Profile Evaluation

[17.saurabh]

Hello,

Kindly evaluate my profile. All the comments/feedback are much appreciated.

Indian Male 29, Electrical Engineer

Expected GMAT score: 720-750
BS - Electrical/Electronics Engineering from a school in India
GPA - 3.65/4
Masters - MS in Electrical Engineering (Louisiana Tech University)
GPA - 3.74/4

Experience - 5+ yrs in US in semiconductor and telecommunications Industry.

Company 1 (Big European Semiconductor Company for Telecom hardware)
- R&D role in a forward looking team (small and coveted team) that develops new technologies and enforces new methodologies across different engineering teams
- A pending Patent application and two other disclosures in process (Not sure if this helps!)
- Exposure to business practices in China and Europe by day-to-day customer (European and Chinese) interaction
- Solely responsible for two project design-wins resulting in $5 million revenue. Contributed significantly to several other projects
- Expecting a promotion to a senior role within a month

Company 2 (Big European Telecom Company)
- Solved big development/production issue that saved 2 months of development time and $10 million in cost due to project delays while working in Finland. Frequent visits to Europe for technical and production related issues
- Often represented my team in Finland for technical/non-technical discussions

Company 3 (Start-up in Semiconductor and Telecom)
- Gained valuable start-up experience and deep understanding of risk vs. associated rewards in Semiconductor/Telecom industry. Had to accept another job after the company folded during the financial crisis

Company 4 (Big multinational semiconductor/Telecom company)
- Started career as an intern
- Gained experience in 2 different groups over a period of one year

Extra Courses
- Finance Fundamentals - Gained finance knowledge and started an investment club in the class. Actively managing my own portfolio in trading and retirement accounts (with real money) for the last 18 months.

EC's
1. Bike Riding - Participated in Biking events in CA for fund raising
2. Learnt German in school and now making use of the opportunity to converse with people around me

Post MBA goal: I want to go for Investment Banking/M&A for tech industry
Schools I'm targeting: Chicago Booth, UCLA, Haas, Stern.

Please let me know if you think I have any chance at aforementioned schools. If not, can you please suggest some schools?

Concerns: Any comments would be very helpful!
1. I don't have significant Extra-curricular activities to differentiate myself in the over-represented "Indian, Male, Engineer" category
2. Currently with my fourth employer (in a span of 5 years)

Thanks in anticipation!

[mbamission]

Hi there,

Thanks for writing in. If you can get that 720-750 then you'd be in good shape for the schools you listed, GMAT-wise. But I share your concerns on the weak spots of your profile. Extracurriculars don't have to be a traditional volunteer activity -- are there any instances where you made a significant contribution in someone else's life, or gave back to your community in a nontraditional way?

In regards to your job-switching, you want to weave a story that flows logically. How did each career move help you build toward your goal -- and how will an MBA help you reach the next step? You want it to sound like part of a pre-mediated plan, rather than a a lack of focus.


Best of luck,

Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

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[17.saurabh]

Hi Daniel

Thanks for the feedback. I think your comments were very helpful.

I have played significant part in putting together charity events for cancer patients (heavy involvement but lasted for only a week). As I mentioned earlier I have done non-profit project for short span (50 hours in 4 months). I think it was significant contribution but I had to switch jobs and couldn't continue the work in that city. What I am not sure is, how can I bring such intermittent involvement into my application. Do you think I have to write (with duration) of my involvement with organizations or is it better to include an anecdote in one of the short essays (Haas requires 6 essays)?

In one case my reason to switch the job was personal- not sure if I can mention any personal reason as justification.

Thanks for the advice. Again, all your comments are much appreciated.

Saurabh

[mbamission]

Hi again,

Short-term, but dedicated community service projects are definitely fair game for both essay and short-answer questions. With 6 essays for Haas, you'll definitely want at least two of them to be about something other than work, so perhaps you can mention your extracurricular experience there.

Hope that helps!
Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

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