query on admission.. pls help

Question

Hi Experts,

I have a few queries , can someone help me in the same. I am indian having an experience of nine years in Financial Services.

Functionally , i have been into Business Development , and have remained at leadership position for almost six years out of total experience of nine years.

My undergrads are in Business Admin and are strong enough, no issues with application essays ( have enough things to say ) or references too.

Now my questions are

1) How much importance does the b-school give to international exposure in job experience ? 
2) If the job profile itself doesn't require international experience then how do they rate the job experience earned so far ? because i am not from IT field wherein you get more opportunities to work across globe.
3) I did my one year programme from IIM Calcutta, which was a part time sort of programme , truelly speaking it didnt make any value addition so should i show it in my application or not ?

Thanks

ariel · Answer

1) International experience is always nice to have. If you're applying to US schools however, lack of international experience is less likely to matter compared to European/Asian schools.

2) I'm not sure I understand this question. They could always ask, "if you're so set on getting international experience why not change firms?" - not that they would ask that, but just playing devil's advocate. In your situation, I would recommend that you emphasize your leadership experience and team work - those are the biggies. Sounds like you might have managed people during your tenure with the firm - great! A lot of applicants don't have that - highlight it. Another point you will want to address is: why now? You've been on the job for nine years - they're going to want to know why you're applying now. You don't want them to think you've reached a plateau and have nowhere to go from here.

3) What program was that?

hirendhanak · Answer

Thanks ariel for your prompt reply

Yes , out of my experience of nine years i have managed people for nothing less then seven years.. and i shall surely work out an application highlighting the rich leadership experience. I am into Financial Services and, when it comes to Business development in Financial Services , not a single person across industry gets any exposure in international market, the job profile is performing locally only, so i always fear that lack of international experience doesn't hamper my application.

the one year programme i did was a non residential programme where lectures were delivered through video conferencing.. but the programme didn't have anything to deliver , and honestly it did not make any value addition except a certificate.

I wish to get into consulting and thats the reason i wanna do my MBA now, but a few of my friends( who are currently B school students ) said that such shift from Business Development to Consulting are rarest. what is your opinion on this ?

ariel · Answer

If you want to do MC after school, you could always argue the case that you're very aware of the inner workings of businesses in the financial services industry and make a case for financial consulting. I actually think that someone with biz devel experience is well-positioned for a career in consulting. What is going to be important in your case is also client interface. Have you had any? Consulting is a client-driven business, so Bain and McKinsey are going to feel a lot better about hiring you if they know that you are good with clients. That also means that the schools you decide to apply to will feel better about accepting you because they'll know you're marketable to potential employers.

I think I read in another thread that you're also considering INSEAD (great school for consulting!). International experience is likely to matter more for INSEAD than it would for US schools, so the angle you can take there is that you've interacted with a lot of foreign nationals. Are there any foreign nationals in your firm that you've worked with? What INSEAD is going to be assessing is cultural sensitivity and while desirable, it's not required to have traveled the world. You can successfully gain that perspective at home, you just have to convince them of it.

Regarding the one year program you did, I was asking what it was - a masters, a certificate program, etc and how does it relate to what you're currently doing and what you want to do later on.

hirendhanak · Answer

Thanks very much ariel for your prompt reply and your interest in helping me.

The one year programme i did was a certificate programme , executive programme in business management ( one year ) , didn't have much in curriculum and apart from that peer group interaction was almost nil, the programme didn't help anyways.

About international exposure , my job profile is retail sales - driving my team for the sales , we dont have to deal with any foreign nationals at all. Its not only me but none above or below me in hiearchy interacts with any foreign national. Second, my job is to drive people and ensure achievement of results, since its retail sales , I don't have any client interaction except a few with our business partners.

Yes , i shortlisted INSEAD as one of the b-schools i would like to apply, i have been scoring in the range of 600-630 , so working hard on reaching to atleast 680-700 or 700+. What do you think should be an ideal score for INSEAD with a profile like mine.

I know its too early to think so much before GMAT scores but I know that with my prep i would be able to score 700 thats why i am asking you so much.

You said cultural sensitivity is important to INSEAD , can you elaborate what do they actually assess as a part of cultural sensitivity

Some additional info abt my profile :

A non IT guy
Undergrads - Business Admin ( 65% , we have % system in under grads )
Career progeression == excellent ( promoted at every organisation i worked for )
Recommendation == strong recommendations can be procured.
Academics - we have ( 10+2+3 ) so ( 10th -- 74% , 12th -- 80%) , Awarded national scholarship for being a part of top 500 students of the state out of a total pool of almost 60k students. Awarded Gold Medal once in First year of Under Grads.

Thanks again...

ariel · Answer

If you're not able to show work experience with internationals or at least some leasire travel to foreign countries, it's going to be very hard to make the case for INSEAD in particular. By cultural sensitivity, I mean they'll assess things like: are you able to function in different cultures and understand and respect the differences between those cultures?

If there was anything client-related in your job (even minor), I'd highlight that. Otherwise, again, you're not making a very strong case.

Since you're an Indian male, you should probably shoot for 700 and above on the GMAT. That's probably not what you want to hear, but I think being aware upfront is going to help you in the long run.

Good luck!

hirendhanak · Answer

Thanks very much... i am very well aware that if i don't score 700.. i am nowhere

thats the reason i am not compromising on the GMAT score. May be i can highlight the cultural differences i have encountered while handling different territory within India , India itself carry so many cultures within that i had to apply different stratagies for same products at different places

Can you suggest me other business schools, which consider stratagy and consulting as their core competence ? am ok with US or Europian B-schools.

ariel · Answer

I'd emphasize international experience if possible, not sure that intra-India is going to cut it, even though I'm sure you have developed cultural sensitivity through those interactions. You might have better luck at US schools if your international experience is limited (by all means give INSEAD a shot if it's your dream school, but don't expect much if they don't see you as someone who is dedicated to an international career). Virtually any top 20 school in the US will help you get your foot in the door at decent consulting firms (especially if you'd like to stay in the US post-MBA).

query on admission.. pls help

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