Frankly GMAT ting!

For part I of this article, please check: Everything about MBA & GMAT (Part I) – How MBA (Work Experience) ?

Below I will talk about a new method called 8-Star method that I am evolving to guage an applicants profile in the eyes of the Admission Committee. The method is still in its early stages, so your comments are welcome. I am doing more research and will come up with more comprehensive method.

You may have 8 years of work experience and a 700+ GMAT score, but you must also have excellent profile to stand out in the eyes of the MBA Admission Committe (Ad Com). Here I will discuss in detail about what comprises a good profile, what makes the profile of an applicant attractive to the Ad Com. This is not a comprehensive list, but in my opinion a very good representation of the important factors which are considered. An applicants profile is something which is portrayed in the Essay and Resume. Even if you have an excellent profile but your essays are badly written, you will fail to impress. However, here I am not considering Essays, just good profile. Essays will be covered in a later post. I have tried to put these points in what I think is their order of importance. To make things simple and interesting I have added an 8 star rule. Keep adding a star to see how good your profile is on paper.
- Work Experience: Work experience is undoubtedly an important part of your whole profile. An impressive work experience consists of substantial growth in career, some aggressive decisions, dependability and recognition. The more work experience you have the more probability that you can put the above parameters in the right perspective. A person who has worked in the capacity/role of a team leader certainly has an extra star attached to this factor. Stars: You can add about a 0.25 star for the first 2 years of experience and a 0.5 from 2nd to 5th. Above 5th year, keep adding 0.75 stars/per year. If you have been in a team lead role for more than 6 mths, add another 1 star.

- Challenges: What were the challenges faced by you in life and at work, how good were you at handling them? These challenges could be interpersonal like firing a close friend, or during work like Gail Waynard fighting for Howard Roark [FountainHead]. If you pulled through the challenges and still have a balanced career then thats considered a commendable effort, since it means that the difficult situation actually made a better person out of you. This will give your essay a good garnish, but you need to have something tangible (like a certificate) to back this up. Add 0.5 star per certificate or event which can be substantiated [like in a recommendation]. Maximum value 1 star [2 events].

- Diversity: Diversity of culturual, social and technical know-how is a much appreciated skill. Ofcorse too many jumps from one job to another shows unstability and indecision so dont confuse diversity with jumps. But wider experience in the profession, international exposure etc give a huge boost to the profile. Good understanding of the culture, languages and history of the internationally visited countries also adds a lot of punch to your profile. This attribute is hard to calculate since it is very subjective, but go ahead and add like 0.25 star per foreign country you have visited. If you are aware of the foreign country’s history and culture, most importantly language -> add another 0.25 stars/country.

- Community Service/Voluntary services: Being active in community services, volunary organizations is a globally appreciated quality. Great regards are always due to those who take time off and help others. MBA committee is no different. The greater participation you have in community service, the greater respect youe profile holds. Apart from participation if you have managed an even such as a blood donation drive, vaccination drive etc, extra value is added to your profile since it gives the idea that you are driven and capable of management. If you are a participant add 0.5 star, if you have managed an even, add 1 star to your profile. If you have managed multiple events, you can add another 0.5 to your profile.

- Languages: A very very handy tool on your resume. Speaking ability of more than 1 language gives quite a thrust to your chances of impressing the Ad Com. Especially if you are looking for non-US (non-English) B-School like Insead, your capability of communicating in French will give you an edge over other applicants. Similarly if you want to apply in a top chinese school, your familiarity with Mandarin will go long ways in the eyes of the adcom. Add 0.5 stars per international language you are comfortable with. The max stars you can get for this skill is 1 [2 languages]

- Sports: Sports give an allrounder feel to the personality [All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy]. Solo sports are good to have, but excellence in team sports shows that you are a team player and this is an important quality of a future manager. Well atleast in the eyes of the Adcom it is. If you have captained in a team sport its another star added to your profile and if you have ever won a tournament as a captain, there is another star for you. Make sure you make a note of these in your resume too. Add 0.2 for every sport you have certificate for. Add 0.5 stars if you have captained in a team event (0.75 if won a tournament).

- Enterpreneurship: Ever tried doing a business of your own? If you did, this shows a lot about you. Even if you failed, the effort counts. Failure does hamper the effects a bit, but it can be attributed to in-experience, finances … or other things. The important point is that you showed the business acumen and gained some valuable experience from it. This definitely helped you in becoming a better person, which in adcomms eyes is a good. Add a straight 1 for this, but thats the maximum you can go for this.

Remember for all the stars you add above, make sure you have evidence to show (like certificates, recommendations other). If you have 8 stars or more, you are good in terms of Ad Com. Between 5-8 stars, you would really need to work on your GMAT, applications essays and bring the best of yourself in those. This method is still inaccurate, but I am working on it to make it more precise. So dont loose heart if you have less stars, its not official yet.

How many stars you got?

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