MBA Admissions are not limited to scoring good percentile in the entrance exams but a strong profile, too, can make you reach the top of the ladder.
So, before I commence writing about the importance of a strong profile, I would like you to get through mine. My name is Anish Choudhary, a Bachelors in Arts(BA) Journalism and Mass Communication graduate with three years of working experience in Public Relations domain to my backing. To go further back, I graduated out of school with 80% in both 10th and 12th Standard. I cleared the admissions requisite for some of the leading B-schools in India even after securing a mere 78.92%ile in CAT 2019. The colleges which I could get through to IMT Hyderabad, K J Somaiya Institute of Management, Mumbai, Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management (LBSIM, Delhi), Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai, IILM University, Delhi and Great Lakes, Gurgaon.
Apparent enough, I did not have a great percentile to show-off but a strong profile which helped me sail through rather swiftly. For students who wish to pursue business management, a strong profile carries significant weightage and enhances one’s chances of selection. Most prominent B-schools including the IIMs, Management Development Institute, Institute of Management Technology, Indian School of Business and the others in the league reserve 10-15% weightage for profiles alone. Also colleges as TA Pai Management Institute, Manipal and S.P Jain, Mumbai are even considering Profile Based Selection(PBS) for their prestigious two-year MBA programme regardless of scores.
So, what are the key areas which you can highlight in your application and build a strong profile which will not just help you with the college selection procedure but will also give you an upper hand during placements?
1. Prior work experience
Work experience is the best thing possible for you to build your profile and that I have learnt as an unspoken convention during my professional venture. A working experience of at least 26 months will give you a more or less apt vision of corporate paradigms and prepare you for the 10-12 hours of management classes. It will also give you an upper hand during placement season. E.g- WIPRO pays a whopping additional of ₹1 lakh for every additional year of experience. So, if you have 3 years of work ex, you get ₹3 lakhs more than the average salary.
2. Highlight your leadership qualities
This doesn’t refer to your presidency of a certain club in graduation but rather your efficiency in being handy to your workplace at the time of crisis. For instance, I helped my team secure two marquee clients which later went on to be one of the top five highly paid customers of the company during my tenure. Also, during a college fest, I was made responsible for planning the itinerary for travelling from Delhi to Mumbai making sure every student gets a berth to sleep, food to eat, place to stay and an amazing experience to remain.
3. Choose a hobby that you’re also passionate about
Trust me, when a personal interview isn’t going as per your thinking, when the interviewee asks about yourself, a hobby will prevail. It will boost your confidence and help you communicate without hesitation. Be assured that you’d be asked about the technicalities, if any, so be well prepared. For example, I had written about my passion for photography from an early age and was telling them the story of how I generated it. Then after a moment, the interviewee asked me the difference between Shutter Speed and Aperture along with giving a scenario and asking me to set the settings of a D-SLR. Gladly, I was able to that. Make sure whatever you publish your work on social media handles like Facebook and Instagram.
4. Highlighting your skills and internship programs
Highlighting your skill set in the application and backing its authenticity through certificates would be cherry on the cake. It will provide an added advantage to fresher, especially, and make up for the absence of prior work experience. It is of vitality in enhancing your knowledge as well as enriching your professional experience even before your first job. But make sure that the skill is related to the course of study you are planning to choose later.
5. Know the answers of the frequently asked questions
Try to develop a happy, successful story of your own. So, when the interviewee asks, “tell me about yourself” “what made you pursue MBA” or “where do you see yourself in 5 years”, you are ready to offer a rather wholesome narrative. Developing this was also one of my USPs because I was clear as far as the 5 W’s and 1’H (Who, What, When Where, Why and How) are concerned.
Last but not the least, remember that a profile is not made overnight, you need to work hard for ages to narrate the story of your success. Do not just mention something which you have completed once or twice, be well-versed to the intricacies. Once, an aspirant has built a strong profile for MBA admissions, they must start applying to the various competitive exams because your competence and a strong profile that will boost your confidence to crack that interview.
