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Hello! Trying to get a feel for whether I should apply this coming fall or wait another year to round out my resume. I'll try to keep it short, profile below!

Undergrad
University of Wisconsin - Madison
B.S. Chemical Engineering (#2 ranked program at time of entry, #3 upon graduation)
3.2/4.0 GPA
Extracurricular activities: American Institute of Chemical Engineers, various leadership positions in social fraternity

GMAT
Total Score: 760 (Q49, V46, IR 8, Essay 6)

Resume Highlights

General Mills
System Engineer - 1.5 years @ Large, union facility.
One job title but many different roles due to plant closure. Managed 11 direct reports.
**Left job after a relatively short time due to plant closure - any thoughts on conveying this point would also be appreciated
2x Engineering internships (Large/Union facility and Small/Non-union facility)

KraftHeinz

Manager, Manufacturing Commercialization (Current) - 3 months (and counting!)
1 of 2 project managers for the entire Oscar Mayer business unit, coordinating all new product development activity.

Extra-curriculars:

Mentor for high performing students from low income families in Chicago - mission of the organization is to guide students through college admissions process.
Community garden volunteer for local zoo.

Target Schools (Full time): Kellogg, Booth, Ross, Kenan-Flagler, Fuqua

I'm looking for a sense of whether or not I'll be competitive in the fall.

Thanks!

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Thanks
Arijit

A few thoughts for you to ponder on rdesio:

1. You work profile seems to be shaping up nicely. Managing a team so early in the career is remarkable and can show a lot of character. Leaving the job so soon however is likely to make things appear a bit fickle and short-lived.
2. Apart from the reason mentioned above, with 2-3 years less experience than the average, it is likely that you will end up doing some injustice to an otherwise interesting profile (excellent GMAT score notwithstanding). So there is definite merit in waiting another year.
3. Think of working on all aspects of the profile and not just 1-2. Check out our Profile Builder package for folks in your situation.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Thanks for sharing.

Your experience is on the lower side. However, your rich experiences in having taking on critical responsibilities due to the plant closure does help show your maturity. You also have a very strong GMAT score, and your work guiding kids from low-income families further shows your leadership and community involvement inclinations.

Consider how much an additional year will help you grow, in terms of the opportunities you will receive at work, or initiative you will be involved with outside.

Wish you all the best and look forward to hearing your updates.

Regarding your concern on how the plant closure impacts your application, the blog entry below might be helpful

From our Veritas Prep MBA Blog

https://www.veritasprep.com/blog/2016/04 ... ss-school/

Ideally, business school applicants would all be able to fill their admissions essays with great work stories showcasing contributions to their company's success. Creating breakthrough products, transforming the company through original innovations, leading entry into a new market, generating record profits, and other similar accomplishments would all look great on an MBA application.

In reality, however, work circumstances and probabilities do not always play out perfectly - products can miss, campaigns can fail, companies can collapse, civil wars can break out, and global economic crises can ensue no matter how brilliant and dedicated an employee or entrepreneur is.

How, then, does an MBA applicant who went through these failures present himself or herself to be qualified for an MBA? Or how can a seemingly "ordinary" applicant elevate himself or herself from the pool of other applicants who may have more impressive success stories to tell? If this sounds like your predicament, showcase these three attributes to really make your application stand out:

Big-Picture Lessons
Recessions, industry down-cycles, and political crises can all contribute greatly to the failure of a company. However, there is a silver lining - not only do these circumstances provide the environmental context that removes blame from the applicant, but they also offer an interesting backdrop to highlight learning experiences that would make for rich classroom discussions.

If you experienced a business failure due to reasons like this, identifying the major lessons you learned will help display a high-level awareness of world events and their business impact, a quality that can be used to strengthen future leadership potential. At the company level, witnessing the impact of lost profits and jobs can provide you with firsthand experience of its effect on employee morale, corporate culture, and the real human concerns affected by difficult business decisions.

Personal Skills Gained
When struggling companies are forced to cut costs, this often results in the remaining employees handling more tasks, putting in more hours, and taking on bigger responsibilities, and all amidst a tense work environment. As such, employees lower on the corporate ladder may be able to have more involvement in reevaluating the whole business model, product lines, or distribution channels, and become part of the decision as to whether their firm should pull-out or stay in the market.

This accelerated exposure - usually reserved for very senior levels - can be a very difficult experience, however it can also be a good source of learning and growth in terms of skills, knowledge, and maturity. Explaining your business' failure by showcasing the skills you gained from it can show the admissions committee that you know how to make the most of a difficult position and learn from your work environment.

Character Displayed
A family business may fail at an heir's turn or a start-up may fall victim to a recession, but these "failures" may also be an opportunity to highlight character traits such as resilience and resourcefulness. Creating new opportunities or adjusting to a totally new environment will show adaptability and determination, which are strong qualities for a future global leader that admissions committees will pick up on. Even if the failed enterprise is directly attributable to you, displaying the honest self-awareness and accountability to identify areas for personal development - including how a particular MBA program will help correct these flaws - can create a compelling and authentic application that will help you stand out as a candidate.

So, will your involvement in a failed business completely ruin your chances of admission to business school? No! Explain the failure of the venture through the aforementioned traits, and the admissions committee will be able to see how a bad situation led to the development of a great MBA candidate.