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MBACrystalBall

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Updated on: 24 Jul 2023, 04:02

Originally posted by MBACrystalBall on 13 May 2010, 22:53.
Last edited by MBACrystalBall on 24 Jul 2023, 04:02, edited 6 times in total.

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The MBA journey - from concept to execution - can be extremely frustrating if you don't have the right information and approach. If you feel we could help out in making your experience a little more structured and a little less painful, do get in touch.

With a less-than-stellar profile (Indian/IT/Male, GMAT below 700, age not on my side), I knew the MBA application process was going to be an uphill battle. I could not change my past (acads, experience, average extra-currics). My application strategy and the implementation plan had to be really strong. I guess I played my cards right. I chose Cambridge, got a double-scholarship and changed careers completely from IT to Mergers & Acquisitions/Strategy. Since then, I've been sharing my strategies and techniques with others.

My book Beyond The MBA Hype has been appreciated by applicants as well as admission officers of the top business schools across the world.

We've shared a humongous amount of free information on our website. Check it out to build an opinion about us.

Here are some interesting links for you to start with:
Get a reality check | Our BIG Knowledgebase | GMAT Prep Resources | MBA Scholarship Stories | Education loan reviews | Best free online courses with certificates

Unsure of whether we are the right team for you? Read these MBA admissions consulting reviews (full-fledged blog posts, actually) of aspirants who started off with similar concerns and ended their journey with very interesting results.

How we can help:

MBA Profile Builder: If you plan to apply after 1-3 years.
MBA Mock Application Process (MBA MAP): Simulates an application process, identifies strengths/weaknesses and helps you prepare a solid strategy for your applications.
Application Reviews: Essay editing & Interview prep to help you put in the best possible application.
Career counselling: When you aren't sure whether an MBA is right for you, or there are other ways to reach your goals.
Mini MBA: Test the waters before taking the plunge with the cheapest (free) mini MBA in the world.

skipjames

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14 May 2010, 18:17

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Interesting. Hope this idea works out for your venture.

MBACrystalBall

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14 May 2010, 21:35

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skipjames

Interesting. Hope this idea works out for your venture.

Thanks, Skip, for your kind words.

The profile evaluation and B-school shortlisting report is available for non-Indian candidates as well.

Our US-based partners (a well-respected team that you'd be familiar with) are offering a customized version of this tool for American and International candidates.

They have the expertise and the experience to help out candidates with diverse backgrounds - including busy working professionals (I just read your self-introduction) who need a little help in validating and structuring their application strategy.

They are offering it at an introductory price.

If this sounds interesting, drop me a PM after you get your GMAT score and I could hook you up with that team.

Good luck with your GMAT prep (crack that quant) and the rest of your application process, Skip. Hope you succeed in getting all that you are striving for, and more.

contactdineshmehta

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10 Jun 2010, 04:19

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HI Sameer,

Yes , i am looking ouside India as well. Here's my profile. Please have a look at my profile and suggest :

-Male/29/Indian/IT(Embedded Domain)

GMAT: not yet. But targeting 740-750

Education:
1. PG diploma in Embedded systems
2. BTech in Electronics and Communcations(College Topper)
3. UG 3 & 1/2 Yrs Diploma in Electronics and Communcations(College Topper)

UG is 3 and half year regular full time course with last half year as full time practical training/work at company.
Btech is 4 year full time course with 10 weeks of regular training/work at company

WorkEx:
6 yrs as of today.

Highlight:
1. Patent Holder.
2. Six Sigma Green Belt Holder for Quality.
3. Project Management and Lead 2 yrs experience
4. Award for another Six Sigma Project.
5. Quality Continued Education within Company( Level 1 and Level 2 Certified)
6. International Work experience
7. Direct Client interaction and good reputation with client.
8. Among Top performers in company ( Awarded certificate for Best performance)
9. Worked in different MNC culture (US/S.Korean/Spanish)
10. Member of Business council in Company.

Low points:
Social work

MBA Plans:
Outside india: US

Anything I need to work on?? What should be the score target???

Thanks

ykaiim

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WE 1: 3.5 yrs IT

WE 2: 2.5 yrs Retail chain

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10 Jun 2010, 04:25

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Hello Sameer,

Please evaluate my profile and provide me guidance on which B-schools should I select.

My MBA interest: FT, 12-15 months program in Entrepreneurship, Strategy & Business mgt, Marketing.

GMAT 1(on Nov 15, 2007) - 640 (Q46, V31)
GMAT 2(scheduled on June 24, 2010)

Total Work Exp: 6 yrs (3.5 yrs IT + 2.5 yrs Departmental/Retail stores chain (Family business in New Delhi, India))

International Exp:
Twice on client site (based in Oakland, California) (2.5 months + 1.5 months)

Sex – Male
Age – 30 yrs
Nationality - Indian

Current Responsibilities:
Managing day-to-day operations, sales, marketing, private label production. I am managing transaction worth INR 10 Cr (approx), while total business revenue is 25 Cr.

Previous IT exp:
1. As a Sr. QA, managing a team of 4 in my second organization, received client appreciations. Working closely with one of top 5 Japanese organization (business partner of my US client).
2. Worked with multicultural teams (Indian+American+Japanese)
3. As a software engg in India's top IT organization for 2.5 yrs

Education:
B. Tech (Computers) from Kurukshetra Univ, 2004 passout, 73% marks
XII – 67%, CBSE board
X – 73%, CBSE board

ECs:
1. Nothing special, but was participating in some social responsibility events in my IT organizations.
2. Helped my organization to spread the idea of Save Paper. Even got appreciation from my development center Admin Head.
3. My retail outlets were the first in New Delhi to start avoiding polyethene bags and use of bio-degradable/plastic bags as per govt regulations. Hudreds of customers appreciated our efforts and even various other retailers following this practice.

Aim: I want to expand my business, adding more stores, not only in grocery segment, but also in jewelry/home interiors/kitchenware. I have started marketing our private lables (in processed food) to a few outlets and planning to start marketing in entire NCR region. I want to make my firm a Pvt. Ltd with listing it on BSE/NSE (within 5 yrs).

I would like to know:

1. How my profile looks for an MBA from the top 10-20 B-schools?
2. Do lack of good ECs reflect bad on my profile?
3. What, in your opinion, is my strengths and weakness reflected in my profile?
4. I have changed my career from IT sector to retail sector. Is it negative?
5. In my IT exp, I didnt have direct leadership role . So, it is negative on my profile?
6. Please mention what should I do to make my case stronger for final call.
7. Please list the best schools for Entrepreneurship, Strategy & Business mgt, Marketing.

------
Ykaiim

MBACrystalBall

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10 Jun 2010, 21:51

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contactdineshmehta

Dinesh-bhai,

With your kind of a profile, you should definitely explore international options as well, in addition to ISB which you already have on your list.

Your acads appear pretty solid. If you can combine that with the GMAT score that you are expecting, you'll put to rest any concerns Adcom might have about your intellectual capabilities.

With your experience of 6 years, you'd be able to talk about project management skills, team leading, international exposure etc etc that your competition will be highlighting.

The awards and the recognition under your belt can be used as an icing on the cake. By itself this will not give you an advantage in your application. You'd need to pull out something more from your hat.

Fortunately, there's one trump card you have that you could use to make your profile stand out in the pile. Unlike regular IT (which forms the broader pool that you fall in), you could use the embedded systems focus to make yourself unique.

As opposed to the mainstream IT applications domain (custom built or off-the-shelf) the challenges involved in your field can be substantially different. There are many ways in which you could leverage this advantage in your essays and bring out elements that the other IT guys can't talk about. More on that later, when we get into the specifics after getting your GMAT score.

When do you get your final GMAT score? A few points below or above what you are expecting will not dramatically alter what we've just discussed. Come back when you have a confirmed score and we can take the discussion forward in terms of schools that you can target and more about your application strategy.

Chak de phatte, buddy!

MBACrystalBall

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12 Jun 2010, 10:07

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ykaiim

Hi Ykaiim,

1. How my profile looks for an MBA from the top 10-20 B-schools?

Short answer. Pretty interesting. The last 2.5 yrs will give you a lot to talk about. You aspirations of taking your company to the stock exchanges is ambitious. I hope you have a solid business plan ready. Be ready to talk about milestones, risks, mitigation plans. Incorporating a company is the easy part. Your CA will get it done in 30 days. The tricky part is to get your ship out there in the choppy seas and not lose track of your destination.

2. Do lack of good ECs reflect bad on my profile?

ECs only make your profile seem richer by adding dimensions that your professional roles might not be able to talk about. Without ECs, there are lesser sources to draw from.

3. What, in your opinion, is my strengths and weakness reflected in my profile?

The Situation:
You've moved from a structured process-driven environment to the chaotic (relatively speaking) world of enterpreneurship. I'm guessing you are a second generation enterpreneur. So you aren't really struggling with the basic elements. The challenge you face now are at the scaling up level.

The Challenge:
If executed well, this can be your key weapon. You will be able to talk about experiences across two worlds. How good are your content structuring and presentation skills? How well do you write? These questions will decide if you convert the 'situation' part into a strength or a weakness.

4. I have changed my career from IT sector to retail sector. Is it negative?

Nope. But you'll have to careful about how you depict the transition. You will have to answer some obvious queries that will come up.

5. In my IT exp, I didnt have direct leadership role . So, it is negative on my profile?

What technical/functional role were you in? In your organisation, at what stage do people start getting team leadership and project management responsibility? Considering the answers to these questions, would you consider your growth as below/above average?

6. Please mention what should I do to make my case stronger for final call.

Right now there are too many things on your plate. Your next question is an indicaton of what I'm referring to. Each of the areas you've mentioned below is an ocean. The first one, Entrepreneurship, involves elements from all other disciplines. The other two are more specialised areas that will allow you to go deeper. Try to get more specific.

7. Please list the best schools for Entrepreneurship, Strategy & Business mgt, Marketing

Could we come back to this once you've narrowed down on your focus areas?

I also have a query about the age/experience equation for you. But will keep that for later.

Your GMAT date isn't too far off. If you are interested, we could resume our discussions on June 24th when the uncertainty is lesser, at least as far as the objective data is concerned.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you, my friend.

ykaiim

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12 Jun 2010, 11:05

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Thanks Sameer.

I'll certainly have a word with you for next step.

Raghavender

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Location: Arkansas, US

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12 Jun 2010, 16:43

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Hey Dude,

Thanks for the time in evaluating each profile.
We appreciate it.

My focus is primarily on ISB. Need to move to India immediately post MBA. My fiancee is a doctor in India and would like to continue on her PG, post my MBA. So ISB would make my life lot simpler, in chances of career pportunities in India. Else, with a US degree, I would have to fight the tide in trying to move to India and secure a job there, coupled with the huge loan on my back.

Here is my profile again.

26 yrs, Male, Indian, working in US for the last 2.5 years.

Manufacturing Background
MS Industrial Engineering, University of Arkansas (3.3 GPA)
BS Mechanical Engineering, in India (3 GPA)

Professional Experience
2.5 years work experience as Manufacturing & Projects Engineer in a private firm with 135 employees. (3.5 yrs work exp at matriculation)
Selected this company, as I wanted to learn all the aspects of running an industry. I am a big fish in a small pond here.
Directly report to the CEO and advise him on new product development technologies and continuous improvement.
Our company runs thin on resources, so I wear several hats including those of developing new product ideas, product design, continuous improvement, process improvement, product strategy, pricing, etc.

Proposed changes in our operation and convinced supervisors, with 20 years of experience in the same company, to change.
Lots of people management skills.

Made a significant impact on the company's culture for the better. Had a vision when very few believed me and now we are half way there. Hit many brick walls on the way. Everyone is glad we started the journey.
Made a difference to the bottom line to the tune of $350,000 per annum.

Term Goals:
Passionate about the mfg industry. Get a management role in top multinational mfg companies like Ford, Nokia, Caterpillar, Procter & Gamble, GE, etc.
Set up my own industry in the long term.

GMAT: 720

Extracurricular:
Play racquetball tournaments
Into Thai Kickboxing, may have my first fight this year.
Designed and fabricated a washing machine that runs on pedal power, during my undergrad. Won the second prize at the national level.
Like acting and have directed and acted in number of stage plays during my Masters and job.

*******************************************************************************

My school list:

1. ISB
2. Ross - Tauber
3. MIT-LGO
4. Tuck
5. Darden
6. Duke
7. Cornell
8. Kellogg
9. Kelley

How would you rate my chances in these schools?
I would have to shortlist the list to 5 schools.

I appreciate your valuable time.
Thanks,
Raghu

ManishS

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14 Jun 2010, 06:15

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Hi Sameer,

Thanks for starting this wonderful thread ! Please evaluate my profile as well !

Details:

Male /29 Years/ India

Educational Background:
I was average in my school days with 77 % and 74% marks in 10th and 12th respectively.
I completed my engineering in Computer Science in the year 2003 with an overall of 74 %. I have also completed the 6months Young Professional Program ( Executive Education) from IIM Calcutta in the year 2005.

Even though I am a computer science graduate, I joined my family business in the year 2003. I have a total work experience of 7 years in my family business as a director. We are a FMCG company in Central India with a turn over of 70 crores and specialize in Flour Milling Operations. We presently operate two flour processing units with a total processing capacity of 30000 Quintals per day. We also run two bread manufacturing units under the franchise of Hindustan Unilever Limited. We produce and retail over 50000 breads and bakery products per day.

Extra Curricular:
I have represented my college and school in Cricket .
I am an expert at playing the keyboard.

GMAT : 710 ( Quant 50. Verbal 37)

I would like to hear your views upon the fruitfulness of an MBA for a profile like me.
Its easy for people to calculate their ROIs if they are from a service background. But for people like me, who arent very likely to sit for campus interviews because we are surely going to jump back into our businesses, calculation of ROI becomes a little tricky.

I want to do an MBA because I want to explore greater growth avenues, possible in my business or out of my current field of business . I wish to attend the college to widen my knowledge horizon which has a very limited window in my present business.

How fruitful can such courses be, for a Small/Medium Enterprise entrepreneur like me ?

Thanks and Regards,

Manish

MBACrystalBall

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Updated on: 24 Nov 2016, 22:30

Originally posted by MBACrystalBall on 14 Jun 2010, 21:37.
Last edited by MBACrystalBall on 24 Nov 2016, 22:30, edited 1 time in total.

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Raghavender

Hi Raghavender,

All going well, sir?

Justified reasons about wanting to move back to India.

In India, with a strong Indian MBA like ISB, you'd no doubt get corporates to take you seriously. Here's a counter thought. Your post-grad and your entire experience has been outside India. A few years later if you both decide to experiment a bit and move to another country or continent, it helps if you have a strong label to bank upon. It's a one time investment for life. So be open to options.

I moved back to India immediately after my MBA (from the UK) as well. The advantage I feel with that approach is - you have an internationally recognisable brand on your CV that has a global recognition.

Having said that - ISB is a great school and my partner at MBA Crystal Ball who mentors ISB applicants (he's an ISB alum, McKinsey consultant and IIT topper) would be happy to help you out with your efforts, if you are inclined.

Ok, now moving on to your profile.

Your experience is a little on the lower side. Due to your post-grad years, you've hit the corporate world a little later than the other guys you'd be competing with at ISB or the other international b-schools. But your manufacturing experience can help you stand in a different queue, away from IT rockstars. Also from whatever little you've shared here, I get the feeling that the quality of your experience is far richer than many others with more years of work-ex.

Why? When you are interacting with the CEO, you can't but pick up though processes, priorities and concerns at an organisational level. Your multi-hat roles would've squeezed in a whole lot more into those 2.5 yrs than is obvious from your post.

But those are not the parts that I'm impressed about. What makes me take you seriously is the fact that you've been involved in people and culture change within your firm. That takes a hell lot of effort, my friend. If you can substantiate those claims (with anecdotes, LoRs etc), it makes you a pretty strong candidate.

The discipline needed for Muay Thai (I was into Tae-kwon-do, so I know the amount of discipline it takes to pursue something like that), the creativity needed for acting, the innovation required to come up with pedal-powered inventions. I think you have a lot going for you.

>> How would you rate my chances in these schools?

Here's why it's tough to answer that: How not to select business schools

Let me know if you need help with your applications (ISB and International). It'll be exciting to work with you.

Have a great career and a fantastic future!

varunj

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16 Jun 2010, 00:34

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Hi Sameer,

Greetings of the day !

Please evaluate my profile as well and give me an honest advice on the B-schools that I intend to target.
I want to bulid a career in Marketing and Brand Management.

GMAT : Yet to give (Actually I wish to persue MBA next year i.e. 2011)

Total Work Exp: 3 years

Work Domain :1) I have worked for 3 years in a Taiwan based MNC(IT Hardware Industry) in a Marketing/Brand Mgmt profile
2) Currently I am working as Marketing Manger in an Indian MNC (IT Hardware Industry).

Gender - Male
Age - 25 years
Nationality - Indian

Current Job Profile :

Handling a pool of IT Hardware Brands and Product management
Be the face of the brand at trade and Media facing events and managing the PR/Marcomm
ATL and BTL activities for the brands and participating in various trade/Road Shows
Managing the LFR(Large Format Retail) accouts for various Brands
Supporting the commercial team to activate growth drivers
Training internal team on category and brand, as well as generating market for upcoming technology

Education Details :
B.E. in Electronics & Telecom from Mumbai University, 2007 Passout with 72%
XII-71%
X-82.3%

ECs:
Appeared on TV news Channel for giving Product Reviews
Memeber of IEEE in College and event coordinator for the IEEE festival in College
Did active work for raising Funds for the under privillaged children
Won awards for academic excellence
Won prizes for Debates/GD at College Level
Certificate of appreciation from previous employer

Arranged alot of Media meets and press conferences
I have managed a gamut of Road shows/below the line marketing activities

AIM: I wish to target the Indian B schools Like ISB and Great Lakes. I want to build a career in Brand Management/Product Marketing and Consulting. I want to get into a strategy/policy making role.

My queries:
• Looking at my profile, how much I need to get in GMAT to secure a call from ISB and Great Lakes
• What kind of profiles would I get after graduating from these schools
• On which aspect I need to work, so as to ensure a call from the above mentioned schools
• Is it good to target only Indian B schools as I do not have much awareness of International B school
• Can you suggest good B- schools outside India, for Marketing and Brand Mgmt
• How much Scholarship/financial aid can I get from the International B schools
• Any other valuable tip

Anxiously looking forward to your reply!

Thanks a Bunch !!

Regards,
Varun

MBACrystalBall

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16 Jun 2010, 23:30

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ManishS

Manish-bhai,

All going well, I hope.

Let's jump right in. In your entire professional background paragraph, you've focused more on the business than on yourself. In your role as a Director, I know vaguely that you call the shots now along with the other key members of the management team. However I do not get a flavour of what exactly you've been doing in that role.

Be careful about this trap while you are working on your essays. It's comes naturally for most of us to be modest and explain stuff either in a passive voice or the ubiquitous but extremely vague 'we'.

The challenge for Adcoms would be to segregate the 'we' from the 'you'. If I'm reading an application like this, I might face a dilemma of whether I should offer the MBA seat to you or one of your other family members who've been doing this for longer than you have.

On a serious note, the message I'm trying to convey is this --> Get specific, my friend.

Here are a few pointers to get you going.

- Are you responsible for operations and internal matters while the other family members focus on finance, customers, business development? Or are you involved in all of them to an extent.

- If it's the latter, then you'd surely have some areas where you do exceedingly well compared to others. What's that area?

- Is this an area you want to stick to after you complete your MBA or do you want to strengthen others areas where your exposure level currently is relatively not as strong.

That's a decently sized business you are running out there, dude, even when you compare it to some of the subsidiaries run by the biggies from the corporate world. There are several reasons why you might want to go for an MBA. Not possible to list them all down here (the response is already become long enough).

There's also another reason why I don't want to give you a data dump of reasons. Rather than spoon-feed you with the 'right answer' (there isn't one, btw), I'd like to see if I can get a convincing answer from you based on your current situation.

Could you do me (and yourself) a favour please? Let's do a little 2-step experiment.

Step 1: Take the second paragraph where you talk about your professional background and re-phrase it based on what we've talked about.

Step 2: Now take the second last para (The Why MBA part), re-word it and club this at the end of the first para. Does it flow? If not, work on it till it sounds like one logical story.

Point is - get the pitch right. Work out the nitty-gritties and ask someone (not necessarily a consultant, it could be a knowledgeable friend or family member) to look at it from an objective perspective. Does it look right? Does it sound right?

Let's try to make this sucker a little less ambiguous and a little more specific. Let's try to go beyond general gyan and build something concrete that you can use in your apps.

Are you game?

speeddeamon

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Schools:Wharton, Kellogg, Duke (Health care management)

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17 Jun 2010, 07:37

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Hi Sameer,

I request you to kindly go over my brief profile and give feedback on the same. It would be great if you could suggest some schools where I have good chance of getting admitted.

My profile:

Age : 30
Nationality : Indian
Experience : 8+ (specifics below)
GMAT : first attempt - 680 (49Q, 34 V)
second attempt - 760 (48Q, 46V) [this is 3 months after the first attempt]
Undergrad : Engineering (Mechanical) with 78% from a not so famous university in India, ranked 3rd in class
Areas of Interest : Entrepreneurship (in Healthcare IT sector), marketing & strategy

Experience details:
5 years in IT services (software engineer, senior software engineer for a mid-size US based Indian software company). Good leadership experience here.
3 years in Healthcare IT (for a large multinational, in their healthcare equipment business unit. Not on software implementation side, but on the innovation side where I work with marketing and other teams to study market opportunities, mainly value-added-services and come up with solutions which will later be implemented by some other team/vendor). Not much official leadership experience here because most of the time I was in teams where the average experience of team members were 15+.

Extracurricular :
@college: student representative in career management cell, played key role in bringing companies to campus for recruitment.
played important role in college politics, organized campaigns for college union elections, and unsuccessfully ran for chairmanship
twice in organizing committee of a national level symposium competition organized by our department
@work: Started a alumni project sponsorship program at my college. Enlisted 7 other classmates to co-sponsor the project.
Started and ran a chapter of toastmasters at our office campus for more than 2 years.
One of the coordinators in my company's community involvement initiative.
Organized multiple outdoor activities (treks, leisure activities) for my team which is about 50 member strong

My main worries are my age, the undergrad university not being famous, and the chance of being put in the Indian/IT/male category though I have a slightly different background than the typical IT guy.

Extra background info: Along with my normal projects at work, I am parallely working on a small scale corporate venture that grew out from a concept I created early last year. Its an equipment for training medical students to do minimally invasive cardiac surgery. After presenting the concept to many members of the senior management and receiving good feedback, we (a team of 3, a cardiologist, a software architect, and me) received funding for prototyping which is being done by an intern we recruited for the same. Along with guiding the intern, I am also looking at analyzing the market potential, the competitive landscape, and the possible positioning of the equipement. Should I mark this activity as a separate venture experience or include this project under my normal project description section?

Thank you very much for your time!

smartmundu

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17 Jun 2010, 11:14

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Please evaluate my profile

Age : 25
Nationality : Indian
Experience : 4+ (specifics below)
GMAT : planning in August

Undergrad : Engineering (Mechanical) with 68.11% from Delhi College of Engineering (Considered best Mechanical Engineering in Asia)

Areas of Interest : Consulting

Experience details:

Overall experience of more than four year. Recruited by Maruti Suzuki through campus (considered as best job for Mechanical Engineer, Recruited on very first day of core companies). Worked with Maruti Suzuki for about 2.5 years. Handled a small team of three. Represented company at National Management Games (NMG), India.
Having interest toward IT Consulting did SAP Certification in Materials Management Module, the interest shifted because want to utilise the functional knowledge gained at Maruti Suzuki and want to grow in the field of interest.
After that joined Pricewaterhouse coppers and presently also working as ERP Consultant, Logistics subject matter expert. Worked with big clients, added value to their business. Worked as project manager for one project, Independently handled projects and also done three months Business Consulting International project at one of the big steel companies.

Extracurricular :
@college: student representative in placement cell, played key role in bringing companies to campus for recruitment. Interest in computer gaming and represented college at various Inter college competition.

@work: member of the AutoExpo’08 core team: Involved in the content preparation activity, overall responsibility of Executive Zone at Maruti Pavilion, Winner of companywide Mechnatellect Quiz competition

I have following questions:

1. still have to appear for GMAT but can i still get into top 10 MBA college with the profile i have ?

2. how much score will seal admission to a good MBA college?

Thanks in advance

Regards

MBACrystalBall

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20 Jun 2010, 00:13

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varunj

Varun sir,

Sab kushal mangal, I hope.

If you are targeting programs starting in 2011, the countdown has already begun. Considering that you are still at a very early point in the thinking process, you've got a lot of catching up to do. I'm working with people who started on their essays almost 2 months back. Many of them have been hit hard by last year's woes - recession, uncertain economy, extremely competitive application process.

Don't assume you have a lot of time on hand. It would've been good to get done with the GMAT early on, so you could've started thinking about a whole lot of other questions that follow. Roll up your sleeves my friend and get cracking.

Will move on to your profile now:

Though are also an IT/Indian/Male, you have a slight advantage over the others from the same pool because of your Hardware and Marketing combo background.

Also, why restrict yourself to one country? When you are targeting a global degree, why not consider global schools? The process and requirements for most top schools are similar and you can always take the incremental effort required to apply to these schools.

• Looking at my profile, how much I need to get in GMAT to secure a call from ISB and Great Lakes

Considering the lower age & experience, I'd say a 730+ would be good. Combined with your BE performance, a strong GMAT score will nip any intellectual capability concerns in the bud.

• What kind of profiles would I get after graduating from these schools
You are already strong in the Marketing/PR domain. So you could target roles where you can use this experience.

If you intend to stick to the technology industry, it'll be easier for you to convince potential employers about the value you'd bring to their organisation right from day one. Your learning curve will be rapid. However, if you plan to move into another industry (manufacturing or service industry, for instance), your efforts will go up.

• On which aspect I need to work, so as to ensure a call from the above mentioned schools

Your post (the job profile section) covers what someone in your role is expected to do, not what you actually did. If you can confidently say that you were able to go beyond what the job description entailed, and provide concrete examples (e.g. what did all those trade shows and PR events translate into isn't clear). In your essays, Adcoms will want to know what you, as an individual, did to help make a sustainable impact on your organisation. Choose your examples well and display the excellent quality of work you've done in those 3 years.

• Is it good to target only Indian B schools as I do not have much awareness of International B school

Answered this earlier. Unless you have personal issues that stop you from exploring options abroad, do go ahead and spread your net wider.

• Can you suggest good B- schools outside India, for Marketing and Brand Mgmt

There are many that specialise in Marketing in its broad sense and several that offer you to the option of specialising in 'Product Management'. I'd need to know what your GMAT score is to recommend schools that fit your profile. Come back here when you have a firm score and we'll take this up again.

• How much Scholarship/financial aid can I get from the International B schools

If you are targeting the top schools, free funding is hard to come by. Lower ranked schools can offer you financial aid, schols or other options (GA, TA, RA work on-campus) to bring your overall cost down

• Any other valuable tip

Yes. The Ambani brothers have patched up. Shares prices expected to go up. Buy and hold.

Hope to hear from you again, buddy, when you have your impressive GMAT score. You might want to start the essay work in parallel.

Good luck for the test.

MBACrystalBall

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22 Jun 2010, 04:59

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speeddeamon

Ola Speedy-bandhu,

Let's start with your concerns first and lay them to rest before we move on to the main (and I think more important) queries.

>> My main worries are my age, the undergrad university not being famous, and the chance of being put in the Indian/IT/male category though I have a slightly different background than the typical IT guy.

- Age: I was older than you when I started my application process. Read the first post to see how that story panned out. We can't take 100% responsibility for the cruel jokes nature plays on us (no wonder aloe vera has a lot of fans). But beyond that focus on stuff that you can control. Make your profile attractive enough and people will look at you and go - 'inki twacha se inki profile ke strength ka pata bilkul nahi lagta'. We'll do some of that in this post.

- Undergrad University: Everyone isn't fortunate enough to get into an IIT. But with due respects, at the end of the day it's a technical institution (I'm ignoring their forays into management education). There's no guarantee that an extremely gifted technical guy who cracked the IIT-JEE would do equally well in the business world.

As a corollary, there's also nothing that says that guys who attended other institutions don't have what it takes to succeed in the business world. There's more to judging managerial potential than this. Adcoms know that and look for other elements from your profile before making a decision.

So all ye non-IIT junta out there...stop stressing out.

- 'being put in the Indian/IT/male category'

Be proud of your roots, man. Check out the guy from the HCL ad (who else finds the ad ridiculous, pls raise your hands). He's got the whole world at his feet. He makes I-bankers look like nincompoops. And he doesn't even use Axe Deos.

But on a serious note, again I feel this should actually work in your favour. Imagine being clubbed into a pool where you'd naturally stand out coz your profile isn't like the rest of the guys you are getting compared with.

Any more concerns that you want me to crush...do let me know. Happy to be of assistance.

With that we move on to your primary queries.

I had to read your Healthcare IT role 3 times for me to comprehend what you actually do. It is quite an unconventional role, my friend. And a pretty interesting one.

One quick tip. When you are writing your essays try to simplify the concept and use examples to make it easy for someone who's not from your industry to appreciate and understand. If you see heavy buzzwords and cliches, see if you can replace them with something that's more visual and common sense.

On the leadership topic, if you've already demonstrated this in your earlier role, that's good enough. Your current role definition is substantially different that the first one. It doesn't have the same team structure and the same mandates. If you've successfully been a leader, a technical guy, a team member, a salesman...but in different roles, I'd say that's damn good. You've shown potential and you've show flexibility. If I'm running an organisation, I'd rather have someone like you who can don many hats...rather than a self-proclaimed 'leader' who knows nothing more than throwing his weight around.

The 'Extra background info' section is really very interesting. If this is a self-driven initiative, find a way to project it properly. This is not part of your regular job-description. In my first job, I got the opportunity to be part of a similar experiment. The loosely applicable technical tag for what you are doing there is 'Corporate Venturing'. It's your idea, being funded and incubated by your current company, as opposed to an external VC team.

How you project this experience will be critical in showcasing your entrepreneurial abilities (see? another feather in the hat right there).

You've got many things to talk about (given your rich experience and your diverse exposure). Your challenge will be to pick and choose the gems from there and use them appropriately in your application. I hope you are already working on your apps.

Good luck.

speeddeamon

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22 Jun 2010, 08:06

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Hey Sameer,

Thanks a ton man! Your reply has really increased my confidence.
As you said, writing about the many things in my profile in a succinct and persuasive way (which is the key as you said) is my problem now..
I am not interested in the international consultants(exchange-rate & PPP are against us Indians in this case

).
Do you offer essay review service as well?

cheers!
Arun

MBACrystalBall

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23 Jun 2010, 00:34

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Hi Arun,

speeddeamon

Hey Sameer,

Thanks a ton man! Your reply has really increased my confidence.

Glad to hear that, sir.

speeddeamon

I am not interested in the international consultants (exchange-rate & PPP are against us Indians in this case ).

Life ain't easy, is it? Like they say...we all come into this world - naked, hungry and crying...and then it gets worse.

The B-school story isn't too different. It's a complex decision for most of us coming from middle class backgrounds. For a top-school, you are looking at an outflow of $100K+. And then there are the costs associated with relocation, visa...and now this growing trend in India - international admission consultants. When everyone managed their own apps, it was still ok. Now, when my competitor has got a dhinchak international consultant helping him out with his apps, I can't but feel jittery about it.

And to complicate matters, consultants come in all varieties.

- The bulk deal (people willing to do unlimited schools for Rs 15K)
- The upgraders (CAT coaching institutions wanting a piece of the growing international MBA pie)
- The part-timers (top-school grads testing the waters, but holding on to their day-jobs while trying to figure out a business model that works)
- The serious ones (fantastic quality, great track record, but obscenely priced services out of reach for most Indian applicants)

It's a call, you've gotta take, based on multiple parameters - the quality of people working with you on your apps (and not some unknown face working behind the scene on something so critical), their credibility, the track record (are there a considerable number of success stories) and of course the cost involved.

speeddeamon

Do you offer essay review service as well?

Kyon mazaak kar rahe ho, sir. Of course, we do! :-)

We consider that part as our key strengths. Want to know why? Check out the website. You'll also find out how we are addressing exchange-rate & PPP related concerns for apun ka local junta.

To be honest, our unconventional model started off as an experiment, but within a short span of time, it's become very popular.

If you are interested, drop me a note on the email ID listed on my signature.

speeddeamon

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23 Jun 2010, 08:21

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Quote:

Kyon mazaak kar rahe ho, sir. Of course, we do! :-)

We consider that part as our key strengths.

Sorry for that almost stupid question, i forgot that it is the reason for you to be in this business

. Please don't take it personal

I had visited your website before and it gave me the impression that your services were around the Crystal Ball report and the tie up with the international consultant (probably the news about tie-up was so prominent that I jumped into this conclusion regarding the essay service at the bottom of page). FAQ talks only about the report and the tie-up for essay service.

suggestion: the essay services offered by you could be made bit more prominent or put under a section such as "Services".

Sure, I will contact you at the email-id for the service related queries.
BTW are you located in India by any chance?

cheers!
Arun