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WAMC! - What Are My Chances - Automated Profile Evaluation Tool is Here!
Updated on: Jun 19, 2015
May 21, 2013
Jun 9, 2013
Jun 16, 2013
Updated on: Feb 17, 2014
Apr 14, 2014
JSW2014 wrote:Background
• Rich experience in Design, Innovation and Competitive Product Development.
• Due to keen interest in Design in general and Transportation Design in particular, pursued Engineering education to earn Masters in Design (Product Design &Engg.) from I.I.Sc. Bangalore (Indian Institute of Science) and also pursued professional career in Vehicle Design with two Top Automotive Companies in the World and India respectively.
• Experience evolved working through corporate design gates/processes & interaction with various stakeholders and vendors; close participation through cross functional teams in business processes like product definition, product planning, market positioning & innovation activities.
• In-depth understanding of design tools & methodologies; System/Process Design & IPR landscaping.
• Undertook initiatives in multidisciplinary/multicultural environments & in navigating uncertainty/handling ambiguity, championing customer focus & multidimensional problem solving with full confidence.
• Worked as a design lead and design jury member on various professional assignments.
• Wish to integrate formal knowledge in design with a penchant for enterprise creation to start an organization devoted to creating next generation mobility solutions. An MBA education in this regard would go a long way in helping me realize this objective.
Academics
• BE (Mechanical Engineering) 2003: 70%
• Masters in Design (IISc, Bangalore) 2008: 6.9/8.0 (10 students accepted into the prestigious design program every year from a pool of 10,000+ applicants)
• GMAT: 730
Professional Experience
• Years: 6 years (as on August 2014) in the Design Studio and R&D Centre and prior 2 years (2004-2006) at General Motors.
• Designation: Manager (ADVANCED DESIGN)
• Profile: Responsible for Exterior Design of Next-Generation Passenger Vehicles. Several projects are in production and have been displayed in International Auto Shows.
Achievements
• Responsible for exterior design of next gen vehicles (3); responsible for design of concept vehicles (2) showcasing the future vision of the company.
• Lead the future vision activities of the department through the design function.
• Exposed to vision/pre-concept research/positioning/branding/conceptual development/production design/systems development/integration and marketing aspects of full scale product (vehicle) development.
• I have completed one full ‘level 6’ (new platform) production vehicle program with exterior and interior design.
• Lead team in simulated enterprise creation & management workshops with spectacular results.
• I also mentor junior members of the team.
Extra-Curricular
• One of the top 50 innovators selected in India Innovation Growth Program in 2014 (Partners: Department of Science and Technology Govt of India; Lockheed Martin Corporation USA; Stanford Business School; University of Austin Texas)
• I am also an active member of the design team working on CSR activities of my organization in rural school development and modernization.
• Design Jury for one of the most prestigious design competitions in India for the year 2013.
Certification:
Several relevant to Product Development and Business Development through Design, several in core competencies and allied fields.
For example:
Interpretation by Design (BMW Germany); Customer Centric Workshop by RoadsAhead Consulting India; Trend & Design by Style-Vision Asia (France); Design Thinking Action Lab (Stanfordx); Innovation & Commercialization (MITx); several core design domain courses from MITx including the X-Series Certification in Air Vehicle Design; Courses from Harvardx; etc..
Target Program:
Harvard or any one of the top 5 B Schools in the world
Planned Entry
R1 October 2014
Post MBA Goal
Vision is to start a mobility solutions company.
I wish to understand my chances to be accepted in an HBS type of program (Ivy League) and look forward to your most realistic assessment of my profile.
Sincere thanks in advance for your time and effort! And many thanks for offering such a platform for aspirants like us!
Warm Regards
JSW
Sep 3, 2014
Kathmandu2013 wrote:Hi Alex, I was hoping for for a profile evaluation. I've identified the following schools in the following buckets, could you provide any color into if i'm on the right track or way off base?
Stretch: Harvard, Stanford
Goal: Chicago, MIT, Columbia
-Went to a Top 5 public university - Majored in Business Administration with a Major GPA of 3.6
-Minored in Mandarin Chinese, which pulled my overall GPA down to 3.3.
-Did I-Banking as an analyst in NYC at one off the usual suspects
-Recruited from the bank to a small Chinese technology company to lead their U.S. operations - building the business from pre-revenue into to $10mm+ (SAAS business)
-700GMAT
-Co-founded a 501c3 charity in 2009; has had major impact on the community it serves
-Big Brother Big Sisters - Big Brother
-Will have a total of 6R WE
-White male
-Application 'story' surrounds entrepreneurship, the 'internet of things' trend, wearable tech, expertise in technology manufacturing, and my time spend working for a Chinese small business
May 29, 2013
Jun 17, 2013
Jun 17, 2013
PrepMBA wrote:Planet Earth,
Though having MBA ambitions is admirable, I would suggest that you put your energies towards finding a great job and getting some business experience. To attract an ad com and also in order to get the most out of your studies, I think that working first will help you clarify your path and introduce you to the concepts you will see in the classroom. Almost nobody gets in with no formal business experience. Getting 720 would be a great help, particularly given your undergraduate record (which is an issue), but that alone will likely not get you real consideration. Taking your acting experiences and using them to work at a talent agency, the screen actors’ guild, or a theatre company on the business side would be good examples of moving more towards relevant experience. These are meant as examples, and perhaps you want to change directions completely.
You are still only 25 and can apply in 2-3 years after you cut your teeth. Much lower ranked schools may give you a look but I expect the "Ivy League" will need more than your acting experience. Of course you may not have included on here your entire resume, but I think my advice is directionally sound.
Good Luck!
Jun 24, 2013
Jun 26, 2013
Jun 27, 2013
PrepMBA wrote:Debayan
Hello again. I think you contacted me off line for some other information.
What is most critical for you is to decide what you want. It's hard to decide between programs without ranking what matters most to you. I work with Euro schools every year and they can be great options for those with a bit more work experience (given some of the age parameters in the American process) and for those who want to get back to their careers quickly. I just had a highly qualified US applicant get into INSEAD, and she could have gotten into a Wharton or Kellogg but she has an idea for a business and just wants to get to it after some entrepreneurial training.
If you are a career changer, then the one year program will give you less time and opportunity to network, get summer work and marinate over your plan of attack. And it also matters where you ultimately want to work---Europe or the US? Or Asia? It's hard to compare a Darden to a Judge for that reason.
So make those critical decisions about 2 year vs 1, and geographical career interest and then all else will be much easier.
Good Luck!
Jun 27, 2013
Jun 27, 2013
PrepMBA wrote:Debayan,
Sure no worries. We all have to balance busy work and personal lives.
In terms of the Euro schools, why are you keen on them versus the US programs? Do you want to build your career there?
Since you are making inquiries about both sets of programs, apply to a slate of schools with some from each. Once you put hard work into 4-5 schools, the effort per incremental school does go down given the thematic and strategic overlaps. So maybe you will apply to 7-8 schools over the course of the app season:)
Alex
Jul 18, 2013
Jul 27, 2013
Jul 29, 2013
tgarg wrote:Hi Alex, was wondering if you could give me a bit of an evaluation
My profile:
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, cum laude
University of California Irvine
Overall GPA: 3.56
Engineering GPA: 3.74
Spend 1 semester studying engineering at Hong Kong University as part of a global exchange program
GRE Exam: 167/170 Quantitative (95%ile) and 163/170 Verbal (93%ile)
GMAT: --- currently in prep period, ETS compares my GRE score to a 740 on the GMAT ---
Work Experience - 2 years
I work at a boutique, global management consulting firm focused in major engineering industries such as Automotive, Aviation, and Telecom. We offer services ranging from engineering solutions (system validation, product development etc.) to program management, supplier management, and classical strategy consulting.
I started at this company straight out of college at the lowest rung of the organization: Test Engineer. I wrote and executed test cases, fairly mindless and boring tasks; I knew from the start that I wanted more. I began to push my boundaries by getting involved with the product innovation group within the organization, and it was there that I pioneered automated test software applications within the company, leading to increased business at key clients. Within 1.5 years I transitioned from Test Engineer > Program Management Support > Product Manager > Project Lead for two projects back to back, one of which was in the 6 figure revenue range.
Extra Curricular:
Co-founded an online food-delivery startup targeted towards college students. I was in charge of sourcing and managing developers, building requirements, UX and wireframes. I'll be candid in saying that it failed in less than a year, with 0 revenue. Still, there were a lot of valuable lessons from that project.
My Goals:
Ideally, I'd like to start my MBA Fall 2014, at Stanford. Stanford is my dream school for a few reasons: they offer a joint MS in Computer Science and MBA program that would be perfect for my long term goals (founder, CXO or other leadership at a technology startup), the program has great global experience opportunities, and they are located in the heart of the silicon valley, where the majority of the technology innovation happens. I'm also looking at Berkeley.
I'm open to other top 20 MBA programs worldwide, but I'd like to stay with schools that have a pedigree of being technology oriented as opposed to banking, finance or marketing.
Are my goals reasonable? What are some schools that I should look at? Any advice or tips on ways to strengthen my application would be appreciated. Do I need to get involved with community service or non-profit? Is my work experience compelling enough to justify the short length?
Again, thanks for reading and I appreciate any feedback you might have.
Jul 31, 2013
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