MBA after layoff: How I overcame the odds to get into a top MBA abroad with scholarship

How difficult is it to get into a top international MBA after layoff?
Do admission officers look at laid-off applicants differently?

These are the questions we often get from professionals who’ve unfortunately faced the axe when they were least expecting it. Blame it on the economy, or destiny. Once you’ve found a valve to let out the steam, it’s time to look forward.

Many ambitious and high-performing candidates on a forced career break apply to the top MBA programs, as it can serve as a launching pad to break the glass ceiling.

Shruthi had covered the journey from being an intern to procurement manager in the short span of 5 years. So it was a shock when she was made redundant by her employer. It had nothing to do with performance.

Instead of withdrawing into a shell, she looked at the unfortunate event as an opportunity to introspect and take a bigger leap. But some concerns remained.
 

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MBA after layoff | Success story

How I got EUR 30,000 in scholarship

by Shruthi Srinivasan

 

I am what many call a Third Culture Kid – I was born in India (Chennai) but moved to Qatar when I was 4 as my dad landed a job in the oil & gas industry which was all the hype in the early ‘90s.

I did well in school in terms of academics and extracurriculars but wasn’t able to maintain this balance at University.

I graduated in 2017 with a Bachelors in Computer Science from the American University of Sharjah with an average GPA but a good list of extracurriculars.

Post Graduation, I joined Unilever in 2018 as a Procurement Management Trainee in Dubai. Here, I navigated through diverse categories, negotiating contracts across the MENA region with entities ranging from local businesses to multinational corporations.

Additionally, I had the opportunity to represent Unilever at the Global One Young World forum in Manchester in 2022.

Subsequently, in December of the same year, I earned a promotion to Procurement Manager, overseeing external manufacturing contracts for the MENA region, where I led a team of four buyers.

The joy of making it to a managerial position was short-lived as my role was made redundant within 8 months of my promotion due to a global restructure in mid-2023.

This prompted introspection regarding my career trajectory.

Revisiting my aspiration for higher education, I decided to pursue an MBA, a goal initially contemplated in 2018 but deferred due to career advancement prospects.

I spent most of my childhood around music; my grandmother ran the Srutilaya school of music out of her house in Chennai so I was immersed into the world of Carnatic Music at a very young age and carried it with me as I performed as a vocalist with multiple bands across Dubai.

I realized I wanted to shift careers towards a space that combined my passion for music and technology and work as a product manager in a company like Spotify and an MBA was the best way to get to this goal.

I decided to target Round 2 applications for the Sept ‘24 intake while balancing my obligations at Unilever until Jan ‘24.

I started my GMAT prep in August ‘23 after a long hiatus from any traditional learning/test taking. I signed up for the Princeton GMAT 700+ course and wrote my first official exam but only managed a 600.

I wasn’t demotivated until my second attempt in Nov ‘23 which yielded 650 – I had a low GPA & GMAT, barely any extracurriculars since 2018, I was pressed for time and my recent redundancy was already a confidence killer.

I started looking for MBA admissions consultants who could guide me on my applications while I worked on increasing my GMAT score on the side.

After speaking with 4 admission consulting firms, my demotivation turned into devastation as whoever answered my emails refused to work with a 650 scorer.

I seriously considered ending this MBA journey altogether…until I dropped an email to Manish Gupta from MBA Crystal Ball.

The website has a questionnaire that you’re required to fill when you send in a profile evaluation request, which I did.

Manish’s straightforward responses on my work experience and extracurriculars gave me some much needed confidence.

He was also very honest about my GMAT score – honest but not demotivating. I then requested a call with one of the team members at MCB and was connected with my mentor who gave me a similar honest review about my profile and helped with school selection.

I also found this godsend of a youtube channel – GMATNinja – which did wonders for my performance and I urge anyone attempting the GMAT to use their videos before signing up for classes.

I narrowed down my choices to just two universities – NYU Stern for the location, tech-focused courses, their Entertainment and Media specialization and exit opportunities into the likes of spotify, youtube music, Warner Bros, etc.

My back-up option was to do my MBA and move back to Dubai for work and after visiting IESE’s booth at one of the GMAC tours and engaging with their alumni at an event in Dubai I decided this would be the best school for me if NYU didn’t work out.

Working with MCB helped ease some of the anxiety around my lack of recent extracurriculars.

After reading my Meet Me document, my consultant showed me the strengths in my profile that I’d brushed off as irrelevant.

He helped me connect my community service work at university to my product management aspirations and my MENA procurement experience at Unilever to the uniqueness I would add to an MBA classroom.

Not to mention my essays got a complete makeover. MCB’s revamp of my essays really made me consider joining a writing course!

The whole process of working with my mentor was simple and efficient – he was very straightforward and to the point with his feedback and very quick with the turnaround on the essays.

I also got some valuable insight into enhancing my LinkedIn profile – this isn’t usually part of the package but MCB was able to accommodate this request.

With a 680 GMAT, I submitted my applications but decided to retake once more with the hope of getting past the 700 line, which I did on 30th Jan ‘24 with a 710 – a day before the GMAT Classic was discontinued.

I received an interview invitation from IESE and was confident I could go ahead without the interview prep from MCB; my interviewer was a Dubai-based IESE Alumni and ex-Unilever procurement like myself.

I connected with an alumni and a current student for interview tips and insights on my interviewer.

GMAT Club was another great source of IESE interview questions. I went into a virtual interview which was scheduled for 1 hour but was a bit anxious after it ended within 20 minutes – others at GMAT club interviewed for the whole hour!

I then went into the IESE Virtual assessment day which was quite a fun experience – they split us into groups of 6 and put us in breakout rooms, each with one Alumni observing our discussions on different questions in a case study.

Nearly a month after assessment day, I got a call from the IESE Middle East Admissions Director, informing me I’ve made it to the class of 2026 with a EUR 30,000 scholarship!

Unfortunately I was rejected at NYU hence will go ahead with an MBA at IESE which gives me good exit opportunities in Dubai.

What helped me stand out among the Indian applicants at IESE was the emphasis I put on my international experience, my work with diverse teams and functions and connecting my experiences to the university’s mission statement.

While everyone’s journey is unique, I would say continuous self reflection is key – knowing my goals and constraints helped me narrow down my university choices and put my best self forward despite the time pressure.

And that is how, within 6 months, I went from a 600 GMAT score with a job redundancy to a 710 with an acceptance and scholarship at the 5th ranked MBA in the Financial Times.

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If you’d like to partner with MBA Crystal Ball on your application journey, drop us an email: info@mbacrystalball.com

Also read:
– Applying to MBA with low academic grades