Profile Evaluation

Question

Hi All,

I'm a 25 year old engineer, male, from India.

Class 12th- 95%

College- Delhi College of Engineering- 8.14 CGPA (Distinction)

GMAT- 710- Q50 and V35

Work experience- 4 years and 3 months by Sept'23

Current Role-

1. Currently working for a 1Bn USD retail company that is the market leader for furniture in 7 countries. 
2. My role is based out in Dubai, and I am working in the CFO's Team in Financial Planning and Analysis. I started my job in Merchandise Planning and have experience in both Demand Planning and Supply Planning. During the course of last 3 years, I have made needle moving contributions in terms of numbers (reducing Markdown spend by 7%), and have achieved some of the best results since the inception of the business. 
3. From a Finance exposure point of view, I've worked very closely with the CFO on a daily basis and have worked on each and every line item of the P&L to optimise costs (Sales, COGs, Intake margins, Warehousing Costs, Marketing Costs, Markdowns, Stocks etc.)
4. During my experience, I have automated processes, reducing lead times from as high as 6 hours to merely 90 seconds.
5. From an appraisal point of view, I have got 2 promotions in the last 2 years and have always got a high employee rating. 
6. I'm currently working on a sustainability project with the CFO to reduce Carbon Footprints of our Supply chain.
7. Have also worked directly with the CEO on projects like Territorial Expansion- entering into new countries.

Co-curricular
1. Founded and NGO that is based out in Delhi and is related to providing Healthcare support (CPR training and First aid)
2. During my college days, I turned around a college society from a 15 member team (when I joined) to a 127 member team and raised the budget from ~1K USD to ~15K USD in one year, making it the biggest society of entire North India. 
3. During my college days, I also founded a startup to provide college students with internships through fairs, successfully organising 2 internship fairs. But, this startup lasted for only 6 months. 
4. I have also worked with an International NGO to provide a sustained income to women by training them to print customized clothes. 
4. I have played Basketball at a zonal level for 8 years.

After MBA
1. Short Term Goal- to start my career with consulting
2. Mid-Term Goal- To work for an MNC in most likely Retail Domain
3. Long Term Goal- To have a business of my own
4. I want to continue with my NGO throughout.

The B-schools I am targeting are-
1. INSEAD
2. HEC Paris and LBS
3. Cambridge and IESE
4. Oxford
5. SDA

It'll be really great, If I can get some advice and feedback on my profile for my target B-schools.
 Admissionado   mbaMissionJenK   PersonalMBACoach   desertEagle   ajinkyajadhav  (Others are also welcome to provide feedback)!

MBAGuide · Answer

Hello  Surajsingh17018  hope you are doing well. Here's hoping I can add some useful perspective

You have a competitive profile for the schools on your list. You are slightly on the lower side of the age spectrum but having relevant experience of supply-demand dynamics as well as a deeper understanding of financial controls in business puts you in a strong position from an employability perspective(especially considering consulting goals).

Receiving interest from applicants with similar profiles (having business mgt experience in Dubai) in the Indian demographic is not a less common phenomenon at schools such as INSEAD, LBS, and HEC Paris. Therefore you would have to work hard on presenting your narrative in a manner that differentiates you as an applicant while still demonstrating highly regarded leadership traits and the ability to fit in with the cohort. Actively engage with the alumni or potential recruiters to gather insights that might be useful later.

Your community initiatives complement your professional trajectory well but you need to show the depth of experience. 
Further delving into how you would leverage the MBA network to continue doing enriching work and generating sustainable impact would show you in strong light. I also find points 6 (new initiatives on reducing Carbon footprints in the supply chain) and 7 (international territorial expansion) from your current role interesting enough to build a conversation around (If I were to interview you). If you learn to bring focus to the right projects/stories in your applications and the interviews, you could be dressing up for success!

For your goals, it would be best to deliberate on what would you like to do in the long term and why. Then break down the trajectory into possible career paths with a plan A and plan B so as to give yourself some flexibility (also to the Business schools). Consulting goals have been used too often to be interesting, especially if you happen to apply in the late rounds. Showcasing your long-term vision through motivational essays would help tie the narrative together. If you are targeting entrepreneurship in the long term, be specific about the problems you have seen through your work and elaborate on what you wish to do about these problems as an entrepreneur. It is best that you dive deeper into skills that you expect to learn in the midterm, which would help you to solve a larger problem in the long term(your long-term vision).

I advise you to apply to INSEAD and LBS in Round 1 to maximize your chances. With a good application, HEC Paris and others seem more than likely to invite you for interviews, but you need to be careful pitching your goals.

Your GMAT could be better, but the European schools are more forgiving of the verbal scores for non-natives, therefore I feel a re-take is not required. However, this calls for stellar applications, recommendations, and essays overall, because if stats are all it came down to, you could be at a disadvantage.

If you wish to seek professional guidance feel free to reach out.

Warm regards

MBAandBeyond · Answer

Hi Surajsingh17018 , Thanks for sharing your profile. Your profile looks good on the surface. To begin with, your undergrad GPA appears to be good, and you have a decent GMAT score. If you have the time and energy to retake, raising your score by 10-20 points will maximize your chances. Talking about your work experience, it appears to be impactful in terms of quantifiables, but keep in mind that you will need to say more than quantity about how you dealt with this and that challenging situation and how it influenced the individuals in your organization. You have demonstrated strong leadership, analytical abilities, teamwork, and global exposure. Overall, your work experience is great and demonstrates some excellent traits, a promising career path, and relevant experience. Regarding your Ecs, you can talk about your NGO and your motivation for doing so. It showcases your sheer desire to carry out social work and characterizes your selflessness. Your ECs might be really valuable! You must make good use of it by discussing the challenges you encountered, how you dealt with them, and how you made the right decisions in important instances. All of this might be shaped into a wonderful demonstration of your leadership and intellect! You may read How to strengthen your MBA application for Round 1 MBA you will get some beneficial insights

Your post-MBA goals sound good. They do, however, require further alignment and elaboration. You have to start a business, thus you must present your vision to the AdComs regarding the same. Overall, your profile is strong, and I feel it will compensate for your GMAT score. You have a good chance of getting into your targeted schools. What’s going to matter most is how you connect the dots and present an impactful narrative to put the mark on the AdComs. If you’d like, we are happy to hop on a call with you to discuss your profile in length and further chances to the schools. Feel free to book a free session with us as per your convenience. How to craft an Admit winning M7 profile Cheers! Neha Hadke Profile Analyst & Channel Manager, MBA and Beyond Testimonials Email: neha@mbaandbeyond.com

essaysexpert · Answer

Hi Suraj,
You have a good profile going. From what you have shared, you are an early achiever and have adapted to diverse roles. Further, you have global, cross-cultural experiences which are a plus for the schools you are targetting. I would strongly suggest to focus on building a strong leadership narrative, within the framework of duties you have, because you are on the slightly lower age range of target schools. Compelling and crisp essays will be the key to your success. I suggest you list out all the stand-out points of your candidature, prioritize them, and form a rough skeleton to help you chalk out your MBA vision better. This will also help you provide concrete points when it comes to essay writing. In conclusion, you have a strong profile and the schools are a good match. Do connect if you wish to discuss anything further. All the best!

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Admissionado · Answer

Surajsingh17018 : To avoid duplication with many of the strong comments above, I would just add that I think your career goal needs to be so much stronger. "Consulting --> Retail --> Own Business" is as generic as it gets. These schools are expecting you put to forward an incredibly detailed pathway. Given your knowledge of the retail space and desire to return to it, I know you can do better. You probably also won't be able to put forward a mid-term goal. Just stick to short-term (3-5 years post-grad) and long-term (5+ years) goals. https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/ Good luck, Admissionado

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