Rejected at ISB/ Waitlisted? Do a self-evaluation and reach out

Dear ISB aspirants, if you have been rejected at ISB (or waitlisted), this post is for you. First, give yourself a pat for standing strong through this exhausting application process! Think of rejections as learning opportunities you can leverage to improve and become successful the next time around or do better at another school you may be applying to in this cycle.

I hope you will use these guidelines to reflect on your application journey, improvise, and emerge stronger.

What I share in this post is a generalized take on the correct way to approach your ISB application. I will be able to give more customized feedback depending on your profile. I will be available in the coming week to give one-to-one feedback on your ISB rejected/waitlisted application (pro bono/ no charges). Do reach out for a candid discussion.

To keep things simple, I am dividing my advice into two sections – 1) Essays and application 2) Interview

1)Essays and application

Identify weak areas in your professional graph. Some areas that you can identify quickly may be your employment gap, lack of steep growth in your career, overrepresented profile, you are 35+ or way older than the target age spectrum, you have less work experience, and so on.

How to address such weaknesses

a) Carefully pick examples for Essay 1 that can help compensate for the above weaknesses/gaps.

b) Keep an open mind and discuss your stories with experts or people you have succeeded in the applications. The stories you think are great may not be relevant to the admissions criteria. And the experience that may not mean much to you and may seem mundane to you at this point may actually make you stand out. Understand first what the admissions process is about. Speak with a lot of people who can give you meaningful feedback. This is key.

c) Introspect on your goals before starting with any of the essays. A discontinuous narrative between essays, and in case of ISB, Essay 1 (P2P learning/leadership/qualities essay) and 2(goals and why ISB essay) and a weak goals strategy shows you need to think about your progression and research your goals further.

Think of both ISB essays as substantiating one another. ISB Essay 1 presents not only an opportunity to share examples where you demonstrated unique qualities but also a chance to introduce yourself and set the tone for your choice of education and career decisions, as well as post-MBA goals).

A common and weak approach is, for example;

An applicant ABC from a non-tech/non-product background lists personal qualities in Essay 1 and presents isolated examples of leadership.

In Essay 2, he abruptly talks about his interest in switching to a new function post PGP- a PM role, without deliberating on his motivation for this function change and without giving any meaningful examples in Essay 1 or 2 to show prior involvement in PM projects.

A better approach :

Wanting to change industry/function post PGP, the applicant sets the tone in Essay 1 for his interest in tech projects or product roles by emphasizing several instances where he worked directly with stakeholders from the tech or product teams. He selects specific leadership examples from projects showing his interest in the intersection of product managment and business. He reflects on the challenges he faced in PM projects and draws insights on what could be done to solve product-business-related issues faster. Such a narrative in essay one would facilitate a logical transition toward the applicant's interest in pursuing a PM role in Essay 2.

Another Weak approach
In the later part of Goals Essay 2 (this is a common one, too!), the applicant goes on to elaborate on the "why ISB PGP" question by citing examples of some courses and throwing in a few professors' names he may have read about online (only to write the essay).


A better approach
In the later part of Essay 2, the applicant elaborates on his discussions with ISB alums who made a similar transition to PM roles post-PGP and shows his strong belief in following suit with ISB's help. An exceptional applicant would also talk about the gaps he identified in his PM skills through feedback from alums and potential recruiters at ISB and how he plans to pursue internships or projects in the immediate short term to bridge the gaps.

2) Interview

Goals
Perhaps the most critical part of an ISB interview is the "Goals question". If you have spoken with professionals who work in your target industry and role and have thoroughly tried to understand the skills required and the growth opportunities after that toward your long-term goals, you will not and should not falter on the goals question. Name the companies you aspire to work at, the positions and responsibilities you will hold over the years, and highlight the lesser-known details of the nature of projects that show you are very well informed.

Personality questions/ Hobbies
For the personality and diversity-related questions, I always tell my applicants, "Know what you want to tell the interview panel about yourself. Please do not wait for them to ask you relevant questions. Take things in control and drive the conversation!" Nobody in the panel looks forward to having a boring conversation; therefore, make a good impression by being spontaneous and interesting.

How else would you then expect to get an opportunity to speak about your rise through the ranks at local Toastmasters or your skydiving or mountain climbing escapades, the book donation drive you organized in your native village, or the tailoring boutique that you set up to bring some additional income to your family?

The most important part of preparation- Practice for the interviews! Each feedback loop will be a huge value add.

3) GMAT/GRE
Younger applicants (2-3 years of work experience) do take note; there is no better alternative to having a decent GMAT/GRE score (700+ but the higher the better). As an average young applicant, you are likely not holding the same level of responsibilities and engagements at work as your older counterparts. Therefore, there is no reason why you should not show your commitment to the schools' admissions process by preparing well for the GMAT/GRE tests. Take multiple attempts, if required and show improvement.

Younger applicants are taken in when they demonstrate fast-track growth progression and solid future potential. Do not let a less-than-expected GMAT/GRE score dilute that impression.

What I shared above is a generalization on the right way to approach your ISB application. I will be able to give more customized feedback depending on your profile. I will be available in the coming week to give one-to-one feedback on your ISB rejected/waitlisted application (pro bono/ no charges). Do reach out for a candid discussion.

Best wishes
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