S.P Jain (SPJIMR in full or SP as it is usually referred to) is one of the most underrated business schools in the country. One of the highlights of the S.P.Jain admissions process is that applicants have to choose their specialization at the time of application. While this might be tough for freshers who do not have enough information and self-awareness to choose a specialization, it is a boon for applicants with work experience.
Specialization Matters
The biggest advantage of such a process is during placements. The placement team will ensure that for each specialization there are enough recruiters coming on board during the placements. For example, for a person with 3-4 years of work experience in the operations sector, S.P.Jain will be a much better option than maybe even the IIMs since there will be recruiters coming down specifically to hire people with such a profile. At an IIM the placements committee does not have the responsibility to specifically find 60 niche operations jobs.
The college also enjoys having a huge locational-advantage with Mumbai being the financial capital of the country as a well as the city where the most sought after Marketing recruiters such as HUL are headquartered.
Profile-based Calls & Score-Based Calls
S.P.Jain also has two different routes through which it gives out calls after you fill in the application form, the deadline for the same is 23-November.
Profile-based Call: The first is an interview call based purely on your profile — your profile should be in line with the specialization you apply for and what recruiters hiring for that specialization look for. This shortlist is out even without a test score. Once the CAT/XAT/GMAT results are out you need to meet the criteria given in the table below.
| Qualifying Criteria | CAT 2018 | XAT 2019 | GMAT Jan ’16 – Dec ’18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Qualifying Criteria | 85 percentile | 85 percentile | 650 |
| Sectional Qualifying Criteria | 75 percentile | 75 percentile | 75 percentile |
Score-based Call: This shortlist is released after the CAT scores are out and based purely on your CAT scores.
This goes on to show that if you get a profile-based call, you will need a lower percentile to get an interview call than if you get a score-based call.
How To Fill The S.P.Jain Application Form
A great profile needs to rank highly on the following parameters:
- Academic track record
- Co-curricular & extra-curricular track record
- Profile-specialization match
So a lot depends on making a good application that reflects each of these. We will look at a screenshot of how each component of the online application looks and then discuss the best way to go about filling it.
Academic Achievements
Academic achievements primarily relate to such achievements as standing in the top performers in your class at various levels, X, XII, Graduation Year or in an exam such as the NTSC or JEE or Math Olympiad.
How does one go about filling this part?
Make a list of all academic achievements. Rank order them not in chronological order but in terms of
- Level of achievement or position you secured
- Level of competition or perceived toughness – NTSC, Olympiads, AIEEE, JEE
- The scale of the achievement – school, city, state, district national
In case you do not have 3 academic achievements then list co-curricular achievements such as paper-presentations, journal publications or anything that is related to your academics.
Describe in less than 50 words: Try to be as brief as possible if the achievement is something that can be easily understood. Use the remaining space to describe how this is something that you have been consistently good at. For example, you have only one top 1-5 in terms of academic achievement but you have always been driven to do well academically. Add that part in the description — throughout your education, you have stood in the top 10% (do not write 10%, calculate your position) of your class etc.
Add anything that puts your achievement into perspective — the only person from your town/village/school/institution to achieve this, the number of participants etc.
Versatility
For the versatility section please make a list of all your areas of interest that fall out of the curricular and co-curricular category.
Do not approach it from the perspective of what evaluators might find attractive but rather look at the level of interest/achievement you have in that area. For example, if dancing is your biggest passion/interest then rank it first. Do not rush to rank social-service activities first.
If you have certificates and achievements great, but even if you do not, you can still go ahead and fill up three areas as long as you have a strong interest and have done more than your peers.
For example, if reading is a major passion, you will not have any certificates to show for the same! But use the description space to present how much you like reading — favourite genres, favourite authors, reading since age so and so, read so many books a month etc. Any genre is fine as long as it has some international/intellectual significance. For example, fantasy, science-fiction, historical fiction, all are fine. Just ensure that you do not cite Chetan Bhagat :-).
The same applies to any other area of interest that does not correspond with certificates. Applicants from this part of the world (TN & AP), please do not write watching movies since everyone does it. If you watch world cinema or any specific genre of movies a lot, are knowledgeable and can hold a conversation about the same then you can go ahead and mention movies.
Since this deals with versatility ensure that you choose three different areas. If you have participated in CSR activities at your workplace or volunteered for NGOs please include that as well.
Most importantly, when it comes to extracurriculars (not to be confused with interests), please understand that it is not a case of what you have done but what you have accomplished. So participation in various events is just that participation, no points for that, did you win anything is the question.
Again this does not apply to interest such as theatre or plays. For example, I will cite theatre or dramatics as an area of interest and cite that I have played major parts in plays right from my early schooling to college and PG, the high-point being a performing XYZ play directed by ABC etc.
Overall Versatility Rating: Rate yourself based on the diversity of things you have participated in and the level of interest across areas.
Responsibility Shouldered
The two sections, personal and professional are clearly demarcated.
In the personal section, include any activity where you took or were given the responsibility. They can be
- on-going or long-duration responsibilities such as helping you brother/sister in his/her education or guiding him/her throughout, taking up some household responsibility owing to a family situation (working parents), or
- specific short-duration responsibilities such as arranging the wedding of a sibling or family member etc or having to help out your parent in a specific task etc.
In the professional section include responsibilities that you undertook that were not part of your KRAs or job description. They can be can be
- handling responsibilities higher than your designation due to the absence of manpower
- special projects/initiatives that you undertook or were given to you
- organizing events at your workplace
In both cases use the description to put in perspective
- the scale/importance of responsibility,
- the role you played and
- the quality of the outcome
Programme Details
This is possibly one of the most important aspects of applying to S.P.Jain — choosing the right specialization.
How does one go about this? The first question is whether you are applying with work experience or applying as a fresher.
Work-experience candidates should apply to the area in with the reason “relevant work-experience”. This has to be the first preference.
If you are applying with IT work-experience, unless you can really connect the nature of your work with another specialization, choose Information Management (IM). In previous years, applicants whose profiles did not match with the specialization they applied to have been reassigned to a different specialization! DO NOT make your first preference based on “special interest in this area”, make that your second preference.
In many cases, you might not find your profile relevant to any other area apart from the one in which you have work-ex. In this case, choose any of the areas as a second preference citing special interest in this area.
Freshers should apply only to Marketing or Finance.
Operations and IM both attract recruiters who are looking at people with relevant work-ex. The batches of both streams usually have an average work-ex of at least 2 years.
If your job profile involves being part of the design, procurement, production, quality control, maintenance, or logistics — anything that is part of the entire process of manufacturing and delivering a product or service (not IT products or services) — you can apply to Operations.
Mechanical engineering freshers also do not stand a chance of getting an Operations shortlist since management roles in Operations cannot be given to a fresher, recruiters look for candidates with hard-core ops work-ex.
The same thing applies to CSE/IT freshers applying to IM. Post an IM degree you will be handling business roles in IT and there is no way you can take these roles up without having been part of a software product/services projects.
Non-engineering freshers such as Commerce, Economics or BBA graduates can apply to Finance. You can choose a second area as Marketing based on “done specialized courses in this area” or “special interest in this area”.
The reverse holds true for Engineering freshers, Marketing first and Finance next.
Please note that for Finance you will be competing with people who have “graduated in related area” such as the backgrounds mentioned above and CA. So do not mention it as your first preference unless you are really serious about it and are sure that despite your profile not being relevant you will get a shortlist through a stellar CAT score.
A safer option is to apply to Marketing (since recruiters in this sector look for freshers) based on “special interest in this area” and Operations/Finance as a second preference under “done specialized courses in this area” or “special interest in this area”, whichever is relevant.
If you are mentioning Special Area Of Interest, you have to provide an explanation in 50 words.
Use this space to mention
- why you like this specialization and how your skills or traits are aligned to the same and
- the things you have done informally that demonstrate your special interest in this area.
You might have done a lot of things for which you have no certificates to show —
- say organizing events in your college and firm or working unpaid for an event management for Marketing
- following stock-markets or investing on your own keenly for finance
- in both fields, you can mention the books that you have read to improve your knowledge of the same
The last part of the form is the work-experience details, the filling up of which should be pretty straightforward.
Also, freshers — internships DO NOT COUNT as work experience, whether it is done before or after college; work-experience needs to be full-time, paid, work. Start-ups can be counted as work-experience provided you have registered the firm and have proof of the same. Work experience in the family business also needs to be supported by salary slips.
Will I get a call from S.P.Jain?
If you look at the comments thread for this post you will see that there is a deluge of queries.
It is understandable. Everyone would be jumping at the chance to get a call at 85 and they just want to know if they can get a call.
Here is a simple way to figure out if you will get a call.
First Milestone — Profile-Specialization Alignment
Please understand that profiles are not evaluated independently of the specialization you have applied to.
Most aspirants think that profile-based calls evaluate the quality of your academics, extracurriculars, and work-ex in isolation. Wrong.
The question is never — do you have a good profile.
It is always — do you have a good profile for Marketing, Finance, Operations or IM.
So if you are planning to apply to specializations without following the guidelines above then you are taking a risk and you can rest assured that in all likelihood you will not get a call.
Second Milestone — Academics
If you have more than one — X, XII or Graduation — less than 80 then a profile-based call is well-nigh ruled out.
Please understand that since they are giving out calls at 85 percentile, they will expect you to have the academic capability to handle a rigorous 2-year MBA program. The only way for them to check this is your past Acads.
You might have a 90 or 10 CGPA in your X, a 75 or 7.5 in your Grad, both of which are great, but if your XII marks are less than 80 due to your IIT attempt, then there is no way that with two 70s you can get a call unless you some insane spike in your work-ex or extracurriculars.
Third Milestone — Extracurriculars
Extracurriculars kick in only after you have cleared the other two milestones. Given India’s population, you know that there would be enough people who clear the first two. This is where a good extracurriculars or versatility comes into the picture.
A good extra-curricular profile can be one that has a major achievement in one area — state/national-level sports, concert-level musician/dancer or any other achievement that clearly puts you in the top percentiles in that area — and one more interest which can be minor.
Another kind of profile can be one that has a lot of width — sports, music, social work, leadership — average achievements in one or two areas and minor in others.
I have had the odd student — an engineer with good academics and a big brand work-ex — who got a call for Finance but have not seen a single case where they eventually cleared even the first Group Interview. They themselves felt that the peer group they were sitting with was in a different league as far their knowledge and profile-match for Finance went. The same students made it to IIM-B and other big schools but could not clear the first Group Interview of SPJIMR.
So before commenting and asking me whether your profile is good, please do a sanity check above.
If you clear all the milestones your profile will be competitive.
But does it guarantee a call, it depends on the quality of the other applications.
For Finance, for example, you will be competing with candidates with two 90s and an 80 and a big brand Commerce college plus a CA/CPT/IPCC plus big brand work-ex plus social work and other extracurriculars.
SPJIMR Current Batch Profile
SPJIMR puts out the summary profiles of all the candidates who are part of the current batch. We took an exhaustive look at it and this is what we found:
MARKETING: 25 percent freshers, mixed educational background
FINANCE: 25 percent freshers, only 1 engineer
OPERATIONS: Only 1 fresher (city-topper in graduation), average work-ex of 2.5 years, 50% mechanical engineers
IM: No Freshers, only 2 students with less than 24 months of work-ex, all candidates had IT/Tech work-ex
What if I DO NOT want to apply to the specialization my profile is aligned to?
Well very often, especially for those with IT work-ex, the whole point of an MBA is to escape IT and rediscovering one’s real passion:
- Marketing — owing to an extroverted personality that puts people at ease or above-average exceptional communication skills or something that tells you that you will be great at making ads
- Operations — Mechanical Engineers, usually
- Finance — it is either straightforward – the money and glamour associated with Finance as projected through Wall Street and Wolf of Wall Street, a fascination with stock markets knowing a thing or two about it and maybe having invested your own or someone else’s buck or two, a fascination with stock markets knowing nothing about it or a reason that is still inscrutable like the nature of God
So whatever your reason, if you want to change your domain — do not apply to SPJIMR. Both recruitments and admissions are aligned to profiles.
Does this mean that your MBA dreams are sealed?
Not really.
All other b-schools give you more leeway in that you are not asked about your choice of specializations in the application and in the interviews but only your reasons for an MBA in general.
This has already been a super-long post. Hope I have covered most of the stuff needed to fill the form and give you a fair idea of whether you will get a call.
In the comments section, you will have seen that I have personally replied to individual requests for profile assessments. I would like you to post a comment only if you feel that you have a query that the post does not answer. I can easily make out if someone has only skimmed through the post and dumped their profile in the comments looking for a quick-fix 🙂
Do not take my comments about whether you will get a profile-based call or not as a referendum on the quality of your profile for MBA applications in general and become despondent!
SPJIMR is giving out a profile-based call at 85 percentile, which means that only outstanding profiles get a chance to have such a low percentile and get into a b-school.
Let us take a profile that I have seen get a call — 90, 90, 80, B.Com Final Year, Decent ECAs, Female. These profiles can be considered outstanding on paper in terms of academics and gender diversity and educational diversity but they still have to clear the 85 percentile cut-off.
A probable rejection from SPJIMR, as per me, does not mean that your profile won’t cut ice with other schools, even SPJIMR will give you a score-based call if you score above 96-97 percentile. So don’t take things too much to heart.
Another thing, I do not blog for a living, I am the Chief Learning Officer for IMS and do this out of my interest over and above my daily responsibilities. Why am telling you this? So that you don’t get jittery if you do not receive an immediate reply and post — Sir, please reply sir comments 🙂 You will usually get a reply anywhere within a minute to 36 hours depending on my schedule.
Also, only early bird’s get the worm, I usually stop comments to profile-evaluation queries posted one-week before the submission deadline since that’s when the last-minute madness begins 🙂
The CAT Writer 
Sir, I am a G.E.M and a fresher. I want to pursue a career in finance. I neither have any certificates in finance nor any internship experience. I actually developed an interest for finance after observing one of my friends invest in the markets when I was in my second year. Seeing that I have started reading about it and have decided to pursue a career is the same. How should I go about answering the-“Why MBA in finance?” question in the SPjain form. Please help me!
My profile is:
Xth ICSE- 90.4%
12th CBSE-91.2%
Engg-8.815 SGPA
Extracurricular activities:
1. 3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo awarded by Kukkiwon(W.T.F headquarters, South Korea)
2. 1st degree black belt in Karate awarded by Honbu Dojo(Japan)
3. Silver medal in 4th Akashay Kumar International Kudo championships
4. Gold Medal in National Karate championships 2016 & 2017
5. Part of college Judo team and participated at university level competitions(pune)
Academics:
1. Topper in F.E(college level)
I have also been a part of the organizing committee of several inter-departmental events at the college level(no certificates)
Sir, what are my chances?
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Hi Kunal,
Unfortunately, the harsh truth is that you don’t stand a chance to get a Fin shortlist. While you have a strong interest the other applicants have credentials and work-ex in the same, so it is next to impossible for your profile to compete on paper.
So apply but don’t expect a call, and you have to express the reasons in your own words. I can’t possibly put out a standardized answer for Why Finance for those who have an interest, the least you can do is translate the passion into words (I have always hated guide-books for exams and have never used one :-))
All the best!
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Sir, with the current academics and ECAs do I have a chance at Marketing?
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Since you have good marks and national level ECAs I think you have a fair shot at Marketing.
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Hi Sir,
Class 10 – 7.6 CGPA on the scale of 10
Class 12 – 89.4 %
Graduation – 77.14 % in BCom (Honours)
I have a work-ex of 23 months in digital marketing at mid-senior level. Also, handled costing and budgeting at my firm.
1. National Yoga Player
2. Was the Vice-captain in school for 2 consecutive years (9th and 10th standard)
3. Won an Overall excellence award for good performance in academics and extracurricular activities
4. Have been a part of NSS (National Service Scheme) and Green Revolution (an NGO) as well
5. Have 2-year certification in classical music (vocals) from Allahabad Sangeet Prayag Samiti
6. Have multiple certificate and awards in music (group & solo), dancing, UCMAS, extempore competition in school and district levels and they are not just participation certificates but actual achievement awards.
7. Was part of the college dance and commerce society.
My first preference is finance and then marketing.
Is my profile decent?
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Hi Manuja,
Your academic profile is just above-average for Finance.
Since your work-ex is related to digital marketing I don’t think applying to Finance is a good idea.
The relevance of work-ex, especially when it is more than 15 months is the first criteria.
I think you will be better off applying to Marketing as the first preference citing work-ex and Fin citing educational background.
All the best!
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Hello sir,
My academic scores are:
10th- 95.40%
12th- 92.80%
CGPA: 8.10%.(upto 6th semester – Most likely to increase after 8th sem) B.E – Mechanical Engg
Co- curricular activities :
• Head of the Steering Department of the Team Crank Crusaders comprising of 20 members which cleared the Virtual Round and won the BEST JURY AWARD in INTERNATIONAL GO-KART CHAMPIONSHIP conducted by Lovely Professional University, Punjab in March 2018.
• Bagged 1st prize in OIL SEAL DESIGN in SAE Tier II LEVEL.
Extra- curricular activities:
• Won 1st place representing Chennai District in 3rd Senior State Softball Championship held on September 2013 at Chennai.
• Represented Tamil Nadu in six National Level Softball Tournaments from 2011 – 2015 held at various venues such as Goa, Punjab, West Bengal, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Anantapur.
• Represented Chennai in D.S RAJAMANICKAM “STATE LEVEL HOCKEY TOURNAMENT” held at Mayor Radhakrishnan International Hockey Stadium, Chennai during the year 2016-2017.
What are my chances of getting a call? And what score should I get in CAT18?
What stream should I choose Sir?
I am interested in OR and Finance.
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Hi Kiran,
Great acads and pretty good ECAs as well.
But unfortunately, since you are a fresher Ops is ruled out (recruiters look for candidates with hard-core manufacturing experience).
Finance and Marketing are only two options left and between the two Marketing first and Finance next since your profile does not have anything relevant to Finance. Overall, a decent chance of your acads getting you a call.
All the best!
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Hi Tony,
First of all,You are doing an amazing job and I immensely appreciate your work for students all across.
I would also seek your insights on my profile below.
X: 91.3
XII: 79.5% overall
grad: 7.37/10(68.7%)(B.tech in Information Technology from a private college)
Academics achievement:
Was the topper of school through out from class 4th to 10th.
Received Sarb Guna Samparna award in 10th in school.
Work Ex: I have been working with Infosys for close to 56 months now, where i have been promoted to Test Analyst recently
and I was working with a coaching Institute as Faculty in Delhi for 3 months for which i dont have any documents to provide as it was on contract basis.
Extra curricular:
School
Was the Student Head in School(i.e Sishu Senapati)
Have received the 150+ awards in Debate,Quiz,Painting,Seminar etc in inter school competitions in various levels.
Secured 3rd position in state level Debate contest and was awarded by the CM.
Was the captain of school Kabaddi team and represent it in state.
Have been till state level in Shot put and discus throw.
College
Have won 30+ awards in Group Discussions,Acting etc in Inter college contests in college fests.
Post Graduation and beside my Profession:
Have hosted 50+ shows for companies such as Infosys,E&W,Lava,JCB,Vodafone etc both paid and unpaid(infosys) for more than 30k to 40 k crowd in total.
Started the English Comedy scene in Bhubaneswar and helped it sustain and performed with many big names in the Industry across India in Bhubaneswar, Kolkata,Pune and Mumbai.
Have done 4 college shows as the Comedian,Quiz host and also as the guest.
Have got a radio Interview(as guest) and comedy Video in my youtube channel.
I have closely been working with HRs in my office to help them organize events.
I have very special interest in Marketing and have been following the stalwarts and the industry since college time.I can also reflect my interest and knowledge in this area given the opportunity.
Can I expect a profile based call? Please suggest me anything that can help me in this regard.
Thanks in advance!
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I have also been a member of Toastmasters International and have completed CC and CL manual in it and won Humorous speech contest and evaluation Contest inclub,area and division level.
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Hi Manas,
Honestly, your profile is one of the best I have come across in terms of quality and quantity of ECAs.
The big question is why have you been working for 56 months with Infosys!
Given this quantum of work-ex, all schools including IIMs will look at you as a candidate for their 1-year program rather than 2-year program.
Even if you apply to the 2-year program at SPJIMR, your work-ex makes a Marketing shortlist next to impossible.
The reason is that when you say after 56 months of IT work-ex that you want to get into Marketing, you are effectively telling them that you might as well be a fresher with an interest in Marketing and that your work-ex does not matter at all. They might as well take a fresher with great ECAs.
I can intuit that you can hold court for a long time about why you love Marketing but that might be beside the point here.
My suggestion IM first, Marketing second.
If you are okay with taking a risk, then the reverse order.
Most of the time the profiles are come across are more of the same, the odd profile such as yours makes answering these questions interesting.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Thanks a lot for your response.
I hope i don’t sound audacious if i am willing to take a risk by opting for Marketing first nd then IM later.
Would that hamper my chances of getting a profile based call ?
These would be my justification
My reason for 2 year MBA is that I want to learn inside the campus rather hurriedly approaching placement dates in an one year program.
My relatively more work ex reflects that i have been trying to explore other aspects of fields be it comedy or emceeing along with my ongoing job in Infosys.
What are the chances of getting a profile based call for this ?
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Take a shot is all I can say, chances not very high but they might call you out of curiosity 🙂
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Sir I know you mentioned you wont reply a week before the deadline but I just came across your post sir, I had filled the form long back but I hadnt paid . I showed my form to a friend but i didnt get a good response. It is a humble request to you sir. Please do consider my profile and help me out.
I have worked at Kpmg for a year but my case is slightly different. I have worked for 1st 6 months in Tax markets which was a support function for all tax SBUs in Kpmg, my role mainly included making presentations, assisting in developing social media strategies and events. Then I shifted to Tax- Transfer Pricing which was a client facing role. I had to work on BFSI clients and it was very much related to pure Tax. The thing is, I enjoyed both experiences but I cannot decide on a specialization. Mostly all the peers at work would ask me I would do an MBA in what, I used to say Finance but they always said you look more like a Marketing person as I was good at interacting with people and was never scared of giving ideas and strategies.
Please suggest sir I am really looking forward to your comments.
Acads :
10th 92.18
12th 91.38
BMS (Finance)- 85.85
I have also pursued a 3 years Honors Degree
ACHIEVEMENTS:
1) Gold Medal for placing 1st out of 22 teams in 1000X, an entrepreneurship event, 2017
2) Silver Medal for placing 3rd out of 25 teams in 1000X, an entrepreneurship event, 2016
3) ‘General Leadership Award’ for International Programs Committee, 2015-2016
4) ‘Outstanding Contribution’ for Enactus,2014-15
5) ‘Best OC Member’ Of International Programs Committee,2014-15
EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES:
1) Organized 1000X, an entrepreneurship event,2015
2) Assisted Mrs. Rekha Bahadur (Ex Vice-Principal Of H.R.College) for preparing research papers to be presented abroad on Popularity Of Coaching Classes In Mumbai, health, education, women rights, etc.
3) Represented H.R.College at Tsunami in a group dance competition in which we stood 1st out of 15 other colleges
VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES :
1) Co-ordinator and Organizer of events at Citizens Association For Child Rights (November 2014-Present)
2) Volunteered at Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) for organizing the ‘Diversity & Inclusion Program 2015’
3) Volunteered with the Akanksha Foundation at Mahalakshmi Mumbai Public School (7th November-11th December)
● Taught English and Mathematics to Grade 1 students and conducted office work as well
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Hi,
Both your educational background and work-ex are aligned to Finance.
People assume that the core skills required for marketing are a certain enthusiasm, extroverted nature and communication skills – nothing can be farther from the truth.
Once you get into good roles in financial services firms you can take up marketing roles in the same. Roles such as front-end I-banking or wealth management straddle will engage all the skills you have.
It’s very one-dimensional to classify Fin people as boring back-end and Mark as enthusiastic front-end. It again reflects a low-level, simplistic binary thinking that most people across all domains display.
So apply to Finance first and Marketing next. You can cite relevant work ex and mention the parts related to each.
Hope this clarifies.
All the best!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi sir,
My profile –
10th- CGPA 10 (CBSE)
12th- 81.8%
Graduation- Currently in 3rd year BA(2years overall percentage is 64%) Purvanchal University
Have no work experience.But i was leaning from my father about his carpet business.I have also accompanied him in various Carpet Exhibition Fairs where we were representing our company to the buyers.
I have participated in various Olympiad organised by Unified Council and Cipel during my school years.Class topper in the Cyber Olympiad organised by Unified Council
Won 1st prize in Quiz, Debate, Science model competition, Badminton etc in school.
Which specialization should I apply for?
Looking at the Acads and extra-curriculars, what are the chances of getting a profile based call?
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Hi Adarsh,
Your profile is decent.
If you have read the post you will have known that your options are Fin and Mark with Mark first preference since your educational background is not relevant to Fin.
Overall chances I would say are not very high since nothing stands out.
A score-based call at 96-plus percentile is your best bet.
All the best!
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Thank you sir for your response.
Sir, can you please help me a bit more.
Sir, on the basis of my educational qualifications and the details which i told you, can you please suggest me some good B-School where I can apply and my chances is also good for getting admission.
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Thanks a lot for your response sir. It did clarify my doubts, thanks again!
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Sir,
Here is my profile
X-94.36%
XII- 86.5%
Graduation ( B.Com) – 76.88%
– I am a qualified Chartered Account (CA) with 60.5% in Final Examination with exemption in 5 subjects including Strategic Financial Management (80/100), Advanced Management Accounting, Financial Reporting, IT and Tax.
– I have 12 months of work experience in Pricewaterhouse coopers in the Mergers and Acquisitions-Tax department. My major role involved assisting/executing various structuring exercises like mergers, demerger, slump sale, due diligence, inheritance planning etc. I have worked on assignment of listed companies like Mahindra and Mahindra, Atul Limited, Indocount Industries etc.and other private companies as well.
I have received the “Dazzling debut ” award for good performance.
-Currently i have opened a small venture in a partnership with my friend to assist on income tax/GST returns, accounting etc.
Other Achievements
1. I have secured 2nd Rank in School in SSC and among top 10% in previous standards
2. I have certificate for meritorious performance in IPM exams (Institutes for Promotion on Mathematics)
I have completed the following courses/programs
1. Workshop on Transfer Pricing regulations (conducted by Chamber of Tax Consultants)
2. Workshop on GST and implementation (conducted by ICAI)
3. Advanced Information Technology Course (conducted by ICAI)
4. General Communication and Management Course (conducted by ICAI)
Versatility
1. I am interested in event management. I have been part of the Annual Offsite Committee in my workplace. I have been awarded with “PWC- Above and beyond” award for the same. Apart from this i was a part of various organizing teams in college including Moneta-Financial Markets festivals, school and society
2. I am interested in blogging about food. I have a web page of my own “Food Affairs”. I have been to several restaurants as a part of exploring the food culture/ markets in Mumbai.
3. Apart from above i have some interest in travelling and i have started reading.
Personal Responsibility
I have shouldered the responsibility in managing family finances. Having work experience in inheritance planning has developed my insight on importance of streamlining personal finances. In this regard i have assisted my family in insurance/investment decisions. I have assisted my friends in their tax compliance matters. I have keen interest in stock markets and have been investing family surplus in various investment tools.
Can you please comment on my profile and let me know my chances of getting a call
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Hi,
Assuming that you want to apply to Finance you stand a decent chance of getting a call.
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
I am an EXTC student from sndt university , currently working in a MNC in the data warehousing sector , completed a year there just a few days ago.
10th – 88.36
12th 61.17
btech – 66.8
Took part in multiple activities in college , was a core council member for a technical council and organised a national level fest
while waiting for the offer letter learnt a course on web designing
In office took up anchoring for an event
Was awarded star of the month within 7 months of joining
Was given an automation to perform within 5 months of joining
I didnt give any Olympiads
I want to apply for IT management course but i doubt i can get considered for profile based call
as based on my marks history , i feel , i wont stand a chance. Am i right?
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Hi,
Given the academics and average ECAs, a profile-based call is a really tough ask.
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
Could you please go through my profile details and give a feedback on what are my chances of getting a profile based call,The PROFILE details are as follows:
Class 10th-94.8 overall(ICSE) {I was the class topper till 10th}
Class 12th-90.8 overall(CBSE)
Graduation 9,19 CGPA(till semester 3,have applied for a revaluation of semester 4 result { BSc(Hons) Computer Science(3years) }
Work Experience-Fresher ,but have done a digital marketing internship at PharmEasy(DOES THIS COUNT IN RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE IN SPJIMR FORM)
Certifications-I am an Amazon Trained E-Commerce Specialist.
Extra-Curricular Activities-I was a district level debator in school,won competitions back then,continuing that interest,joined college debating society as well.
Was part of the school dramatics team(our team had won various competitions),Joined the college theatre society ,our team won a number of competitons in the DU circuit as well as in the neighbouring NCR Region.
I have worked as an actor for two Youtube Productions.
Participated in quizzing competitions in school and college.
Sports-
Currently a part of college hockey team.
Position of responsibility-
Was the school captain,excecutive member in college societies.
I am interested in both Marketing and Finance with a greater interest in finance,but since I haven’t done anything specific in that field,that would be difficult.
Waiting for your response,thanks in advance.
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Hi Arjun,
You have a very good profile.
You will be better-off applying to Marketing first and Finance next.
Internships do not count as work-ex.
You should be able to get a call for Marketing.
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
I need your suggestion regarding my profile
X: 90%
XII: 85%
grad: 9.93/10(86%)(BMS from Bhavans College)
Overall Achievements:
Ranked 1st in fy ,sy and tybms for scoring highest marks in academics in Bhavans college.
Presented a research paper in a “One Day Students Research National Conclave”
Participated in Stock Mind-national level mock stock competition.
Ranked 1st in 9th and 10th for securing highest marks.
Certified for successfully completing the Course on Computer Concepts of NIELIT
Topped 9th and 10th for securing highest marks.Attended a workshop with Harvard(SPNM and PMNO) Scholars.
Attended a seminar conducted on Stop Motion Animation at Arena Academy.
Secured 3rd Rank in racing competition at school level.
Interests- Worked as a fashion blogger as well as influencer on instagram for various brands like true roots,iblush,glamisha,mirah belle,etc. Also worked as a food blogger and attended various events in the same field.
One issue i have is that i have actually got no work experience,my graduation got completed on may and after that i worked for 3 months with career 360 online forum . Also,before graduation i have worked for 3 months with a marketing company, so should i mention these in work experience column?
My specialisation in bms was in finance and i have also topped the mumbai university in finance subjects, so as a fresher should i expect a call from sp jain based on my profile?
Also please suggest me some good b schools where my chances of getting admission are there as on an average i m scoring 80-90 marks in mocks…please help me
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Hi,
You should apply to Finance with your first preference and Marketing next since you have a good academic profile.
Work-ex has to be full-time paid work-ex so unless that is the case do not mention it as work-ex.
You have a fair chance of getting a call for Finance.
You should be able to get hold of a list of good b-schools that you can get into around the 80 percentile mark. I refrain from giving my opinions on schools beyond the top-30, since I do not want to be seen promoting one over the other and most of them are equally good or bad.
All the best!
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Apologies for Posting it again Sir ! But Just wanted to ask you whether I can expect a call with given profile and academics?
Hi Sir!
My profile is as follows. Please guide me on the possibility of getting a call and the specializations I could go for.
Acads:
X- CGPA 9.8 /10 (93.10), CBSE
XII- 80.40 %, CBSE
College- 7.2/10 ( 72%) B Tech – Mechanical Engineering, Amity University
GMAT – 680
TOEFL 103
Work Ex:
Left my Job in December 2017 to Prepare for higher studies
Amazon India – 15 Months – Aug 2016 – Dec 2017 Transaction Risk Minning Investigator ( Business / Data Analytics Role )
Havells India – 3 Months – June 2016- Aug 2016 – Graduate Engineer – Supply Chain Analytics
( Left the Job as got a good offer from my dream company – Amazon India , In my Dream Role – Data Science / Analytics )
Academics:
• Scholar Student – Awarded with Scholar Badge CBSE Class 10 exams
• Highest score (school level) – Web Technologies , in class 12
• Hold Professional certification in Risk Management & Lean Management from British Standard Institute (BSI)
• Entrepreneurship Development Program from NEISBUD
• Did a Project with New Holland Limited as Part of my B.Tech curriculum implementing lean manufacturing and leaning 60.73% of change over time
• Made a Solar powered refrigerator and got company sponsorship for the project from Jackson’s India Limited ( Leading solar panel manufacturer )
• Pursuing R, Python , Java certifications to shift into Data Sciences after a brief experience with Amazon India
Versatility:
• Represented the country Peru in INMUN 2010, which
is India’s largest International MUN having delegation
from countries like Sri Lanka , Malaysia , China etc .
• House Prefect (2008 – 2009), Class Representative
(2009 – 2010), Scholar Student (2010 – 2011)
• Secretary (2011-2012) of Interact club that work under the
guidance of Delhi rotary club to organize blood donation
camps, fund raising and social service events for the
underprivileged and natural disaster victims.
• 5 Years of NGO WORK & membership with Interact club ( 2007- 2012)
• Trained in Classical Tabla , Guitar and Key Board
• Professional Website developer , Started earning revenue from website development in 9th Grade
• Member of Schools CODE CLUB – Represented schools in various inter school
• Avid Lawn Tennis Player
Responsibility:
• Organized Amity Youth Fest, One of India’s biggest Cultural
Fest, as Head Coordinator (AYF2015 , AYF2014 ) and
Coordinator (AYF2013)
• Awarded with: Mr. Perfectionist and Bulls Eye Award – Amazon India R&R
Preference 1: IM
Preference 2: Operations / Marketing
Apologies for Posting it again Sir ! But Just wanted to ask you whether I can expect a call with given profile and academics ?
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You stand a good chance of a getting a call for IM.
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Hi Sir,
Thank you for the in-dept post. It has cleared most of my doubts regarding my profile. I just need clarification on one aspect. When it comes to my academics, following is what I’ve applied with:
10th CBSE- 9 CGPA
12th CBSE- 85.57 % in PCM
BSc (Economics) 72%
MSc (Financial Economics) 72%
Does the fact that my academics graph shows a continuous slide in terms of marks go against me for the profile based shortlist?
Also, if I apply for a profile based shortlist and do not get a call, am I also not eligible for the score based call after the results?
Regards,
Sahil Sharma
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Hi Sahil,
They are not going to qualitatively or quantitively measure any graph with a particular slope and above being permissible.
They will give points to X, XII, Grad based on slabs 10 points for all above 90 and so on, and you will get whatever you get as per the points system.
Everyone is eligible for one to shortlist — profile or score, if it does not happen through the first mode then you get through the score-based shortlist provided you score above a 96 percentile.
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
Firstly, I extremely apologize for posting a query at the 11th hour of the deadline. But I came to know about your post recently. I am confused about whether to include the following points and if yes, in which section? Please do consider my profile for review sir.
My profile-
X: 92.8
XII: 77.67% overall
grad: 65%
Academics achievement:
Topper in science in 10th at the school level
Vice-Captain and prefect in 10th and 9th resp.(should I include these as my achievement?)
College-
-Member of sponsorship team at college cultural fest.
-Member of Students Council- Ladies representative.
-Represented college at an International Level for Robotics Competition at IIT-Delhi
-Organized college and departmental events
Apart from my 28 months experience in IT, I have an experience of 8 months in a robotic org as a Program Director wherein we organized robotics workshops at school and NGO level. (Can I include this in my work-ex section?)
Special Interest-
Dancing(No certificates) but participated at different events(can I include this in versatility section?)
Also, I have thought of adding my 1st preference in IM and 2nd for Marketing. Will this be a good idea to go with?
Looking forward to your fruitful response.
Regards.
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Hi Nikita,
Work-ex is always full-time, paid, work-ex, which is usually possible only one at a time. Anything that you do on the side after your regular job is not work-ex.
If you read the post you will have seen that not having achievements does not mean not mentioning something. You can mention anything that you are passionate about and use the description space to write about the same.
You have an okay shot at IM, your XII marks might be the only hindrance in getting a profile-based call, which does not mean that you won’t get a score-based call.
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
This is my profile:
My profile is:
Xth ICSE- 93% + (>95 best of 5)
12th CBSE-92% + (>96 best of 4)
Engg-8.2 (NIT Warangal)
Work Ex:
I am a business analyst in Market Research (ZS, Exp: 1.5 years as of Dec’18)
Academics:
1. Scholarship offered from Government of India by virtue of being in the top 1% of students appearing for ISC
2. Awarded merit scholarship by college for being branch topper
Extracurricular activities:
1. Volunteer work teaching underprivileged children
2. Was a joint secretary of the college ‘Radio Club’ :hosting shows and other events over the radio
3. Represented and won medals for the College in all India Inter-NIT swimming
4. Part of the ‘Events’ team (at workplace) : organize and manage office level events
5. Several Certificates at the Intra-College/School level
Also, I had applied for Fin in 2016 as a fresher and couldn’t make it past the 1st round. What are my chances for Marketing this time
What are my chances of a profile based call?
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Hi,
Since you have a good academic profile and have Market research work-ex you should be able to get a call.
Last year only 1 engineer got a final admit into Fin :-), so you are not alone.
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
I just came across your post and wanted to check my changes of getting a profile based call as well. It would be of great help,
My profile is as follows:
10th – 89.8 (CBSE)
12th – 93.6
B.Tech – 83.2%
Work ex – I have been working with Deloitte for 36 months now as a technology consultant in the insurance domain. My main interest is Operations and then Finance, but as i was reading through your article, i realized that both of the specializations that i want to opt for will only qualify as ‘Special area of interest’ as my experience fully is in the technology stream. However, I have been a part of an NGO for sometime now and I am the Finance intern apart from being an Academic support volunteer. I help in the logistics and budgeting of the events we organize in the city. I am also a part of the core team that helps in organizing events and taking care of logistics in my workplace. I was also involved in organizing events and compering for them in college.
1. Consistently been ranked in the top 1% in my peer group across Deloitte in the last 3 years.
2. Was awarded a certificate from a client for outstanding effort and contribution in delivering a critical piece by taking lead.
3. Was part of NSS and Street cause during my graduation. Currently work with Make a Difference.
4. Have awards in domains like Relay race, basketball, creative writing, debates and extempore from school
5. Won the 2nd prize in a paper presentation by IEEE chapter which was conducted by a private engineering college
6. Was awarded ‘Best Idea’ prize for a project in college
7. Was given the ‘Best Academic Performer’ certificate in school for 2 years.
8. Have been given 6 performance awards in my 3 year tenure at work.
9. Trained carnatic singer(Although i do not have any certificates for proof)
It would be of great help if you can let me know my chances of getting a profile based call.
Thank you
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Hi Monica,
I think you should apply to IM first and either Ops or Finance as a second preference if you want to convert SPJIMR and not just get a call.
Some stats — only 1 engineer in the latest FIN batch, 50% mechanical engineers with 2.5 years of work-ex in Ops.
Almost all IM candidates have around 24 months if not more IT/Tech work-ex, no freshers at all.
So while your interests are understandable you are better off putting IM first for SPJIMR.
All the best!
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Academics:-
10th- 93%
12th- 95%
B.tech – 9.213 Cgpa
Work Ex- 30 months
SAP -Development Associate Consultant(21 months)
My job responsibility included application and process specific solution ERP consulting for a specific application and/or process area: support the creation of business blueprint, implementation based on a blueprint, support execution of testing, go live support, and post go live support.
Family Business – Manager (9 months)
Academic Achievement-
1-School Topper – 10th & 12th
Consistently excelled throughout my school years, securing the first place for 9 years including 12th standard (ISC) & 10th standard (ICSE) and was felicitated for the same . Also served as the HEAD BOY and held various key responsibilities.
2 – Special Merit Scholarship –
I had received the Special Merit Scholarship amounting to Rs 1,50,000/- from the university for excellent performance during school years which included academic performance , extra-curricular activities , participation and achievements in various olympiads . My scholarship was renewed based on academic performance in the University.
3- Highest Marks Award in Computer Applications-
Got Rewarded by the Science and Technology Council of Uttar Pradesh Government for securing highest marks in Computer Applications in ICSE Board Examination in the year 2010.
Versatility
1. Fitness and Nutrition-
Physical and mental fitness is an important part of my life. Having transformed myself completely, I take pride in having the sound knowledge about fitness and nutrition. This knowledge has not only changed my body but also my mind making me consistent and disciplined in other walks of life.
2: Photography –
I love photography because it helps me to capture an experience. It can be artistic or the way it is depending on the mood. Having hands on experience in different areas of photography like portrait, landscape, wildlife, candid, travel helps me in having a different perspective about life.
3: Travel and Adventure –
Travel satisfies my cravings about life and its manifestations.It helps me take a break from my routine since gathering information about new places thrills and surprises me with unique facts.Having done a lot of road trips and adventure activities has helped me in understanding human nature in a better way.
4: Social Service –
I have been active in social service since college because I feel its my responsibility to contribute to the well being of society. Been a part of various CSR initiatives like tree plantation, lake cleanup and volunteered for NGOs as well. I am also registered blood donor as well.
5:Sports –
I have been active in sports since childhood specially badminton. It has developed courage , discipline and concentration in me as well as it boosts my mind power and energy levels. I have participated in various school , college and workplace events for the same.
Responsibility –
Personal-
Successfully organized the annual party of our business catering to almost 500 clients and the silver jubilee celebration of my parents wherein I was responsible for deciding the venue, caterers, invitations, etc. I have also created detailed travel itineraries for friends and at workplace for team outings..
Professional –
Performed quality technical upgrade assessment at SAP for various clients and took up more responsibility than my role demanded to ensure client deliverables were met within deadline and received appreciation. Organised programming challenges in the college to promote coding culture being the Campus Ambassador of HackerRank.
Certifications:-
1: SAP Certified Development Associate – ABAP with SAP Netweaver 7.40.
2: Completed the course “Introduction to Food and Health” by Stanford University on Coursera.
3: Completed the course “Photography : First Steps” by Lynda.com
4: Completed a Certificate course in Mobile Application Development from Trainedge Centre , Lucknow.
5: Passed Mutual Funds Introductory exam by NISM.
Please let me know is the profile is good enough for a call ?
I have interested in IM , Marketing and Operations . What should be my order of preference ?
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Hi,
You have a great academic profile and decent ECAs.
You should apply to IM first citing relevant work-ex and then Marketing or Ops depending upon your area of interest.
All the best!
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Apologies for spamming sir, I actually forgot to include one query in my last comment. I have filled my whole form in bullets as I felt it would be more concise and won’t use up too many words either.
Is it preferable to fill the form in 50 word paragraphs or is it fine the way it is? I haven’t submitted the form yet.
Regards,
Sahil Sharma
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Descriptions are usually to shed a qualitative light on something. Bullets are to state facts or make lists. So it depends on what you want to convey. You can always use a mix of both.
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