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ESMT MBA in Germany: European School of Management and Technology

Germany is not considered to be the hottest destination when it comes to MBA programs. American programs dominate the MBA rankings game. Then there are several Canadian, Asian, Indian and European (mainly Spanish and French) MBA courses that rank high. But ask applicants about German MBA programs, and you are most likely to get a blank look.

Here's the story of Shubham Jain, who took a different approach to selecting his business school. He threw MBA rankings out of the window and used a different set of parameters to discover, what he believes, is the best bschool for his aspirations...Read More

GMAT Preparation: How to master the Art of Guessing

The GMAT syllabus can appear to be vast and scary. So preparing for the GMAT test involves more than just knowing every GMAT verbal and quantiative concept perfectly. Knowing how to guess intelligently on difficult GMAT questions can save you time and get you some good scores too.

This post explains how to sharpen your guessing skills with some cool tips and tricks...Read More

gmatNooB8787 wrote:Hi Mr MBACrystalBall ,
I would like some guidance about my career and where i stand.

Profile : Indian Male IT
Age : 25years
Education : BE, with 58%( quite low ) from Mumbai University.

Work Ex: 3.5 years. (3 years in Infosys(campus placement) , 0.5 years with a branch of a german software company in bangalore).

At Infosys: Volunteered to work in the Education & Research Department as wanted to hone my speaking skills and leadership skills.
Spent 1.8 years taking sessions for trainees and handled a batch of 180 students.

After that moved to the Banking Domain and worked for approx 1 year.

Currently working in a german company subsidary in Bangalore.

Non-Profit/NGO Experience: None. I was never much into social work.

Currentlly I am earning a package of 6.75L. Targeting a Salary Range of 20L in the next 5-6 years.

I am interested in the business side of things.
My aim is to be in a position where I have skills to handle business on a large scale and when i am confident enough , would like to start my own venture.

I donot see that happening soon with my current skills and roles.

Extra Curricular Activities: Was an Active member of The toastmasters club of my previous company. After 1 year in the committee was elected as the president in which role i served for 6 months and later stepped down when i left the organization.

Business Experience:Recently helping a friend set up an online shopping business, not implemented yet.

I plan to give GMAT on : May 15, started studying.

I am looking for a relatively cheaper MBA option, which will give me a good exposure and knowledge to start off. I have heard that an MBA is a life changing experience.
My post MBA: Goals is to enter : General management or Operations or Enterpreneurship or Consulting. : Basically the the common line connecting all this.

I donot want to do a part time MBA, as i donot think it will give me a credible degree or a fresh perspective or opportunities.
I am aiming for the top collegues in India such as ISB or other relatively short and cheaper ones like Insead, LBS or Top ones such as Harward, Wharton , Stanford. i.e. If i can manage to balance between loans and scholarships to pay for them . :O.


Right now, my application looks scattered all over the place. But I am willing to wait if necessary for a year or even 2 to build a proper profile to get into one of the above mentioned MBA colleges.
Please guide me on where I stand and what step to take next.

- Thanks & Regards

Hi Sameer, That was me previous post. I just gave the gmat today. Got : 730 ( Q49,V41) and 5.5/6 in AWA . What would you say my prospects are for the following : LBS, IMD , Nanyang , INSEAD and last but most important ISB ( I am really planning for ISB , as I would prefer to do my masters in india itself ).

- Thanks & Regards

Careers in Business Academia: Research, teaching and consulting jobs

Academic jobs are usually associated with teaching and research. Beyond this, the level of awareness is limited, specially for those seeking a 'business focussed' career.

Hari Raghavachari (an IMD Switzerland MBA alumnus) thinks there's more to academic careers than meets the eye. In this 2-part series, he tries to provide additional insights into the world of teaching, administration, consulting and research jobs, but with a business focus...Read More

Careers in Business Academia: How to get research and academic jobs

Academic jobs in business pay well, in fact, much better than 'regular' academic jobs in other (non-business) fields. But it's a tough and long road to get there.

IMD Switzerland MBA grad Hari Raghavachari wraps up the 2-part series on academic careers by talking about how you get get the skills and qualifications needed for academic jobs...Read More

gmatNooB8787 wrote:Hi Sameer, That was me previous post. I just gave the gmat today. Got : 730 ( Q49,V41) and 5.5/6 in AWA . What would you say my prospects are for the following : LBS, IMD , Nanyang , INSEAD and last but most important ISB ( I am really planning for ISB , as I would prefer to do my masters in india itself ).

Good work on the GMAT, buddy! Feeling halka halka?

You really need to sit down now and figure out what you really want from the MBA. Digging out one of your objectives from the earlier post...

I am looking for a relatively cheaper MBA option, which will give me a good exposure and knowledge to start off. I have heard that an MBA is a life changing experience.

We started off with H/S/W, and now we are talking about LBS, INSEAD. These are ALL very expensive programs. IMD shouldn't be on your radar at this stage from a 'fit' angle.

The ones that have the least cost are Indian / Asian programs like ISB, XLRI GMP, Great Lakes etc and then NUS, NTU etc.

If you ease up the cost constraint, then the others might be viable options too. Of course, the level of difficulty to get into these other programs is a different discussion altogether.

Parantu, the good news is you have a good score. Time to work on the rest now - essays, recos. Good luck!

GMAT Preparation: How GMAT Critical Reasoning is structured

In the GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) questions, identifying the structured of the paragraph is the first and the most important thing to do. This time the spotlight is on the Critical Reasoning questions. And yeah, there are examples and a sample question for you to sink your teeth into...Read More

application

Hi Sameer,

Please have a look at my profile, I am targeting mainly 1 year courses because of my age, but open to 2 year courses as well. I have a list of dream schools noted below, Can you

please help me do a level set on what can be "Likely" and "Possible" schools.

Basic Demographics
33 Male Indian (currently working in USA)

GMAT
Attempt 1: 650
Attempt 2: 650
Attempt 3: 700 (q50\v34), 5 AWA

Education

10th: 84%
12th: 80%
Degree: 70%

Did my schooling from in India and went on for Bachelor of Engineering (B.E) in Computer Science and Engineering from VTU, the 12th best university in India.


Work Experience

Total 9 years in IT Consultant (ERP).

I am working in a global top IT company as a Service Delivery Manager. Previously I have been in an Techno Functional ERP Consultant position (Oracle's J.D.Edwards).
4 years experience in India and 5 years in the US in multiple Client locations,in the US. Couple of clients are Fortune 500 companies.


Entrepreneuship Experience
-

I had set up a small company with a friend right after college and did small IT projects for local companies in Bangalore, India.


Leadership Experience

I was the General Secretary of the college level club "The Science Forum". Conducted college level festivals, and competitions.
Several Lead roles in several projects.
Was promoted to a Service Delivery Manager recently in

Extra Curricular :

I took part in various events in school and college like acting,quizzing.
Also have some aptitude in sketching,painting (nothing fancy though)


Post MBA Goal:

Interested in Strategy and Decision Making as well as General Management. Long term goal is to get into Entrepreneurship.



Dream Schools.
INSEAD (both Singapore and France)
Nanyang- Singapore
NUS, Singapore
AGSM, Australia.
IIM
ISB

Hi,

I would like to know my chances at business schools in the USA. It would help me decide if I should try applying thr or find something in India. If I go abroad I would want to go for a Top 10-15 program.

GMAT: 740

Academics: Class X (School): 84%
Class XII (High School): 76%
Engineering (I am a Computer Engineer): 7.62/10

Extra-Curricular: I have decent extra-Curricular involvement these include-

1) Captain College Basketball Team: I wasn't in the team during my first year but went on to captain it. Lead the team to quater-finals at a national level tournament.
2) Lead Vocalist for a Band.
3) Editor College magazine.
4) I co-founded an Evening School for Underprivileged children, it still continues to this day.
5) Member college cricket team.
6) Co-Ordinator college annual Festival.
7) Debates and Quizzes at School level.

Work: In december I will complete 3 years in work.

1) I started as an Indian IT male with Infosys (10months) but I always had a thing for business studies/entrepreneurship. I knew MALE IT tag would hinder my dreams of a great B-School so I decided to pursue my entrepreneurial dreams.
2) Left infosys to start a venture that did not materialize but my interactions with entrepreneurs led me to an Educational start-up, test preparation company (mbaguru) and I started discussing ADAPTIVE LEARNING with them.
MBAGuru asked me to join them and implement ADAPTIVE learning. It has been a very entrepreneurial experience where I handle a lot of things including (2 years with them):

a) Product Development & Implementation (I work with the tech team to develop our online adaptive learning system).
b) Marketing - Basically online and social media marketing is something only I handle, my inputs are also taken in other marketing initiatives.
c) CSR- I started the organization's CSR initiative. Tied up with an NGO to support Girl education. Help in Fundraising, volunteering and marketing thr products.
c) Innovation: Fields like gamification of edu. Currently building a game for CAT (indian test) preparation. Again I head the project.
d) I also pitch in when it comes to sales and a little bit of teaching. Teaching would include some English/Business basics/Communication and soft skills.

I sit with cofounders and discuss strategy and get a holistic view of a business. I think 2 years in a small start up are worth 4 anywhere else. Made excellent connections with other entrepreneurs (one I work closely is starting a crowd funding platform in the US).

GOALS:

Post-MBA (Short term) - Work for a few years in a top consulting firm. Will again help in networking/learning and paying back my loan.

5 year post MBA: A start-up and a venture of my own. The field is undecided but I have a soft spot for online based models.

Very Long Term: Give back whatever I have learnt to the students. Teach at a good B-school and retire.

I think I have described in as much detail as I can. Hopefully I will get a decent response. Please ask any further questions that will help in decoding my chances.

Thanks and Regards,
Akhil

Hi Sameer,

Can you evaluate my profile?

Here goes:

1. GMAT - 660 (Highest)
2. Work ex - 13 months with Cognizant Technolgy Solutions as a developer. 16 months as a Product Evangelist at a software products company.
3. Undergrad CGPA - 3.2 not sure on this (82 % - and finished in top 5% of my class)- Electrical Engineering
4. Have led and formed teams at college and at work. Revamped a dead Entrepreneurship Cell at my college by taking it from a one member team to a 75 member team in one year. Received an award at college recognizing this.Have also received an outstanding student volunteer award for leadership skills in leading the ISTE (Indian Society of Technical Education ) cell. Have also led a team of 50 other training batch captains at Cognizant and conceptualized and conducted a one day fundraising cultural activity. Raised 5000$ (INR 2,50,000) for an orphanage.
5. Received an award and lot of appreciation from clients and peers at Cognizant for developing a tool that reduced testing time by 80% and brought down costs by 70% for my client (An insurance company based in the US)
6. Was more interested in marketing and sales side of a product and hence switched to my current role. Have been involved in creating marketing strategies for 4 different products (2 new products) in my current role. Have worked on getting more customer testimonials for the 4 products, have revamped the product blogs and have drastically improved our social media presence.
7. Have been leading teams of size 4 - 10 for the last 8 months now. Played a key role in expansion of the company and have also helped manage recruiting at all levels. We nearly doubled up our head count in the last one year.
8. Have also helped with operations and described as the "The GOTO Man" by my CEO.
9. Was the campus ambassador for Child Rights and You and worked with them to help create awareness for the Right to Education act. Have also been involved with the CSR arm of Cognizant during my stay there.
10. Worked as the Alumni officer at my Undergrad college for two months before my role at Cognizant. Have helped set up the process for the Alumni Scholarship for meritorious students from difficult background. Have been a board member of the Alum Association and was also part of the Scholarship committee and Election committee which oversees the election process for office bearers.
11. Have finished Level 1 Spanish certification and will be taking up Level 2 soon.
12. Learning to play the flute and the sport of archery for last 6 months.

Hi Sameer,

Can you evaluate my profile?

Here goes:

1. GMAT - 660 (Highest)
2. Work ex - 13 months with Cognizant Technolgy Solutions as a developer. 16 months as a Product Evangelist at a software products company.
3. Undergrad CGPA - 3.2 not sure on this (82 % - and finished in top 5% of my class)- Electrical Engineering
4. Have led and formed teams at college and at work. Revamped a dead Entrepreneurship Cell at my college by taking it from a one member team to a 75 member team in one year. Received an award at college recognizing this.Have also received an outstanding student volunteer award for leadership skills in leading the ISTE (Indian Society of Technical Education ) cell. Have also led a team of 50 other training batch captains at Cognizant and conceptualized and conducted a one day fundraising cultural activity. Raised 5000$ (INR 2,50,000) for an orphanage.
5. Received an award and lot of appreciation from clients and peers at Cognizant for developing a tool that reduced testing time by 80% and brought down costs by 70% for my client (An insurance company based in the US)
6. Was more interested in marketing and sales side of a product and hence switched to my current role. Have been involved in creating marketing strategies for 4 different products (2 new products) in my current role. Have worked on getting more customer testimonials for the 4 products, have revamped the product blogs and have drastically improved our social media presence.
7. Have been leading teams of size 4 - 10 for the last 8 months now. Played a key role in expansion of the company and have also helped manage recruiting at all levels. We nearly doubled up our head count in the last one year.
8. Have also helped with operations and described as the "The GOTO Man" by my CEO.
9. Was the campus ambassador for Child Rights and You and worked with them to help create awareness for the Right to Education act. Have also been involved with the CSR arm of Cognizant during my stay there.
10. Worked as the Alumni officer at my Undergrad college for two months before my role at Cognizant. Have helped set up the process for the Alumni Scholarship for meritorious students from difficult background. Have been a board member of the Alum Association and was also part of the Scholarship committee and Election committee which oversees the election process for office bearers.
11. Have finished Level 1 Spanish certification and will be taking up Level 2 soon.
12. Learning to play the flute and the sport of archery for last 6 months.

I would like to pursue a specialization in Marketing. Below are the list of my target schools.

1. Indian School of Business
2. University of Virginia - Darden
3. University of Michigan - Ross
4. Cornell University - Johnson
5. Carnegie Mellon University - Tepper
6. UCLA - Anderson

Hello Sameer,

What are your thoughts on my profile:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/profile-eval ... 14271.html

Thanks.

GMAT Preparation: Logical Flaws In GMAT Critical Reasoning Questions

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) questions can be tough nuts to crack in the GMAT Verbal section. The GMAT preparation series on MBA Crystal Ball, written by the GMAT teachers at GoGMAT, continues with some tips on finding logical flaws in the Critical Reasoning questions with samples to explain the underlying concept...Read More

Best Entrepreneurship MBA Programs in the top business schools

Entrepreneurship ranks high on the careers list of ambitious folks who want the flexibility and the freedom of managing their own business ventures. Managing a startup is the best way to pool in all the knowledge picked up in a top Bschool.

In this post, we cover the best MBA programs for entrepreneurs and the excellent resources they offer. There's a lot of information in there (including useful links for further reading), so bookmark the page and digest the data slowly...Read More