Profile evaluation for INSEAD Jan 2008

Question

Hi Paul,

I am in the process of putting together my application for the January 2008 intake of the fulltime MBA programme at INSEAD.

I would be really grateful if you could evaluate my profile.

Nationality : Indian

Education : Bachelor of Technology, IIT

GMAT : 700 (q 51, v 35)

Age : 33 ( considering the average age of 29 years for the last INSEAD 
 class, I know I will be in the top 10%, as far as age is 
 concerned)

Work Experience : 11 years in Technology Consulting
 (3 in India, 4 in the Silicon Valley, 4 in the UK)

 Working for a top of the league tech consulting firm in 
 the UK where I am managing a global team of 25 
 personnel spread across the UK, Switzerland and 
 India. 

Motivation for MBA : Lateral career shift from Tech Consulting to General 
 Management and Strategy Consulting with emphasis 
 on BPO with the longer term goal of starting a BPO 
 firm of my own. 


Extra curriculars : 1. Chief Editor of a UK and Ireland wide newsletter 
 within the company
2. Involved with a charity where I work with people with learning disabilities and their families
3. working as a volunteer with an environmental charity

My involvement with a charity for people with learning disabilities and my philanthropic inclination is a constant source of motivation to start and operate an international business which endeavours to uplift the living standards of the underprivileged via promotion of free trade, charitable work and emphasis on providing employment opportunities to the people with learning disabilities.

PaulBodine · Answer

Pusht,

Your age is a modest negative, but your big managerial role is a definite positive, as is your international exposure. If you do a good job of emphasizing the leadership and internationalism and perhaps dig down deep to find some factors that set you apart from the crowd you should be competitive at INSEAD. See Accepted.com's  INSEAD chat transcript for some ideas on what the school values.

Good luck,

pusht · Answer

Thanks very much for your evaluation, Paul.

I had a follow up question which I was hoping you could help me with.

Is it common and acceptable to use actual names of your employers and clients in your B-school essays?

Thanks again
Pusht

PaulBodine · Answer

Pusht,

Using actual names of employers and clients is both common and acceptable. Indeed, it's highly recommended because it makes your essay more personalized, reduces your word count (usually), and helps the reader follow your "case." In some rare cases, people work for companies with confidentiality restrictions against naming clients. Don't worry about adcoms exploiting the information though; they're professionals. 

Good luck,

Profile evaluation for INSEAD Jan 2008

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