AWasey wrote:
Target Schools:
HBS, Wharton, Stanford, MIT Sloan, LBS, Chicago Booth, Berkeley Haas, Yale, Duke Fuqua, NYU Stern, Insead
(All applications in round 2 this year)
Nationality: Indian
Age: 29
Education: Bachelor’s in computer science and engineering from a State University (Grade: 63.5/100)
GMAT: 730 (Q 51, V 38, IR 8, AWA 6)
Work Experience: 6 years (7 years by the start of MBA)
Current Role: Senior Manager – Product Management at a HCL Technologies
I am currently working as a Senior Manager - Product Management. I have seen exponential growth in my career and received back-to-back promotions for the past 3 years. The role I am currently working in requires an MBA and an average of 8-10 years of work experience at my company. I was the youngest Deputy Manager, Youngest Manager, and now the Youngest Senior Manager in the organization with 250,000 + employees.
I manage a team of 7 Product Managers and Associate Product Managers who are all MBA for Elite Business Schools in India. I currently manage a suite of Products with an Annual Recurring Revenue of 100 M $+.
My previous roles have been: Product Manager, and Presales Consultant.
International Experience:
The role I was hired for was a UK based role, but to COVID and some medical complications I wasn’t able to move to UK back then and have been working in WFH mode. However, my entire team sits in UK and US and my daily work involves collaboration with both the geographies on a daily basis.
Extracurriculars:
Been in leadership roles since my childhood
Held leadership roles in school (Captain)
Was General Secretary at the university
and Head of Fashion Club at my University
Additionally, I am a State level Cricket and Handball player
I also am a Director at an NGO aimed to help underprivileged children get access to basic education and have helped more than 4000 children till date.
Start-up Experience:
Recently, I have set foundations of a start-up that includes a mobile app and wearables that could help ensure a Safe and Secure society to live in for Everyone (with special focus on the women safety).
Post MBA Goal:
Work in a Consulting role for Big 4 and get well versed in the nuances of Business.
Long term goal will be to focus on creating Social Start-ups, aimed to bring positive changes in the society and providing employment and educational opportunities to underprivileged sections.
Your profile is quite impressive, especially your rapid career progression and your significant leadership experiences. Your GMAT score of 730 is certainly competitive, though it might be on the lower side for schools like HBS, Stanford, and Wharton. However, it's within range for many of your other target schools. Your work experience, particularly your role in product management and your international exposure, should form a strong foundation for your applications.
Given the breadth of your extracurricular activities and your startup initiative, you have a lot to draw from to build compelling stories for your applications. It's interesting to consider why you're looking to pivot from product management to consulting. This transition can actually be quite strategic.
However, considering the number of schools you're targeting and the detailed nature of MBA applications, starting as soon as possible is crucial. Crafting personalized essays and preparing for interviews can be time-consuming, so managing your time effectively will be key to submitting strong applications to all these programs. Good luck!