Ask Critical Square

Okay so here goes,

Work Experience:

- 3 Years currently in a consulting firm. One promotion (Total of 6 levels of hierarchy, I'm on the second)
- Like i said, I plan on applying by next year to the top 15

Academics:

- Gmat : 710 (Q48, v38, AWA 6, IR 8)
- Engineering - cleared with distinction (we don't have a GPA system - Mumbai University)
- Currently pursuing a Masters in English Literature through distance learning while I work. Will be done with the course by the time I take admission into a B school in 2016. This is purely a passion project

Extra Curriculars:

College: Events head for technical festivals. Head of Events for a social service initiative started by the government of India. Robotics etc...

Office:
-President of the corporate chapter of Toastmasters ( a global forum for public speaking and leadership). As president, conducted multiple office wide events. Currently creating a module to help the new guys get accustomed to our work culture.
- Part of the recruitment activities. Working on developing new case studies to better evaluate new candidates.
- Leading various other activities within various tracks in the office. Gained a lot of traction with various people in the firm.
- The module I mentioned in point 1 is actually a huge initiative and the management is very excited that we thought of this and are implementing it

Sports:

- Played district level tennis at some point but i don't think that will count here since that was when I was like 12!



There are a lot more minor points that I haven't included above. So there you go, my applications in a gist Smile

Please let me know. And thanks again for all your help!!

Thanks for getting back to me!

So here are my answers

1) Essentially, we are a data consulting firm and we provide very specific services to our clients (includes designing compensation models for their sales reps, setting their goals for the coming year etc.). I have expertise in the healthcare sector (worked for it for over 2 years) and I am now focusing on all non healthcare: Finance, Transportation, Logistics etc. We call ourselves a sales and marketing consultancy. I started off as an associate, promoted to an associate consultant (7 rungs in our hierarchy). I am leading a team of around 6 people currently, not through direct projects but as a team of people who do similar work. I was also the president of a public speaking club within the office. Here i led a people of around 15 to achieve one of the most prestigious awards given by Toastmasters.
As for professional impact, I have designed an incentives plan for a finance firm, I am currently setting goals for a medical devices firm (a very very large firm at that), the communication module I mentioned will train all new employees, I am creating a new case study to improve our recruitment process (we have let quite a few slip through the cracks), I worked with a client for two months to help them resolve issues with their vendor (this was greatly appreciated by the client and my manager)

2) Why MBA? It's pretty straightforward:
a) I want to get into the marketing sector and B schools (especially in the US) have some really interesting marketing courses (Kellogg, Tuck, Ross etc...). I want to leverage the resources the b school has to offer primarily to get deeper into markets and expand my network. I already work as a marketing consultant, I want to now take that further in specific business domains
b) It is also a question of the next logical step for me. I did plan on pursuing an MS at one point, but realized that I want to get some real world experience and do an MBA. After researching the various programs, things that stand out are: business studies really interest me, the group of individuals that come to B school are aligned with my goals, I want to leverage my experience and shift careers to a more dynamic job (I currently sit at a desk almost all day), I want to start my own business at some point (after getting enough experience) and finally, I want to leverage the economy of a developed nation to help me move ahead and get a different perspective of how things are done.


I realize my GMAT is not the best, but I don't wish to take it again and want to strengthen my applications with everything else that I have

Thanks!

wow, thanks a lot! I like the "sexy goals" comment you made and I understand that it may hamper my applications.

Thanks for taking the time to write this out! In terms of chances, where do you see a good chance emerging?

So with all the research, I am looking at the top 20 as opposed to the top 15 because there are some great programs there. I will definitely take a look at the links now. The one school that has charmed me a lot has been Tuck, do you think that's within reach?

Again, I can't thank you enough

thanks, I loved the resources you sent over, really helpful