Profile Evaluation, Please!

Hi suh92 to start with some positives, not a lot of Asian males work in marketing so that is something that might set you apart a bit. However, marketing is hard to translate across cultures so if you are going for an office outside of China hmm. Is it possible to put kind of a strategy slant on what you do? Can you argue that the analytics and reporting have served as the blueprint for building effective marketing strategy and you have campaigned for data-based decisions at the organization? I think that would be a good path to take. I really encourage you to focus on ways to demonstrate value add and organizational impact you have made through your work there.

I like the international work experience and agree that Wharton Lauder is a great target. You will need to think about your long-term goals and come up with a convincing case for Why Lauder; why you want an international career and how you will focus your studies at Lauder to achieve that end.

If you do go there I might recommend you do a one “period” at INSEAD their sister school and try to recruit there. If you are really wanting to double down on an international career, I am wondering why INSEAD isn’t on your school list? They just have the international MBB hookup there and if you choose to repatriate hopefully you wont be leaning on your alma mater at that point.

If you are serious about HBS, and to a lesser extent Wharton Lauder, I do think you should try to bump up your GMAT 10 or 20 points because you are part of competitive demographic and your grades are OK but not great. Why would they pick you over someone with the same work background with better grades and a higher GMAT? Consider what might be the answer to this question and incorporate that throughout your applications.

I do like that you have engaged in ECs however I am VERY WORRIED that you have taken time off between jobs to engage in them. Depending somewhat upon how long we are talking. Gaps between jobs are a red flag and raise questions for employers so definitely address this in the optional essay. You might include a section in your resume speaking to community leadership or some similarly named section so you can “show for” that time. Try to quantify the achievements you made there so it doesn’t look like you need to escape work periodically. I would advise you to speak with an MBA recruiter for MBB or even maybe someone who is a recent graduate doing interviewing to find out how that reads and how to mitigate potential concerns there.

As for your school list, being part of a competitive demographic, I think you should apply to more schools. I am not sure if this is you but a lot of candidates think ok if I don’t get into #1 ranked school then I will get into #20 ranked school but it does not work like this at all. You are not sure what they will see in you and who else is applying. For example one of my clients this past round was admitted to Booth & Kellogg but dinged after interview at Haas and waitlisted after interview at Ross and NYU. I think maybe apply to another M7 school and a couple more ranked in between GT and Tuck. (if you arent interested in LBS/INSEAD which seems a better path for what you want really)

“They're either big consulting schools or they have strong international programs that I've visited and were impressed by.” OK hmm HBS doesn’t seem to fit either of these and international isn’t how I would define Tuck as compared to many other schools. Really, all top 15 maybe top 20 schools recruit well for consulting so that shouldn’t be a huge criteria (one of my past clients graduated from NYU is a manager at MBB and got in through his NYU network which isn’t a consulting school at all). I would do some introspection and informational interviewing to figure out what you need out of business school to be successful at the work you want to do post MBB and long term, consider where the gaps exist and target schools with the clubs/culture/curriculum to best address those gaps. Also, cross reference those with where you align with their mission statement and stated values.