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gmatmana
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All full time work experience after graduation will be considered, irrespective of entrepreneurship (failed or successful) or a job.
However, Programs at top b-schools prefer to admit candidates with quality work experience. The key-word being Quality.
More than the industry, role or number of years your focus should be on-
1. Career progress
2. Achievements & Accomplishments
Rather than mentioning just your role and duties in the organization, bring out what you have achieved.
For example, most of us tend to write on the CV- 'Responsible for XYZ' or 'Handled ABC'. These are passive career statements.
Instead mention about how your work helped company cut costs, earn profits or simply reduce time. We all have achieved a lot in our jobs but sometimes fail to acknowledge the same.
Both Career Progress and Achievements will then need to translate wonderfully onto the application essays and interviews. Otherwise the whole process is futile.
Do some soul searching; speak to friends, colleagues, seniors or other experts. Such brainstorming and introspection will help you identify your progress and top achievements.

All the best.

gmatmana
Hey.
Thanks a lot, my question is will my startup be considered as a work experience? Even though I had a startup since college I involved in it full time from May 2017 to August 2017 and then jumped to another company due to my startup's failure. Just want to know if that 4-month term will be considered as work experience or not?
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gmatmana
Hello Everyone, below is a short summary of my profile please let me know if I will be eligible for the April 2019 Classes.

Graduated on April 2017 from a top 10 Engg college in India.
- Had a startup since 2016 and post graduation took it up full time but had to shut down due to multiple failures during August.
- Then joined Uber Eats as a quality associate and worked for three months.
- Now and till the end: Engineer at a South Korean Company in the Oil nd Gas Field Sector in a Gulf Country (International Experience)

I have been part of so many volunteership programs and have a strong extra curricular during college. I am sure to score a good GMAT Score.

ISB requires a 24 month work experience till March 31. Does that make me eligible? Will my startup experience post or pre graduation count? And what will be a good GMAT Score for me?


Hi GMATmana,

ISB considers only full time experience as work experience (no internships, no articileships included as WE). So, your work experience will be counted only from the time you finished college, and they (ISB) might require to see a registered company.

what I understand is that you have been at the oil and gas company for a short period only. It may make more sense to hang on there for another year and get some "quality" experience, as Varun has mentioned. The extra year will give you a chance to build some professional credentials which will eventually help when you apply.
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Applying to ISB requires a minimum of 2 years of quality work experience till March 31st. Since you are falling short here, you can apply for EEO (Early Entry Option) or you can either wait till you gain 2+ years of work experience.

Most MBA applicants have worked for several years before applying to B-school. This means that your job, not your college grades, are the most current measure of your performance. Your work must show clear career focus, a growth trajectory (promotions) and leadership and you must excel in your GMAT test to ensure your application is competitive against your fellow applicants.

What you should be taking from this is that you still have 1-2 years ahead of you to invest in yourself and prove yourself a strong candidate.

Feel free to contact us anytime to evaluate your profile for FREE!!!