Profile Evaluation and B School suggestion needed.

[ps123]

Goal: Want to become a Business Development Manager in an IT services company in Telecom vertical..

Acads:
10th - 91.18%- School 4th
12th - 96% - Top 10 in the school
Engg - 75.4% - First Class with distinction - Electronics and Communication Engineering
GMAT - 690 - Q48, V37 AWA 6
I know that my GMAT score is not good . Again I am gonna appear again on Nov 24th. Lets c how that goes...

Work Ex:
I have been working with TCS for the past 6 years (will be 6.5 yrs by March 2012)
As of now I am in Canada...I have been here since January..
For work ex my strategy is..
- I have worked in Telecom Vertical through out
- I have worked with 3 different clients, operating in two different geographies across multiple LOBs
- I have had international experience of around 11 months.
- During my onshore assignment and other assignments, I have interacted with people from different countries such as Canada, Russia, Venezuela, Israel, China, Sri Lanka, Pakistan,Italy, UK and Romania

This combination of IT experience+Telecom experience+cross cultural experience with an MBA will lead to Business Dev Manager....This is my strategy...

Here comes the main thing. Leadership at work. I have never had leadership experience at work. I was a module lead for a team of 3 members. But that was way back in 2010. This is because I have been changing my clients. After spending 2-3 years with a client, I will change my client. I do this because I believe change is growth and learning saturates after 2-3 years in a project. That’s the reason I have worked with 3 different clients now. If I had stayed with a client, I would have been leading a team of 15-20 members. Infact my last client recommended me to a critical role of Module Lead at onshore. But I rejected that and came to another client where I had to start all over again. This is the reason I am still a team member. But because of my experience and knowledge, I mentor my team. So I can project myself as a subject matter expert.

Is this going to affect my application?

Also I have a couple of awards at the work place. "˜Star of the Month’ in 2008 for contributing to delivery, learning and Team building sessions."˜on the Spot’ award in 2010 for being the Learning and Development Co-ordinator for a team of 150 members.

But these were way back in 2010 and 2007. Is it still gonna help me?

Recos:
I am going to get it from my current supervisor and previous supervisor...They are not big shots...but they will be able to give a fair assessment about me.

Extra Curricular:
- I have learnt Mandarin. I have appeared for an International Certification last week. I guess I will pass in it.
- I have worked with an NGO. It was into providing supplementary education to under privileged children. I was the center head for one of the centers having 25 children and 20 volunteers.
- I was the vice captain of Inter corporate cricket team.

Again there is a problem here....I worked with an NGO and played cricket only for 6 months...after that I came to Canada
So will they consider it? Should I mention this?

- Here in Canada I started TCS Canada CSR activities. We formed a small team and organized CSR activities. Again I started the activities and could not participate after a couple of activities (as I was told that I will have to leave for India...but my contract was extended).
Should I mention this?
- Represented college in zonal level football competition

So tats it 

As of now I am targeting ISB, XLRI GMP, NUS & NTU. But this year is going to be my last attempt. So I am ok with any institute anywhere in the world (not too costly as I cannot afford).

So..

What are my chances for ISB and other schools I have mentioned?

I feel that whatever I have done, anyone who has 6.5 years of experience. How to differentiate myself?

Also please suggest some other institutes for which I have a realistic chance. (taking my aspiration into consideration)

Thanks in advance.

[mili]

Hi there,

Lots of info! Let's break down your profile: academics are average, professional experience is also average, as are your extracurricular and community activities. So, you've asked exactly the right question: how are you going to differentiate yourself? I do not know the answer, unfortunately, but perhaps if you have some personal stories that can help round out your profile and separate you from other Indian Engineers? Your international experience (in Canada) should help at least to some degree.

As for your leadership experiences -- informal leadership is completely acceptable. You want to establish yourself as someone who is a go-getter, who takes initiative, who is capable of leading teams (even if informally). It seems to me that you can demonstrate that through your initiative with TCS CSR, mentoring, etc.

Awards certainly don't hurt! I would list them on your resume - they won't make or break your application, but it helps to show that your employer recognizes your talent.

ISB might be a stretch, but I think the other programs you mentioned are reasonable targets. I think you could look at programs in Canada if you are interested - maybe Schulich, Rotman. You could possibly try for something like INSEAD or IESE.

Best of luck!
Mili

Mili Mittal
Senior Consultant
http://www.mbamission.com

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