Profile Evaluation Request

[niharika.khanna7]

Hi,

Hope this finds you well! I wanted to get some feedback on my profile to figure out my target list of B-schools. Here goes:

Country: India
Age: 25 yrs
Gender: Female
Under-grad: B.A. Economics Honors
Gmat: 690
Work Exp: 5 yrs (with Google India throughout)
Dream Schools: Stanford, Kellogg, Dartmouth

Current Position: Account Manager - Mobile Sales, Google India (Jan, 2012 - to present)
In this role, I sell, execute and manage mobile display campaigns, while acting as a consultant for mobile search and display, within the Google sales teams. My main focus is on growing existing business through campaign management, relationship building and growing new businesses.

Previous Position: Executive Assistant & Project Manager, VP Media & Platforms Business, APAC Google (at the time Shailesh Rao who is now with Twitter as VP, International Operations) (Jan, 2010 - Dec, 2011).
In this role, I provided high-level administrative support to the APAC VP and the senior management team. I lead multiple large-scale, complex & deadline driven operations and projects (regional events & conferences). In this capacity, I also traveled across the APAC region and worked very closely with folks from different countries and cultures. I believe that that this particular role gave me a unique vantage point to closely observe the strategic thinking and execution skills of top Google executives, and in the process, every day has been an education.

Extra Curricular's: Good achievement in cultural activities, debates, theatre etc. I have been volunteering over the years with a school for less-privileged children.

I'm looking at B-school as a platform which will help me build new skills and give me an enriching experience (new ppl, new location, new study methods, valuable network) and more.

With my profile and scores, what possibilities do you see? Which schools do you think I should be looking at realistically?

Thank you so much for your help with this :)

Looking forward to hearing from you!

[mili]

Hi Niharika,

Thanks for the information. It's great that you are have been consistently at Google for the past several years. It seems like you transitioned from the administrative career track into the sales track, which is also positive. Seems like you'll have strong team building/leading stories to tell from both roles, as well as obvious analytic strengths. The key thing is to show that you've increasingly taken on additional leadership responsibility at the company, managing increasingly complex programs/projects/teams. If you think you can show that, then you're professional experience will be solid. The one caveat I would put in there is that since you transitioned from a support function into a business role, you'll have a little bit less experience on the business side than many of your peers (e.g., those who started in a sales position and steadily moved up within that track). That is something you'll need to figure out how to position, as you've only been in the sales role a few months. The story you gave below (gaining insights into executive thinking/etc.) could be part of the narrative and impetus for your transition.

Academically, your profile is also pretty solid. Ideally you'd have a 700+ score for the schools you mentioned -- but that doesn't mean you can't get in with a 690. It's definitely possible! You could retake it, but it's one of those borderline cases where it depends whether you think can score higher or not, and even if so, you have to weigh the benefit against the time it would take from the rest of your application.

In terms of extracurricular and community, I'm not seeing strong demonstration of consistent leadership within these areas (though it's hard to say based on what's here), but sounds like you are quite actively engaged outside of work.

Overall, I'd say while Stanford might be a stretch for your profile, you could apply to Kellogg and/or Tuck as your reach schools. I would definitely recommend focusing your energy towards target schools like University of Michigan, Duke, etc., and you may also consider adding a safety school or two to the mix.

Hope this helps,
Mili Mittal
Senior Consultant
http://www.mbamission.com

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[niharika.khanna7]

Hi Mill,

Thank you so much for your feedback! This really helps :)

In line with your advice, I'm focusing on creating a strong story on why took on the administrative role (which is a very prominent role especially in Google) such as, opportunity to closely observe the strategic thinking, business acumen and execution skills of top Google executives, opportunity to lead regional projects/events and interpret the needs of different people across levels, opportunity to travel across the APAC region and work very closely with teams in this region.

My current role in sales, is also focused on the Mobile platform - which is the next big thing and is giving me lots of exposure and putting me in a place where I'm actually able to play a role in shaping the market in India.

I'm a curious by nature and I've gone for roles that promised learning and not very typical of prospective MBA applicants.

- I don't yet have a very clear vision on which industry or role I'm aiming to secure post MBA. Should I be honest about this in my essays? Or should I work on creating a post-mba story in line with my work experience so far?

- Low GPA of 3.1
Given that I have a GMAT score of 690 and not a very high GPA as well - should I be concerned? This is something I can overcome with a well thought out and solid essays?

Overall, I've throughly enjoyed all my work assignments so far. I want to explore more to find out what work lines are best suited to me. I believe that doing an MBA will really broaden my horizons and give me an opportunity to interact and learn from ppl from different walks of life.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts :)

Warm regards,
Niharika

[mili]

Hi Niharika,

I was unaware of the low GPA when I previously responded. I might aim slightly lower taking all this into consideration. Perhaps stick with applying to Duke type schools as your reach and Darden, etc. as your targets. Still add some safer schools to the mix.

Here's the thing. There are very few seats in MBA programs, and very high demand for each one. If you don't have a compelling reason for why you specifically NEED that seat to get to your goal, then they will not be compelled to give you one. You absolutely must show the ad com you have thought long and hard about what your goals are, what the routes to achieving that goal are, and why an MBA is the right route for you. And why now versus a year or two from now? All this must be answered in your career narrative.

And yes, the career goal should build upon your existing experience in some way. It should be logical based on what you've done, but ambitious enough that you can show why you need the MBA to achieve it.

So, the answer to the career question is: yes, build a good story that you feel reasonably excited about. You will not be obligated to follow this path upon graduation, but it should be something believable and reasonably possible for you.

With the additional academic information you've provided, I would adjust my initial advice regarding schools and suggest that Tuck and Kellogg might be aiming a bit too high. I'm sure that isn't exactly what you want to hear, but I want to be honest in my assessment. Hope it is helpful.

Thanks,
Mili

[niharika.khanna7]

Thank you Mill for giving me very honest feedback. I will work on the areas you've mentioned and will aslo keep you posted on how things pan out :)

Cheers,
Niharika

[mili]

Great. Best of luck!

Mili