Ask mbaMission

Thank you for evaluation profiles, I have read many profile evaluations and learned a lot. I am planning to apply for a MBA within 1 - 1.5 years and have started to make all the necessary preparations.

Nationality: Swedish
Age: 25

Gender: Male

Education: Master degree in Software Engineering from a leading technical university in Scandinavia, and a Master Degree in Industrial Finance.

Work Experience: Two years of management consulting experience within finance from Accenture, here working in another country then where I am born, however worked in Norway and I am from Sweden, so the cultural difference is very small. 7 months of work experience from Russia, working with Investor Relationship for the Russian government, was involved in different projects and initatives to attract foreign investment to the region.

International Experience: As mentioned before, 2 years in Norway and 7 months in Russia. In addition to this I spent 3 months in Oxford studying English in my late teens.

Awards: When I graduated the technical university with my master degree I got an award for being among the best 18 of more than 1000 students.

Languages: Swedish, English, Russian

References: I can get good references from my former project manager and also senior manager at Accenture and my boss from Russia.

Extra curricular activities: This might be one of my weakest area. I have done many web and IT projects and my on free time related to for example social media, many of them being used by many people today e.g. one community with 1000 members, iphone applications and facebook applications. However, I have never been invovled in any type of community work or job which are not paid or expected to give money if successful in the future.

Leadership: I have been a project manager on different occasions and management projects of 3-5 people. Furthermore, on the projects I have driven on my free time, I have both been the initator and project manager.

Target schools: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, CEIBS, London business school

Goals with an MBA: For me the main goal with a MBA is to get new contacts and build relationships. I think that being in an environment that a top MBA school offers, is very good from a self development perspective. After an MBA I see myself either back into management consulting working preferably abroad in an international environment, or alternatively starting my own business within IT business and I think having an MBA will enable me to do this.

Is my profile strong enough for the target schools I have choosen? Are there any areas I should focus extra on now as I have at least 1 year before I apply? Can my dual degree hurt me? What should I focus on in my application?

Note: I haven't done the GMAT yet and I am in the preparation phase. I want to thank a lot of the resources available on this page.
Thank you very much!
Erik

Erik_swe -

Thank you for sending us your profile to review. I think it is wonderful you are planning more than one year before you apply - it should help bolster your chances. Your primary strength is your work experience in Scandinavia and Russia. The Russian experience helping to attract foreign investment is really unique, and if you could tie it to your longer-term goals of working internationally, I think it would make for a good story. Also, see if you cannot add some volunteer or community aspect to your resume between now and the time you apply. Could you organize the social marketing efforts for a nonprofit? Or build or improve the website for a charity organization?

You say that an MBA is "good from a self-development perspective". You need to say more! What areas of business have you missed to date based on your academic and professional training? It may be marketing, robust strategic planning, HR and organizational behavior classes. Please think HARD about WHY you need an MBA in order to meet your unique and specific future goals. That often makes the difference between an average application and an outstanding one.

Lastly, without your GPA and GMAT score it is hard for me exactly evaluate your chances at the schools you mention. Harvard and Stanford are incredibly selective, but your relatively young age and Swedish background and Russian work experience somewhat improve your chances. To improve your profile, I would hope you would start volunteering and seek to increase your leadership roles on projects at work. Have you thought about some other schools where your would really stand out in their typical applicant pool? Darden, Duke, and Ross might be good "safer" options. Assuming you do well (680+) on the GMAT, Yale is very much attainable for you and you should be able to get into LBS. CEIBS is also within your reach, but please consider whether the strong focus on Asia/Pacific is what you really desire for your MBA experience. Also, Princeton does not have a business school.

Best of luck to you,
Jennifer