ISB Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Try scoring as high as possible on the GMAT ( close to 750 if possible). You can address your concen in the optional essay in order to explain the cause of your low GPA. Check out the thread here

Hi! Please evaluate my profile.

Indian Male candidate (27 years old) with bachelors in commerce from Mumbai University. Decent Academics (X-80%, 12-85%, Bachelors-75%), 6 years of work experience (including 3 years of International experience) with a Market research company focusing on research projects on new product launches and Pricing and promotion strategies in the FMCG domain. Currently working as a Senior Consultant in Poland.

In terms of extra curricular, I was elected House Captain in my last year of schooling, captained school/club cricket teams for 3 years, Played district level cricket in the Under 15 levels, active member of Rotract club during my college days and Community service groups at work.

In terms of the GMAT, i am taking on 30th Sept, but i am stuck around the 670 levels. Would that be a okay score for my profile? Target Schools: ISB, IE, NUS, Nanyang, EDHEC.

Looking forward to your feedback!

Work - Product development.
Career progress - Pay increase consistently. No designation change as such.
Achievements - some tech and peer awards

Yes that is a part time experience. Yes, I sourced a deal and got the startup funded with 400k$.

Why do you think ISB round 1 is a possibility? Last year applied in R2 - did not get an interview on this score.

Kindly review my profile and share your inputs.

Profile:
Indian, 34 male, married

Education:
Bachelor of Engineeering - Production Engineering (graduated in 2005)
Secured Gold Medal from my University.
Secured award constituted by Member of Parliament for securing Gold Medal.

Experience:
Total years of experience: 12
Companies worked for: Top Engineering and IT firm in India, 1 year with French Firm based in India
Progressed through my career as Trainee, Engineer, Engineering Executive, Project Lead, Associate Project Manager and currently hold position of Project Manager. I manage all the offshore operations(technical, logistics, budgetary) for an $8mn project for US based customer.
Achievements at work - Constantly recognized at work for outstanding performance.

International exposure:
6 months project coordinator at UK, coordinating client and offshore efforts.

Other Business Experience
Founder and Managing partner of security, safety and engineering consulting company - founded in 2008 - Have worked with multiple local clients.
Freelance Project Manager since 2009 - I have worked with international clients (small businesses/ startups) based out of - US (Major Market), Germany, Australia. As part of my responsibilities I have and continue to manage teams based out of US, India, Philippines. Have a strong working relation with my clients.(Can validate all of the great feedback that I have received from clients)

Extra-curricular:
Volunteered for 3 years at one of India's leading youth non-profit youth volunteer organization to provide basic English education at Orphanages across my city.
Cleared French Level 1 exam.
Currently pursuing my PMP credentials

Gmat: Yet to take the exam - Planning to apply in Cycle 2
Gmat Prep1 - 610 (no study) - Q44, V30
Manhattan Gmat 1 - 590 - Q45, V27 (only did refresher of Quant but didn’t practice much)

Areas of interest : Operations Management / Strategy and Leadership

Recommendations - Clients from business(based out of US, UK) and Senior Management at work.

Please advise on my profile. Kindly share the positives/ negatives and suggestion to address them, Target GMAT score and things that could pose as challenge during the entire process.

Thank you.

Hi! Please evaluate my profile -

ISB - Re-applicant

Age: 28 (as on Sept 2017)

GMAT: 700
10th (ICSE): 84.33%
12th (ISC): 76.33%
B.E. (MIT Manipal): 7.2

Involved in various extra-curricular activities through school and college like Street Plays, Short-Story writing, GK quizzes, Poetry, Western Vocals, etc.

Work Exp:

5 years 3 months total (as on Sep'17 - excluding 6 months internship at Oracle)

1.5 years: Oracle India (Associate Applications Engineer)
3.7 years: ZS Associates (Associate Consultant)

In the last couple of months, I've moved to a strongly analytics focused team. No international travel for work yet (if that matters). At work too, I've been involved in some extra-curricular activities like leading a team of ~200 odd employees for the annual events.

Other than that, I love traveling and have covered most of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala etc.

I had applied last year but my application and essays were weak - also mentioned in the feedback from ISB. But my biggest concern is getting stuck with Pharma domain. If I do get into ISB, I'm worried that my options will be limited as by that time I would have 4.3 years work exp with ZS. This might severely limit my chances of switching industries/ move out of Pharma. I'm more inclined towards Management Consulting and E-commerce - would ZS be a barrier in the movement?

Also, is there anything else I can work on? I'm planning to retake GMAT by Nov end and apply in R2. Just as an FYI, I had gotten in to NTU last year but didn't join as I only heard bad reviews from the current students.

Thanks!

MBA after 30 is usually tricky. Please be much more specific in terms of your Post MBA goals. The biggest question for you is " Do you need an MBA? Are you looking for an MBA to make a career transition or to move up in the same organization". A career transition at this stage doesn't make a sense and thus it will be difficult to convince the Adcoms about a career transition. The opportunity cost for you will be much higher and the salary jump for you will be smaller than most of the students in the class. If you are applying to any other one year MBA programs, please reach out to the Adcoms before starting your applications. Most Adcoms usually recommend EMBA programs at this stage. However, ISB welcomes candidates from all age groups. There are few candidates at ISB who are over 30 and few are even over 40.

Please check out all the options at ISB: PGP, PGP PRO, PGP MAX. Each has its own eligibility criteria.

While applying, please make sure that your goals and the entire story line need is bullet proof. You need to show that you can act as a mentor to other students in the class. You might consider posting your query here:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/mba-at-30-is ... 48569.html

Hi Raunak_Bhatia,

Your profile can come across as a strong one, if you can elicit good leadership examples from your background. Examples of projects that involved market research/pricing, but eventually contributed to successful business outcomes would help too. The international experience is good. Also, make sure that your future goals are linked to your current accomplishments/strengths.
Your extracurriculars from school and college may seem dated, and you might need to dig a few from recent work.

In terms of GMAT 670 is definitely on the lower side, for international B-schools you would need a 700+ and for ISB a 680+, and of course, the higher the better. Foreign B-schools often expect a higher GMAT from Indian Applicants.

Hi Erabm1439s,

We think you have a good profile and a score of 700 shouldn't really bog you down. We also think that you're over-worrying about post MBA prospects. As you probably know, every year ex-ZS students transition into different domains including Management Consulting. After all, isn't ISB the right platform to make the shift?

What you should focus on right now is your application: Make sure your application is personalized with anecdotes and examples that showcase your strengths. Ensure that your goals are in align with what you have achieved so far. Demonstrating a clear vision and a career path based on what you have accomplished so far will be the key to cracking this.

Hi,

Please review my profile. I am targeting schools: ISB & IIMs (one year program). I currently have a valid GMAT score of 690.

Academics: ICSE
X- 89%
XII- 91%
B. Tech. (Electrical engg.) from NIT Surat: CGPA 7.98 (2008-12)

Work Experience:
- 3.5 years of experience in Power & Energy sector (CLP India Ltd.) under supply chain domain. My job role included procurement of capital goods, maintenance spares & services along with budgeting & spend analysis. Handled various projects involving global sourcing & logistics from multiple countries. Worked in close collaboration with international teams especially Chinese & have a through knowledge of the Chinese Market.

-1.5 years of experience in Telecom sector (Idea Cellular Ltd.) under supply chain domain. I am responsible for procurement of services/goods & inventory management. I work along with Marketing & Sales as cross functional team. Led several initiatives & achieved significant reduction in the operational expenditure of organization for the organization to remain competitive considering the recent disruption in Indian telecom market.

Extra Curricular:
- led the team of CLP India in National competition for young managers.
- core member: sports council in CLP India & organized several sporting events for the organization.
- held various posts of responsibility & led teams to organize events in tech/management fests at pan India college level.
- Part of professional motorbike riding group & have undertaken several adventure trips.


Sent from my iPhone using GMAT Club Forum

Rachit,

Applying to ISB in R2 could never be the reason for not getting an interview. Otherwise how would ISB be filling up all those seats and why would they have a round 2 in the first place if they were to not select applicants. This is a myth. In my experience as a consultant, we have worked with more applicants in R2 and achieved excellent results.

That said, the investing experience sounds pretty wow and will help.

I'd encourage you to look much, much deeper into last year's application. Its a busy period for us, otherwise I could have given you feedback. You naturally made some mistakes there which led to "no interview"

And also, you have two stories floating: product development and angel investor - draw linkages where required, not force-fitted. This is an area I have seen several applicants go wrong

Neelesh, things are looking good at your end. Your GMAT is a low, but can be overcome with a solid application.

ZS is a great company to work with, so I'd not worry too much about that. Infact if you are consulting your clients over there, you have already built a core set of skills which will be useful in a management consulting role. So my suggestion is- play to your strengths and draw out the linkages between what you have done in the past, what you wish to do in the future, what skills have you already built and why do you need an MBA for the skills you lack!

As a reapplicant, you will really have to shine through this year's applicant pool. Reflection on what you did wrong last year will be critical for not repeating those same mistakes. So figure out, what was "weak" in those weak essays last year.

HI this is rohit and i have a 7 year experience with Siemens in to the power distribution sector as a project manager for export international project across africa and asia.
MY resume is attached herewith .

Apart from my academics experience , I am also a fashion photographer conducting workshops and having a website of my own .

Please let me know what should be my GMAT score if i have to get into ISB

Hi,

Could you please evaluate my profile below and let me know of my chances of getting through ISB 2017 in round 1.

Indian/Female/29years

Bachelor of Engineering (Instrumentation) : First Class with distinction
Xll th 83%
Xth 79.86%

Work Ex: @7yrs
Working in State Electricity Board as an Assistant Engineer in Thermal Power Plant with @5 yrs experience in Instrumentation &Control dept for Power Plant maintenance and @2yrs experience in 660MW supercritical power plant operation.

Extra Curriculars:
Represented college basket ball and kho kho team at state level as the captain.
Won inter college basket ball, handball, ball badminton matches.

GMAT Score : 690 (Quant- 45,Verbal-39, AWA-(awaited)

Avanti

Hi avantiradke,

Much will depend on what exactly has your role progressed over the years and how does it relate to what you want to do next? For instance, how have you evolved as a business professional? Do you have managerial responsibilities? With 7 years of work experience, it becomes pertinent to show examples of leadership. Awards at work?
The extracurriculars mentioned above seem dated and you may have to show something recent, that shows that you are a well-developed all-rounder. The score of 690 should not be a hindrance if you can showcase your application well and link your achievements to future goals.

Kindly evaluate my profile and let me know of my chances of getting in ISB 2017 in round 1.

Indian/male/27years

B-Tech NIT: 81.69%
Xllth 82.4%
Xth 88.6%

Work Ex: @6yrs
Worked in companies such as Capgemini Consulting Pvt. Ltd, Wipro Infotech. Currently working in a consultancy and deplyed with client Bharti Airtel.

Extra Curriculars:
Captain of Inter College Cricket Team.
Hosted Quizzes during one of my professional roles.

GMAT Score : 770 (Quant- 50,Verbal-44, AWA-6.0

I'm more interested in knowing about the Need Based and Merit Based Waiver in the Tution Fee as the only source of income for parents is FD interests and majority of that goes into medical expenses for them.

Wow Nitesh! excellent GMAT score. ISB should give you both need based and merit based scholarships.

Wishes apart, I am sending you the link for the scholarships. For the need based scholl, you will have to write an essay saying why you should be considered. The merit based scholl is given to students without any supplemental material - you can say that if they really like you, they are likely to offer you one. So, submitting a great application, followed with a strong interview will help. And ofcourse, you have that enviable GMAT score...

Here is the link that will give you their criteria: https://www.isb.edu/pgp/fees-financing/Scholarships