Profile Eval

Question

WE: 4 yrs (come Oct) in one of the best enterprise software company, on Fortune 500 list. I was promoted once. I was asked to take leadership of some critical components immediately after I joined. I rose up to the challenge and over the years I've become the goto person for it within the company. I've also mentored two engineers in the process. I lead new projects in the area I own and have performed significant performance enhancements to it over the years. However, the problem is being in the software product industry. Its very hard to interact directly with customers. Also being part of a large company and product, its very hard to show tangible improvements in revenue for the performance improvements/projects. I've been the campus representative at my university for my company have participated in the recruiting effort and have also organized the women in technology group.

EC: In college I was involved in my department's tech club and organized tech fest. I was also involved with the blood donors club, where we match donors with recipients. I didn't do much in grad school, but after graduating I've volunteered developing software for a UNHCR project that deployed the kits we built in Darfur. I personally didn't travel to Sudan, but was involved in the software development part of the kit. I didn't work on it on a sustained basis, it was more sporadic. Whenever we needed to deploy a kit, we would work 20 hr/wk for 2-3 months.I was also involved in kick starting and building up the alumni chapter for our college. The regional alumni chapter didn't exist before and I was involved in building it from ground up. I plan to continue this effort.

Hobbies: Running, Hiking, Mountaineering. I love the outdoors and have lead and participated in hiking and backpacking trips. I recently climbed some 14000+ peaks and plan to move into mountaineering. I've also run half marathons.

Goals: I'm not planning to goto b school to switch careers. I want to remain in the high tech industry but understand the business aspects of technology and move into technology management/entrepreneurship.

What are my chances at Sloan, Haas, Wharton, Kellogg, Ross, Anderson? Any other schools I should target? Also, if I spent the next one year improving my community service credentials will it improve my chances?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

VeritasPrepScottie · Answer

You are a competitive candidate for the target schools on your list. You might also want to consider Duke for its emphases on technology and entrepreneurship as well. You should not scramble to add ECs to your resume because it is usually pretty obvious when candidates try to beef up their ECs prior to applying to business school. Many schools are placing less emphasis on ECs because they are difficult to verify. The key is to show that you are well rounded and participate in activities outside of work. You can still mention your college ECs and also discuss your other personal interests and/or hobbies.

bschool2014 · Answer

Thanks for your quick reply. I appreciate it.

I forgot to mention, I would have 5 years of WE at the time of application. Also, is there anything I need to do to improve my profile/chances at my target school?

Thanks again!

VeritasPrepScottie · Answer

Even if you have only been promoted once, be sure to discuss roles that showed increased levels of responsibility and leadership when you write your essays/go to interviews. Also, be able to clearly articulate your career goals ie. What role do you want to play in the technology industry? Specifically, what do you see yourself doing?

bschool2014 · Answer

Thanks !

Most people get promoted only once in the software industry in 4 years. The hierarchy is pretty flat and getting a 2nd promotion takes 5-6 yrs. Is this a disadvantage coming from a tech background? Will working with a non profit help compensate for any percieved lack of leadership at work? If there are things I can do in a year, to improve my profile , I would love to hear them.

Posted from my mobile device

VeritasPrepScottie · Answer

I am sure there are other applicants from the software industry who have similar professional backgrounds so don't worry about the lack of a promotion. However, you should try to show that your responsibilities/roles increased over time. This will help to demonstrate your professional growth and also show that your superiors had confidence in your abilities. Your work at the non-profit is great and will help to show that you are well-rounded and have interests/hobbies outside of work.

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