Hi,
It's not easy to do a ding analysis without seeing the full application but I'll just make a few observations here:
There are two factors here - the written app and the in-person interview. You did get interviews at several good schools so that tells me that at most your essays/reccos/short answers might have been a bit borderline....but not so much so that it prevented you from getting an interview.
I'm not sure what you wrote about in terms of LT or ST goals.....that can be a deal breaker. They might have interviewed you to get more of a feel for you and your goals. I feel like something went wrong in the interview. Either your story was not coherent or in-person you just didn't communicate what you needed to (either verbally or through body language etc).
Was the ding due to the 79th% Quant on Gmat....probably not.
I had an Indian client this year from a top 3 consulting firm who was invited to interview at Harvard.....the interview *should* have been a formality but he got so nervous about it that he spent the weeks leading up to it writing out (and memorizing verbatim) answers to any questions he might be asked. By the time his mock interview rolled around it was too late to deprogram him - he just sounded very robotic. He didn't get into Harvard, but he could very well have....if he had come across in the interview as 'someone who goes to HBS' but hearing him you never would have believed that. That leads to my next point.....
Once a school interviews you - in my opinion it isn't really worth reapplying because they've met you and there was something about what you said/did/were that did not jive with them. So my advice is to find other schools to apply to. Another piece of advice for any first time applicants out there: if you're applying on your own - don't apply to every school out there....so if you get dinged across the board in your first year, you still have a couple of good schools to apply to the following year.
Sounds like you've been in your current role for a while and it might be a good time to switch + the opportunity seems right. I don't think it is a disadvantage and would encourage you to take the new job.
I offer two free services to candidates - Ding Review and Background Analysis & School Selection
https://fxmbaconsulting.com/mba-admissio ... s-pricing/If you're interested in sending me your app to look it just reach out.
Best,
Leah