ashwinks19 wrote:Hi GyanOne,
Here is my profile for your expert evaluation -
Age - 32 Years
Nationality - Indian
Education - Bachelor of Technology - Mechanical
Score in Bachelors - 79/100
Represented school/college in Table Tennis, Quiz etc.
Editor of College Magazine. Key member in organization of college events & festivals.
Work Experience - 10 Years in Automotive Industry
2.5 years - For an Automotive Engineering Service Provider in India
3 years - As an consultant Design Engineer for a Japanese Automotive Company in Germany
4.5 Years (Current Job) - As a Senior Engineer (1 Promotion in 2012, Will be promoted to Deputy Manager in October 2015) in a different Japanese Automotive Tier I supplier. I have been managing a team of 10 engineers; actually, I selected and built this team over the course of the last 1.5 years. The promotion and new role of "Deputy Manager" will be my formal introduction as the manager of this team.
I work in a very international environment. I am an Indian national, working for a Japanese Company from their German Office. I am currently multiple handling projects for Swedish and Dutch Customers. My job also includes co-ordination of a team of 10 Designers and Analysts in Germany, Design team in Japan,Plants in France, Poland and Asia and suppliers across Europe and Asia. I am the Engineering Contact to Customers and am responsible for the complete product life cycle from conceptual phase to series production phase.
Achievements in current job - I was the first employee in a new group focused on diversifying into a new product development for European Automotive & Truck OEMs. I was a key member of a small team which won a major business worth Euro 70 million/7 years. I am the youngest recipient (@ 28 Years) of a Challenge Award, which is awarded for extraordinary contribution to company growth.
I am currently very busy at work and a typical week at work includes 60-70 hours at work during the weekdays and at least 5-6 during the weekend. I play table tennis in the local town club and have represented them in the regional league competitions. Apart from this, my hobbies include photography, biking and I am a voracious reader. Please shed some light on the means to highlight these activities to make a compelling application to Top Business Schools.
I have currently started preparing for GMAT. I scored 720 in my first mock test. I know the mock test scores don't show anything, but my target GMAT score is 720-750.
I am looking for an MBA program to leverage my technical know-how, hone my skills and acquire new skills and network to be a successful global manager in the automotive industry (Short Term Goal). Long term goal is to get myself into technology consulting and may be start a company focusing on using modern technology to increase the efficiency and output of small industries back home in India which can lead to generation of employment opportunities in the rural parts of the country and bring social and economic prosperity.
With 10 years of work experience and at an age of 32 years, I think I am exactly in the zone where both the Full Time MBA and the Executive MBA are real options. Please suggest a few MBA programs (Full Time MBA & Exec. MBA) which would help me in acquiring new skills and getting closer to my goals.
As I am currently living in Europe, I am basically looking for an European Business School, but please
guide me which US B Schools do I have a realistic shot at to enable selection of the right school to apply.
Thanks a Lot.
Thanks for posting, ashwinks19.
You have a lot going for you in your profile, and overall you have a pretty strong profile. In terms of experience, 10 years does put you into the bracket of older applicants, but it should still hold you in good stead for some top MBA programs in Europe.
Education and experience seem solid. Your international experience counts for a lot, and you clearly have a pretty global profile. Experience in the European Union is a further plus for European schools. Your test score seems to be on track. Anything 720 or more should make you quite competitive at these schools. You seem to have a very good mix of team leadership and client management experience. You also seem to have some pretty good recognitions at work. All good here.
In terms of areas that you will need to focus on with care are the work you have done and your goals. Your experience is not a negative factor for you per se (many older applicants to top schools do very well in the admissions process with 10+ years of experience and applying post 30), but many usually move on to business management roles in this period. Your engineering experience will be a plus for you when applying to automotive firms later, but B-schools will also look for business experience and leadership experience at your experience level. Overall, you need to come across as more than just a great engineering manager. With the extensive coordination you have done with teams across countries, you should be able to do that, but it is an area you need to focus on.
In terms of goals, your short-term goal seems fine, but the long-term one seems a bit hazy at this point. Consulting, SMEs, and rural experience are all things that do not seem to be a component of what you are doing or will even do post-MBA, so this long-term objective will need more thought and expression. Many B-school applicants seem to think that social goals for the long-term somehow increase attractiveness to B-school committees (not saying you are necessarily doing that, just putting in a caveat), but that's not necessarily the case.
Schools - you are right when you say that you are at the boundary between Full-time MBA and Executive MBA programs. We won't really get too much into Executive MBA programs in this evaluation, as they depend significantly on location/ability to take out time for work, and have limited impact outside the current role. In terms of full-time MBA programs, you can apply to top schools in Europe - INSEAD, LBS, IMD. The advantage - they give you recognition and impact with any industry, including automotive. The drawback - none of them will have any courses focused on the automotive industry. If you are specifically looking only for programs that are focused on the industry, look at schools in Germany such as ESMT. Another option that might be attractive to you is to look at the
Sloan Fellows Program at LBS . This is a one-year option, is meant for senior executives like you, and is a top program in every sense.
Hope this helps. Feel free to come back with further questions.
