key contributor with the tag of "The Calm Captain" in ZS

Extra Curricular/Hobbies:
1. Organized FIFA competition during college fest
2. Co-organized events for Literary society in college
3. Volunteered for NGO "DRISHTI" - teaching kids in nearby villages, distributing essential items etc
4. Play Badminton, chess and console games

Short-term goal: Want to be a better all round management consultant in one of top consultant companies
Long-term goal: Want to partner with clients as a partner of a consultant company for their strategic problems

Kindly evaluate my profile & let me know which area I should focus more. Targeting Round 1 this year.

Thanks in advance.

Are you worried about your MBA applications?
Fret not! We have the answers to some of your biggest MBA application fears.

At Dean’s list, we are a team of enthusiastic and committed ISB Alums, current students and former admission team members. Having already helped hundreds of students, we are excited to formally launch our platform.

Please DM to register for a free 20 minutes session with ISB Alums/ISB Co’23 students.

Hit us up at the following email address for further queries.
Email: crackdeanslist@gmailcom

Hey gsgirija4,

I am an ISB alumni, CO15, and also an ex-ZSer (spent 3.5 years at ZS before doing MBA). I can relate to a lot of things you have mentioned in the brief.

Below is my take on your profile:

GMAT: Below Average

Academics: Average; if you have graduated from a Tier 1 college in India, it will add value to your candidature.
Work Experience:

Quantum: 4.5 years – Optimum for ISB application
Quality: Most of the things you have mentioned here are stuff, which any other ZSer with similar no. of years with the firm would be doing. I understand that you have probably been promoted to the role of Consultant, but to be honest, even an AC with 1.5-2 years of experience does a lot of things that a C in India does. Having said that, you will need to differentiate yourself from the pool of other ZS ers applying to ISB in R1 by highlighting something, which according to you others probably would not have got the opportunity to do. Ex. Business Generation, or, specific initiative/innovation you undertook (Note: Automating something resulting in higher efficiency is something a lot of people mention, so refrain from mentioning such an example). Focus on soft skills – delegation, project management (Calm Captain), motivation, etc. since ad com understands that certain hard skills come defacto with any ZSer.

Extra–Curricular: Average; nothing stands out here.

Short-term goal: Refrain from mentioning names of MBB as far as consulting firms are concerned since they look at your GMAT score as well as part of every other aspect. It will be difficult to justify your case for an MBB role and the ad com might make an impression that you haven’t done your homework in terms of research.

Please reach out to me (contact details in signature) in case you want a more detailed discussion and seek professional advice in your pursuit to draft a compelling application. Been there and done that .. literally!

Cheers and Best of Luck!
_________________

Hello,
Please evaluate my profile for ISB PGP

10th: 9 cgpa
12th: 77.6%
B.E: 7.33 cgpa
GRE: 327 (V:162, Q:165)
Work Ex: 3.2 year with Deloitte USI, in the cyber security domain, promoted once from analyst to associate level

Extra Curricular:- worked with an NGO ( tfi) in education sector as teaching assistant.
-Active member of Deloitte toastmasters club

Certifications: six sigma green belt, several other moocs from coursera and edx in fields like operations management, privaye equity and venture capital

Internships: internship experience at organisations such as Eicher motors, bsnl, h2 ventures etc.

Also thinking of a gre retake to compensate for poor acads

Posted from my mobile device

Hello shnaidu

While I will not dissuade you from retaking the GRE, but the current score does not seem a deal breaker in your case.
Past scores are actually decent enough too (curious, where did you graduate from, as that could make some difference)
Very little qualitative details to go by on work ex. The brand on the CV and the promotion will surely help, but the devil lies in details such as key achievements and impact at work.
Extracurricular are interesting (toastmasters is a B-School favourite) and can add diversity if presented well.
What is missing here are career goals and what do you wish to do post MBA and where does ISB fit in. Spend time on formulating a clear and realistic response to this.

Best
Varun
MBAkarma.com

Hello gsgirija4

Profile is strong in terms of work ex and this will be your standout strength (if presented well).
Weak in acads (could be compensated if work ex and career goals are presented extremely well).
Extracurricular is a question mark (depending on how old these activities are and what are the achievements worth talking about).
Career goals sound generic and need genuine personal motivation behind it (everyone wants to get into consulting, why does it actually excite you and what is your first hand research is something school would want to know).

Best
Varun
MBAkarma.com

Hi,

Kindly request a profile evaluation for ISB.

Age: 38
Male
Indian
Bachelor of Engineering (top 5% in class)
IIT-JEE Mains All India Rank (General category) = 70
15 years of work experience (8 years in India, 7 years in USA)

Snippets of work experience:
- Currently, General Manager in a Private Equity and Asset Management firm, managing teams in 3 countries.
- Head of an Engineering team at General Electric (GE), worked on defence projects, managed teams at 4 bases in 3 countries.
- Adept in Digital transformation, Technology consulting and Strategic planning.

Extra-curriculars:
- Played football for country (India) at U14 and U16 level
- Plenty of awards and accolades related to football
- "Lord of the code" award winner in 2005 and 2008, from Redhat.

Interests and other activities:
- Assist with NGO "Feed the children" for its activities in 2 states in India
- Organize free healthcare camps in rural India since 2002 (we have organized over 1000 camps till date)
- Manage 2 schools in India for underprivileged children, since 2000.

GMAT - I will take soon.
GMAT official mock test scores - 740 to 770

Post MBA goal: Dedicate myself to in-depth research, complete PhD.

Kindly suggest if my profile will be considered at ISB.

Thanks,
AG

Please evaluate my profile.
GMAT yet to be appear, Expected score 680 to 700
Total work ex. 14 years
Current position - Project Manager
Industries L&T construction
10th Score 67 %
12th Score 65%
B. tech score 75%

Posted from my mobile device

Abhijeet612:

Thanks for posting in our community.

It would be helpful to have more information to give you a better assessment. For example, do you have any extracurricular achievements in either undergraduate/college or post-graduation? Did you receive any notable awards or recognitions? What about major accomplishments at work that will help you stand out?

A GMAT score between 680 and 700 is definitely on the lower end. It's not disqualifying, but if you can somehow add 20 points to the range, that would certainly help. Is that doable?

-Admissionado