ISB Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Hi,

I am planning to apply in ISB for 2018-2019 batch. I have got a good score in GMAT too. Below is my profile details.

GMAT - 740
X - 74%
XII - 70%
B-Tech - 74%
Work experience - 6.5 Years.

Please evaluate my profile and let me know where do I stand? It would be great if you could evaluate for other Business schools too, which are out side India.

Hello YagnyadattaB

There are 6 major elements that ISB will look at-

1. Academics
2. Work Ex
3. Leadership Potential
4. Diversity
5. Communication
6. Clarity of Goals

You have mentioned just your acads, which by the way are good. 6.5 years experience doesn't tell anything, as more than number of years, Career Progression and Achievements matter.
However apart from that not other information is present to judge your strengths and weaknesses on all of the above 6 parameters. ISB will look at your complete profile and not just acads or years of work ex.

In case you wish a detailed review of your profile you can do it here- ISB Profile Review

You could also read more about Planning your MBA here

All the best.

Hello,
Please do evaluate my profile for ISB (2019/2020 intake).

- Xth - 9.8 GPA, XII - 473/500

- Graduated from one of India's top 10 engg colleges 0n 2017. (Unfortunately, had 3 backlogs, which I cleared in my 6th semester and have a CGPA of 7.01).

- Started up in college and won many awards including the Google Startup Weekend, our startup was also incubated in our college's own incubator. We received recognition from the Entrepreneurs Development Institute which comes under the State Government of Tamil Nadu.

- Headed my college's entrepreneurship cell and also founded and organised a massive entrepreneurship festival (3000+ footfall).

- Part of AIESEC.

- After college, jumped full time into my startup but later shut down due to marketing failure and loss of money. [Startup from Jan 2016 to August 2017, but only 4 months post graduation]

- Joined Uber Eats and worked for 3 months there.

- Now and tentatively till joining ISB - working as an Engineer in Oil and Gas Sector in gulf country.

Aiming for a GMAT of 700+, unfortunately in my first mock I got 560.

Considering my short work experience till March 31,2019 and my backlogs what are the chances of me becoming an ISB student?

Posted secretly from my office

Hello nomoneynoMBA

Not clear about your exact work experience as on 31 Mar 2019. If it is less than 2 years, not eligible for regular admission, you can try EEO.
If you do have more than 2 years experience by then, you can apply, but being at the lower end of work ex you will need to compensate by making other aspects of your profile strong, especially Quality of Work Ex (Career Progress and Achievements) and Academics.
Be prepared to be grilled on Why MBA NOW?
Apart from other information is generic, which will get you a generic feedback- I'm sure you are not looking for that.

Still if you wish a detailed profile feedback, you can do so HERE

All the best.

What is the EEO? If I get in through the EEO will I be able to join classes next year itself or should I wait for one more year.

My work experience (if my startup is considered falls short of 1 month).

Also, how about my other experience in my profile, will it do good justice?

Posted from my mobile device

Hello nomoneynoMBA

EEO is Early Entry Option. This will give you a deferred admission in case you have less than 24 months of experience as required, so you will have to wait for a year.
For you next question- whether you profile will do justice is very hard to tell with just 3 months of experience in Uber Eats in addition to your Entrepreneurial stint. More than years/months focus on what have your learned, what has been your career progress and what are your achievements? Without this information it is difficult to suggest whether your work ex is looking strong or not.

All the best.

Hi,

My name is Karthik. I am an Instrumentation engineer with 10.5 years of work experience in the power generation sector with a large Public Sector Undertaking (PSU).
I am planning to apply to IIMA,IIMB,ISB and XLRI. Also thinking about a few 1 year programs abroad.
Planning to move into a general management or consulting role post MBA.
My experience is mostly in the operations and energy management domain.

Acads:

X : 84
XII : 79.6
B Tech : 69 (from a Government College in Kerala affiliated to Uni. of Calicut)

Targeting a GMAT score of 700+ to compensate for my average acads.

Additional Certifications/Qualifications :

Certified Energy Auditor - Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power, Government of India
Certificate in Project Management - IPMA
Completed a company sponsored online learning module from HBS delivered through Harvard Business Publishing.


Accomplishments:

Rated outstanding employee for 5 years.
Received appreciation letters/commendations multiple times.
Member of experts group constituted at corporate level for effective operations of capacity amounting to 6 GW.
Have carried out energy audits in other power stations and suggested performance improvement measures.

Extra Curricular:

Organised a GoI initiated awareness campaign for energy conservation in Lakshadweep islands.
Published papers in National level conference (paper was selected for oral presentation)
Represented the business unit in various company level competitions multiple times at national level and
also in southern regional round of AIMA National Competition for Young Managers (NCYM). Received accolades for the same.
Was member of an NGO and coordinated efforts to provide medical aid to needy patients in the area.
Helped train engineering students through internships and plant familiarisation programs.
Was formerly part of a music group that performed multiple times in the locality.
Was student coordinator of Placement,Training and Information Bureau of the college during undergrad.

Please evaluate my profile and do frankly suggest if IIMs/ISB/XLRI would be a good fit and if there are any other 1 year programs in India/abroad that would suit someone with my type of profile and work experience.


Thanks in advance

Karthik

Hello Karthik

Let me answer this in 4 parts-

1. Experience- Work ex shows quality. I think your thought process is mature as even for Profile assessment you are talking about accomplishments and not just roles/responsibilities.
2. Future Goals- With your work ex (read number of years) it may be challenging to move into Management Consulting. You will need to realign your expectations. Usually people with several years of experience are not hired by management consulting firms (if they already do not have a background). Exceptions are there of course, but that is what they are- exceptions. Speak to your seniors/alumni with a similar background for your own understanding. Moving into general management is a more realistic possibility in the same or similar industry.
3. Indian Colleges- You have a good profile, personally I would recommend IIM A/B/C to you (in that order) over ISB. ISB is good, but IIMs seem a better fit for your profile, especially A & B.
4. Global- In terms of global colleges, you have a fighting chance at HEC, Oxford and Cambridge. Goes without saying you will need Clearer Goals and Essays/Application that pack a punch.

Of course I am assuming that you will hit your target GMAT of 700+, when are you taking it?
All the best.

Varun Sharma
MBA coach
LinkedIn
MBA coach- Website
Free Profile Review

Thx a ton Varun. I am planning to take the GMAT by the end of this month.

Hi,

While it is difficult to asses your profile due to the limited information shared by you regarding your work experience, institute of graduation and career goals, we would like to share our perspective and experience with you, and in that process, provide you with the analysis of your profile.

As long as you highlight the impact of your duties on your team's performance, any professional engagement can be presented as being meaningful and productive. Therefore, our suggestion to you would be to draw inspiration from your work experience in order to share with ISB why it should select you and what insights about your work or industry can you bring with yourself.

Secondly, you will have target a slightly higher GMAT score. In wake of the limited information shared by you, it is difficult to share a target score with you but you should definitely aim for a score above the class average i.e. 705. A 710+ GMAT score will add more weight to your profile.

Lastly, you will have to develop a story about yourself, your journey and how an MBA from ISB is the next logical step for you to transition from your short term goals to medium term and long term goals. You will have to highlight inspirations not just from your academic and professional life, but also from your personal life. Keep your story original and engaging.

Hope this helps!

Best regards,

Team Strategy4GMAT

Ph: + 91 8008553552 / + 91 7087234600
E: info@strategy4gmat.com
https://www.strategy4gmat.com

I am currently working in software developement in a services company. total duration 2 years 2 months.

tenth : 87.4
Twelth :90.60 (school topper)
Btech: 70( government college in Kerala)

Extra curricular : knows kung fu, part of football teams at college and school (no certificates).

i wrote cat this year and scored 97.5. I will be turning 25 this year and am hoping for an executive mba from isb.Do i have a chance of conversion,given my average profile if i score well in GMAT or i should stick with PGP from any good iims.

Hello vardhanalex

I'm assuming you are new to this process. It is virtually impossible for anyone to tell your chances with such limited information. B-Schools such as ISB look at your complete profile, judging on primarily these six factors. Let me try to break this down-

1. Academic Potential- Will you perform well in the program? You are evaluated on basis of past scores and GMAT. You have not taken the GMAT but, looking at your CAT scores, I'll assume you can score a 700+ comfortably. This is the only info that is present in your question in some detail
2. Quality of Work Ex- Achievements and Career Progress matter more than industry, role and number of years. None of the information is available to give any sort of feedback.
3. Leadership Potential- What have you done in your past and does the Adcom see a potential leader in you? Your CV, accomplishments and your story in the essays will help bring this out.
4. Diversity- Indian. IT. Male. Yes, we all know that is probably the most represented profile in the applicant pool. What makes you different from other applicants. What new perspectives will you bring and how will you contribute positively to the learning of your peers?
5. Clarity of Goals- Why MBA? Why Now? Why ISB? Why You? These are some questions you should start finding the answers to. No clarity, no admission.
6. Communication- This one is subjective and is measures through your essays and interviews.
To summarize- Can't judge your profile for ISB based on limited information. Whether you should re-try CAT or apply for ISB is your call as the experiences in both courses are different (2 Year vs 1 year) due to the student profile and program structure.

P.S.- ISB PGP is NOT an Executive MBA. It is a One Year Full Time MBA (or Post Graduate Program in Management to be more precise). To know the difference you could read more HERE- One Year vs Two Year vs Executive MBA

It is good, that you have started researching, this will help you ask the right questions.Start Early. Build Your Profile

All the best.

Varun Sharma
Free Profile Review
Website
Blog
Quora
LinkedIn

Thanks varun,

And yes I have just started researching. I have some rewards and recognitions other than that if you are asking whether my designation has changed it would be a no. I do not have much to show in terms of career progression mostly because of my limited work ex (2 years) and i am not in a leadership position in my current role.

Hello vardhanalex

Just to clarify- Career Progress does not necessarily mean Promotion in terms of designation. It could mean in terms of learning, maturity, achievements, responsibility etc.
Also- Leadership does not mean being in a Top Leadership role, but what is whether you have potential to become a future leader. This could come from your stories on initiative, going beyond your work, managing a team (even if they are not reportees), working in challenging situations and so much more.
All the best.
Varun

Hi,

My name is Abhishek. I am a Software Engineer with close 6 years of work experience(India-2.5 Yrs, US 3.5 YRS) in the eCommerce company.
I am planning to shift back to India due to family reasons and want to make a switch to management domain.

I am planning to apply to IIMA,IIMB,ISB and XLRI which ever accepts GMAT but targeting ISB mainly. Not sure regarding the POST MBA path, but looking to get into finance/operations/strategy. I have some knowledge in Risk domain due to my current work and has as consulting experience in SAP Material Management when working in India.

Acads:
X : 89.2%
XII : 76%
B Tech : University of Mumbai: 80% GPA(3.93 WES)
Masters from US(Good University): 3.75 GPA

Targeting a GMAT score of 700+ to compensate for my average profile.


Extra Curricular:
Undergrad:
- Placement Incharge for Computer Engineering Branch
- Participated in Badminton Sports Competition

US:
- Toastmaster Club member
- Participated in Badminton Sports Competition

I have a very average profile, and thinking to enhance it.

Please evaluate my profile and do frankly suggest if IIMs/ISB/XLRI would be interested in the profile.


Thanks
Abhishek

Hi,

I have completed my B.Tech(CSE) in 2014.

I worked for Hewlett-Packard Enterprise for 3yrs. I am on a career break of 6 months due to some health issues. I am planning to take my GMAT in 15 days.

B.Tech : 80%
12th : 81%
10th : 84%

School :
I have been the president of my school's social club. Wherein, I used to co-ordinate some programs in old-age homes and teach economically weaker students.

College :
- I was again into teaching economically weaker students in a school which was funded by my college.
- I am an active volunteer in Art of living.

Hobbies : Dancing, reading books,
I also take huge interest in reading books about behavioral neurology.

Can you please tell me what should be my target score in GMAT?
Also, will my career break be a problem for me?

Hi Abhishek

First things first- Don't Undersell yourself. Your profile is average (read has nothing extraordinary) only if you feel that way. I'm sure if you dig deeper (on your own or with help) you can find several things to talk about and highlight in your profile.
But I digress. Coming back to your question at hand- The AdCom will evaluate your application on these parameters-

1. Acads- Look decent, I will take the liberty to assume that with your past scores you should be able to score 700+. No rocket science here but a 720+ will really help your profile.
2. Work Ex- You've not mentioned your company, career progress or achievements. IIM/ISB is more interested in that. No one can evaluate your profile with this important piece of information missing. The international experience could be made into a big positive, but depends on what you bring out in your story.
3. Diversity- This is where I agree with you- Indian. IT. Male. Always a fight. Bring out what differentiates you. It could be the initiative that you take at work, teams you lead, your career progression, recommendations or something else entirely. Only you can help find this out. Toastmasters could become talking point- what did you achieve here?
4. Career Goals- Better figure this out dude. Everything can be stellar but- No Clarity. No Admission. Applications open in May/Jun. You should have answers to the regular questions ready (Why MBA? Why Now? Why you? Why IIM/ISB?). You don't want to start from scratch in mid-application season.
5. Leadership potential- Do they see a future business leader in you? You essays will have to bring this out and tie it with your past and future.

To summarize- all profiles have positives and negatives, but don't begin by undermining yourself. Find out your strengths and compensate your weaknesses with other aspects. A combination of the above five elements will more or less decide the outcome of your admission. If you feel that you have an average profile, then compensate it by acing the GMAT or writing kick-ass essays.
Though it is virtually impossible to evaluate your profile based on such limited information, I believe you have a fighting chance as ISB/IIM (how well you write your applications).
Let me know if you want to have a detailed discussion on this.
All the best.
Varun Sharma
Free Profile Review
Website
Blog
Quora
LinkedIn
onembacoach (at) gmail (dot) com