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, thank you for your post. I am a huge fan of your blog but I found something very strange here. You have suggested that freshers should give marketing as first preference and finance / operations second. Does this apply to people who don’t want to do marketing as well? Is this a bait and switch sir? If so, does that really work? If not, it’s rather bizarre as I’d imagine someone not specifically interested in marketing shouldn’t be signing up for such a course even if it’s at an excellent school like the one discussed here.
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Well, the thing is that a lot of freshers want to Finance without having anything related to Finance such as relevant education background, work-ex or professional certification.
So if applicants have a mild specialisation focus but are more keen on getting an MBA, then they are better off applying to Marketing since there is no relevant undergrad (excluding BBA).
So this is not exactly bait and switch since there is no switch technically.
The second preference works of say, your profile is not competitive enough or relevant for the first one but is for the second one.
For example, a guy with IT Work Ex is interested in Finance and applies for FIN and IM in that order. He will get rejected for Fin and get a call for IM since he has given it as second preference.
Having said all of this, all of this is just to get a call, you still have to clear the two rounds of interviews by proving your suitability of your profile for the specialisation.
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Informative post. I want to apply for SPJMR this year. But one of my friend from NITIE, told me that since my academics are not consistent(10th-86%, 12th-81%(School Topper – No Certificate),Grad-66.3%), I’ve a less chance to get a call.
I’m an avid reader and also have developed reading as my primary hobby. I’ve crossed #100 in my reading. Currently on 110th.
I’m an engineer but I placed in the startup from my college in Sales & Marketing. I loved it. And I’m still working in Sales. So, my specialization is clear : Marketing.
So, I just want to know whether should I apply or not?
Thanks.
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Hi,
Profile-based calls go to applicants with a great academic profile since they will get a call at a lower percentile.
Given this your friend is right about your chances of getting a profile-based call.
This does not mean that you will not get a score-based call if you score 95 percentile or above on the CAT; so you can apply.
I hope this clarifies.
All the best!
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Hi,
Your friend is right as far as your chances of getting a profile-based call go since great academics are supposed to compensate for a lower CAT percentile cut-off.
But you have a chance to get a score-based call if you score above 95 percentile; so you can apply.
Hope this clarifies.
All the best!
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Hi,
I will have a work ex of 16 months by the end of December. And I am interested in IM as well as operation.
I don’t really have any great academic achievement except an Olympiad I took back in school.
But I have a lot add in the versatility section.
I wanted to know whether 16 month work ex is good enough to get IM or not.
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Hi Udit,
16 months is fine since you will have almost 2 years when you join the course.
All the best!
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Thanks
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Please help me fill the profile for Sp Jain as despite having a decent profile along with a good academic background I did not receive a Profile Based Call last year. Here is the list of my accomplishments-
class X-95%
class XII- 93.2%
National and State level Basketball Player
National Silver Winner in All India Art Competition organised by Reliance Foundation.
Presented a Review Paper on Design of a Solar AGV at the International Conference on Sustainable Development through Research in Engineering and Management 2016 held in YMCA University of Science and Technology Faridabad.
All INDIA 3rd in DRAG RACE and Overall National Rank- 5 in Human Powered Vehicle Challenge 2015 organised by American Society of Mechanical Engineers
All India 3rd in National Go-Kart Championship 2013 held in Kolhapur Maharashtra
Apart from these national level achievements I have accomplishments at school and college level as well.
What should be the Specialisation preference that I should fill in the Sp Jain form?I am a fresher from Mechanical Engineering. Last Year I chose Operations as my first preference and IT as my second. Should I have opted for something else to have gotten a call like Marketing as my first preference. Please guide me regarding the same.Thanking You in advance.
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Hi Wasim,
The thing is that for both operations and IM, work-ex of around 2 years is a must.
No one will give a fresher, the job of managing a lot of people and processes in a plant or in an IT Project, just with an MBA.
So since recruiters in these domains hire people with relevant work-ex, schools such as SP Jain align their batch profile to the same.
The only relevant stream for your profile is Marketing, which you can apply to if you are interested in the same.
All the best!
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Sir Here are my details:
Class x- 10 CGPA
Class 12- 92.8%
Btech Computer science- 73.19
I have 2 papers published in international journals.
1 is in IEEE and other one is in IJCA.
I have graduated in 2017 itself.
I do not have any co curricular certificates, at least not any major ones, I have a few from school olympiads but they were mostly school rank 1.
I read a lot (3-4 hrs a day), non fiction mostly, generally very well aware about the world.
I have moved around a lot due to my parents’ profession.. would that be an advantage? I changed schools, small towns, metro cities, went to south india etc…
Q1: What are my chances of a profile based call?
Q2: What should be my order of specialisation?
1st IM (based on my grad subject)
2nd marketing (as this is for freshers)
or the other way around?
Thanks!
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Hi Archit,
Since your GraD CGPA is less than 8, it is a bit tough to say whether you will get s call or not despite the fact that your X and XII are excellent.
As far as specialisation goes, firms recruiting IM Grads look for a bit of work ex, say at the least 16 months. So the same applies to the selection panel as well.
Since you have the relevant background you might stand a chance in IM.
I would say choose 1 and 2 based on which sector you really want to work in – technology or marketing – post your MBA.
You need to think about which firms excite you – Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, Google or HUL, P&G, Nestle etc.
Regards,
Tony
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Sir Its not my CGPA, Its my percentage which is 73.19%
In my college it is quite hard to score even 75%. Would that be taken in to account?
I would rather work in a Technology firm rather than in marketing, purely out of interest/capability basis.
Thanks.
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Hi Archit, While they say they normalise Scores university-wise, I am not sure having less than 80 percentage, after converting it into percentage, will work.
So the best case is to look at s technology and hence IM specialisation and hope for a score-based call.
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
Presently, I have a work- ex of 15 months in product development. The work is not entirely related to operations but involves some part of it. It is kind of Engineering management. Also, I would like to pursue my career in Finance/Consultancy. I have read few books on finance, taken a few online courses too to add to my knowledge. After reading this article, I am a bit doubtful whether I should fill Finance or not in first preference. Could you please help and advice on how do I fill the preferences?
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The work in which I am presently employed is somewhat related to my technical domain
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Hi Aditya,
As mentioned in the post, relevant background is the first criteria for a Finance shortlist.
So the chances of cracking a Fin shortlist are slim.
You mentioned product development but not in which sector. If it is in software then applying for IM and looking at jobs in the technology space is the best option.
If you are really really keen about Finance then there is no alternative but to do a CFA.
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
I am employed in an automobile MNC. So, should I fill operations in the specialisation? Though my work is not entirely operations, should I mark it as “Relevant experience in the field”?. Also, I would like to ask whether I can get into consultancy through the Operations field?
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If you are in Automobile Product Development then apply to Ops. There are Ops specific consultancies that visit SP Jain.
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Hello Sir,
I would like some clarification regarding the part where you say –
“If you are applying with IT work-experience, unless you can really connect the nature of your work with an 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.”
I wanted to apply with Marketing as my first preference and IM as my second. What I don’t understand is, if my profile doesn’t match the marketing specialization, they should look at my 2nd preference, if I am not wrong. How can the reassigning of specialization occur in my scenario? Could you please explain?
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Well, the whole idea is that your profile must match your preference.
Say you don’t want IM as first preference and they have enough applicants who have IM as first preference, then you might get rejected for both Marketing and IM.
They did the reassigning a few years ago before they started giving two preferences.
Understand that while the word PREFERENCE is used, it does not mean that if they find your profile unsuitable for Marketing you will automatically get called for IM. You will have to factor in the number of candidates who have applied to IM as first preference.
If your experience is in IT but in product development you can take a shot at Marketing, otherwise unless your profile has a lot of versatility, marketing might be a tough ask.
All the best!
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Hello Sir. Would it be possible to have my profile reviewed by you over mail?
Thanks.
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Yeah send it across.
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Can you provide your mail id please?
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Hi,
Please help me clear a few queries regarding the registration based on my achievements:
1. X- 84%
2. XII- 79.86%
3. Grad.- B. Tech. in Electrical Engineering with 7.92 overall.
4. Co-curricular activities include:
– Assistant General Secretary (Science & Technology) of the General Council in College, organised the annual techno-management fest of my college in my third year with the best participation and organisation till date.
– Won the second prize in Business Plan at my college fest.
– Interested in photography, won a prize (Landscape category) while in college.
– Interested in anchoring, hosted all major events held during my four years in college.
5. Currently working at Infosys Limited. Even though I am from engineering background, I am working as a functional consultant, with SAP Finance as my domain. I am actually enjoying my work here and would love to do an MBA in Finance. Would me not having any specialization in Finance be a problem or will my relevant work experience help?
Please help me with these queries. Thanks in advance. 🙂
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You can apply to Finance with relevant work ex as the reason and describe your work ex from the perspective of the business problem you solve for the client.
Also, stellar academics is something that is a must for a profile-based called since they give out these calls at lower CAT Percentiles.
So you stand an outside chance because of your extra-curries and gender diversity.
All the best!
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Would it be possible to have my profile reviewed by you over mail?
Thanks.
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Sir as you mention about finance. i have done an online internship which was basically equity research analysis. i did research and made 2 reports. one on construction sector and other on government company.i learnt a lot of ratio analysis n all. My background is Economics hons.i have participated in debates and have a penchant towards hosting events.and i have no idea of marketing and operations. i have above average academic records.i have won prizes in debate at zonal,district and state level in school. In college, i have focused more on hosting events
1. how should i fill the specialization category form?
2. what should i emphasize more while filling the form in order to get a call?
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Hi,
You should fill in Finance since Eco is a relevant educational background for the same.
For the second preference you can choose Marketing since freshers will get a look in.
Highlight the prizes you have won as well.
In the form use the versatility section to highlight your various non-academic Achievements.
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class x – 10 CGPA (95%)
class xii- 92.8%
Btech (computer science) – 73.19 Credit Percentage
2013-2017 batch.
Apart from these I have 2 papers published in international journals
no social service done.
no sports certificates.
I have a few olympiad certificates, but they are only a maximum of school rank 1 kind.
apart from this i have 2 internships , one is with EY India and another one with DRDO Ministry of def. both were in my core study area of computer science.
My dilemma is should I fill in IM as first perference or Marketing. Since you have stated that IM profiles tend to be of those who have some work ex, and at that same time not to fill in the first preference as something based on special interest.
thanks!
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Dear Sir,
I graduated in Economics (71%) and have ~90% in both 10th and 12th. I have fairly strong extracurriculars with national-level prizes in elocution, debating and research competitions. In addition to this, I have an affinity for languages and am multilingual.
I have work experience primarily in marketing and brand management at a Big 4. I have about 35 months of experience cumulatively, with 14 months at the big 4 and about 21 at a medium-size manufacturing company (had to do this for some family reasons). Before that I had worked part-time for a good amount of time for a top boutique management consulting firm. I want to switch to strategy, preferably working in the future in consumer electronics.
What do you think should be my specialisation preference with a view to maximising my chances of conversion? Any other suggestions for the application would also be most welcome, sir. Thanks in advance.
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Sir, I would be very grateful for a response here.
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Hi Antarip,
If you are looking at good Strategy or Consulting roles then SP might not be the best space for you since both Consulting and Gen Mgt. roles are a bit limited there.
You are better off doing a program where the specialisation can be chosen later and the visiting firms are also not choosing within silos.
As of now apply to Marketing, I don’t think any other specialisation is applicable given your profile.
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
I had a few doubts regarding the selection of specialization.
Brief description about my profile:-
1. X- 91.2%
2. XII- 95.2%
3. Grad.- B.Tech. in Computer Science and Engineering with 7.36 overall from NIT Calicut
4. Co-curricular activities include:
– Academic Affairs Secretary of the Student Affairs Council in College,
– Was the Head of Marketing Committee for the technical and cultural fest of my college
– Was the Joint Secretary for ISTE NITC Students Chapter
– Played an active role conducting outreach workshops in different colleges in Kerala
– After graduation, I had around 1-month break before joining Oracle. During that time I had spent time with sales and marketing teams in an FMCG sector company which is owned by my uncle.To understand the corporate working of Sales and Marketing teams.During this stint, I had traveled around Kerala meeting distributors and getting their feedbacks.
5. Currently working at Oracle.I have a developer role.Have around 15 months of experience.
I was planning to give Marketing as my first preference as a special area of interest and IM as second choice reason being relevant work experience.But after reading your article I am a bit confused regarding this. What do you think should be my specialization preference with a view to maximising my chance of getting shortlisted.
Thanks in advance.
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If you want to give Marketing as Special Area of Interest then use the 50 words description space to make a case for it since you have done things with a marketing alignment, PoR and Clubs, in college as well as the project after it.
As a second preference give IM.
If you had nothing related to Marketing I would have suggested otherwise.
All the best!
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Thank you sir 🙂
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Hi Sir,
Following are my academic:
10th 89
12th 90
B.E. 9.13
2 years work experience in Accenture Pvt..Ltd.
SAP( production planning)
I was actively involved in academics during my college days . I have written and published 2 white papers one in international journal and one in national journal.
I had helped my mother run her start up ” SNEHA RAKHI” by creating her PDF of her designs and makes sales for her in my office .
I was part of quad torc team, we designed and fabricated a quad bike.
I had won the best project ( mechanical) during by graduation days.
I was actively involved in co- circular actives during my tenure in office. I had organised several client visits and the taken bay session.
I was actively involved in CSR activities and during my school days I had raised fund for old age homes.
I follow the stock market and have invested quite a sum on the same.
Please tell my chances of getting a profile based call.
I more keen towards fiance.
Kindly help me which profile to select first .
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Hi Saurav,
You have great academic profile that holds you in good stead for a profile-based call.
The catch though is which specialisation you should apply to.
While your interest in Finance, your achievements are a bit technical and a bit related to marketing.
So if you want to make pitch for Finance you have to do it under special area of interest mentioning your interest in stocks (books you have read), the investment and gains in the same, and your intended field within Finance after an MBA.
As a second preference you can give Operations by linking it to your work ex.
Hope this clarifies.
I feel more while you should apply to SP, an MBA Program where you get to choose your specialisation in your second year will be a better option for you.
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
My 10th Score is 88%
12th Score is 85%
Throughout my school i was in top 5%
I did my grad in Electronics n Communication
My grad CGPA is 9.07 (85.70%)
I was ranked in top 3 in my college.
In my other academic achievements, I have certificates for Olympiads I took in school almost every year.
Other than that I will have a work ex of 16 month by the end of December in the IT Sector.
I have some sales n marketing experience as freelancer for 3 months.
How are my chances in IM and Operation(as my second choice) in terms of profile based calls?
Can one select relevant work experience as a reason in both preferences for the same work ex?
Would it affect if i select relevant work ex for IM as well as special interest in this area?
Thanks
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Hi Akanksha,
You have a good profile that suits IM the most. Apply to IM as first preference with relevant work ex as the reason.
For Operations the candidates who get selected are usually those with manufacturing-related experience. So it’s better to apply using special area of interest.
Your profile is good in terms of academics and extra-critics and gender diversity so you stand a good chance.
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
I have been working for 14 months as a developer, and I am planning to write CAT and other MBA entrances this year, as I want to switch to a marketing/ operations field.
10th- 10CGPA (CBSE)
12th – 92.8% (CBSE)
Engineering- 8.72 CGPA
And work ex of 14 months as of today as a technical consultant (SAP).
But after reading the post, what I understand is I should probably put IM as my preference rather than Marketing? But I really wanted to switch my domain completely and was wondering how can I give marketing as a preference where I do not have any background in the field.
Also the fests / school competitions / olympiads help in profile shortlisting?
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Hi Shreyoshi,
You can apply to Marketing using special area of interest as the reason.
Use the 50-word space to make a case for the same using the relevant extra-currics.
All your achievements will help in the shortlisting, just depends on the level of achievement.
Your domain switch is possible at other schools since the selection process is more open. At SP it won’t be easy given the specialisation-based admissions but then there are many other colleges that offer a great marketing profiles
All the best!
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Hi Sir
I’m Pranay graduated from NIT-Trichy this year (2017) from civil engineering background. I’m working for major data analytics firm as Business Analyst. We work on different data analysis platforms. And during college I headed marketing team of my department symposium and underwent equity research courses through online which relates me to finance. I’ve got shortlisted to final round in international online competition related to finance.
My scores are as follows:
10th-91.16%
12th-96.4%
Grad-83%
As my work profile relates me to technical background(well not pure IT but in those lines) and my extra curricular activities during college relates me to finance and marketing. While for me anything is fine. What should be my preference order so that I stand a maximum chance to get the profile based call.
Sorry for the long question and thanks 🙂
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Hi Pranay,
You have a good profile and I feel it’s time that you make up your mind about specialisation since we can’t follow the same thing we did in Engg. – get into a good college, dept. does not matter.
I can understand a fresher from a state-level college saying this but not a NIT-grad with Analytics work ex.
While your work profile is IT, what are business problems you are helping your clients to finally solve – Marketing, FIN or Operations.
Based on this and your interest choose a preference.
All the best!
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Hello,
I’m planning to apply to SP Jain’s marketing programme in 2018.
This is my background –
Xth – 90.42%
XII (Commerce) – 83.08%
Graduation (B.Com) – 73.25%
M.Com (Business Management) – I’m a first year student who is about to give her semester 1 exams.
I have held the following positions of responsibility during my undergraduation-
1) Joint Secretary of the Leadership and Management Cell
2) Head of the Events, Technicals, Creatives departments of the Marketing Club
3) English Editor and designer of the college magazine committee
I have interned with an online grocery start up as a digital marketing intern, at IIM Lucknow as a marketing management intern and with an upcoming publishing house as a social media marketing intern.
I am a published author (published in 5 anthologies), martial artist ( black belt of the 1st degree and gold medallist), Zumba enthusiast, graphic designer (founded an online graphic studio that provides published authors with book covers) and an avid reader. I have also volunteered at a school for special children for about 6 months.
I have completed my digital marketing diploma, Google AdWords exam, Google Analytics exam, Twitter Flight School certification for marketing leadership and Digital Unlocked by ISB, FICCI And Google certification.
Will I get a score based call if I apply next year?
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Hi Ayesha,
You have a great profile in terms of extra-currics and given your gender diversity you stand a chance of getting a profile-based call.
The only hitch is that your academics are on the lower side for a profile-based call since they look at really high academic to make up for the low CAT percentile requirements.
Hope this clarifies.
All the best!
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*At what CAT and GMAT scores?
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For the score based call 700 plus and 95 percentile plus.
For profile-based 85 percentile and 650.
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Hi ! I am working as a coding developer in a software company(2 years exp/). I wanted to give Information management as first preference. Can I give it as “relevant work experience”?
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Yes you should.
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Hi Sir, I am working as a coding developer in a software company(2 years exp/). I wanted to give Information management as first preference. Can I give it as “relevant work experience”?
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Yes!
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Hi Sir,
I think, it will be good way to start from my profile..
10th (ICSE) -77%
12th (ISC) -67%
B.tech 7.9 CGPA (SRM Univ)
Participated in Drama (both theatre and street plays and won the same)
CFA Level 2 candidate
Work exp- 2 year in Cognizant Technical Solutions as a programmer analyst and provide technical solution to an insurance company. The work involves data analysis and also has some other creative aspects. I like the job and think it can help me in the later stage of my career, if I pursue my career in analytics.
I wish to do MBA in Finance and work as an analyst. Please help me to value my profile for SP and advise me on the same.
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Hi Shivam,
Your CFA-2 gives you a great shot at MBA FIN at SP Jain.
You need to get a bit more clarity into Analyst in what, risk analyst or equity research analyst etc.
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
Thanks for answering to my query.
Yes, I agree with your advise on having clarity on the stream of analyst I wish to pursue and I think equity research is my will.
Also, as evident from my profile, my academics are on the down side. Could you advise me on how to deal with this and up to what extent will it be an impediment in getting shortlisted by not just SP Jain, but others b-schools too, for MBA in Finance? Any tips on how to prepare for this will be valuable for me.
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Well, there is nothing you can change about your academic past. The quantitative impact it will have will be on getting a shortlist since schools have varying for X, XII and Grad.
SP profile-based shortlist is not easy since marks are a bit low.
I am sure you are aware of the old IIMs and the weightages they give, IIM-C is always a best bet for those with poor grad marks.
There is nothing you should be doing right now to prepare for this answering a question on this in an interview. It is best to prepare to cross that bridge when you get there.
As of now you should only worry about getting the best score you can.
All the best!
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Hi sir,
I am from engineering background in electronics and communication. I have my education details as
Class 10- 10 CGPA
Class 12- 94.4%
B.E.- 87.4%
Apart from this I have a gold medal for International Maths Olympiad and I have NMMS scholarship.
I have participated in School level Science exhibition for a innovative idea on energy management for which my project was selected for national level.
I have interned at NPCIL and Analog Devices Inc (core ECE company). What profile should I apply for as my first and second preference? And how do I fill in the other fields
Please guide me sir
Thanks
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Hi Asha,
Firstly, since you are fresher you have to apply for either Marketing or Finance giving special area of interest as the reason.
Honestly, I can’t tell which one should be first or second since you are a fresher and it depends on your interest since you are one who has to convince the panel about your suitability for the same.
All the best!
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Sir,
I am working in Automobiles sector. While I have graduated from Electrical stream, my work is somewhat related to operations and a bit technical. While filling the form, should I check Relevant experience in the field as well as Graduated in the Related area?
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Yeah you can tick both.
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Hi Sir,
I have a lot of certificates under the category of Versatility for various domains like Sports, Painting etc, but only 5 can be filled. Should I fill the form in such a way that every domain gets covered or should I devote the Versatility section to only sports, as I have sports certificates at National and State levels?
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Fill 3 from sports and 2 from others in such a way that you highlight your top 3 sports achievements and 2 other achievements.
But do ensure that the others are achievements of the a comparable or respectable level. For example, school prize in painting would be best avoided.
Alternatively you can use the 50 word space to summarise your skills, interests and minor achievements in areas other than sports.
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
I have B.Tech. in Electronics and Communication and a work experience of 2.5 years as software developer in a product based software company. My academics details are X: 91.2%, XII: 89.6%, B.Tech.: 8.03 CGPA.
I am going to fill first preference as IM because of relevant work-ex (can I tick graduation checkbox also?). I have a confusion regarding second preference as my inclination is more towards finance but I have no certifications in this area (just read couple of basic books, helped friends in tax planning etc). Is it advisable to fill Operations as second preference citing relevant work-ex again?
In Responsibility shouldered section (personal context), can I write that I took a decision to change my medium of education from Hindi to English in 8th Standard despite of my family being skeptical about it. Or I should mention about the situation where I helped one of diabetic classmate in the studies by tutoring him for free.
In professional context, can I mention that I hold the position of Event coordinator of the department at workplace. Or it has to be a situation where I went out of the way to convince seniors at workplace about use of certain technology in a project and took a key responsibility in the same.
Thanks in advance.
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Hi Himanshu,
You should apply to Operations as your second preference citing relevant work ex, unless you are really keen on Finance and want to throw your hat into the ring.
Personal responsibility has to be case of taking up responsibility that involves managing or helping out with things related to family or friends so skip the Hindi to English bit.
At work the closer it is aligned to doing work related things out of initiative or in a crisis situation it is better; if you do not have such a situation then use the event co-ordinator was thing.
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Hi Sir,
I have completed my graduation in B.E. in Civil Engg. . I have my education details as
Class X – 8.8 CGPA
Class XII- 83.2%
B.E.- 80.87%
School:
I have a gold medal – International Maths Olympiad (Class X-District level & 589th rank Intl)
-Runner-up LIC Inter-school GK Quiz competition.
-State level cricket player.
-Certificates in intra school various Sports, Quizzes, Drama competitions.
College:
-Former student member of ASCE(American Society of Civil Engineers) & ICI(Indian Concrete Institute)
-Volunteer [College Fest], Member of various clubs in college.
-Academic excellence award (2nd rank) in C.E. Branch.
-Two times Runner Up in inter branch Cricket tournament
-15 months Work Exp. (Construction Industry)
Which of these achievements will be the best to fill under the category of Versatility?
What profile should I apply for as my first and second preference?
Please guide me Sir
Thanks & Regards
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Hi Hitesh,
Use state-level cricket, clubs and drama for versatility.
As far as specialisation goes you should, apply to the area in which you have worked, since you have mentioned only construction industry, I would not know which specialisation your role is related to.
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Hello Sir
Sp Jain is my dream college but I am not quite sure about my profile. Can you please take a look and let me know your thoughts on the same?
Academic-
Xth – 9.8 CGPA
XII – 96% with merit in Accountancy with 99%
Grad – BAF with 82% – NM College
PG – M.Com (Advance Accountancy) – Currently pursuing
Pursuing Chartered Accountancy- Cleared 2nd level- Currently serving articleship.
Received Excellence Award for outstanding performance
Extra-Curricular-
-Represented School at State level CBSE Basketball Tournament.
-Learning Indian Classical Music from Suresh Wadekar Academy. Received various intra and inter school awards.
– NCFM- Financial Market certification
-Represented State at 16th International Children Film Festival.
– Led a 16 member team to workshop organized by IIM-A named AMAETHON
– Creative Writing- Managed Quora page for a leading coaching institute resulting in 50% increased views.
– Digital Marketing and Google Adwords Certification
– Part of Management Leadership Programme and worked with interns from IIMs, IIT and JBIMS.
– Coursera Certification on Introduction to Negotiation Skills.
What else can I work on?
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Hi Garima,
You have a great academic and extra-curricular profile.
I suppose you are choosing finance.
You need to work on nothing except getting a great CAT Score!
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
I have a query regarding the specialization I should choose and whether my profile is good if not great.
This is my academic record,
X-89.5%, XII- 90.4%, Btech(ECE)- 9.5 cgpa(84.02%)
Achievements and extra curricular:
-Three time State Merit Holder in 8th, 10th and 12th Standard for which I have received appreciation certificates and scholarship as well.
-University Topper( among top 10)
-1st prize in Inter school essay writing and declamation competitions.
-1st position in state level science fair under Model Making and quiz competitions.
-Awards and participation in intra and inter school singing, dancing,painting and quiz competitions.
-Organized Various activities in school, was house captain for 3 years and class representative as well.
– Volunteer work like organizing charity events and awareness on environment conservation.
-“Certificate of honour” and “Ideal Student Award” for outstanding academic performance and participation in extra curricular activities.
Apart from this, I have 2 years of work experience in a service based IT firm as an Operations Support Engineer and Technical Consultant. I sincerely want to pursue MBA in Finance. I have no experience or certification as such but I have my goals clear that I want to work in the Treasury Department. Since my project was in the Banking Domain and I was in the technical side of the same, I have an understanding of the kind of work and it has always fascinated me. I want to switch my career line and pursue MBA in finance.
Can you please help me decide which specialization will fit my profile?
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You have a great academic profile, which is very important for a score-based call.
You can apple to Finance as first preference mentioning relevant work ex and operations as the second one.
If you get a call it will then depend on how you perform in the Group interview vis-a-vis people with a educational or professional background for Finance.
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
Can you please comment if my work-ex qualifies as Operations.
I work at ZS Associates as a Business Operations Associate. My team works with a client which is a US based Pharmaceutical company. My job involves the following tasks:
1. Delivering compensation values for the client’s sales team (around 4000+ Medical representatives) based on their performance in promoting different products. Most of the calculation part is done by an automated tool.
2. Collaborating with the client on a weekly basis for understanding their requirements (like making new compensation plans or generation of new reports for the field reps) and coordinating with the development team for the same.
3. Implementing processes and quality checks to improve the accuracy of the data we send and implementing practices to reduce the time required for the end to end process. Also to try and provide better insights to the client like sales trends and their impact on compensation and similar analyses.
My work does not involve coding and it does not seem to fit with the other 3 specializations.
Thank you 🙂
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Yes it does qualify for Ops since your designation says the same! So go ahead and apply to Ops with relevant work ex as the reason.
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
I have a query regarding the specialization I should choose and whether my profile is suitable.
This is my academic record,
X-89.5%, XII- 90.4%, Btech(ECE)- 9.5 cgpa(84.02%)
Achievements and extra curricular:
-Three time State Merit Holder in 8th, 10th and 12th Standard for which I have received appreciation certificates and scholarship as well.
-University Topper( among top 10)
-1st prize in Inter school essay writing and declamation competitions.
-1st position in state level science fair under Model Making and quiz competitions.
-Awards and participation in intra and inter school singing, dancing,painting and quiz competitions.
-Organized Various activities in school, was house captain for 3 years and class representative as well.
– Volunteer work like organizing charity events and awareness on environment conservation.
-“Certificate of honour” and “Ideal Student Award” for outstanding academic performance and participation in various activities.
Apart from this, I have 2 years of work experience in a service based IT firm. I sincerely want to pursue MBA in Finance. I have no experience or certification as such but I have my goals clear that I want to work in the Treasury Department. Since my project was in the Banking Domain and I was in the technical side of the same, I have an understanding of the kind of work and it has always fascinated me. I want to switch my career line and pursue MBA in finance.
Can you please help me decide which specialization will fit my profile?
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Hello sir,
Kindly look into my profile and help me in choosing the specialisation. I have a keen interest in consulting, so which one should i keep as my first preference?
Academics:
10th : CBSE 10 CGPA (96.2%)
12th : SSC 97.1%
Graduation : BTech Aerospace Engineering – College Rank 1 (86.4%)
* 1st rank in HFI Talent Search Scholarship Examination 2006-2007 – MBD Group
* 2nd rank in PRAYAS-2006 Scholarship Examination
* Meritorious students felicitation, Teacher Co-operative Credit Society, Yavatmal district 2004-2005
* Certificate for distinctive performance in 11th National Science Olympiad
* Graded A+ by Caddmech technology pvt. ltd for successfully completing course in AUTOCAD
* Successful completion of project work entitled, “Experimental investigation on convective heat transfer over swept and bent cylinders”, IIT Bombay
* Successful completion of Project training in Flight Dynamics Group, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore
Extra curriculars:
* Graded 1st in drawing and painting contest 2008, organised by Centre for Indian Art Resources & Training, New Delhi
* Graded 1st in Mehandi contest 2008, organised by Centre for Indian Art Resources & Training, New Delhi
* Graded 2nd in handwriting contest 2008, organised by Centre for Indian Art Resources & Training, New Delhi
* Various merit certificates in school level sports competition.
* Won various prizes in school level classical dance competitions.
* Active participation in seminars held by Catholic Schools’ Association, Diocese of Chanda
* Active coordinator of College fests.
Thankyou
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Hi Anushree,
Since you are a fresher the only specialisations open to you are Marketing and Finance, SP Jain does not attract a lot of business consulting firms.
So if you are really keen on Consulting, it has to be the old IIMs.
For SP, you have to choose Marketing or Finance, as per your interest.
All the best!
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What are my chances of getting a profile based call sir ?
Moreover, I do’nt have any relevant experience in marketing or finance.
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Hi Sir,
Here is my profile:
Xth: 88%
XII: 91%
B.tech: 81%
Work Ex: Co- founded a startup where we provided marketing & advertising services. We were a team of about 8- 10 people. I was the head of Digital Marketing and Web Development. Worked for 2 years and then we had to shut due to some issues.
Other activities:
Part of entrepreneurship cell in college, where I held the position of Marketing Executive, we organized various B-Plan competions and workshops.
Organized a few events in the Cultural Fest in my college.
Active Volunteer with an NGO. (Don’t have a certificate for this though.)
I don’t have any academic achievments apart from a few school level awards like second proficency in class and ‘scholar’ awards which my school used to give to students with good academic results.
Please guide me as to what should I fill in the academic achievments and the versitality sections?
Also, what should be my 2 choices in the specialization section?
Thanks!
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Hi,
Apply to Marketing as first preference citing relevant work ex.
For the academic and versatility sections you have to fill in what you have – be it scholar awards, entrepreneurship cell, event organising and NGO work.
Al the best!
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Hi Sir,
These are my academic details:
X-91.5%
XII-95.1
Graduation: B.Tech(ECE) -84.5%
Co-Curricular Achievements:
I have many prizes & Certificates in several district level and state level talent tests during my school.
I have two certificates of merit for securing 100 % marks in two subjects during my graduation.
I was an active participant in various technical events held in fests during my graduation
Extra-curricular Achievements:
I have worked as an organiser for a technical event in an national level fest held in my college.
I am the winner of a non-technical event(treasure hunt) conducted as a part of fest in my college.
I am the winner of a technical event held in VASAVI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING hyderabad.
I was a part of various skits we had played during our college, and was one of the leading characters in that skits.(NO certificates to show)
Internships:
I have done my internship with BHEL hyderabad(3rd year) and also had an internship with TCS(4th year).
work experience:
15 months(By Dec 31 2017) in TCS
I would like to know what are my chances of getting profile based call, and Regarding specialization I was interested in Information Management as my first preference, as it is also related to my work experience, I was confused to keep operations or Finance as my second preference, as I don’t know much about those. I would like you to suggest me the second specialization that will suits me, and also the necessary things that I need to work on to have a good knowledge about the specialization(like which books to read).
Thank you sir
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Hi Bhargav,
Since your academic profile is very good, you stand s good chance of getting a profile based call.
You should apply to IM, the second preference is a bit tricky since your profile might not be strong for Ops and Fin. Ops will be safer bet.
For the books to read, go through an earlier post on this blog titled preparing for more than an MBA.
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
I work in a consultancy firm which mainly focuses on Sales and Marketing. I work on an operations project for one of the Marketing channels, so can I tick “relevant work experience” for both of my choices – operations and marketing ?
Thanks,
Aditya
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Hi Aditya,
You can apply for both using that but see which one you are more interested in.
For example if you prefer Marketing then use relevant work ex for that and area of interest for Ops. So that you can make a pitch for Marketing in the interviews. If it’s Ops the other way round.
All the best!
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Hi Tony.
I am a CA FInalist, but my final is still pending to be completed. I wish to choose General Management as my career path, i don’t have much interest in Finance.
Will my this choice would effect my call chances despite my finance background.? Please help.
And secondly, if i write finance as 1st preference, but not quite confident in all its aspects except what was there in my CA curriculum, would i sail farely in the interview.?
My profile:
X- 92%
XII – 85%
Grad: 61%
CA Final
Work Ex: 16 months
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Hi Divyansh,
Unfortunately there is s no general management specialisation so you have to choose Finance since you background is most aligned to that.
The SP Jain interview will be around your profile, career goals and current affairs not a technical one. So you don’t need to worry on that front.
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
I am currently in the third year and pursuing BMS (Management Studies) specializing in finance.
Here is my profile:
Xth: 90.70%
XIth: topped my college and received endowment fund
XII: 90.30%
BMS: 80% (average of 4 semesters)
I have been among the top 10 in my college.
I have been the founder and president of my college public speaking society. I have organized various workshops and events in my college.
I have also been a sub – head in the events department of entrepreneurship cell of my college.
I have participated in few events (MUN’s, debates, mock parliament).
I have also done a short course on digital marketing.
I have worked in the second year of my college with a scientific trading firm where I have solely
handled exhibitions. I have also made and designed catalogs for the firm. I also used to handle
the digital marketing section of the firm. I have taken marketing decisions for the firm. I have also gone to other towns for demonstration and marketing of products.
I was a part of a social activity ( I don’t have a certificate for it)
My hobby is painting canvas and reading.
Please guide me as to what should I fill in the academic achievments and I don’t remember my exact rank. Also can I mention my internship in the work experience detail section.
I have chosen finance as my first preference – since I am specializing in it from college
and Marketing as my second preference.
Kindly guide me in filling up my preferences.
Thankyou !!!
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Hi,
Present your top 3 Academic Achievements – endowment fund, rank at school or college if you don’t remember then we can’t do anything. Use the 50 words given for description to mention that you were always in the top X in school and are currently in the top Y in college.
You cannot mention internship as work experience.
If you prefer Finance over Marketing then give first preference for that. If you prefer Marketing then right special interest and mention all the relevant activities you have undertaken.
All the best!
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Hello sir,
Please have a look on my profile and suggest me what specialization i shud opt for. Also tell me what are the chances of getting a profile based call.
Acadmic profile:
10th- 91.6% (school topper but no certificate)
12th- 89.8% ( school topper but no certificate)
Graduation- electrical and electronics engg- 81.9% ( among top three in all the 8 semesters but no relevant certificate)
1876 rank in GATE 2013 and got recruited as assistant executive engg at BIHAR STATE POWER TRANSMISSION CO LTD through my GATE rank.
Work exp:
4 years of work experience as assistant executive engg at state electricity board. Basically my work is similar to a project manager as i have to do all kind of paper work for execution of project like preparing estimates for construction of grid substation and and transmission lines, reconciliation and issuing amendments, checking drawings of all equipments etc. Also im having an additional charge at MD cell ( which is a very big responsiblity).
Extracurricural:
1. Bronze medal in avantika international painting competition at school level.
2.participated in various olmpiads at school level and didnt score good marks.
2. Won intra-company women cricket tournament at office.
3. Organised various events at office like national power minister confrence, various events of Honorable CM, fashion show etc.
4. Member of editorial team of company’s magzine.
5. Received letter of appreciation from MD of company.
6. Was sent on training by company on disaster management organised by Asian Disaster preparedness centre(ADPC) at bangkok (im skeptic whether i shud mention this in my form or not)
Sir, after going through this whats your opinion whether there are chances of getting a profile based call.
Also i want to make finance as my 1st prefrence as i really want to persue my MBA in finance. Please suggest if my work experince can add to it or not as i havent done any special course in finance or read any book.or shall i opt for any other prefrence. What shud me 2nd prefrence of specialization.
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Hi,
You have a good academic as well as extra-curricular profile. So pretty good chances of getting a profile-based call.
But the catch is that your work ex is more suited to Operations. So apply to Operations as first preference with relevant work ex as the reason and Finance as second with area of interest as reason.
All the best!
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Sir. I recently completed my integrated Msc in Chemistry (computational/Analytical) in 2017. My 10th-90.2%, 12th- 85.40, Graduation – 81.30% and Msc -81.30%. Sir will they give any preference to a non engineer and one with a masters degree.
Extra co curricular – 3 times district champion in TT. State level TT player. INSPIRE Scholarship(2012-2017), Sahara Scholarship (2011). 1 gold medal and 2 silver medal in National mathematics olympiad. International rank 99 in Interactive Mathematics Olympiad. AIR- 200 in NSTSE Exam. National level Science exhibition First prize.
High school Sports caption.
Senior secondary school vice caption.
College TT team caption.
District team TT caption.
I have one publication as first author in renowned international journal of Wiley. 1 publication is recently submitted.
Active sports person. And member of 2 NGOs.
Sir what are my chances of profile based selection? And do you find any of my information redundant to be filled in spjimr form? Bill having a science background help me or decrease my chances? Anything else I can add. i will grateful to you if you can help me with this.
Thanks in advance
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Hi Ankit,
Your profile is not shortlisted at an absolute level but in terms of its relevance to the specialisation you ar applying to!
So I can’t comment unless I know whether you have any work ex and the specialisation you intend to apply to.
Again being a non-engineer in itself has no bearing, it’s about relevance.
The things you mentioned are fine and sufficient.
All the best!
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Hello sir,
I graduated in june 2017. No work ex
Class X-90%
Class XII – 84%
B.TECH-8.01 DGPA
I have a few school level awards which were given to students for achieving marks above 90% in the batch.
Hobbies- painting and handicraft
I have a certified degree in drawing and painting. I have a certificate for taking part in a Costume designing competition in class XII (school level).Model United Nations research team in school.
I worked in an ngo – Make a wish.
Treasurer of the girl’s sports committee. In college, I was the head of an event organizing team and incharge of costume designing for college team fashion show for an inter college competition.
I own two small time (1yr old, 6months old) (handicraft product) online selling sites. I have keen interest in corporate finance and would like to pursue mba in finance. Please suggest how to fill the area of specialization in the form since I am a B.tech graduate.
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Hi,
You have a pretty diverse profile with good acads.
The catch is that there is very little relevant to Finance that you will help your profile compete with those with profiles relevant to Finance.
You can apply to Finance with special interest as the reason and justify the reasons and career plans and hope for the best. You can give Marketing as a second preference.
If your heart is not set in stone on Finance, and getting a call is more important apply to Marketing first and Finance second. Use your small entrepreneurial experience to make a pitch for an interest to identify, build and market great products.
All the best!
All the best.
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#1
I have a background of social work right from school days including a recent volunteering activity. Can I go ahead and reference the certificates I received while I were at school (related to social work) – that would help build a background?
#2
Another question would be, if you have reasonably good acads (92, 89, 86 | 10th,12th, B.E.) with experience in a reputable company and you apply for IM where your application convinces a close alignment to the choice of specialization, what would happen, if you fail to clear the entrance score cut-offs? Does that automatically eliminate you from the race?
Thanks!
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Hi,
Use the 50 word space to mention your ongoing interest in social work and use the certificates to cite achievement. It will add to your background.
If you fail to clear the cut-off which they reduced by 10 percentile points to 85, you interview call gets cancelled.
Profile alignment and aptitude are both required since the latter measures you ability to succeed in a highly competitive course.
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
My Profile
Acads :-
SSC 88%le
HSC 84%le
BE Mechanical Agg 65%le but having distinction in last year.
Work Ex :-
36 Months in Larsen & Toubro as PreSales Business Development Executive for North America region
Preference :- Marketing
My Queries :
1) Is my acads too low for profile based calls ? Can Relevant work ex compensate loss in acads ?
2) I have some awards at organisation level but dont see any tab for professional achievements, where can I write that ?
2) I really dont understand what to fill in Versatility section. I do read, play but not achieved milestones to back my interest areas. Please suggest.
Thank you
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Hi,
The low acads are a detriment to getting a profile-based call since they use the academic performance shown at school as an indicator that you can do well in the program and hence lower the cut-off requirements. If you do not have the high acads, you have to demonstrate your aptitude on the CAT.
Use the space given to describe your role to highlight achievements as well in brief.
Write reading books and sports, and choose achievement and proficiency accordingly and overall versatility accordingly. Use the space given to put your interests in perspective.
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
I want to know do i have any chance of getting a profile based call from sp jain with the following profile:
X standard:91%(ICSE)
XII standard:81%(Isc)
B.tech:8.75 dgpa(Electrical engg)
I have been among the top 5 students in my college all throughout.
Extra curriculars:
Silver and gold medals in many sports events at school level.
I have certificates in olympiads and debates.
I was also the CR of my batch(No certificate).
Work experience:Currently working @TCS(8 months) in SAP development.
Should I apply for S.p Jain?If yes,then in which profile?
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Hi Oindrila,
You have a academic profile. You need apply based on your profile and interest.
Operations is ruled out due to lack of relevant work ex.
For IM 8 months is on the shorter side.
For Finance profile is not really aligned so that leaves you with Marketing if you are interested in the same.
All the best!
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Hi sir,
I’m confused as to what specialization to choose.Earlier I had decided on putting Marketing as first preference and Operations as second.But after going through your blog I found that the first pref should be one with relevant work exp.
By Dec 2017, I will have 17 months of experience as a Software Engineer.But I don’t wish to pursue IM in my Masters.I want to switch to Marketing.
So should I really put Marketing as my first preference(which I’m keen on pursuing) and operations as second(only because I don’t want to select IM).
My qualifications are as follows
10th: 9.5 CGPA
12th:83%
garduation:7.08 cgpa(Electronics Engineering)
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Hi,
I think you can do it since your first preference is Marketing. Also given your IT work experience even if you get Ops you are likely to get IT jobs post MBA.
So Marketing first and Ops next is fine.
All the best!
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How would you rate this profile:
(91, 89.2, 86 | 10th, 12th, B.E.), 2 research papers + secured highest score in UG. 17 months work ex (as per the form). 3 versatility achievements + significant achievements at work (in a reputable company)
Choice of specialization: IM
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Hi sir,
X- 95%, XII- 90%. Grad – 75.5%
12 months experience in IT sector in software development.
Have 5-6 certifications in IT and I have updated them in “certifications” column.
Course chosen – IT/marketing.
Have done online courses in marketing, product management with relevant certificates.
extracurricular- state level chess, volunteer programs.
Can I have a shot at profile based call?
Also is contacting the admissions committee with more information’s on my profile advisable? Since I missed out on my internship details and such.?
Thanks a lot,
Ram.
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Hi,
Your grad is a bit low for profile-based call but still chances are pretty good due to your other marks.
You can edit the application till the deadline if I am not wrong. So you would not need to get in touch with the admissions team.
All the best!
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I do not have an excellent profile but I am confused whether to apply or not. My profile goes :
Class 10-85.14%, Class 12-85.20% , Grad(B.Tech-ECE)- 8.14(CGPA).
I do not have any academic achievements but I have some college level versatility achievements
I was the president of the gaming club at my college during the tech fests and other competitions. and things like this.
Also, I have around 16 months work-ex in an IT company as a Java Developer. I have significant work-ex achievements as well. Should I apply to the information management stream of SPJIMR?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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Yep most definitely. You have a decent profile. Also even if you do not get a profile-based call you can always get s score based one.
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
My profile
Grade X – 97%
Grade XII – 97%
UG Engineering – 8.58 CGPA
No work Experience
Active Sports person
Team Captain of CDFA A – Division club
Won lots of laurels in district level and State level Football tournaments and Athletics.
Acted as sports club in charge for intra college sports fest.
Presented a leper in National level conference.
Acted as the treasurer of Indian Institute of Chemical engineering Association Students chapter of CIT.
My 2 queries are that Do I stand a chance for profile based call(scoring around 90%Ile in IMS mocks) and what are the preferences I have to make for the major(since I am a fresher)
please help me sir and thanks in advance!
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Hi Aravindan,
You have a great academic profile and that is the main criteria for a profile based call.
The percentiles matter only for score-based call. For the profile based call you just need to clear the cut-off of 85 after you get a call.
For freshers the options are Finance and Marketing.
All the best!
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Sir,
Please rate my profile(85,86,80 || 10,12,B.E) , final year engineering
1. district level robotics winner
2. Top 13 in nationwide robotics competition
3. Top 1% in 12th
4. Social Service, Ecell, Student chapter, Google marketing competition (Strong contender, top 100 teams)
Query regarding Marketing:
explained why marketing, by internship experiences.
what are my chances?
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Hi Jay,
Chances are of a call are 40-60 since acads have to higher than what you have for a profile-based call given the lower CAT cut-offs.
All the best!
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Good evening sir, I am currently pursuing bcom from Guru nanak dev university
Class 10 -95%
Class 12-94%
Graduation (average of 4 semesters)-72%
I have chosen accounting and finance as my specialisation for the next semester, the university doesn’t provide any certificate or proof for that. On this basis can I choose done ‘specialised course’ in this area
I have been investing in stocks for past 1 year and have good knowledge regarding stocks
Mentioning all the above details, what are the expected chance for me as a fresher to get a call from sp jain, choosing finance as my first preference
And what should I mention more regarding the area of finance assuming I have sufficient things to fill the versatility and social responsibility column
Thank you
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Hi Dipanshu,
Your chances are decent, given your Acads, but a lot depends on the other profiles applying – how many CAs, CFAs etc.
Use the space given to explain your interest in Finance and the areas you want to work in – trading, portfolio management, equity research etc.
All the best!
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Dear Sir,
I have a work experience of 24 months in sales & marketing in a reputable company. So first preference is : marketing (relevant work experience ). Please advise what should be the 2nd preference for me.
#Profile (91/88/91| 10th/12th/BTech). Not much in versatility tab other than technical club during Btech.
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Hi Deepani,
It depends on your interest!
Since you have work ex in Marketing your profile gets skewed toward the same.
So I don’t think any second preference is applicable in your case, go with whatever you prefer.
You can make a case for business development/sales roles in either IM or Finance.
All the best!
All the best!
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