ISB Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Hi,

I would like someone to evaluate my profile based given the following parameters (note that I am intentionally not divulging specific areas of my profile, given that this is a public post).
1) Grade X and XII: 89% and 73%
2a) University of Mumbai: Bachelors in Management Studies: 86% Grade O - GPA 7.00/7.00
2b) Global association of risk professionals - FRM Part 1 cleared with good scores in January 2019. I am looking to take the part 2 exam in November this year.
3) Work experience:
Sept 2017 - Present: Deloitte LLP, Canada - Senior Consultant
I focus on advising clients (banking and financial services industry) across North America and occasionally the UK in areas of Quality Assurance, financial risk, and regulatory strategy from an AML, fraud and financial crime perspective. I have also led deloitte teams on several projects in the strategy consulting space.
Jan 2016 - Aug 2017: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP - Consultant - Mumbai, India
Focused on advising clients within the banking and financial services industry in India, middle east and south asia on issues pertaining to regulatory compliance and financial risk.
Jan 2015 - Dec 2015: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP - Associate - Mumbai, India
I assisted Deloitte teams on engagements pertaining to risk assurance and advisory.
May 2015 - Dec 2014: BNP Paribas India Solutions Pvt Ltd. - Trainee - Mumbai, India
Conducted reviews of export and import documentation against international banking regulation to identify discrepancies in documents and ensure that transactions adhered to local as well as international regulations.

4) Extra-curricular - I have formerly been a mentor at the light house project India - a not for profit that connects university graduates and young professionals in Mumbai with children from under-resourced communities. I was the mentor of a bright 13 year old school student and served as his confidant, building up his self-confidence, courage and public-speaking skills.

I have also completed level B1 of French (DELF - exams) from the Alliance Francaise de Bombay and I have utilized my french speaking skills in my professional career as well as personal life.

5) Professional Goals: enhance my business management skills, continue to work in the domain of regulatory strategy for financial institutions.

What do the admission consultants here think about my profile and where do they spot improvement opportunities? Also, I am taking the GMAT in the latter half of next month.

Please evaluate my profile for ISB

GMAT Score - 700 (Q49,V35)

Work Experience : 5 years overall

Currently working as a Product Manager in a Media/Entertainment firm . Prior to which I have managed PAN India operations of a micro-finance startup as Operation Manager.

While working as a City Manager at a hyperlocal e-commerce startup launched operations in 3 cities and have been successful in leading operations of 2 cities to transactional profit levels within a span of 10 months. Re-launched one of the flagship city of the organisation and headed city operation of 3 verticals of the organisation.

After my graduation I worked with one of the leading automobile companies and worked in coordination with Project Management, Export and Quality teams to setup operations in Bangladesh.

Education
B.Tech : IIT Kharagpur, Mechanical Engineering , 7.11/10
12th : 87.8%
10th : 90.8 %


Extra-Curricular Activities
- Long Distance Runner, successfully completed Airtel Delhi Half Marathon and aspiring for Tata Mumbai Marathon 2020
- 5 year Diploma in Fine Arts equivalent to Bachelor in Fine Arts
- Honourable Mention in Fine Arts, IIT Kharagpur
- Best Outgoing Senior, Hostel , IIT Kharagpur
- Member of Gold Winning Football Team, inter-hostel event , IIT Kharagpur
- Best Fresher , Hostel , IIT Kharagpur

Apart from the above have started a Ed-Tech startup in collaboration with friends which had been selected for Google Developer Launchpad, Bengaluru and is currently incubated under an accelerator. The startup has been constantly generation revenue since inception and currently reached the levels of INR 1lakh monthly revenue.

Thanks for reaching out,

It is difficult to gauge your chances since you have not yet taken the GMAT test. At ARINGO we advise doing so before starting the application process as that will give you a clearer path.

Regarding the application process, we created a fantastic video together with GMAT Club explaining the ideal timeline for the application process. Check it out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCKzoCc0tGc

Good luck, don't hesitate to reach out

Georgia
_________________

Hi amegupte0410

In terms of profile, we think you're covered. A well differentiated (and well-articulated ) profile, that will be a good fit for a school like ISB. The international experience helps too.

What can definitely increase your chances are a good GMAT (aim for a 710+) as well as continued involvement with extracurriculars. The former mentor story is a good highlight, but may not be enough if it was too far along in the past. Also, finance roles at ISB are far and few and you may want to dig deeper into your goals. For instance, is a regulatory strategy role at financial institutions too niche a role? What's your plan B? Begin by talking to alums and understanding what's the right role for you.

You can also reach out to us for a detailed discussion.

Hello Shreya11214,

Thanks for your query.

While the leadership experience sounds good, your experience is definitely on the higher side. To add to this, considering your tech background, you belong to an over-represented pool of applicants.

Your post is missing crucial details pertaining to your extra-curricular activities, as well as, career goals and these aspects are important in conducting a detailed profile assessment. That said, to differentiate your profile from other applicants, you must aim for a GMAT score upwards of 720. That you need to put forth a set of stellar essays, complete with a logical set of career goals, is a given.

The following video will provide you a perspective on drafting your ISB essays:



All the best!
_________________

Hello himanics,

You definitely have some very strong talking points in your profile.

We strongly recommend that you focus on your GMAT and attempt to get the score you are targetting. Besides the GMAT score, a lot will depend on how well you tell your story through the essays and how logical your career goals sound.

The following video will help:



All the best!
_________________

Hello devva,

Your post is missing a very essential detail - your achievements at work! Moreover, with no clarity on your GMAT score, it is frankly difficult to assess your chances.

It is strongly recommended that you focus on GMAT and aim for a score in excess of a 720; once the GMAT is out of the way, you must focus on building a strong application.

Hope this helps.

All the best!
_________________

Hello TurningPages,

While your GPA is not stellar and your GMAT score a few points below the ISB average, there is frankly a lot going for you with regard to your overall profile.

It is time now to consolidate everything and put forth a set of meaningful essays that are truly representative of your strengths and caliber. Very importantly, you must focus on asking yourself what your career goals are and express the same to the Admissions Committee in an absolutely logical manner; thus, your short-term goals should sync in with your long-term goals and both the short-term goals and long-term goals should flow logically from your existing experience, as well.

If you take care of the above, we are confident that you will have a strong chance at cracking ISB.

The following video will help you with how you should approach the ISB essays:



Should you have any follow-up questions, please feel free to reach out to us.

All the best!
_________________

26, male, Indian Sikh.
Business economics graduate from Delhi University 63% (first division). I've derived that my GPA is 3.7 (kindly correct if wrong)
GMAT: 740 (Q51, V39, IR8, AWA6)
Work experience:
Full time 2.5 years, freelance 1.5 years.

I freelanced with a production studio as a cinematographer and a video editor for 6 months. They hired me full-time and promoted me to the post of senior producer because I was good at dealing with clients. This lasted for 6 months too.
Then I left for Mumbai to assist in ads and films to learn more. I was freelancing as well. I was the assistant cinematographer in Kapil Sharma's "Firangi". Was part of many short films as well.

Then I joined my family business of medicine exports. It involved handling purchase and negotiating rates and payment terms. Soon I started travelling to Imphal to manage a pharmacy as it's conflict struck area and hiring someone local was tough.
Additionally, I became a mutual fund distributor in Jan last year. I have a sizeable AUM under me. I am also a stock trader. I still freelance as a cinematographer.

In college I used to make short films on social causes. I'd write, shoot, direct and edit myself. The topics ranged from communal differences, eve teasing to organ donation. I screened the organ donation movie in my college and about 50 viewers pledged their organs after the screening.
I also won numerous awards in -
Street theatre
Best photographer
Best cinematography
Best short film (director)

I wish to get into financial consulting post MBA.

What is the deal breaker here? I've been told that my work ex won't count since I've mostly worked for myself or my family (albeit full time).

Posted from my mobile device

Hi Taranveersingh93

You have a very unusual and diverse profile and combined with your stellar GMAT, you will definitely catch ISB adcom attention! We think the issue is not that your work experience won't count, the issue is that your work ex is too varied.
Freelance and family work experiences are easily sorted, as long as you have some proof of income. The challenge you would face is tying the number of things you have been involved in, to form a coherent MBA story and linking it to - why MBA and your goals. To this end, the weight of your application would lie purely on how you showcase your profile and which battles do you choose to fight.

With the right essays, you have a great shot at ISB. Feel free to reach out for a detailed discussion.

Hi please review my profile for ISB MBA program:

Back ground: Indian, Female, will be 27 years old in June
Education: B.Tech in Electronics from West Bengal University of Technology in India
CGPA: 7.75/10
12th: 72%
10th: 87.125%
GMAT Score: 650, I will be taking GMAT again, targeting 700
Domain: Business Improvement—Operational excellence
Experience: 3 years 4months till now

Job description:
I am working with British Telecom. My designation is Operational Continuous Improvement Lead. I work with different team to cater Lean practice inside their BAU.

Leadership Experience: I have led AIS team and am currently leading IM team for their Bronze accreditation by BQF. AIS team consists of 14 members and IM team consists of 25 members.

Professional Achievements:

1. Best employee
2. Star award
3. Lean Six sigma Green belt certified
4. Lean Practitioner certified
5. Bronze accreditation by BQF for AIS team under my supervision

Extracurricular:
1. State level Bronze medallist in Singing (Rabindra Sangeet)
2. Won some competitions during school and college in Recitation
3. (Not sure whether to mention as entrepreneurial experience) during my graduation I have cofounded a local organisation along with some of my friends. We provided tuition to the students who are not able to pay enough for their education, also introduce them with the part of extracurricular activities, which they find interesting.
4. During my 10th, we made an organisation called it ‘FRIENDS’. The purpose was to spread awareness against superstitions and prejudice.

International Exposure:
Professional: Not travelled in different countries. But I have worked and am working in Global projects which includes different teams across globe.

Post MBA goals:
Want to join strategy consulting firm

As you come from an over represented pool, a 650 gmat score may not help you much. Aim for an above 700 gmat score backed up stellar essays in your application.




Posted from my mobile device

Hi, I am planning to apply to ISB for the class of 2021, would very much appreciate if someone could evaluate my profile.

Nationality- Indian
Gender- Male
Age - 31
Xth- 71%
XIIth - 62%
Undergrad- B.Tech. in Computer Science & Engineering from Asansol Engineering College, affiliated to West Bengal University of Technology
CGPA- 7.5/10
GMAT- Yet to take (suggest the preferred score)
Experience:
I am working in an IT company (TCS) and have a total experience of 8.5 Years, including 4.5 Years of client facing experience at a leading pharma company in the USA. Over these years I have worked in the capacities of a software developer, team lead and BI consultant, in the domain of life sciences & healthcare.
Extra Curriculars:
I have received multiple organization level awards for stellar performance, including employee of the quarter award.
An active member of APA (American Pool Association)
I have been a blood donor for 4 years and a member of the blood donation rotary club.
I have been a part of the student placement cell and tech fest organizing committee in college.
Won national children science congress award in school

MBA goal: Switch from my current technical profile to a functional one and join any of the top consulting firms as a business analytics consultant, preferably in the healthcare domain.

The four core areas of any mba application are gmat score, professional experience, essays and awards & achievements.As you are coming from the over represented pool of engineers, you have to spike in at least 3 of those 4 core areas. So step number one would be to work on your gmat score and aim for above 720.

Posted from my mobile device

Hi AlphaCentria

Thanks for posting. Here is our assessment:
- Overall, your academics are about average, and you should aim for a 700 and above GMAT score. Thereafter, focus on your essays (Jul onwards) as your story will be important, given the fact that you belong to a competitive pool (IT) AND are on the higher side of the work experience spectrum.
- The 4.5 years of onsite experience really helps. Plus, your BI and life sciences experience will act as the differentiator here.
- Your ECA part is not outstanding (some activities, but nothing exceptional). This will need to be looked deeper at.
- Career goals seem in line pending more information.

Hope this helps. Feel free to come back with more queries as needed.

Hi Tania

At this point, focus on a strong (700+) GMAT score. Beyond that, your work (with BT) and focus area in ops improvement and lean will help differentiate you. A move to strategy consulting may not be very easy (even post-MBA), and that is something you should think about more before working on your essays. However, as of now, the essays have not even been announced. Therefore, plan to focus on the GMAT over the next 2-3 months and get that done.

Hi TurningPages

- Your ECA and acads are quite good and solid enough. The IIT tag will certainly help.
- The work experience part is a bit confusing. We see Media Product Management, hyperlocal e-commerce management, automobile project management, and an e-commerce startup here. Please provide a chronology between these and the duration you spent in each (including if some were concurrent). Will be able to assess more clearly then.

Hi please review my profile for ISB PGP program:

Back ground: Indian, Male, will be 35 years old in Sep
Education: B.Tech in Electronics from ITER, Bhubaneswar , MBA from IMI New Delhi (2008-10)
CGPA: 8.4/10
12th: 74.8%
10th: 86.4%
GMAT Score: Current mocks 670, target min 700

Job description:

Approx 9 years exp, with Vedanta, BASF and now DHL. Senior Manager - Strategic Procurement, Mumbai


Part of many global projects at BASF and DHL. Sourcing manager for International projects

I am am a mentor / associated with some NGOs

Post MBA goals:
Leadership strategy roles/ consulting.

Will I be a right fit at ISB at this stage?

Hi Debayan

- Given your age, you should be having closer to 11 years of experience, rather than 9. Are there any gaps you have not mentioned?
- With a 700+, you should be in contention. However, you will need to explain the need for a second MBA well. The consulting goal is reachable post-MBA, though strategy will need more explanation.
- Acads all seem good, ECA - what you have mentioned seems good, but having more information would be useful on that front.