ISB aspirant - Profile evaluation & guidance

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ISB aspirant - Profile evaluation & guidance

by BTG_Ram » Wed May 27, 2015 11:17 am
Hi,

It's great that you are giving inputs to ISB aspirants. Can you please share your inputs on my profile?

I will more than 10 years of experience in IT with Cognizant & Tata Consultancy Services by April, 2016, in that Onsite Experience (USA) is close to 4.5 years.

Work experience:
1) All the IT experience is in Healthcare & Banking domains.
2) PMP Certified. Other Technical certificates: Oracle & Data warehouse
3) Lead & supported Associates from my Company, Client, and other vendors.
4) I have been part of Modernization projects, Upgrade Projects, Government Compliance Projects, and worked in accounts that grew in size form a handful to hundreds, etc.
5) Trained in Sig Sigma Green belt & worked in all phases of IT Projects.
6) Worked as Quality auditor & have been part of Recruitment drives

Academics:
X - 73%
XII - 82 %
B-Tech (IT) - 74% (College affiliated to Anna University)

Major Extra-curricular activites:
1) Co-Founder of a NGO Trust, through which we are selecting & sponsoring expenses of School students for last 4 years. Before starting the trust, we have been helping Students for another 4 years.
2) Have been Class representative & Association committee head in Under-grad
3) Conducted various competitions at Office & in Under-grad
4) Have won Second prize in zonal level Essay competition during school days
5) Initiated Account level participation & contribution to Haiti earthquake

I am planning to take GMAT in October,2015 with a target score between 700 and 720. I am currently working in USA and planning to apply for April 2017 batch.

Questions I have-
1) Does my plan to join by April 2017(by then having about 11.5 years of W.E.) sound too late?
2) What you think is a good GMAT score for my Profile?
3) Sometimes I hear people say, when someone is having more than 10 years of Work experience, we should not think of ISB as it takes Students from 2 years of W.E. Do you think ISB can still be a good place for my growth upon selection?

Thank you in advance!

Regards,
Ram

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by Mansie Dewan Consulting » Thu May 28, 2015 11:14 pm
BTG_Ram wrote:Hi,

It's great that you are giving inputs to ISB aspirants. Can you please share your inputs on my profile?

I will more than 10 years of experience in IT with Cognizant & Tata Consultancy Services by April, 2016, in that Onsite Experience (USA) is close to 4.5 years.

Work experience:
1) All the IT experience is in Healthcare & Banking domains.
2) PMP Certified. Other Technical certificates: Oracle & Data warehouse
3) Lead & supported Associates from my Company, Client, and other vendors.
4) I have been part of Modernization projects, Upgrade Projects, Government Compliance Projects, and worked in accounts that grew in size form a handful to hundreds, etc.
5) Trained in Sig Sigma Green belt & worked in all phases of IT Projects.
6) Worked as Quality auditor & have been part of Recruitment drives

Academics:
X - 73%
XII - 82 %
B-Tech (IT) - 74% (College affiliated to Anna University)

Major Extra-curricular activites:
1) Co-Founder of a NGO Trust, through which we are selecting & sponsoring expenses of School students for last 4 years. Before starting the trust, we have been helping Students for another 4 years.
2) Have been Class representative & Association committee head in Under-grad
3) Conducted various competitions at Office & in Under-grad
4) Have won Second prize in zonal level Essay competition during school days
5) Initiated Account level participation & contribution to Haiti earthquake

I am planning to take GMAT in October,2015 with a target score between 700 and 720. I am currently working in USA and planning to apply for April 2017 batch.

Questions I have-
1) Does my plan to join by April 2017(by then having about 11.5 years of W.E.) sound too late?
2) What you think is a good GMAT score for my Profile?
3) Sometimes I hear people say, when someone is having more than 10 years of Work experience, we should not think of ISB as it takes Students from 2 years of W.E. Do you think ISB can still be a good place for my growth upon selection?

Thank you in advance!

Regards,
Ram
Hi Ram,

Overall, you've got a strong profile. Technically, there is no minimum or maximum work experience to apply, but at this juncture you're at, you will have to really justify how ISB will add value to your career. Business schools select candidates who have both the potential to succeed in their chosen career path and can be placed in their desired industry and function. If you see that happening for yourself and can convince the admissions committee through an impressionable application and interview, then go for it!
Mansie Dewan

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by mcbMcK » Wed Jun 03, 2015 11:40 pm
Since your questions are slightly overlapping, providing a more comprehensive assessment:
  1. Though you have good number of years backing you up, but the quality of that experience is not clear. If all of those were spent in QA for instance, it might be difficult to show differentiation. You also need to clearly explain how your current skills make you a good fit for your post-MBA role - not only for the adcom but from the perspective of your future recruiters
  2. Though rarer, but you will still find quite a few folks in the 8-12 year category at ISB. But you should know that you will still be in thin company. That means more effort in getting the right companies with the right kind of roles since the focus will be for the majority of folks. I would strongly suggest looking at the 1 year programs at the IIMs which will be far better suited for your kind of profile
  3. Your target score should be good enough from the GMAT perspective
Cheers,
MG (Manish Gupta)|The MBA Crystal Ball Team

Website: https://www.mbacrystalball.com
Email: mcb at mbacrystalball dot com