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Evaluation for 2011 1st Round

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Evaluation for 2011 1st Round

by Ashish321 » Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:20 am
Hi,

I am Ashish from India . I have a concern about one of the factors that i would discuss below , but i would first brief my profile

Age : 28

Nationality : Indian

Academics
Degree : B.Tech in Electronics and Telecommunication
Score : 67 %

Work Experience :
No. of Years of experience uptill January 2011 : 4.2 years in IT and Telecommunication
Organisations Worked for : Bharti Airtel ( Indias's Largest Telecom Service Provider), TCS and Accenture
Last Role Handled @ Accenture : Team Lead (Handled a team of 7 associates based in Netherlands)

Community Service
Teaching Mathematics at an NGO 3 times a week
Sponsored a Child's Education

Interests/Extra-curricular :
I am a voracious reader of Business Books and specifically Finance Books , Journals and Magazines
Part of the Knowledge Club at TCS
Handled various Clubs @ BSNL , TCS

GMAT
No. of attempts till now : 1
Score : 710 .
I would reappear for GMAT and hope to get a 740 +

Certifications :
- Six Sigma Green Belt
- Multiple Certifications from National Stock Exchange , India

My concern is stated below :
I left my job in the last week of January,2011 to pursue my interest in Stock Markets Investments full time. I have been investing successfully in various Asset instruments for the last couple of years and desired to pursue my interest full time.Since a year or so i felt the need to go my my own way and felt that it is worth the risk of quitting the job to pursue my dreams , and i ended up quitting the job .My current interests is in line with my long term goal of setting up a Financial Advisory. I spend a lot of the time learning the art of Investing and studying various books on Investments .

I intend to pursue an MBA starting 2012 , which i feel would give a platform to gain a holistic view on various Business aspects . My Goal is Entreprenuership in Investments Sector.

I want to know whether my current decision to go on my own puts a negative against my profile . If it doesn't , how can i prove the reason to the Adcoms . Also , If that is a concern for the Adcoms and a negative against my profile , i am willing to go back to the job for another year.

Request to please suggest the appropriate thing to do . That would be of so much help to me

Also , it would be of so much help if you could suggest whether i stand a chance in the Top 30 B-Schools with my profile ( especially if i have a 740 or a 750 in GMAT ) and your views on as to how can i improve my profile going forward.

Thanks & Regards,
Ashish
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by paulsbodine » Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:58 am
Ashish,

I do think you would strengthen your application if you applied from a 'regular' job rather than as a freelance investor. I might change my tune if you had started an investment company of your own that had employees etc., because there would be leadership there. My major concerns about your current situation are: shows no people leadership (the fact that your current extracurriculars also involve no leadership doesn't help) and it is probably too early to show the schools that you have been successful in your new career.

Even with a 710 you would certainly be competitive at top 30 schools. A 740-750 would become more valuable if you sought a top 10 or higher. Your challenges (aside from the employment issue) will be your 'male Indian technology' profile and the leadership issue (leading 7 associates at Accenture is great -- is there more?). So what can you do: if your time permits, find a leadership role outside of work and/or take a leadership job during the next year as you apply.

Hope this helps,
Paul Bodine
Author, "Great Applications for Business School," "Perfect Phrases for Business School Acceptance," "Perfect Phrases for Letters of Recommendation"
https://www.paulsbodine.com/
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(858) 869-1959
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by Ashish321 » Mon Feb 14, 2011 10:07 am
Thanks a lot Paul for such a prompt reply

Yes ,leading a team of 7 associates was my last role . Beyond that , I was promoted to a Team Lead for a Product Model Development for CRM for a Finland based client just after a period of 1 year , owing to my performance . I was engaged in Client interaction , leading and mentoring individuals in my team and co-ordinating with multiple teams for proper Integration of systems .

Moreover , for another project i was Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for any queries with other Vendor involved in the Project.

Largely , for last three years in IT , i have been involved as a Team Lead and as well in a Mentoring role and providing trainings for Siebel CRM Product Model and QA , apart from Client interactions . Client interaction involves gathering requirement for Development Projects and providing Status reports , among other things

This was my professional leadership , if at all you consider the above as leadership roles.

Apart from that , yes , you are right , i have been involved in Community Services , but not in a Leadership Role. I would want to improve on that front.

Please provide your valuable inputs.

Also , does your statement - "So what can you do: if your time permits, find a leadership role outside of work and/or take a leadership job during the next year as you apply." , suggest that a Job in IT ( which i have been involved in over last 4 years) in a leadership position is better than a freelance Investor ?


Regards,
Ashish
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by paulsbodine » Mon Feb 14, 2011 6:20 pm
Ashish,

You do have leadership, so you need to highlight it in your application. Yes, from an application perspective I think you are better off applying from an IT leadership position than from an independent investor position.

Good luck,
Paul Bodine
Author, "Great Applications for Business School," "Perfect Phrases for Business School Acceptance," "Perfect Phrases for Letters of Recommendation"
https://www.paulsbodine.com/
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by bizschoolprep » Mon Feb 14, 2011 6:27 pm
Ashish,

It might raise some red flags if you explain your gap the way you described without any formal angle to the freelancing investing that you do. Just think - everyone can explain their job gap this way! Have you been doing this investing with a substantial portfolio of the size that could justify leaving the job? Who are the investors? Just you - or a group of people? What was the portfolio that you started with and how much return did you made? Are you registered anywhere? Answer to questions like these will indicate if adcom will take it as a valid profession or just "active investing" a lot of people do and which may be difficult to be called a full time job.

Your profile look good and competitive for the top 20 business schools. You still have some time to prep up your extracurriculars and use this time to show some initiatives and leadership positions outside work. However, do realize that Indian IT pool is the most represented international pool in the application and your chances of success will depend on how well you'll be able to differentiate your application from the rest. We have successfully advised many Indian IT applicants, so let us know if you have any more questions.

Good luck!
-BizSchoolPrep, MBA Admissions Consultant
www.bizschoolprep.com , Know what makes us different!
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by Ashish321 » Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:46 am
Thanks a lot Paul and bizschoolprep for your valuable insights on my profile .
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by Ashish321 » Tue Feb 15, 2011 11:32 pm
Hi Paul,

In one of your posts , you talked about building 'Alternate Transcripts' to compensate for ones tentative GPA . I have also read at other places that consultants ask people to join a Calculus or a Statistics Class . I don't know how taking those classes happens in US , as in India we cannot enroll in a University for a class or a two alone .

Could you please suggest as to what are 'Alternate Transcripts' , what and to what extent is their role and whether there is an avenue wherein i can eroll in an Online Course which can prove substantial in my Application process.

Thanks & Regards,
Ashish
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