ISB Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Hi!

Please evaluate my profile for ISB PGP (2018 intake)

Male, 33 years, from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Academics
X---UP Board ---72% (1998)
XII----UP Board---- 72% (2000)

I hail from a family of University Lecturers, so I was enrolled in A Bachelor of Arts Course after 10+2... completed 2 out of 3 years reluctantly (although with good marks)... persuaded my parents to let me join Engineering..

B.Tech (Electrical & Electronics) --- UP Technical University ----66% (2003-07)

Work Experience
2007-08 1 year as a QA Trainer in a CAT Training Institute
2008-09 1 year as a Trainee Engineer in an Electronics company....
Nothing much significant during these 2 years.

July 2009--Till Date (8 years)
Working in PGCIL (POWERGRID, a Leading Navratna PSU in Electricity Transmission in India)

2010-13 Engineer (Asset Management)

Managed the operation and Maintenance of High voltage AC transmission System at 765/400 kV as well as 400/220 kV Sub-stations as Shift in charge.
Managed a Team of 10 members looking after the Power System Assets such as Power Transformers, Shunt Reactors, Circuit Breakers, Instrument Transformers etc. worth USD 10 Million
Part of the Testing and Commissioning Team responsible for capitalization of Projects in coordination with MNCs like ABB, GE, Siemens, CGL etc. Capitalization of Projects worth USD 2 Million achieved. Letter of appreciation received from CMD.

2014-17 Sr. Engineer (Contracts and Materials)

Supervised procurement of Transmission Assets worth more than USD 5 Million including foreign imports worth USD 2 Million. Responsible for Enterprise Resource Planning of Assets for HVDC Vindhyachal station, first Back-to-Back HVDC Station in India.

2017-Till date Dy. Manager (Project)

Site in-charge for 400 kV Bay Extension Project at NTPC SSTPS, Oldest Thermal Power Plant in India; project is being executed by M/s GE with a total cost of USD 2 Million.

Several Certificate Programs such as in Technical Consulting, BSI standards etc. in official capacity.
Achieved “Outstanding” or “Excellent” rating in annual performance reviews in each of last 8 years

Extra-Curricular

Actively participated in several Essay, Debates and Quiz Contests at School level.
Played Cricket and Badminton at College level and also in Inter-regional Tournaments in my company
However, I really don't have many certificates to back above as I never really cared for them.
Nothing much as far as Social Service is concerned apart from personal contributions.

Current GMAT Score 710 (Q50 V35)

Please let me know my strengths and weaknesses...what are my chances for ISB PGP admit this year..will be applying in R2 with a better GMAT score
Time is running out for me (crossed 33)...what more I can do to increase my chances... Thanks in anticipation

I do not think you should re-take GMAT and delay your application for ISB, IIM A, IIM B. Take advantage of applying early in R-1. For INSEAD yes improving your score by 20+ points will definitely help.

Hi ag11,

Thanks for sharing your profile.

Let me get straight to the point and address your question of how the ad com with perceive your association with multiple organizations.

In today’s dynamic world, the ad com clearly acknowledges the fact that a person changes jobs if he feels he can’t contribute enough, his learning curve has become flat, or he wants to upskill himself. If you can place your job transitions in such a manner that you justify with sound logic for shifting from one role to another, and at the same time, demonstrate how the learnings from each role helped you in the next one and made you a more versatile professional, you can create a strong impression in the eyes of the ad com. Just keep in mind that the theme of the switches doesn’t come across as that for materialistic needs, or you sound as jack of all trades.

At the same point of time you will need to tie your previous experiences with what your future professional aspirations.

Hope this helps.

Please feel free to get in touch with me at arijit.biswas@crackadmission.com and/or +arijit_biswas89 (Skype) in case you want a detailed discussion or need professional assistance.
Wish you the best of luck.
Arijit

Hello Experts !

Hoping for a profile evaluation : -

10th - 87%
12th- 80%
Schooling done in Doha, Qatar.

B.Tech(EEE)- CGPA- 7.04/10

Work-ex- 4 years in a CK Birla Group Company in the Construction Equipment Industry.

Handling the Sales and Operations in the product management Team for the Caterpillar Skid Steer Loaders for Central, West and South India. Responsible for managing the inventory, machine configurations and overall profitability of the deals. Also responsible for the development of the CRM and Sales Funnel Management- Providing and implementing solutions to fast track the lead to opportunity conversion and monitoring strict adherence to the implemented systems among the front line Sales engineers.
Will be promoted to Assistant Manager next month.

Extra Curricular, achievements etc- Was appointed to the School Students' Council as the Prefect in the 11th and 12th grades based on academics and participation in extra curriculars. Also participated in various sports and literary events (I do not have the certificates)
In the official space,was actively involved in the new Product launch and organising the Caterpillar Brand Awareness Campaign for 2 years !
No long standing NGO Associations, as I have joined one only this month.

I am a 26 year old female if that is of any importance.

Any suggestions to improve my profile is highly welcome.

GMAT - 670 (Q44 V38 IR 6 AWA 5.5) , going for a re-take soon.

As an ISB alumnus, I must say that you have a good profile which can definitely make the cut for ISB. Its a fine balance of academics, experience and extra-curriculars (sports) which will help you demonstrate a well-rounded profile.

710 on the GMAT is above average for ISB and schools of that league. Hence, you need not retake unless you are eyeing the top 20 schools globally.

As a next step, ensure that you package it all together in well-drafted essays and that interview call should not be away.

Hope this helps. Feel free to reach out in case of any further queries.

Regards,
Abhishek Chawla
ISB alumnus & Co-Founder, Strategy4GMAT
Ph: +91 9990493487; +91 7087234600 (https://gmatclub.com/chat)
E: abhishek.chawla@strategy4gmat.com
www.strategy4gmat.com
Strategy4GMAT - an ISB alumni venture to help you get into your dream B-school

Hi golumolu,

Thanks for sharing your details.

You do have a pretty balanced profile, complete with a decent academic performance, a fair bit of extra-curricular engagement, and promotions at work.

Having said the above, 700 is an okay score, and you will need to now focus on preparing an application, which adequately represents your strengths, speaks about the skills you have garnered through your academic and professional experiences, represents your need for an MBA, and shows a logical sync among your professional experience, short-term career plans, and your long-term aspirations.

If you are able to address the above-mentioned factors, you stand a good chance at ISB!

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

All the best with everything!

Hi,

My Short term goals are moving into the Strategy Consulting domain. Can you advice how can i bridge my current profile (Analytics + Machine Learning) with my goal to move into Consulting? Thanks!

Hello devarshi9283 ,

First things first, your extensive work experience, leadership roles, and steady career progression will definitely be advantageous. Besides, with your profile, a 710 is a fairly good score to apply with. Thus, while you could apply with a 710, you must re-attempt the GMAT only if your feel that your chances of improving upon this score are fairly significant. Else, you must go ahead and apply in R1.

What is equally significant is that you create for yourself a stellar application, which adequately represents your achievements, focuses on your expertise, speaks about your leadership and managerial potential, traces your growth trajectory, and, most important, projects a set of career goals, which align with your existing professional experience ☺

Coming to your extracurricular activities, we would like to mention that these are not exceptional. Nonetheless, this isn’t quite a deal-breaker and a strong application should be able to cover up for the same.

If your application is able to represent your strengths appropriately, you will make a very competitive applicant at ISB!

We would like to take this opportunity to offer you a free profile evaluation. Should you feel the need for the same, please do get in touch with us.

Thank you.

Good luck! ☺

Hi T700ISB,

Can you also tell us about your short term/long term goals? This will help us evaluate your profile better. Also, are you leading a team in your current role?

Hi All,

I am a Commerce graduate with over 4 years of work exp working in Finance and Accounts. Also working as a part time wedding planner.
Academics :
10th - 81%
12th - 84%
BBM - 73%
My interests include music, theatres and sports like badminton and throw ball.

My questions are as below :
1. Coming from a Non-IT background, What are my chances of getting into ISB?
2.What should be my GMAT score like?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Devarshi,

You will have to make a solid case for why MBA now. Sometimes working in the same organization for such a long period can make the adcom wonder that why did you wait this long before thinking of an MBA- so to address this, do show career progression, leadership, impact and a REAL need for an MBA at THIS POINT in LIFE.

Also, don't bank solely on ISB, apply to the IIM 1 year MBAs as well.

Hi Madhuri,

Its impossible to predict your chances, more so with this little information you have given here.
Your admit chances depend on the overall strength of your application, your post MBA goals and reasons for doing an MBA. Reading your post, I don't have clarity on any of these. Feel free to share your resume with me or schedule a phone discussion.

As for GMAT, a 700+ is always beneficial. The class average is 706 and its good to be above that score.

Hi Madhuri,

Thanks for sharing your profile.
I am ISB alumni, CO14, and have been assisting applicants in their B school journeys.

Although the amount of information you have provided is very limited and doesn’t hint at your leadership experiences, the fact that you don’t belong to the typical ‘IT Indian Male’ category will give you an edge in the applications.

However, it is very critical that apart from a score in excess of 680, you also showcase your leadership experiences, extra-curricular (learnings from the Wedding planner role), professional accolades and profile diversity, in a very captivating manner in your essays. You will need also draw a connection between your current experiences and your future goals.

Feel free to get in touch with me at +91-9701215544/arijit.biswas@crackadmission.com in case you have any further questions or seek professional assistance.
Cheers and Best of luck
Arijit

Hi T700ISB,

This is with reference to your profile evaluation request on GMAT Club.

I am an ISB alum, CO14, and have been assisting MBA applicants get into global business schools through my venture CrackAdmission (www.crackadmission.com).

I see a lot of pointers in your profile that can make your candidature outshine – the fact that you have taken up leadership positions in the Construction and heavy manufacturing industry, which is usually dominated by male professionals can be a great selling point for you. Apart from that your experience in B2B sales/pipeline management and the fact that you experienced diversity at a very early age, are also plus points.

Although, with a compelling application, you can apply with a score of 670 as well, I will urge you to improve your score by at least 20 points to make a very strong case.
Irrespective of what score you apply with, you will need to demonstrate the following in your application – clarity in short and long term goals, diversity angle, leadership traits.

Please note that NGO experience is not at all a necessity in your application and I would suggest you to not even mention it in your application since the ad com might take it negatively because it might seem that NGO participation is something you are doing ONLY to add a pointer to your resume.

Overall, I definitely see you as a strong candidate for the ISB CO19.

Please feel free to get in touch with me at arijit.biswas@crackadmission.com / +91-9701215544 in case you have any queries or need any support.

Wish you the very Best
Arijit

Hi rhsethi31,

Thanks for sharing your profile.
I am an ISB alum, CO14, and have been applicants in their journeys to get into global business schools.

Please find my evaluation of your profile as far as different B schools are concerned :

ISB : You have a strong profile. You will just need to demonstrate leadership experiences in your career (through either the setting up new business line story or some other example) and articulate your short and long term goals.

NUS : Most of the roles on offer for NUS graduates are either in consulting, finance or IT Product Management. Since ad coms generally try to gauge whether the applicant will be employable post MBA or not, you will need to tailor your goals and experience in such a way that it catches their attention.

INSEAD : Based on the details you have shared, you don’t have any international experience nor do you have experience in excess of 5 years. Since INSEAD stresses a lot on both these aspects as it wants its students to have been acquainted with cultural diversity. You will need to bring out international experience and leadership qualities somehow in your application to get a shot.

As far as other schools are concerned, you should consider schools in US (ranked 10-30), LBS, IE, Judge

Hope this helps.

Please feel free to reach out to me at arijit.biswas@crackadmission.com or +91-9701215544 in case you want a detailed discussion.
Wish you the very best.
Cheers
Arijit

My Academic scores are as below:

10th- CBSE- 93%
12th- CBSE -73%
B-Tech -Computer Science - 71 % (honours)

I am primarily looking for admission in ISB
Planning to appear for my GMAT towards Nov.

Please if you could advise on the chances of my admission, along with the GMAT score I need to target.
also, if possible provide with the list of schools I should aim for.



Sent from my iPhone using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

A non-IT background helps, but a lot will depend on what are your professional accomplishments and goals as well. A score of 700+ will help and keep you safe. Once you have GMAT out of the way, you can work on packaging your profile in such a way that it appears truly differentiated.

Feel free to reach out in case of queries.