Ask Jennifer@Accepted.com: Application-writing advice for the best global B-schools

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by ganeshnkulkarni

Hi,
I am an Indian applicant with 3 years of work experience.
I have not yet appeared for GMAT but hope to reach to 710.
I have an Engineering Degree and have passed in First Class with Distinction.
I have good extra-curricular in sports, volunteering etc.
I have 1 gap year during Engineering, but have earned merit scholarships throughout my schooling.
what are my realistic and stretch schools in US and Asia-Pacific?

Thanking you in anticipation...

Hi, Ganesh. I know I don't know much about your experience based on this short email, but it seems to me like you are not ready for the top MBA programs yet. Three years of experience is usually considered too short for these. However, if you have gained an exceptional level of impact in the community and/or at work and can demonstrate your ability to lead and influence others despite the short work experience, then your chances are okay.

You may have better luck with programs lower down in the rankings if you are able to demonstrate that you have some leadership experience from outside of work – because most likely you have not gained the level of leadership at work that MBA programs are seeking.

I wish you the best of luck in the process!

Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW
Accepted – Helping you write your best!

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by p_jez

Jennifer,

I have a query regarding the essay topic "Describe the Single Event or Achievement that has significantly influenced your life."

Does this necessarily have to be something that is career oriented? Or can it be something which has changed me as a person?

In other words, when I write how it has changed me, do I need to write about situations in the workplace, or can I get away with writing about situations outside work?

Thanks

Hi, P_jez. No, you do not need to talk about your career here. In fact, I believe there are probably very few work-related topics that could answer this question well. Instead, choose a situation in which the challenges and obstacles were many and in which you used innovative methods to overcome them. Then, reflect on how this experience changed your mindset and direction.

Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW
Accepted – Helping you write your best!

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by brandmanager

Hi Jen,

Would Request you to evaluate my profile

GMAt- Would write it in Mid Oct,RIght now trying trying to work on my Verbal,which is an area of worry,Managing high 40's & 50's in Quant.Should Cross 720 atleast.

Education-B.E,Electronics ( 64%),Only saving grace was-got 1st Rank in the university for final Degree Project-98%

Additionally have done 2 yrs Retail Management/Merchandising diploma program from National Institute of Fashion Technology,NIFT,Ministry of textiles(6.6CGPA),NIFT is a Premium College for Fashion Designing Course and related Courses which are related to Textile/Apparel Industry. This program is popularly called AMMM and is reckoned as a premium course, in Apparel/Retail Industry.

Work Ex- Vertical-Retail (Operations,Business development,Marketing).

Worked with No 1 Apparel company of India,for International Brands and was Heading an entire Zone in 1.5 yrs time,Being the youngest Retail manager in the company,handling 6 states for entire retail set up.Have handleded a big team of over 60 people( including front end sales staff),store managers,executives.A good peoples manager.

Current Profile-Marketing Manager in An fortune 100 MNC,for their Service Retail Start Up,Franchising Business.Portfolio has over 120 retail stores.Additional Responsibilty of handling Customer Experience Profile,along with Brand Management,Sales Promotions,Marketing Campaigns,Website Management,etc etc.Have a Sound Knowledge of the Business side,for Retail Set ups

Worked for a Year after Engineering-for a small Electrical components Org( Opted it over Infosys),never wanted to be a software Engineer and do a coding job.

TOtal work Ex, by april 2009-6 yrs

On international exposure front, Been to the US for a month,Holding 10 yr B1/B2.Guess in Sales & Marketing international Exposure is Limited( apart from Dubai etc)

Have won a couple of awards in Retail Ops and Marketing in the organisations have worked for-Have certificates for them.

Additional Work Ex- Visiting faculty for Fashion Retail Management course at NIFT,Associated with 2 of NIFT centres.

Extra Curriculars- President of College-NIFT, Department captain for a couple of sports, Debating etc etc.Master of ceremony for a coupls of events.Lots of involvement in sports.

Worked for Tsunami relief fund for my earlier org,and continue to teach and sponsor 2 young kids of class 4 employees( my house maids children)

Post MBA-want to venture in Retail Consultancy and eventually be an enterpreneur,I want to continue my Hobby/Extra curricular of working as honourary Visiting Faculty in other B-schools.I enjoy Teaching.Would have loved to move into academics, but 4 yrs of fellowship is too much an ask.

Request You to kindly evaluate my profile,Kindly suggest what additional things can be done to strengthen my case

Kindly Suggest, which colleges i should be Targeting at, Only constraint is i would like to go for a 1 yr program.

Cheers

BrandManager

Hi, BrandManager. Your experience sounds exciting and your leadership is clear. I wouldn't worry much about the low undergrad scores if the GMAT compensates (say, above 700).

There are several one-year MBA programs that are worth looking into. Because of your strong retail/marketing background, my first thought is for you to determine if you are eligible for Kellogg's 1-year MBA program. Others that may be of interest to you in the US are Cornell's Accelerated MBA, Columbia's January program, Carnegie Mellon's 16-month MBA, and Simon's 18-month program. Most of the European programs are also one year; you may find INSEAD, IMD, IE, and IESE the most interesting.

Focus your applications on your business skills and knowledge, the interpersonal skills that enabled you to succeed, and the results you have achieved and you should do well.

Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW
Accepted – Helping you write your best!

[brandmanager]

Thanks Jen,

As suggested by you, the immediate focus is to get a decent score-700 plus in the GMaT.I would be writing GMAT in Mid OCt, so have limited time.

I would be seriously considering the colleges you have recommended(there is no shortcut to experience,and am sure your exp would come handy for me)

Would You recommend any Indian B-schools?

Life is a circle, being an Indian i eventually want to come back to my hometown and work for the society..?

Warm Regards
Brand Manager

[shells15]

Hi Jennifer,
I just wanted to know if having no work experience abroad will be a very major hindrance in getting a place at a top-10 MBA program in the US/UK?

Thanks.

[urefriendforeve]

Originally Posted by Accepted

Hi, Nishant. Your goal needs to be defined for many reasons. Off the top of my head, here is a short list of them:
1) to see if you are realistic about what an MBA can do for you
2) to see if you understand what your background has prepared you to do so far
3) to see if you are driven enough and dream big enough to warrant them putting their diploma behind you.

Your goals as you defined them here are very specific, and I highly recommend you go with the automotive role that you mentioned over a more vague high-tech goal (assuming your background is in automotive). Your goals essay would need to explain what business skills and knowledge you have gained so far that will prepare you for that goal in the automotive sector and how each school will add to those skills to prepare you for this goal. You can demonstrate your flexibility and knowledge of the programs by doing research about the specific recruiting of the different schools and finding roles that recent grads filled that would neatly fit your goals.

The schools that best fit this goal include those with links to the automotive and manufacturing industries, for instance Michigan, Kellogg, CMU, MIT, Purdue, and maybe Case Western.

Best of luck!

Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW
Accepted – Helping you write your best!

Hi

Thanks alot for your reply, just want to request you to add one more info.

can you recommend some european schools especially UK and also some Asian schools as well considering the same requirement. Kellog and MIT with my gmat and average academics are a very long shot.

Nishant

[gmat__800]

Originally Posted by Accepted

Hi, Gmat_800. Your academics and GMAT position you well, but I would like to hear more about what you've done for your company and its clients. I often describe the GMAT and undergrad statistics as the foundation of a house: everyone wants a strong foundation for their house, but no one buys a house just because it has a strong foundation. You need to show us that you have the nice views, good air flow, and beautiful architecture that the top MBA programs are seeking .

Assuming that you have the leadership and impact that the top programs are seeking, then I do believe your chances are good at the top 10. Most of these programs actually "specialize" in preparing professionals for management consulting careers, so what you really need to explain in your essays is what business skills and knowledge you have gained that transfer to other industries.

Best of luck!

Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW

Accepted – Helping you write your best!

Hi Jennifer,

Thanks a lot for the response. Further, I was wondering if I could make use of the services provided by Accepted.com for some guidance in writing the application essays. I am targetting the 1st application cycle i.e. Oct'2008. What is the best way to get further details on the matter?

Also, if I need help in essays for 1 B-school (6-7 in count), will that be feasible in such short time span, considering I have only a month in hand at this point in time. Please revert ASAP, as I need to finalize this at the earliest.

Thanks again for your help.

Kind regards,
Gmat__800.

[rockingDarshnik]

Hi Jennifer,

Please evaluate my profile.

My Profile is -
Age - 26 yrs
Gmat - 740


Academics --
Education - 5 year Computer Science M. Tech Dual degree (B Tech + M Tech) from IIT
GPA - 7.78/10
12th - 65%
10th 79%

Work experience - 32 months (as of today)
- first 15 months in a Financial Software MNC. I worked on a tough project for 6 months there, as the project was critical for relationship with client and extremely tough.(manager there will surely mention it in reco)
- for last 17 months, working in a Software Product development MNC. Got promoted in 4 months of joining this company, for exceptional performance (and as the appraisal cycle started then). Also, in the last 6 months I have been working on a critical release of our product. I worked as the lead for release with 2 other team members (though was not designated as such but manager will surely mention it in reco) and successfully released the product. I recently got promoted for work during release.


International exposure-
- did 3 months internship in Germany. Our research team was truly multinational with all 5 people from different nations. (I misplaced the certificate for the internship there, but I can request for it if required)
- worked closely with onsite team in US in first job.
- currently a part of team is based in france and US. I have to interact with them every alternate day.


Leadership -
- the product release which we recently did, was very challenging with tight deadlines. I had to keep the other two team members motivated and really had to talk & listen to them on nightouts after nightout.
- As the first company was a financial software firm, I got interested and did some certifications on finance. Later, I gave the presentations on various aspects of finance world to the company. Those presentations were very well recieved with high attendance, and the initiative was highly appreciated by senior management.
- In my work experience, I have always been given appraisal rating above my peers i.e. other team members with same exp. and designation. (can I put it as a positive point? that I have always shone in my peer group)
- Got employee award 6 months back for going out of way to make client relationship successful. (thats actually the official definition of award)


Other Details -
- I cleared CFA level-1, am a CFA level 2 candidate.
- did some certifications with National Stock exchange india.

Community Service -
- have been teaching at a school for socially disadvantaged people. (honestly I started doing so when I thought about writing GMAT. Before that It never crossed mind)
- I have been playing guitar since college days. I jammed with other band memebers for the last two years. We performed in our Company's annual party. But we haven't reached the level of a professional music band and we jam just to relax ourselves and enjoy our time. I also taught guitar to 2 of my friends for two months.


I want to go for MBA in US universities with major in Finance.

I'm confused if I should apply this year or work on my profile and apply next year. Do you think that I can have a shot at top 15 with this profile? I'm ready to wait till next year if I know I have a realistic chance of making it to top 15 by working on my profile. Can you guide me on this? What possible activities I can do to improve my profile?

Also, As you can see my "Community Service" is very weak? So I'm thinking of not applying to those schools which have an explicit essay question to cover the Community Service? your take on this?

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by brandmanager

Thanks Jen,

As suggested by you, the immediate focus is to get a decent score-700 plus in the GMaT.I would be writing GMAT in Mid OCt, so have limited time.

I would be seriously considering the colleges you have recommended(there is no shortcut to experience,and am sure your exp would come handy for me)

Would You recommend any Indian B-schools?

Life is a circle, being an Indian i eventually want to come back to my hometown and work for the society..?

Warm Regards
Brand Manager

Hi again, BrandManager. Yes, I have heard wonderful things about the IIMs and ISB. The key for you is to research alumni and recruiting in the retail and consulting industries. Both the education and this network and career potential are important to selecting the right school for you.

Best of luck in the process!

Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW
Accepted-Helping you write your best!

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by shells15

Hi Jennifer,
I just wanted to know if having no work experience abroad will be a very major hindrance in getting a place at a top-10 MBA program in the US/UK?

Thanks.

No, Shells15, you do not need experience abroad to prove that you are an ideal candidate for the top 10 US MBA programs. However, I do think that the European programs may be more strict about this and want to see foreign adaptation (especially a school like INSEAD!). For the US programs, prove 1) that you have excellent leadership and general management abilities and 2) that you have a good reason for pursuing this education abroad, and your chances of admission are excellent.

Go get 'em!

Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW
Accepted-Helping you write your best!