Free Career Counselling Online | Indian candidates
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Career Guidance Needed!
Post by rohitbansal666 » March 6th, 2015, 1:01 pm
I would try to keep this post as brief and direct as possible :D
Indian, Male, Engineer (Non IT)
Did my BE (Instrumentation & Control) from MIT, Manipal in 2011 CGPA 8.47 (Amongst top 5 in class)
Campus placed in Reliance Industries Ltd.; Worked as a "Manager" from 2011 to 2014. Worked in operations support (maintenance) dept.in a Petrochemical Manufacturing Plant (Oil & Gas) at a supervisory role directly heading a team of 12. Performed and grew well in the company with good KRAs and multiple initiatives and improvement plans that I executed. CTC rose 40-50% in 3 years :)
July'13 1st Attempt at GMAT, scored a 650 (V31, Q49). Applied to Krannert and Rice for Operations MBA, got interview calls from both, waitlisted and rejected.
Jan'14: Started preparing for GMAT again.
Mar'14: Got an admit from NUS for there Masters in "Management of Technology" program for 2014-15 class. I had already completed 3 years in job and it wasn't adding anything new to my profile so decided to go ahead with it as it was only a 10 months course. Still haven't given the MBA dream.
Aug'14: Joined MSc in Management of Technology @ NUS.
Mar'15 (Today): Completed Sem 1 with CAP of 4.1/5.0...Looking for jobs and have secured a job in a German MNC "Lanxess" in a similar/slightly better position at which I was working before, though still in the oil & gas/petrochemical industry :( My job search is still on and I'm looking for more managerial roles such as business development, planning, change management etc.
I must say I truly enjoyed the experience of studying at NUS and at Singapore. In the mean time I was also able to secure an internship ( 2 actually).
Going ahead I'm quite confused. Should I retake my GMAT in 2015 and apply for an MBA in 2016/17? By that time I would possibly also have international experience of working in Singapore. I'm sure I'll be able to cross the 700 GMAT this time.
Moreover, what should I aim for at my carrier? I realise its very difficult to change your stream of work in Singapore and you'll only be employed in your previous industry for which you have "relevant" work experience. What should I do?
Talking about myself, I'm a very systematic, mature, well round person with extremely good interpersonal skills. I enjoy taking initiatives, being in teams and achieving things. I also keep a track of "whats happening" around the world and Im quite well informed of things happening around. I'm good in planning stuff and enjoy streamlining things. Initially I thought this makes me a suitable candidate for an Operations role but now having been in Singapore & NUS I c more opportunities here and that has further confused me. Over the past few weeks I've spent good time in meeting new people from varied backgrounds, attending seminars, events, researching over internet, linked etc...I've come to a conclusion that possibly the role of corporate strategy/strategic planning suits me the best. But I really dunno how to get there...
The best solution that I've figured out is to retake the GMAT (since I already know all the resources and well aware of my weaknesses) and aim for the top 10 B schools. May be I get better direction after my MBA?
I need your honest opinion and an analysis if I do choose to apply to some of the top B schools.
Thanks in advance!!!
Re: Free Career Counselling Online | Indian candidates
Post by ng25785 » March 7th, 2015, 11:41 am
I graduated from an NIT in 2012 and have been wrkng with TCS since then.Unfortunately i am really lost about these MBA procedures and have been trying to get into a couple of Bschools in India.THis year, I have one convert from a bschool which is amongst the top 15 in this country. I am confused whether I should take this up or try for a foreign MBA(Asia) or ISB. My GPA was 7.7 and i have 90 % in both 10th and 12th.MY co-curriculars are average i would say.I am actually aiming for ISB ,AIM,NUS and the likes. could you please tell me what should be my next step?
thanx a lot in advance
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Re: Free Career Counselling Online | Indian candidates
Post by abhishekochhar911 » March 8th, 2015, 1:19 pm
Really appreciate the work you guys are doing helping people move towards the right direction.
My Profile
1. BE Electronics and Comm from Manipal Institute of Technology, Karnataka. 2014 Graduate.
2. 10th - CBSE 92% , 12th - CBSE 82 %, CGPA - 6.54
3. Extra curricular : Headed the marketing vertical of an organization named AIESEC in the Manipal office. Manged a multi-layered team of 10+ members, gathered experience in event management, marketing communications , FB ads, on campus campaigns ,etc.
4. Working for the past 6 months as a Business Development Executive/ Educational Consultant for a growing startup in the education industry ( primarily developing e learning platforms )
5. Handling B2B and B2C sales. Shall be leading a team soon.
I am highly apprehensive about working in the Sales and Marketing role directly after engineering. I never had too much of a technical bent of mind so chose this over an IT job. Have a keen interest in Business Analytics/ Data Sciences related jobs but due to a certain turn of events, ended up taking this job.
I work 6 days a week ( including weekends ) . I am paid well since I have a variable component to my salary and can't complain about that. But, I have no time to enhance my profile by implementing certain ideas in the form of a startup or any other initiative
I have the following queries
1. Am I on the right path, considering I want to join a B school like NUS, INSEAD , ISB, etc and eventually land a management consulting job?
a. If yes, how many years of experience should I gather before I apply to the kind of school mentioned above? What other activities may enhance my profile, given my low CGPA?
b. If no, what career decisions should I make to get on the right track.
2. Do I need an exceptional GMAT score of 730-750 to even think about applying to the kind of B schools I am targeting ?
3. Lastly, is an MIM from universities like IE, IESE, INSEAD worth the money and effort for someone like me?
Really awaiting a response from your side, any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
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Re: Free Career Counselling Online | Indian candidates
Post by mbadropout » March 11th, 2015, 5:45 am
Going straight to your questions:
1. There is no “wrong” path to good bschools. They look for profiles that would make their class as diverse and rich as possible. As long as the different facets of your profile differentiate you from the rest in some way, you should be fine.
a. The age-related question can be best answered by browsing through the websites of schools you have shortlisted and checking out the stats of last years’ entering classes. In general, 3-5 years should be good. The importance of GPA diminishes with time. For someone with 5 years of work experience, GPA would not be as important a factor as someone else with 2. To enhance your profile, you could take courses (evening classes at your local university, etc.) to brush up (or even gain expertise) in stuff that you did not do too well in at Manipal.
b. Career decisions are fine.
2. Higher is better. Given that you are competing with a very competitive group, aim as high (700+) as you possibly can.
3. In my experience, ROI of an MBA from a top school is always higher than other degrees such as MIM, etc. However, keep in mind that ROI is just one of the factors. What’s most important is you need to have a liking for the subject(s) and/or line of work. If you hate stuff they teach in MBA programs and absolutely love MIM courses, maybe you should rethink your plans. Another way to think about this - the path of least resistance might not be the best path to take.
All the best.
-Amit.
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Re: Free Career Counselling Online | Indian candidates
Post by mbadropout » March 11th, 2015, 5:55 am
An MBA being a substantial investment of time, effort and $$, attempting to get into them without a clear and well thought out plan isn’t recommended. The preliminary questions - why MBA, why now, what after, etc. - are very important. If you are confused, it would be best if you give yourself some thinking time and ponder over these questions. Once you have answers, and therefore a plan, things should be less confusing.
Something to note - having graduated in 2012, time is on your side. Translation - it might be a good idea to let go of a top-15 bschool and try for a better one (ISB, NUS, etc.) over the next year or two.
Let us know of your responses to the basic questions (take a look at my earlier posts) and we should be able to assist you.
-Amit.
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Re: Free Career Counselling Online | Indian candidates
Post by mbadropout » March 11th, 2015, 6:09 am
First, congrats - you have done very well for yourself.
I think right after you complete a course of study is when you can gain the most from it. Things are certainly in your favor - you have two internships lined up, along with a job at a German firm. If I were you, I would accept these opportunities and work for a while (~2 years) and see where life takes me. I would gain substantial international experience (>2 years), network with people from different industries and lines of work and get to know exactly what options and career paths interest me the most. Somewhere along this journey, I would also know if an MBA would be needed to get to where I want to be. In my opinion, wrapping up a course of study (MSc) and jumping headlong into another (MBA) wouldn’t be the right thing to do. Always better to give life a chance and see what it has in store for you.
-Amit.
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Re: Free Career Counselling Online | Indian candidates
Post by mbadropout » March 11th, 2015, 6:23 am
With 13 years of experience, GPA isn’t going to be a deal breaker, though those percentages are surely going to cause a little bit of a concern.
The UCLA PGPX Program being fairly new, I don’t have too much information on it. Since an MBA is supposed to be experiential by design, I am not sure how much value you will be able to derive out of a course that is primarily imparted online. In the same cost/budget ballpark, there are other options as well, such as the PGPX programs from the IIMs, etc., that are also worth considering. If I were you, I would opt for a “regular” EMBA-type course (PGPX from IIMs).
-Amit.
Re: Free Career Counselling Online | Indian candidates
Post by AshMal » March 11th, 2015, 8:21 pm
I have been reading some of the posts in this thread and appreciate the help you are extending to the people on this forum. I myself am stuck in the mid career crisis and would be grateful if you could help me out. I am an MBA in Finance (Part Time) from a well known college affiliated to MAT. Presently, I am working as First Line manager in one of the biggest companies providing Financial Data to clients globally. I have been working here for almost 9 years (I took a break of 1.5 years in between to start my own venture). I liked the profile initially but lately the interest has gone down considerably. Also, there are limited growth opportunities in the present organization and I am worried about the future. Hence, I am looking for a change of profile that will help me grow professionally. There are financial reasons as well but I am willing to adjust on that front.
My areas of interest are Business/Industry Research, Investment Research and the related fields.I have been trying to get a break but have not been successful till now. The main issue is that I have not been getting any calls (minimal) from the head hunters. I am actively present on the job portals, professional networking sites etc. but have not been successful. I am not sure how to proceed and what to do?
I am pursuing CFA presently (cleared Level 1). I also explored the possibility of going for GMAT but I am not too comfortable with the cost involved. Please suggest to me the most suitable course of action.
Thanks!
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Re: Free Career Counselling Online | Indian candidates
Post by Irshadkhan » March 23rd, 2015, 11:25 am
Lately I have been going through your website and blogs. It is quite helpful for us who have little knowledge about international MBA Program. Recently,I underwent career counselling session but I am confused whether to pursue MBA at this very juncture.
Currently I am unemployed. I have 2 years of work experience (Campus recruit in a GCC based MEP Contracting firm). Academically, I have Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical field) with first class score.
Is it okay to opt for MBA program with this work experience or should I wait for couple of years, gain 4 yrs+ experience and then move for Masters program?
And If it is okay to go for it, which country and University would be affordable taking economic constraint, ROI, Work permits etc into account?
Please Advice.
Thanks & Regards,
Irshad Khan
Re: Free Career Counselling Online | Indian candidates
Post by bonny » March 25th, 2015, 3:17 pm
I graduated in ECE in 2008 and have been workng with TCS since then.
10th 87%, 12th 70%, CGPA 7.87
Currently working as developer. I want to boost my career and want to move either in different sector or in same sector with managerial role.
Please advice me if it is an good idea to go for 1 year MBA in indian collage at age of 30.
Regards,
Bonny