ISB PROFILE EVALUATION THREAD - Post all Profile Eval Requests Here!

RohanLakhani1 , Hello from a fellow Manipal alum ! You seem to be on track for ISB professional experience wise, however, you should have a strong justification for applying to ISB this early on in your career. I do not see a clear career progression across the projects you mentioned for KPMG over a span of 10 months. If there is room for you to grow in your career without an MBA at this point, then ISB may not consider your application with the desired deliberation.
Be conscientious about your post MBA goals. Evaluate whether your post MBA goals are attainable given your academic pedigree and experience. I suggest you take up opportunities in the coming year that help you gain leadership or team management experience. Involvement in some diversity initiatives or community work will also give strength to your application. Most importantly for your ISB application, communicate the impact generated by you in your projects and value created for your team members and clients.

If you are looking for some professional guidance on the application strategy do reach out.


Best wishes

Hi,
Please evaluate my profile with regards to the ISB PGP program of 2023-24. I am planning to apply in R1 of the admission cycle.

Age - 25M
10th (ICSE) - 92.66%
12th (ISC) - 88.83%
B.Tech in CSE from West Bengal University of Technology - 7.93 CGPA (2019)
GMAT-not given yet, pls suggest a score according to profile if possible.

Work Experience -
1. Cognizant - Jr. Software Engineer - 23 months
- I was a part of the BFSI vertical where my client was a North American Fortune 25 banking and financial organization.My primary tasks included business consulting and application development for the client wealth management team.
- It was a client facing role where I was the point of contact between Cognizant team and the client. Followed an Agile development model where the clients put forth the business model and we implemented the necessary changes.
- Led a team of 2 people after my first promotion and successfully trained them with domain as well as technical knowledge through KTs.
- Recieved various client appreciation mails and given a fast track promotion

2. State Bank Of India - Probationary Officer - 7 months till now
General Banking, rendering core banking functionalities to customers.
Financial Inclusion assignment- Was a part of the nodal FI team where the focus was on providing banking services to the furthest corners of WB, while leading a team of 7 people.
SME assignment, where my primary tasks included appraisal and underwriting of MSME financing.
Rural assignment, dealing with agri financing, SHG credit and farming and allied activities MSMEs.
Sourcing of proposals and effective implementation of marketing strategies for the bank's various products.
Implementation of government schemes, direct benefit transfers, bad assets recovery, inspection and audit processes.
Increasing digital penetration through training bank customers
on online banking.

Achievements/Activites -
- Selected in Cognizant Orbit Shifter programme(150 candidates in total) in 2019 amongst an 35000+ recruits after a series of cognitive and communication skills assessment.
- Selected as a PO in India's largest lender in my first attempt, amongst an applicant pool of 12.5 lacs candidates(2000 candidates selected in total).
-Winner of Inter and Intra college Quiz competitions during undergrad.
-Semi finalist of Inter college Fifa competition
-Active participations in Cultural and Tech fests.


ECA -
-Football and its analytics
-Taught students throughout my college life, and also a part of animal rescue NGOs.
-Part of Cognizant Outreach and CSR activities.
-Active participations in bank's efforts to impart education to bank exam aspirants.
-Winner of case study competition within the bank.

Why MBA?
Having worked in both the public and private sector, I feel an MBA is the next step for me to gain knowledge and perspective on my experiences and grow as a professional.

Target sector - Strategy/Consulting

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Hi eden123hazard , speaking from my experience of delivering a 100% interview rate for ISB applications in last 3 years, I feel you should you make your SBI stint the highlight of your application. Firstly, talk about your decision and motivation to move from private to public sector. Weave a narrative that brings forth some interesting insights from working in the backlands of India. Effective financial inclusion, MSME Financing, agri financing and digital literacy for rural masses are highly relevant topics in the current scenario to unleash the untapped potential at the bottom of the pyramid of Indian economy. Demonstrate compassionate leadership through stories and iron will to mobilize these sectors post MBA leveraging your network and increased business acumen. Be conscientious about your goals and show that you have networked with folks from your target industry and ISB alums and researched your goals well. Goals that align with your current experience would work best in my opinion. You can strongly leverage your experience in areas such as impact investing with banks such as NABARD, and public sector advisory at Big 4 but do your research thoroughly.

Target a 720+ on GMAT

If you are looking for professional guidance do reach out.

Hello eden123hazard,

Hope this finds you well.

You must aim for a score upwards of 710 on the GMAT; needless to say, the higher the better.

What would be crucial is how well you showcase the transition from the private sector to the public sector, while linking the same with your proposed career goals. The dots in your story need to add up and in this regard, then, how well you frame your essays is going to be very important.

Please feel free to reach us for a detailed profile evaluation, should you feel a need for the same.

All the best!
_________________

Hi,

I would be really grateful if you can evaluate my profile. I am thinking of applying this year. GMAT yet to give.

10th (ICSE) - 91%
12th (HSC) - 88%
B.E. I.T (Sardar Patel Institute of Technology) - 8.87 GPA


Work ex:
1)Consultant at Oracle, working in the Financial Business Unit in the Technical and Functional department. My work is related to the digital banking experience for Europe. I have recieved 2 awards (best team and Rising Star) in 1.5 years. Will complete 2 years in September this year.

2)Digital Marketing and Events Management Intern at a Business Incubator for 6 months. Led various business events and competitions during this internship along with revamping the social media presence of the Incubator.

Extra and Co curricular:
1) Co-founder of a student startup. Have numerous 1st and 2nd place certificates in business competitions from KPMG, IIM B, and other reputed colleges. The startup was wraped up because of funding and experience issues.

2) 1 Patent published

3) 2 Research papers published with one in finance domain using ML/AI.

4) Part of National Innovation and Startup Policy (NISP) expert committee of college

Post MBA goals -

Short term : Either get into Product Management or a consulting firm

Long term: Entrepreneur or leading a technology giant

Posted from my mobile device

Hi atulchitanvis , your profile does not seemingly have any weak points, but it does not have any exceptional aspects either. Here are 3 points you should address very carefully in your application
1. What problem or situation that you experienced in your current role or previously motivated you to explore a career in product mgt/consulting.
2. With about only 2 years of experience, why do you think this is the right time to join ISB, where the average experience in number of years is higher?
3. How do you differentiate yourself from the pool of applicants applying with fewer years of work experience. Your startup experience can add value here but the narrative better be strong and logical.

Suggest you target an upwards of 730 in GMAT.

If you wish to seek professional guidance do reach out.

Best wishes

Hello atulchitanvis,

Hope this finds you well.

You have a fine overall profile and the start-up experience will definitely add value. The GMAT is what you need to focus on at this point and a score upwards of 720 should be a competitive one. However, what we find a bit concerning are your career goals because they are a bit all over the place and you need to narrow down on goals that sync well with your existing profile.

Needless to say, once the GMAT is out of the way and the goals are defined, you will need to work on a set of essays that focus on the strengths in your story and articulate a logical trajectory.

Should you feel the need for a detailed discussion, please feel free to get in touch with us.

All the best!
_________________

Hi,

I would be really grateful if somebody can help me with this:

10th (CBSE) - 10 CGPA
12th (CBSE) - 92.4
B.E. from IIT Gandhinagar in mech- 8.08 GPA


Work ex:
1)Engineer at Mahindra R&D from Aug,2019 (2.5 yrs)

Extra and Co curricular:
1) Sport Secretary in college

2) Football player & Captain along with more POR

3) Internship at social organization full time for 3 months

4) Multiple tech internship including one international internship.

5) One journal paper

GMAT : 720

I have applied for intake of 2022 but, I have been waitlisted.

I am planning to shift to business analyst job if I wont get selected this year, will it be helpful for next year?

And any gap that I can fill for next year or something that I can take up to make my profile strong?

Hi yashpcr7 , as you have been waitlisted, I would be happy to take a look at your ISB application and point out potential improvement areas. Your success in any B School application is not only dependent on your career trajectory but also on overall narrative, future goals, leadership potential and progression pattern over the years, and uniqueness factor in your profile. Whether you have addressed these factors conscientiously in your application or not, I can only tell after reviewing your application.

If you would like a detailed feedback (no charges) do reach out.

Regards

_________________
MBAGuide applications consulting and interview coaching for Top Global B Schools
Founded by INSEAD Alum and ex INSEAD Admissions Interviewer
100% interview invitation record for ISB


Contact
Aanchal Sahni
aanchal.sahni@insead.edu (Need a free profile review? Send me an email!)
+91 9971200927

Hi,

I would be really grateful if you can evaluate my profile. GMAT yet to give (targeting around 720).

10th (CBSE) - 92%
12th (CBSE) - 86%
B.Tech. (Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi) - 8.5 CGPA


Work ex:
1)Senior Engineer at Mahindra R&D (5 years, 7 months- March End)- My work is related to performing market research, product planning, making the business case, product (Automotive) development, process setup etc.

2) I have been working on a startup Idea for the last 2 years and now (from April onwards) going to launch it and will work full time on it as a Co-founder.

Extra and Co curricular:
1. Member of Various Clubs, Teaching Assistant..
2. Planning to volunteer for UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network in my free time to make this part strong.

Certifications (in case they are useful)- KPMG Green Belt, Google Data Analytics, Product Management.

Writing GMAT in March 2022. Will probably apply for 2023, in case things do not work out as per plan.

Post MBA goals-

Short term: Product Management in a Startup

Long term: Entrepreneur

Please suggest me the ways in which I can improve my profile and feedback on the strong and weak points.

Thanks

Hi gauravabc123 , decent profile, good chances if the application is presented sharply.

A couple of inputs on how to present yourself

1. Show how you have grown at Mahindra R&D over 5+ years from being an individual contributor to a capable and strong project manager. Give examples demonstrating growth trajectory and year on year incremental leadership responsibilities.
Convey through your narrative how your contribution was absolutely crucial for the product lines you were responsible for, and quantify the impact you generated for business. Would be nice to present a thorough involvement on work-front explaining how you lead market research, product design, prototype testing and production rollout.

2. It would be interesting to give a glimpse of your startup idea in your application, but more than merely presenting the idea show what you have done in the last 2 years to research and plan for the upcoming launch. Bringing forth insights from discussions you may have had with some ISB alums or notable business personalities around your idea could bring in a deep sense of engagement.

Your ECs seem a little dated therefore you could leverage your startup work to compensate for the lack of community involvement.

Definitely target for a high GMAT score.
If you wish to seek professional guidance on your application strategy once you have your GMAT score, do reach out.

Regards

_________________
MBAGuide applications consulting and interview coaching for Top Global B Schools
Founded by INSEAD Alum and ex INSEAD Admissions Interviewer
100% interview invitation record for ISB


Contact
Aanchal Sahni
aanchal.sahni@insead.edu (Need a free profile review? Send me an email!)
+91 9971200927

Hi capamerica0111, unfortunately, this GRE score is not going to take you places.

Try to aim around 20 points more than your current score.
--
Thanks,
Ashish.
_________________

Hi risharora, unfortunately your GRE score is on the lower side.

Try to push up your score by at least 6-7 points, for more realistic shot at ISB.
--
Regards,
Ashish.
_________________

Hello yashpcr7,

Thanks for writing in.

We will need to go through your application, especially your projected career goals as well as your story to really provide you feedback on what could have been done better.

Any role that involves greater leadership, challenges would be beneficial as the same will showcase progression as well as allow you to include further talking points in your application.

All the best!
_________________

Hi,
I would be really grateful if somebody can help me with this:

10th (ICSE) - 89.6%
12th (HSC) - 75.38%
B.TECH (IT) - 71.37% [Not IITs & NITs]

GMAT - 770 [Q50,V46]

Workex
33 Months fulltime + 6 months Part-Time in an established Startup
Promotions each year, and indirectly managing a team
Lead multiple initiatives

Extra-Curricular
- College Fest Head
- Sponsorship Head IT Council
- NGO Work [Minor]

Hi Yash,

A waitlist means that you are very close. From the details you shared, I assume that you have 2.5 years of work experience.

1. What are your career goals? The next application is due in a few months, how will taking up the business analyst role, position you for your future goals? Will you be able to communicate a focus through this? Spending around 2 years in an organisation just gets you started on understanding the function/ industry and its nuances at a deeper level. Will skimming to another function/ industry move you closer to your career goals? If it does put you on a stronger footing - perfect. There are no apparent gaps in your academic profile, but the questions above are also crucial.

2. The description below mentions your POR from college and internships ( assuming internships are also from college). But what about the last 2.5 years? For a stronger application I would suggest that you go deeper into the work that you do and identify the leadership stories. If you plan to work on your profile then one line of action could be to proactively seek more such opportunities at work or outside of work.

3. One more thing - did you analyse your interview? Did you feel any gaps there? If yes, addressing those gaps also would definitely add to the strength of your profile for the next application cycle.

Feel free to connect for a more detailed discussion.



_________________

Hi,

1. Your academic scores - undergrad GPA &12th are slightly low but the GMAT score of 770 should work to offset it.
2. Your work experience with promotions every year should add to your accomplishments
3. Leading multiple initiatives would have given you ample leadership stories.

Have mentioned the above without knowing the finer details of your resume.

Since you already have the GMAT etc sorted you could use the next few months pursuing some passion project/s. How you put it all together in the application process will be critical. Brainstorm your stories, goals, and the regular but not so simple "why MBA - why now" for a strong application.




_________________

Hello Maximus1997 , on a first glance basis I see your profile has several good aspects- decent academics, a stellar GMAT score, number of years of work experience, and a part-time startup experience. However, this is not enough to be able to analyze your prospects objectively.

ISB looks for signs of growth, leadership potential, and diversity factor in applicants. Do you have a narrative that could convince ISB to give the next vacant seat to you? How are you different from thousands of engineers who apply to ISB every year? Are you a go-getter, a self-starter, or someone who got fast-tracked at your company due to your exceptional stakeholder management skills? Leverage anecdotes from your professional life to demonstrate your leadership skills. Show that you motivated teams to expedite projects and deliver desired results, resolved conflicts with strong persuasive skills, influenced senior management's decisions with your keen observations and insights and generated value for your team and company as a whole. Show bias for action and logical decision making capabilities.


Your stint with the NGO could be a great conversation starter and highlight your motivation to bring about a positive change in society through your work. Think of stories from your formative years where you took responsibility (perhaps at home or in your community), demonstrated leadership skills, and created value for people around you. How would this passion of yours connect with your goals in life, or midterm and long-term career goals? You must also tie your post MBA career goals very conscientiously to the career trajectory you have followed so far. If you are able to tell a great story and articulate your strong motivation for doing the MBA (why ISB and why now), you could stand a chance at making it.

If you wish to seek professional guidance on your application strategy do reach out.

Warm regards

Hello Maximus1997,

Hope this finds you well.

You have a great profile and stand a strong chance of making it into ISB.

Your focus should completely be on building a strong narrative that does justice to your overall profile especially your achievements and leadership experience. Needless to say, having a set of goals that align well with your existing experience is going to be important.

All the best!
_________________

Can someone please evaluate my profile: trying for ISB this year
X-90.63
XII (Comm): 83.08
BCom: 73.53
MCom: 80
Work ex: 3 years 4 months
Employed at Ogilvy as a senior account exec (Brands handled - FMCG, a major electronics retailer, A renowned BFSI brand, a big home painting brand, was employed at a nationally acclaimed agency before Ogilvy where I got a promotion)
Above average extra curricular in a top 10 college with research paper publications and awards in writing (published author with over 30K followers on IG)
Target GMAT score: 700-750 (scoring 650 in my mocks at the moment)

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