ISB Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Hi su04805,

The good news is that applying with a GRE score is not going to be disadvantageous at all. Besides your strong academic background will also feature in. At this point, we recommend that you focus on creating a stellar application that portrays a strong sync among your short-term goals, long-term aspirations, and your need for an MBA.

Moving to your query on profile improvement, we suggest that you keep performing in your current role, in order to have as many talking points as you can in your application. Further, try allocating some time towards the social work that you have been involved with and have some tangible stories to share. Alternately, you could also join a Social Club in your vicinity.

If you are able to take care of the above-mentioned points, you definitely have a good chance at cracking ISB! ☺

Should you feel the need to have a detailed discussion, please let us know ☺

All the best!

Hi Rumanshu1990 ☺

Thanks for sharing your details.

To begin with, BITS Pilani is a very strong brand to have on your resume. Adding to this, your work experience and strong extracurricular activities will definitely strengthen your application, even further.

That said, your GPA is on the lower side. However, a GMAT above 700, should definitely help cover up for the same, as well as ensure that you have a strong chance at ISB. Further, in case you are planning to apply abroad, please aim for as high a score as you can. Remember, GMAT expectations for Indian candidates are always higher ☺

Should you feel the need to discuss this further, do let us know! ☺

Good Luck with everything! ☺

Hi Ashish,

Your work experience is substantial and with that in mind, you will have to:
1. show that you will contribute significantly to the classroom
2. explain why you need an MBA at this point in your life.
Your goals as mentioned here are elementary and need a lot more thought. You will have to be realistic about what you can achieve post MBA, at the same time, there has to be some aspiration in the goals. Think about a more refined vision than- leading a IT business to new heights- as this is generic.

Also do not mention " I always had the urge to do an MBA" - you will get asked, what took you so long??

All the best for your GMAT- the upside of applying with more work experience is that adcoms are more forgiving of a lower GMAt score. Nevertheless, aim for a 700+.

Candidate Name: Shubham Chauhan
City, Country: Rayong, Thailand
GMAT - 680
Schooling
• 10th and 12th Grades: 93% (CBSE, District level Merit Holder) , 88% (MP Board) respectively
• Extracurricular activities: Cricket and Photography
College (Graduation)
• College name: Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar
• Degree: B. Tech [Mechanical]
• Grades: 8.15/10
• Notable projects undertaken: Generation of Hot Spots in Photovoltaic cell at Underwriters Laboratory, Chicago, USA
Professional Experience
I have worked in three locations of same company. Total Experience ~ 4.3 Years( Till Date)
1.
 Polyplex Corporation Limited
 Role- Management Trainee
 Location- Noida India
 Tenure- 6months [June’13-Nov’13]
2.
 Polyplex Europa
 Role- Management Trainee
 Location- Çorlu, Turkey
 Tenure- 6months [Dec’13-May’14]

3.
 Polyplex Thailand Public Company Limited
 Role- Production Analyst (Manager) reporting to General Manager (Head-Operations) and Now working as Process Manager (Production) since May’16
 Location- Rayong, Thailand
 Tenure- 26 months [June’14- Till date]

Professional Experience:-
Job Profile – I am the youngest person in the company to have been hired at the post of Manager in the company’s history of 30+ years.
Polyplex Group is the 4th Largest manufacturer of Polyester Film in the world with locations in India, Turkey, Thailand and USA and distribution offices in Poland, China, Netherlands, Singapore etc.

Operational Analyst
For 2 years, I worked under Head-Operations (General Manager) of company as operational Analyst. In this profile, my work catered to the data analysis on various aspects for the plant improvement. I have been involved in high decision making body for the turn-around of the company. For this I worked with Managing Director of the company. I was completely responsible for CAPEX proposal, MIS Generation. One of my proposals accepted by top management resulted in annual saving of USD 1 million. I got a fair exposure of general management of the company including the financial aspects. In this role, I got a fair view of all areas of running a business, right from Inventory management to product manufacturing to Manpower Management along with the sales strategy of the company. I have been part of all CEO Review meetings, which gave me an amazing experience of how top management deals with problems and how does senior management perceive things.

Process Manager
Looking into the good performance, I have been shifted to the core operations as process Manager (Industrial Film Division), independently handling the operations of 2000MT/Month production capacity polyester film plant. Plant is $100 Million facility, with state of the art setup
I am responsible for all process related trouble shooting and all new product development related activities, handling day-to-day operational activities involved in Production.

50 Thai nationals report me directly (Production Department)

Experience of working outside India in Non English Speaking Country-

Living abroad in countries such as Turkey and Thailand, where the native language is not English, has been a challenging but my life’s most interesting experience. You will have to adapt to a new culture and a new way of life. Immersing in foreign environment required flexibility and determination. That was not easy at the beginning but it has been a great life lesson. I found myself becoming more independent and more outspoken person. Taking decision to go abroad opened my mind and opportunities. I met people that don’t necessarily think and live like i did. This has called me into question what I’ve believed in so far and gave me opportunity to grow from this experience. Working and Hanging out with localities of Thailand gave me chance to live in this amazing culture and experience more closely.
Extracurricular Activities & Achievements
 In College
o Received Dean’s List Award for excellent academic performance in IIT in last four semesters (consecutively)
o Won College Competition organized among all IIT Gandhinagar Students. Got opportunity for Internship in Underwriters Laboratory, Chicago, USA. Received an award of $1000 as part of competition win.
o Part of College Cricket Team , which represented Inter-IIT Sports Meet Organized in IIT Delhi
o Marketing Manager of IIT-GN Technical Annual Summit. Had at team of 15 young students. Footfall of Summit increased threefold

Hi Shubham,

I love your profile and am feeling excited about your application. All the best and I hope it works out brilliantly for you.
The only weak link is your GMAT score. It should fly with ISB, but if you are planning to apply to some US colleges as well, then you should shoot for a retake. And I'd suggest you do apply to some US/ European MBAs because of your strong profile.

Hi, All. Need some help with my profile evaluation for ISB class of 2018-19. Wanted to understand what do you guys think about the strengths, weaknesses, and areas of improvement in my profile?


1. M/Engineer from MIT, Manipal. CGPA 6.5. 12th 82%, 10th 92%.
2. Expected GMAT score as per mocks = ~700 ( Q49 V35)
3. Work ex of 3.5 years my March 2018 in a popular startup in a niche industry and role.
4. Have led a sales team of 30+. Work ex is purely around business development and marketing for a particular product. Can show good personal growth over the past 3 years. Have participated and played a key role in international visits in the middle east market as well for market expansion purposes of the product line I manage.
5. Will get strong LORs ( probably from ISB alums )
6. Have had good leadership experience in college, being the executive board member of world's largest youth run organization. Have attended and conducted conferences (one in ISB itself), events, have done a good amount of event marketing.
7. Have some blog writing experience.
8. Short term and long term goals are absolutely clear.
9. Have a good amount of training and leadership experience.
10. Have participated in decision making heavily for both b2b marketing and (online) performance marketing

Please review my profile. I am applying in R1 and my GMAT is 710 (Dec 2015).

Academics-
10th - 82%
12th - 93%
B.Tech (Mechanical engg) - JNTU - 78%
M.Tech (Mechanical engg) - IIT Guwahati - 9.6/10
PG Diploma in Marketing management (1 yr part time weekend, 2016-2017) - SIBM pune - 8.24/10

Work experience - 3 years
Manager - New product development, Passenger cars at TATA Motors Ltd
Representing R&D in new product development team to create product configurations and concepts for 2019-2023.
Worked in liaison with finance, marketing, manufacturing and design teams
Coordinated with R&D teams across Europe and India to drive project delivery as per timelines.

Part time work ex of 1 year in family business (SME manufacturing) during under graduate.
Worked to reduce production costs and acquire new clients.

Extra curricular-
Placement coordinator at IIT Guwahati
Organized fests and events during under graduate
Squash player (amateur)
Tata Motors CSR volunteer


Post MBA I wish to work in Strategy/Business development in short term with reputed organizations.
and I intend to join family business and expand it in the long term.

I got a reject 2 years ago when I applied for EEO. Should I mention it as a re-applicant? Any disadvantages.

Thanks in advance.

Hi abhishek911.

Thanks for sharing your details.

Your overall profile, complete with leadership experience, international exposure, and start-up experience sounds very good ☺

Having said the above, your CGPA is definitely on the lower side. At this point, we recommend that you focus entirely on your GMAT preparation. Do aim for a score above 720, as that may also help compensate for your CGPA, as well as boost your chances for selection

Once you have the desired GMAT score, please work towards preparing an application, which represents your strengths in an appropriate manner, as well as focuses on the logical sync between your professional experience and future goals.

With all of the above in place, we are confident that you will make a very competitive applicant for ISB! ☺

You may reach out to us, should you feel the need for a free detailed profile evaluation. ☺

All the best!

Hello shubham12123

It goes without saying that you have an outstanding profile, which portrays you as an all-around individual. This is exactly what business schools are looking for ☺

Further, while 680 would work, considering the depth of your profile, we suggest that you attempt to re-take the GMAT. A higher score will not only enhance your chances of securing an ISB admit but also boost your chances of securing an admit at some top-notch global programs.

At this point, please concentrate your efforts on preparing an application, which does justice to your profile. Speak about the experiences, which differentiate your from others, speak about why you need the MBA, and speak about how your career goals are a logical extension of your work experience and interests.

With all of the above in place, you stand a very good chance at cracking ISB!

Should you feel the need for a detailed discussion, please reach out to us ☺

Good Luck!

Hi Abhishek,

Your work experience is competitive and you should bring out your achievements properly in the application. Leadership experiences, the time that you initiated, improved, innovated are always noteworthy.

Since you are still to take the GMAT, up your game by preparing harder and achieving a 700+ score. You will require this to balance your low GPA.

You have not mentioned your goals so can't discuss them. However do figure out their validity in general and for the business school where you are applying.

Hi Lohit,

ISB is one of the most reapplicant friendly b-schools, so do go ahead and apply. Until last year ISB used to have the reapplicant essay where you were meant to address how you have grown since your last application. But they have done away with it this year. So if there is any place in the application that asks if you are a reapplicant, then answer in the affirmative.

Two years is a long time and you are expected to be a lot wiser and have meaningful work experience. You will share these experiences in your essays and make a strong case for yourself, which you probably did not do last year. Also it will be crucial to evaluate your career goals- strategy and business development are different functions and require different paths. Moreover, you should also evaluate whether either will be a logical path to the family business.

Hi, Can someone help me with profile evaluation?

10th: 94%
12th: 85%
B.Tech and M.Tech Computer Science from IIIT Bangalore. GPA: 3.61/4 (Dean's List). Graduated in 2017.

GMAT: 710(Q49, V38, IR: 8, AWA: 5)

Work experience:

9 months internship with Swiss construction firm Hilti, Kuala Lumpur as a software developer.
Joining them as a data scientist at their Kuala Lumpur office this August.

3 month internship at RMIT university, Melbourne with a paper accepted in an IEEE journal.

3 month internship at Yatra(Indian travel start-up)

Achievements: Won 1 international coding competition and multiple coding competitions at national level.

Extra Curriculars:

Founding member of E-Cell, IIIT
Actively working with two NGOs associated with my college
Lead Organiser at the college fest
Organised a few workshops in my college

Hi Abhijay,

Hope you are planning to get some work experience before you apply. If you are planning to apply this year, then ISB is the only suitable option in their Early entry option .

Yup, right now I am only targeting ISB. What do you think are the odds of me making it?

Hi abhishek91,

Business Development roles are always welcome at ISB, primarily because recruiters love them! We think that you should be able to showcase a well-balanced profile. If you can map your accomplishments to your goals, you will have a great shot at ISB. You haven't mentioned your goals above, but we assume that they would be in line with what you have achieved so far, thus making a good MBA story.
A score of 700+ should keep your covered.

Feel free to reach out for a discussion.

Hi abhijay,

ISB EEO is designed for applicants with less than 24 months of full-time work experience to secure their admission to the ISB PGP. To summarize, you can apply now, but you would be joining ISB only on completion of 24 months of work experience.

Since ISB does not expect exemplary professional achievements from you with lesser work-experience, the focus of your application would be your academic background, GMAT and extracurriculars. We think you’re covered on the extracurricular front, and also have a strong academics background. A score of 710 works too and the international internships give it a good flavor. A good application with strong essays that talk about the value you bring to ISB and your goals should tide you over.

Feel free to reach out for a discussion.

Hi abhijay,

You have very less experience to get into ISB. Please re-consider your decision. Work for a couple of years build your profile and then apply to ISB or any other MBA schools.

Best,