Profile Evaluation/Scope for improvement

Question

Can you please evaluate my profile?

GMAT: 700+
Age: 24
Demographics: Indian/Male
Education: Bachelor’s in Mechanical, GPA: 3.2 from a good university in India (Top 10 rank in class)/ strong academic focus with 90+ percentiles through school and college.
Current work experience: Full time- 2 years; Part time-6 years

Details of part time work experience: 
 Started working for the family business when I turned 18. I did not have a fixed task (no task was more important or less trivial than the other; all work had to be done). I also handled sourcing of components, general management of the business and client interaction. The business involves manufacturing and commissioning of a consumer product. 
 I relocated to another city after graduating to take up a full time job. This city was home to the R&D center of our business. I moved to corporate development. I now started determining the course our business would take and hence appropriately guide the R&D team. I will continue to stay in this role till I apply to college.

Details of full time work experience: 
 I considered graduation important to get experience in a foreign multinational and in a quest for a logical thinking process that graduates possess. I was also looking for international exposure through this. I have been working with the world’s leading tractor manufacturer for the past 2 years. I work with clients from the US/Europe/China. I have held varying responsibilities from designing to styling to a bit of program management for upcoming tractors. I have spent about 6 months working in China for the local products there. 
 After asking for a chance to prove myself (on completing a year with the company), I was assigned the china project. It was a runaway success resulting in a triple promotion and a star of the month award. Consequently I will now be given greater responsibilities – mainly working with American and European markets.

Future target work:
I started working in the full time job mainly for international exposure but I still want to continue with corporate development (in line with what I do in my family business) for a large multinational. Preferred post MBA location would be Western Europe.

Extra curricular activities:
Singer in a band, numerous awards in drawing/painting, numerous awards in quiz competitions

Target school: INSEAD

After conducting research, I concluded that INSEAD is the best fit for me. I plan to apply in 6 months time for the Class starting in Jan 2014 (when I have about 3.5 years of full time experience/7.5 years of part time experience). Considering my profile, how would you rate my chances? What can I do in the coming months to improve those chances? What are some of the weaknesses in my profile which I must fix?

Thanks for all the help in advance!

Admissionado · Answer

The big question is: How big is your family business? In terms of people? Market share? turnover? if its relatively large and you set yourself up as "future CEO and inheritor" you can likely do well. BUT, even if you believe INSEAD is the perfect it (and it may be), have alternatives ready as a plan B.

sparta1 · Answer

Jon, I would like to state here that I am planning to leave the family business and move to a multinational company after getting an MBA. The family business is restricted to my country and I would like to gain more international exposure. Also, since I have time on my side, I will probably think about a plan B if things don't really work out at INSEAD.
Your thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

Admissionado · Answer

Fair enough. And of course once you get IN, you can do whatever you want! But the question is necessary in order to first understand what your chances are. Because there are family businesses, and there are FAMILY BUSINESSES. If you know what I mean.

The idea is that your chances will also change based upon the size and success of the family business. Soooo, if you were working in a shop with your mom dad and uncle, your chances might not be that great. But if your family owns the largest frozen food processing plant int he country, then your chances will be MUCH better. That's why it's so important that I get a sense of your family business before we figure out what you can do, and where you can go.

sparta1 · Answer

Ah right. Well. Here's the deal. Our family business is the market leader. We has introduced a breakthrough technology which is a first of its kind among competitors. However, our business is based on a niche market which is highly limited. Hence you can only grow to that extent if you get what I mean. So in terms of market position and technology we are at the forefront. However in terms of turnover, the numbers might not sound impressive since we only deal with specialized/customized products for a niche market.

I perfectly understand what you say regarding getting IN and then doing what I want. But as you pointed out, I have to first get in to a college for that. This is not a family business where the whole family is just sitting around a round table with everyone chatting. In fact, the only family members working are my father and myself. Furthermore, we have adopted a very lean business model whereby we outsource as many tasks as possible to save on labor costs. In conclusion, I would call my family business as having a high market impact with the products we make, with growth slated to go through the roof with the launch of our new technology; but it does not come close to being something like "the largest frozen food processing plant in the country" when it comes to scale of operations.

I hope this gives you a better idea of what the business is like!

Admissionado · Answer

So let's get back to the beginning. INSEAD. I think with a good application, you would be somewhere between competitive and stretch. Of course I would suggest applying to five six schools and not just one if you are really serious about doing an MBA. Schools with tech/manufacturing locations/strengths etc. should be good options for you such as Tepper, or Anderson in the US as well.
For INSEAD, your biggest challenge would be to sure true and deep international experience.

sparta1 · Answer

Thanks for the advice Jon. I'm working on the international exposure bit as we speak and in 8 months time when I will be applying, I should be in good shape.
Appreciate it!

Admissionado · Answer

Very good to hear. Good luck to you, and if you have any further questions, you know where to find us!

Profile Evaluation/Scope for improvement

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards