27/Male/Indian/Engineering Undergrad from NUS (National University of Singapore)
* Aware that I am from a competitive, somewhat over-represented background but I've lived the bulk of my life overseas (Malaysia from the age of 12-18, Singapore from the age of 18-current).
Education - O-levels , A levels (4 As) & Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) : Abysmal GPA , equates to a C average (A combination of immaturity & general lack of interest in the subject matter; I plan to address this in my optional essay).
Work Experience - combined total of 42 months to date.
Bloomberg L.P - 18 months
Joined the financial sales training program. Upon completion of program moved into sales department, covering Asian Emerging Markets (Indonesia, Thailand Etc.). The job was very entrepreneurial in it's nature (working out of a small satellite office in small teams, attempting to grow the brand and business in new markets; Handling all facets of the business in the absence of relevant support teams.
Top Tier Japanese Inv. Bank - Institutional Fixed Income Sales - 30 months
Worked on the trading floor providing Fixed Income Solutions to buy side clients in the APAC ex Japan Region ( Investment Grade, High Yield, Corporates & Convertibles). Clients were long onlys and Hedge Funds. Promoted to Senior Associate here and made team leader of the Asian Emerging Markets team (team of 4 covering Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia etc). Prime responsibility was to grow the EM business by building relationships with fund managers and buy side analysts. My work here while still entrepreneurial, was more quant-like and analytical in nature.
U.S Inv Bank/Brokerage - Institutional Equity Sales - 6 months to date
Joined the firm after a 6 month break between jobs (took a break to travel and also to help out at an orphanage founded by my great grandmother back in India; this is something most people on my mother's side have done at different points in their life).
Similar jobscope to my previous role (grow the Asian Business - mix of long onlys & Hedge Funds) but more analytical in nature. The firm i work for is well recognized for excellence in sell side equity research. Even being salespeople, it is expected of us to have a very good understanding of the sectors covered by our analysts. Working here has allowed me to pick up a good understanding of financial statements, something expected of all sales & trading staff. My interactions here have been valuable as well (top fund managers and buy side analysts as well as highly regarded analysts within our firm).
I would ideally have liked to spend another year here before applying for school but my fiancé's move has brought my plans forward.
GMAT - 680 with an unusual split (Quant @ 65% or so; Verbal @ 92%) AWA of 6.0
Post MBA Goal - Combine my sales and financial market experience with a solid grounding in core financial and accounting concepts and network with class mates and alumni to make the transition into the buy side ( ideally PE or Venture Capital). Investing is what's most interesting to me and i believe that moving over to the buy side is a natural step forward in the right direction. That said, I relish the business building aspect that a sales role offers. I believe that a smaller, more entrepreneurial set-up such as that found in most PE or VC firms would be the best fit for me.
Target Schools
Boston University
Boston College
Babson
North Eastern University (safety)
Tuck (dream school)
Am i setting the bar a little too high here? Any input would be much appreciated. My apologies if I have come across as unclear or hazy. Writing this on an iPhone while helping my fiancé unpack and settle into her new apartment
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