25 years old, Bulgarian citizen, U.S. permanent resident
Graduated BA from the American University in Bulgaria (US liberal arts institution in Bulgaria) with a 3.54 GPA.
Almost one year of professional experience in Bulgaria. I worked as an Investment Banking Analyst for a leading Bulgarian commercial Bank. Then I won the green card lottery and I came to the US in 2008 (not very good time to look for a job unfortunately). I started on a temporary position as a financial analyst for a water/waste utility company and this job lasted for three months. Then I started working for a major retail company as part of their manager trainee program. Then I got promoted into the management of a particular department store and right now I work as an assistant department manager. I am responsible for the supervision of 35 people, as well as various accounting and operational issues in the store.
I have extracurricular activities in college primarily. I was assistant to two of my professors and participated actively in various clubs and organizations. I also worked on a research project with one of those professors and presented it on several international conferences.
GMAT: 610 on first attempt without much preparation but I am working on 700+ and I believe that I can achieve it.
My goal is to get into one of the top programs: Chicago, NYU, Wharton or Columbia. What are your thoughts about the strength of my work experience? Working in a retail store is definitely not very impressive compared to someone who has worked for McKinsey or Deloitte, but at the same time this job enabled me to manage a large number of people and develop in a whole new area (something that I wouldn't have had the chance if I had worked in the same bank in Bulgaria). At the same time I came to the US as an immigrant in the the midst of the worst financial crisis after the Great depression. Do you think that the admissions officers will be understanding that it is normal for a person like me, who has worked something "fancy" in his home country, worked something "not so fancy" in the US. By the way I do not really know if there is a precise definition of "fanciness".
I know that maybe my profile has a lot of weaknesses, but maybe a lot of strengths that I can capitalize upon. I think that one of them is the fact that very few people will have the ame background as I have.
I'll be very glad to hear your opinion.
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- iv_stoyanov
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- mbamission
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Re: profile evaluation and advice
Hi iv_stoyanov,
I think you have a very strong grasp on what your strengths are and how to frame them in your application. The two main things to emphasize appear to be:
1) You had an opportunity to come to the U.S. and despite the bad economy, you took the risk and made the best of the situation by taking a job that was outside your expertise.
2) You have thrived in this job, learned a whole new set of skills, and have great experience with leadership and people management by managing such a large team. Even without the "fancy" company on your resume, you have some very unique experience and that should actually be a point of differentiation.
The main weakness I see if you are targeting the schools you mention is your GMAT, but if you are able to reach the 700+ mark that you believe is feasible, then that weakness will go away for those schools.
Additionally, while you are still newly removed from college, it is always good to have at least one extracurricular activity or leadership role that you can write about or discuss in an interview, to show your interests outside of work.
Overall I think your experience and story is unique and -- if told properly"”will likely grab your reader’s attention. You did not mention what your post-MBA plans are or why you selected that mix of schools to apply to, but you will want to make sure you explain why your retail experience feeds into your post-MBA plans, and why each school is a good match for you to reach your goals. Again, the schools you are targeting are very competitive, but you should have a chance.
Best of luck,
Daniel Richards
mbaMission
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I think you have a very strong grasp on what your strengths are and how to frame them in your application. The two main things to emphasize appear to be:
1) You had an opportunity to come to the U.S. and despite the bad economy, you took the risk and made the best of the situation by taking a job that was outside your expertise.
2) You have thrived in this job, learned a whole new set of skills, and have great experience with leadership and people management by managing such a large team. Even without the "fancy" company on your resume, you have some very unique experience and that should actually be a point of differentiation.
The main weakness I see if you are targeting the schools you mention is your GMAT, but if you are able to reach the 700+ mark that you believe is feasible, then that weakness will go away for those schools.
Additionally, while you are still newly removed from college, it is always good to have at least one extracurricular activity or leadership role that you can write about or discuss in an interview, to show your interests outside of work.
Overall I think your experience and story is unique and -- if told properly"”will likely grab your reader’s attention. You did not mention what your post-MBA plans are or why you selected that mix of schools to apply to, but you will want to make sure you explain why your retail experience feeds into your post-MBA plans, and why each school is a good match for you to reach your goals. Again, the schools you are targeting are very competitive, but you should have a chance.
Best of luck,
Daniel Richards
mbaMission
[size=85]http://www.mbamission.com
Read the mbaMission Insider's Guides (14 individual school titles)
Visit the mbaMission Blog
Follow mbaMission on Twitter
Download the [url=http://www.mbamission.com/guides
2 posts Page 1 of 1