INSEAD Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Hi everyone,

super grateful for all the information here. Would love some feedback on my application as well.

-Indian, male,28, Chemical Engineer, born and brought up in India.
- Graduated in 2012, top of my class, 74%( I'm not quite sure how to convert this to a GPA) The official scale seems to think its a 2.3, but considering its a 99% percentile back in India, I'm confused.
- 770 GMAT ( Q50 V46)
-Black belt in Karate
-Captain of high school and college soccer teams.

Work Exprience

1. Management trainee at a construction chemical company ( 01/2013-12/2014) in Germany
2. Moved to a subsidiary in Malaysia as Product Manager ( 01/2015-02/2016) Kuala Lumpur
3. Promoted to Business Development Manager and moved to India (03/2016-08/2017) Goa
4. Promoted to Project Manager,South East Asia and moved to Singapore ( 09/2017-current) My role here involves extensive travelling between Singapore-Malaysia-Thailand-Vietnam.
I have solid performances in these roles, and examples/stories to back that up. I also have some experience training colleagues and working with customers in Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well a strategic project in West Africa ( Sierra Leone ) during my management trainee days.

Post MBA goals : Definitely Management consulting, preferably in Europe as the rest of my family lives in Germany/England and the middle east.

Languages : English ( native) Hindi (native) German(fluent) Marathi ( basic) Bengali ( basic)

Im a little worried about not having too many extra curriculars since I started working - will this really matter ?
Overall, what do you guys think about my chances ? And I know I'm jumping the gun a little, but considering my demography, the fact that I'm in no way a minority, do I have any shot at all at scholarships ( If i do by some miracle manage to get in ) ? The thought of being 80,000 euros in debt scares me

Subir

Hello subirroy

You have a strong profile to say the least. All the admission factors that INSEAD looks at (you can read more here) seem to have a spike
Acads- Past scores + GMAT is off the charts. I will not worry too much about the conversion of grades and you can always mention in one of your essays that you were top of the class. And in any case 770 takes care of that.
Work Ex- Career progress is decent and international exposure will help at INSEAD specifically. Also mention how you have impacted the business of your organization positively.
Career Goals- INSEAD is a top choice for consulting. You may want to show what transferable skills have you gained to make this a successful transition.
Diversity- Your extracurricular look interesting, showcase one or two stories behind them and how they have impacted your life or life of others.
I think you are at a stage where your 'stats' are all taken care of. The only thing you need to focus on is execution. If you tie all of these together in a well written application, you have a fighting chance at INSEAD.
Best
Varun Sharma
+919137133507
Free Profile Review
MBAkarma.com
GMAT Score Predictor
info@mbakarma.com

Hi Subir,

That's a black belt in GMAT too, not just in karate. Cheers to that!
you are not expected to convert your GPA to another scale, so don't try that in the application. Moreover, your GMAT score is super awesome, so your academic capability is well taken care of.
I am also super impressed with your international work experience- you are definitely INSEAD material with two of their 4 criteria well taken care of (academics and international outllook. Take care to let the b-school know how this extensive global experience will enable you to contribute to the class.
Another of INSEAD's admissions criteria is Leadership: - this is where your essays, resume and recomendations have to stand out- demonstrate how you have made impact on your organization and your clients/employees. INSEAD asks several behavioural essays so they really care to know how you function/ lead.Answering ths with maturity and empathy will be beneficial.

One of our applicants last year got a 25K Euro scholarship - I feel optimistic about your chances assuming you will submit a brilliant application.
Feel free to reach out to us for a profile discussion.

Hi Varun,

Cheers, thanks for the feedback. You have no idea how nice it feels to hear from a proffesional that at least I have a fighting chance. I should add, I applied to Cambridge Judge last year with a 700 score and was pretty much crushed at being rejected outright ! Time to knock out some essays !

Hi Namita,

wow, thanks for that ! As I told Varun above, hearing some positive feedback makes all the difference, so thank you guys for taking the time, not just for me, but for a lot of people here

I'm currently working on tying everything together in my essays, so wish me luck !

Subir

Hi Subir,
Glad to hear that my feedback helped. Credit must be given to applicants when they deserve. At a personal level, it makes me immensely happy when applicants achieve a lot within the beginning years of their careers.

All the best and reach out if you want someone else to scratch their heads on essay writing with you

Hi,

I am 32 yr old Indian Female.

I have done Bachelors in Dental surgery (64%) and a Master's in Dental Surgery (55%) from top Government institutes of India.

I have worked 1 yr as an assistant dentist with a well known dental clinic after Bachelor's and 4 yrs work ex after Master's.

I had the opportunity of running my own dental clinic successfully in Mumbai for 2yrs.

After which I have lived for 6 months in Muscat, clearing the dental licensure exam and bagging a job, (could not work as we moved back to India). Have traveled internationally to 4 countries backpacking trips.

Currently I work as an on call consultant (specialist) in clinics across the city for special dental cases. Simultaneously I am also running my own private clinic.

Extracurricular activity: Organized and presided over several dental camps (mobile van, corporate and society). head of the literary committee in my undergrad days. I have worked closely with the first aid and relief team for 26/11 victims. I am involved in the adoption and growth of stray dogs locally.

Planning to write Gmat next month and apply for July 2019.
Pls evaluate my profile based on the above information.

Hi Mollymu,

A bunch of medical professionals do MBAs every year. Just curious to know your reasons for doing one and why from INSEAD. Also, what are your post MBA career goals?

Hello mollymu

A B school will evaluate your profile on admissions factors mentioned here.
Let's break down your profile-
1. Acads- Pst scores are ok (definitely not stellar) + GMAT will help here. Aim for a 710+ to differentiate yourself.
2. Work Ex- This will be your biggest strength. But it will depend on what stories you choose to write that tie up with a need of an MBA.
3. Diversity- Though your medical background adds brownie points to your profile, also your extracurricular activities can help showcase you as a strong applicant.
4. Career Goals- By far the most critical piece of the admissions puzzle. What are your future goals and why is an MBA an absolute necessity to reach these goals? Without this info it is tough to give a meaningful feedback. You could supplement your research by reading here.
You will need a 'spike' in at least 3 out of the 4 factors mentioned here.
I see a potential spike in Work Ex and Diversity. But info on Acads & Career Goals is missing so not possible to give a complete feedback.
Needless to say final result will depend on how well you tie the above four in your written application.
Best
Varun Sharma
+919137133507
Free Profile Review
MBAkarma.com
GMAT Score Predictor
info@mbakarma.com

Hello mollymu,

Thanks for your post.

Your entrepreneurial experience, diverse work experience, and international exposure will certainly work for you. There are particularly two things that you need to focus on:

- GMAT score: aim for something upwards of 720. As an Indian candidate, GMAT expectations will always be higher for you. Thus, the higher the score, the better it will be.
- Career Goals: This is one of the most important bits of your application. What you intend to do post the MBA is extremely important and you will need to focus on building a story, in which your career goals are in sync with your existing experience. Further, your short-term goals and long-term goals should also be in sync.

If you are able to tie your story well and get the desired GMAT score, you have a good chance

All the best!

karthik1809, please please do not apply round 4 - this round is only good for very, very diverse applicants. Your chances will be far better for Round 1 Sept batch. If you have a consultancy post-MBA goal, you will be OK without an internship.

Dear Friends,

Can you please evaluate my profile for an MBA application to INSEAD? I am targetting for January 2020 Round 1 intake.

Age: 29 (30 by the time I apply)
Sex: Male
Nationality: India
Work Experience: 7 years (7.5 years when I apply)
GMAT: Scheduled for August 6
Languages: Hindi, English, Punjabi, Bengali and Spanish (Level A2)
Countries Travelled: Netherlands, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, United States and Singapore

Work experience

Position 1 (2018 - Present)
Consultant - CEO's Office at a top international development consulting firm (not MBB ofcourse)
Countries Worked: India, Denmark and Singapore

- Handpicked by the Chairman from a pool of 1000 talents to help with the program strategy
- Led community building activities for 2000+ talents representing 143+ countries and 300+ institutional partners
- Conceptualized an online Community Portal with the technology partner
- Key achievement: Organized the 2018 edition of the program in Singapore; raised $4.0 M+ from 35+ organizations and helped in the formation of 170+ Social Enterprises

Position 2 (2015 - 2018)
Investment Manager for a Spanish group's India dedicated Venture Capital fund
Countries Worked: India, Spain, and Singapore

- Country Manager for India; screened 1000+ companies and invested in 5 companies
- Screened 30+ venture capital funds across India, Turkey & Nordics and prepared an investment thesis for 10+ funds
- Board Director at Portfolio company in Singapore and Fund entity in Cyprus. Board Observer for all the portfolio companies in India
- Developed investor pipeline of $2.0 BN+ was identified with about $800 M+ at an advanced discussion stage
- Key achievement: Managed five investments and formulated performance milestones that led to average revenue growth of 5.0x (unrealized exits) in portfolio companies
- Key achievement: Exited three companies with cash exits with an average multiple of 3.0 x & 43%+ return
- Key achievement: Liaison-ed with a public institution for Fund of VC Funds that led the firm to be selected as one of the six Investment Managers and only one from Spain

Position 3 (2012 - 2015)
Senior Analyst, World's Leading Asset Management Firm

Key achievements:
- Led a team of 4 for Asset Quality Review for a central bank (of a European country) to conduct a diagnostic assessment of € 216 BN of the loan portfolio of 4 largest and 7 smaller commercial banks including the review of lending practices
- Analyzed a key bank's balance sheet for treasury (of a European country)'s strategic review. Provided recommendations for a strategic break-up. The breakup saved £200M under the base case and £4BN under the stressed scenario
- Led a team of 4 for Bank Asset Management Advisory Services. Performed analytical assessment and formulated reinvestment strategies of six client portfolios with combined AUM of ~$19 BN

Position 4 (2011 - 2012)
Analyst - Busines Intelligence for a Leading American technology consulting company

- Carried out Trading & Risk Analytics system for their largest investment banking client (Swiss bank); modeled the Data-warehouse Alerts for Front Office
- Setup Automated Trading alerts and performed Real-Time Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) for Trading Desk

Education
Undergrad school/major: Top 10 India University; Engineering Computer Science with First Class
Undergrad GPA: 6.9/9 (Relative Scale) or 6.9/10 (Absolute Scale)
Undergrad International Exchange Project: Lead Boston University Student Exchange Project with MIT Media Labs / SugarLabs

Extracurriculars:
-
- Fellow: Climate Reality Leadership Corps; trained by former US Vice President Al Gore in Los Angeles
- Fellow: Startup Leadership Program; selected among 350+ applicants; only VC investor in the batch
- Fellow: Impact Business leaders (IBL) program for the next generation of leaders in Impact Investing
- Fellow: UNLEASH SDG Innovation Lab, Denmark; chosen as one of Top 1000+ Sustainable Development Goals talents globally
- Fellow: Starting Bloc. Attended in New York; awarded 50% Merit Scholarship to attend the program
- Program Leader: Startup Leadership Program; managed the selection of 25 fellows from 350+ applicants
- Team Lead: Investments & Sustainability, Indo Swiss Future Leaders Forum - a bilateral dialogue platform
- Co-Lead: Startup Europe India Network; endorsed by the European Commission for EU-India collaboration
- Venture Judge: Reviewed business plans for Wharton India Startup Challenge and Diamond Challenge
- Founder of a Recruitment Portal; efforts led to the generation of 100+ employment opportunities globally
- Multiple Advisory Roles at international NGOs (Spain and Ghana)
- Passed CFA Level II in the CFA program

Post-MBA Goal:
While my current work includes operations that span many remote offices internationally, the work I do is mostly on Investments, Fundraising, and managing partnerships. Through the MBA, I hope to build proficiency to apply my investment skills knowledge of sustainability to land up a role with an Impact Investing / Sustainable Investing Fund. The long-term goal is to be able to start my own impact fund after building some track record.

Why MBA:
Opportunity to hone my skills to pull in skills from multiple areas and move into Sustainable Investing

Damn skambo is there anything you have NOT accomplished? Where is the fellowship training led by Joe Biden? How did you fall down on that one?

4 criteria: leadership, international orientation/motivation, contribution and acads. Off the charts in terms of leadership. But make sure to articulate a similarly strong case for international motivation/orientation (which is embedded in your goals - but speak to why INSEAD in this regard), contribution (reflected here but put more of a focus on how others benefitted) and academics. It's difficult to give you an accurate assessment without having a GMAT score, but if you hit the average I would say should you do the (very, very long) application well you are a super strong candidate.

Might want to leverage your efforts by applying to LBS as well; would also recommend Wharton-Lauder.

Hello skambo

Kudos to the detailed post. It always helps give a more meaningful feedback.
INSEAD will evaluate your candidature on admission factors mentioned here
If we break down your profile this is what we get-
1. Academic Potential- Decent (not stellar). You should aim for a 720+. With your overall profile it will significantly increase your chances of admission.
2. Work Ex- Look very strong to say the least. You have many stellar achievements. Key for you will be identifying the right stories and showcasing real business impact of your work.
3. Diversity- You score many brownie points here due to your work ex, International exposure (always a plus at INSEAD) and extracurricular. Again, focus on choosing the right stories (you cannot possibly tell all in the essays) and show the impact and person behind these stories.
4. Career Goals- They seem organic. However do bring out what transferable skills have you gained to make this a successful transition. Also what skills are missing that an MBA from INSEAD will add. You could supplement your research by reading here.
To conclude I believe you have a very strong profile. All you need is the right execution. If you can get a good GMAT score (and write decent essays), you stand a real fighting chance at INSEAD.

Best
Varun Sharma
+919137133507
Free Profile Review
MBAkarma.com
GMAT Score Predictor
info@mbakarma.com

Thanks, oneMBAcoach, and MBAPrepCoach for your prompt and detailed response. Appreciate your positive review of my profile.

I will try to get this target GMAT score and then come back to this thread later.

Best Regards

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to apply R1 (september) for INSEAD or the R1 March. Please provide a profile evaluation.

Age: 28 (29 at course start)
Sex: Male
Nationality: Indian
Work Ex: 5 years
GMAT: not scheduled yet
Languages: English, elementary French, Hindi, Bengali, Gujrati

Work Ex:

2016-Present
Working with a top 10 AEC company in India as an assistant arcitect. Worked in India and UAE.

Main responsibilities include design development and detail design packages, coordination with other disciplines, clients and manufacturers (spread over India, UAE and the UK) on global transport infrastructure projects. Was selected for job rotation to work on site at one the biggest transportation projects in the world (currently) and where the job required close coordination with contractors, AEC and ENC companies and government officials.

Develop project programs and bid proposals for the architecture team (having worked on bids upto GBP90000) and develop technological solutions to optimise workflow and productivity.

Developed a proposal for a high speed transport network in the subcontinent worth upto 4bnUSD that was shortlisted (top 35) out of 10000.

2014-2016
Architect at a smaller studio specialising in institutional architecture - responsibilities included delivering detail design packages and developing environmental design solutions to reduce operating and life cycle costs of the building for clients without compromising on the design.

Education:
M.Arch Environmental Design (2013) Top UK University, graduated with merit.
B.Arch (2012), 4.0 GPA (converted)

Extracurricular and Achievements:

Have multiple globally accepted architecture certifications (US and UK issuing bodies)
Co-founded the office football team, where we now participate in corporate football tournaments and organise intra-office tournaments every financial year.
Played in the school and college football teams.
Rotaract Club treasurer while in school where we organised community outreach programs for underprivileged and aged people.
Organised and participated in a football tournament in collaboration with the British Council and received special thank you notes from the then British High Commissioner in the city.
Co-founded an event management collective tasked with bringing bands to perform in our college town.
Imparted software training to an ad agency to enable them to speed up their iterative cycle. The software they were initially using, though capable of outputting a more detailed model was slowing down their turnaround times.
Trained with and imparted football training to underprivileged children for a period of two months after undergraduate studies as part of a small feeder club. The main coach was an ex player from India's oldest football club.

To move into strategy consulting in the field of transport infrastructure and smart cities where I will be able to leverage my skills and knowledge to have an impact during the planning and approval processes. Long term goal is to move into operational management in the field of transportation / transport infrastructure / AEC.

mykdtt wrote:

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to apply R1 (september) for INSEAD or the R1 March. Please provide a profile evaluation.

Age: 28 (29 at course start)
Sex: Male
Nationality: Indian

<<snip>>

To move into strategy consulting in the field of transport infrastructure and smart cities where I will be able to leverage my skills and knowledge to have an impact during the planning and approval processes. Long term goal is to move into operational management in the field of transportation / transport infrastructure / AEC.

A few reflections on your profile mykdtt:

1. The work profile, and the fact that you've enhanced the brand of your employer, sounds interesting and relatively uncommon. You have done a reasonable job of articulating the business aspects of your profile - continue doing that to ensure you get the right mileage in your applications. Even if it's a top 10 firm, do bring out the right scale so that adcoms understand - the industry is not well represented in MBA applicants and the onus is on you to share the right perspectives.
2. The continuity on the Football front will make for a good story. Read here as to why ECs matter.
3. The 'fields' you've mentioned for Consulting are pretty niche and while top firms work in those areas, such projects are few and far between. Unless you are targeting some niche consulting firm (which by itself can be tough to get into after being an expensive MBA grad), make your plans a bit broader and research more on how the industry operates to bring the right rationale/insights.
4. Don't convert the GPA ideally; read here. You'll have to push really hard on the GMAT to ensure adcoms are not worries about your analytical skills and potential.
5. For reasons mentioned here, we do not speculate on school selection. That being said, it is always better to apply to a wider selection of schools, not just one.

Hope this helps some.