Your profile is the impression that various elements in your resume create as a whole.
- Academic Performance
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- Your marks in X, XII, Graduation
- Work Experience
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- Number of months
- Academic Pedigree
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- The brand of the institution from which you have graduated or will graduate
- Academic Achievements
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- Ranks secured at school (X & XII), college and university level and/or performance in national or state-level entrance tests
- Co-Curricular Achievements
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- Ranks in Olympiads, NTSE, Paper Presentations, Journal Publications and any other academics-related contests outside of regular school and college work
- Extra-Curricular Achievements
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- Achievements in non-academic pursuits singing, dancing, sports, games, NCC, martial arts etc, Model UN etcetera
- Positions of Responsibilities
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- Official posts held at a school, college and university-level
- Pursuits of Special Interests
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- Any extra-curricular interest pursued out of passion but without achievements — reading, writing, sports, games, singing, dancing, painting, trekking, photography, short-film making
Most of the things that would go on to a resume can be fitted into one of the above labels.
What is a “good profile”?
A good profile is one which would rate as “average” or “above-average” on most of the elements listed above and have a spike on at least one of elements.
A spike is a level of achievement on a parameter or attribute that indicates that you are really better at it than most of the other people in the fray.
A few examples of what spikes are:
Academic Spike — Someone who has above 90% in X, XII, and Graduation will be considered to have a huge spike in academics. The key is the 90 in graduation since most aspirants (at least in this part of the world) tend to have 90s in X and XII, it is the 90 in your graduation that will put you in the outlier category.
Sports Spike — Those who have participated in individual or team sports or games at a district, state, and national level will be viewed as having a spike since most aspirants will have played but not professionally. A student I met recently told me that the moment he put forward his national-level badminton at the under-13 level in front of the NMIMS panel the interview changed (he made it despite with a merit rank in the 300s the fact that he had just cleared the cut-off with a score of 209. Even running the marathon or cycling if done seriously with achievements to speak about can be a major spike.
So similarly you can have a spike in any one area it can be leadership spike if you have always held positions of responsibility. It can be an extra-curricular spike if you have participated in a lot of dramatics, singing or dancing at college-level. It can be a special interest spike if you have formally taken up dancing, singing, painting, languages or any other interest and are pursuing it seriously.
Does your profile impact your MBA aspirations?
Your profile plays a major role in three things:
- The probability of you getting a call from premier institutions
- The conversation you are going to have in your PI
- The shortlists you are going to get during your summer & final placements
But all of the elements listed in the profile factors do not equally influence all the three things mentioned above.
Getting a call from premier business schools
Each b-school has a different set of criteria based on which it gives out calls. The usual elements that come into play are
- CAT Score, Academic Profile & Work Experience
Each b-school gives each of the three components a different weightage and in some cases no weightage at all.
IIM-A for example no longer gives weightage to work experience but Academic Profile (especially your Graduation Marks) play a major role. IIM-B gives weightage to work experience, IIM-C does not consider Graduation Marks and gives, IIM-I gives more weightage to XII marks etc.
Freshers need not worry since most b-schools take in a healthy percentage of freshers — please understand that for colleges that consider work experience calls are not given out only to those who have work experience. The weightage for work experience will make it easier for working professionals to get a call — they can get in with a lower percentile when compared to freshers.
Also, for the first call, it is only the quantity of work experience that will play a role and not the brand of the firm that you are working with.
What is important to note is that these criteria might change from year to year.
Do not worry about what you cannot change — your marks in the past — let the IIMs decide their weightage and give out calls based on their calculation, focus on what you can change.
Those who have graduated and have poor graduation marks need not worry since IIM-C does not consider it at all in their process; get a good CAT score and you are in!
Also please note that Academic Pedigree plays no part in this stage of the process.
The conversation you are going to have in your PI
Most top colleges send out a form to be filled out along with the call the next round. This form will ask you to fill out not just details about your academic profile and work experience but will also
- ask you to list achievements — co-curricular, extra-curricular and work-related (if applicable) and
- ask you to write answers to questions such as
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- why do you want to do an MBA
- what are your career plans
- what are your strengths and weakness
- what is the biggest challenge you have faced in your life so far
- what is your biggest failure and what have you learned from it
- what are your hobbies and interests
The panel will have your filled-up form when you go into the interview and you will be asked questions based on what you have filled up. This is where the achievements and interests element of your profile come into the picture. You can have a look at a sample form, that of S.P.Jain last year, here.
Even if a college does not have a form and starts off with a tell me about yourself, the interview will be based on the things to tell about yourself that are not captured in the CAT application.
The two elements — brand value of the college where you pursued (or are pursuing) your bachelor’s degree and the brand value of the firm that you are working for are not evaluated objectively, which means that there are no marks allotted to the same separately based on any criteria.
The panel will make it a part of the overall marks it awards to you in your PI, based on how you perform in the PI. So a good college brand by itself does nothing unless you do a good job in the PI.
Getting interview shortlists for summer internships & final placements
You will be having your summer placements 3 to 4 months into your MBA. So this means that your resume will not have changed at all. So the profile you have before getting into the b-school is what you will have while applying for summer training.
It is at this stage that the brand value of the college where you pursued (or are pursuing) your bachelor’s degree and the brand value of the firm that you worked for, are more important.
Firms will have loads of resumes from all b-schools and they tend to make their jobs easier by giving out shortlists to those with big brand names on their resumes. So this is where the real value of the IIT-tag kicks in! Also, all firms do not do this, only the big consulting firms tend to do this.
How to build your profile
As mentioned earlier, you need to focus on what you change in your present and hence your future and not your past. The objective of this post is to give you a realistic idea of the selection process and help you chart out your future course of action. So do not get deflated but start looking at the ways below to improve your profile.
Take up certification courses aligned to your career aspirations
I am an engineer and I want to get into finance! Well to do this you have to show what steps you have already taken towards your goal.
A lot of engineers who are dead serious about getting into Finance are taking up the CFA exams. A student of mine at IIM-C, the mecca in India as far as Finance aspirants are concerned, said that there are now on average about 70 students who have cleared at least Level 1 (out of 3) of the CFA! This number is bound to go up. The CFA is neither an easy nor a cheap exam to prepare for and take. But if you are really, really serious you need to take it up.
Other options for those keen on pursuing Finance are taking up NSE certification courses about which you can learn here
A great option for those looking at any specialization be it Marketing, Finance, Analytics or Operations are the certification courses from premier international schools such as Wharton on Coursera.
You can choose courses by specialization and college (just ensure that you choose top-rung colleges).
Freshers can really benefit by taking up a few courses especially in Marketing and Analytics since they will give you an introduction to the world of business as well as ammunition for the PI.
Take up positions of responsibility
This is one thing that freshers should really go after in the next semester. Forget publishing a paper as part of the symposium, organize the symposium! There are loads of committees and clubs on campus, you need to get into at least one of them, actively organize things/events as part of the committee/club and ensure that you a certificate for the same.
Take up social impact activities
While both freshers and working professionals can take this up, it is easier for the latter to become an active contributor to the CSR initiatives in your organization. You can also sign up to do volunteering work for an NGO working in the field of your interest — education, health care, environment etc.
One specific thing that freshers can look at is applying to and joining student organizations such as AIESEC (they have city-wise chapters) or take part in their initiatives.
Take part in contests, events, and cultural festivals
If you are not interested in organizing then take part in inter-college events based on your interest be it — case study contests, b-plan contests, singing, dancing, acting, sports whatever you are passionate about. The idea is that you should come across as someone who does more than just going to college and back.
Take an interest in the Entrepreneurship Cell of your college
A lot of people keep saying that they want to become entrepreneurs some years down the line when asked about career plans or Why MBA. But mostly the line is similar to — any they lived happily ever; nobody knows how we are expected to take it at face-value. So show some interest and become a part of the E-Cell if your college has one!
Take your interests to the next level
Your IIM interview can revolve entirely around your passion or interest. So take whatever interest you have and explore it seriously. If you like languages then take up learning a language and clear at least a level. A student of mine liked to read Manga (Japanese comics) and she ended up learning Japanese and clearing a few levels.
If you like outdoor activities such as trekking or cycling join the Chennai Trekking Club. If you have always wanted to train for a marathon then train to at least do a fraction of it.
Improve your public speaking skills by joining Toastmasters
Those of you who want to really improve your communication skills with a view to doing well in the interviews should join Toastmasters — it is a not a training institute but a club for people to improve their spoken English. Once you become a member you can also take up positions of responsibility within the local chapter that you attend.
Do you do more, do you stand above the crowd?
As aspiring management professionals, you need to display that you are capable of doing much more than others. You need to show that you do more than just go to college or work and back. You need to show that you passionate about things apart from what is required. You need to show that you have the potential to perform on a much larger canvas.
So pick a few things from the list and get started.
The CAT Writer 
Sir, I am an undergraduate and will be completing me graduation this year. So being a fresher should I opt for a job and get some experience for few months and appear for CAT or should I do some certification courses.
Please help!!
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Hi Supriya,
You will find the answers to this question in this post. Let me know if you have doubts even after reading this. It primarily depends on the area you want to work in post-MBA. While this might seem relevant for work-ex it is no different for freshers who want to take a drop after grad.
https://thecatwriter.com/2017/03/10/should-i-my-job-to-prepare-for-cat/
Regards,
Tony
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Hi Sir,
I have appeared for CAT this year 98.44 percentile.
I want to pursue my MBA in the marketing domain.
I have 1-year work experience in the IT domain.(Accenture)
I am a general engineer male 😛
could you suggest how can I utilize the next two months to enhance my CV?
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Hi Jainam,
Since you have work-ex in IT. It makes sense to take up two things: an online certification course in Marketing from Coursera and working with an NGO.
These should be sufficient to give your profile a fillip for summers.
All the best!
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Some info is wrong. CFA is not the US equivalent of CA, it’s CPA. I suggest you remove that phrase. CPA is concerned with accounting and taxation, while CFA is concerened with Investment and Financial Analysis. But yes, opting for CFA is the right choice as it has weightage in India, CPA is only used in other countries.
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Thanks for pointing it out. Will make the required changes.
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Sir, I have written CAT 2018 for attempted purpose but end up at very less percentile. This time I want to give a dead shot at it. As you told some courses will simplify our interview, I have decided to take two certification courses only as I also prepare for CAT with Job too. So please suggest any two courses. I have 1-year work experience in an IT company as a software developer. Currently, I am preparing while doing a job. I have decided to take on Business Analytics, and Digital Marketing. Or I should focus on getting more than 99 percentile.?
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You should focus on getting more the best percentile you can and take up a few online certification courses.
All the best!
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sir, i completed graduation in 2018 in the stream of mechanical engineering. and i didn’t get good score in 2018 cat. still i want to take cat 2019. the thing is i am not working.. is it worth preparing cat by dropping one year? is there any chances even if i got a good percentile without any work experience? and i want a suggestion from you to build my profile…
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Hi Santosh,
Work-experience is not mandatory for an MBA admission. It is just that some schools have weightage for the same and some don’t.
If you score above 98 then you be able to get calls from top schools without work-ex. Having said that, one thing is certain that you cannot sit at home and only prepare for CAT. You have take up things mentioned in the post to build your profile.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
There are 2 questions which strike me as I look forward to adding something to my profile. Need your say on that:
1) You have particularly focused on the certificate courses of Coursera, can we or would it be wise if we pursue something from the other local certification websites, internshala, etc?
2) Sir, what would you suggest if I look forward to some full-time internships? Would they be effective in any manner as you haven’t stated of them in the post? And, are virtual internships (work from home) a good idea, can they be added to your resume?
Thank You!
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Hi Rishabh,
1. You can take up certifications from any platform as long as the certification is from an institution of good repute. For example, Wharton offers courses on Coursera, if they are available on Udemy or Udacity you can go ahead and do the same.
2. Internship, whether from home or onsite, only add as much as value as the quality they give you in terms of talking points in an interview. So internships in themselves, whether you do 1 or 10 do not carry any weight, since it is only full-time, paid work-ex that qualified for marks (so in terms of first-call they carry no weight).
What matters is the kind of projects you get to do as part of your internship and if they can help you make a good case for your profile during an interview.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
I am confused between choosing NMIMS-M for MBA and IIM-Vizag, Nagpur. I am a GEF with 85/84/72.4 in X/XII/BTech and have 4yrs 9mo exp in IT company as software engineer. After an MBA I hope to continue in IT related field.
NM seems to be having lots of recruiters but also has a large batch size of abt 600, expenses of ~25L while these baby IIMs have very few recruiters, small batchsize and expenses is almost half that of NM. I hear that placement figures given in NM website is largely boosted and a lot is determined by placement committees. It would be of great help to me if you could throw some light on what could be the average salary for >=3yrs exp at NMIMS and which among these would be the best choice me according to you and why? I am worried about ROI, availability of jobs as this could set my base salary and career direction in the future.
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Hi,
I would any day suggest NMIMS-Mumbai over baby IIMs since the roles offered, quality of teaching and salaries will always be way superior to those offered at the baby IIMs.
As far as the NMIMS experience goes, if you read enough and more online you find that there are two kinds of candidates — those who will blame colleges, placement committees, and batch sizes and those who have the potential to both stand in the top half of the batch and crack interviews.
If you are not going to stand in the top half of the batch and do have the ability to crack interviews then it does not matter if you go to IIM-A or NMIMS, or IIM-Sambalpur, you are always going to end up not getting the best on offer, there is a saying in Telugu — it does not matter which stone you choose to break your tooth with.
This is what my student who had 3 years of IT work-ex with Ford before joining NMIMS had to say about this two years there — https://thecatwriter.com/2018/02/27/my-2-cents-from-a-lifetime-experience-called-mba-2/
Hope this helps,
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
In cat 2018 I had score a low percentile(70s), this year I am giving it another shot. I am 2018 graduate and last year along with my cat prep I took up a course on digital marketing and I am also volunteer with Nasscom Foundation. Right now I am searching for Job and planning to prepare for cat right from scratch
Can you help me how can I go about preparation for cat and also how I can improve my profile? Keeping in mind I have a drop of a year.
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Hi,
You should take up any three of the things I mentioned in the blog post — ideally a certification, an NGO stint and any other thing of your choice.
As far as retaking the CAT goes, please read the posts on how to prepare for a CAT re-take here — https://thecatwriter.com/category/cat-strat/
All the best!
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Hello sir,
I am an undergraduate and will be completing my IT engineering from an average institute in Gujarat. Neither do I have an impressive academic history ( 82% in X , 71% in XII and 8.3 CGPA – current ) nor have I achieved anything in other activities so far.
But I do have been into different management committees of my college holding some respectable positions.
I have many hobbies and I’m actually good at them – dancing, painting, crafting, but I never really participated in any of the competitions to achieve anything.
I’m concerned about my profile since it doesn’t really have a spike.
Can you help me with building an above average profile?
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Hi Parthvi,
You can take up things that offer you tangible proof of achievement — so certification courses, language courses. and volunteering work with an NGO can help you do the same.
Your PoR’s in committees will definitely come in handy, you should get your college or your HoD to just give you letters attesting the same.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hello Sir
I am GEF with 85/75/80 percentage in 10th, 12th and BTECH respectively. I will complete my 3 years in IT industry in June 2019. I am working as a project coordinator but i wish to change my career line. I am aspiring to take CAT 2019 but i am worried about my 3 years experience which is considered as huge for top Bschools. Could you please suggest some good colleges considering my work ex profile. Also, suggest some what kind of online courses or certifications i can apply to in order to build my profile for MBA.
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Hi Sir.. I have graduated in the year 2018 and took CAT subsequently..and got a percentile in the 70s.
My 10/12/Graduation scores are 91/76/51…I have done a Bsc in Biological Science.
I plan to retake CAT..
I have done certification courses in Advance Excel, Web Development and Digital Marketing and also have been learning Spanish for the last one year.
My problem is, that am not able to get any relevant job in my field..
I do not feel like starting off with any job…just of the sake of showing it under work experience section…Should I completely sit home and prepare and aim for a really high percentile…volunteering for NGOs subsequently….or take up any job that comes my way…to build a better profile..
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HI Probal,
I am not sure what you mean by a job in your field, you can’t want to do a job in the biological sciences field since you are planning to do an MBA!
So take a job related to the area that you want to specialize in during your MBA and after it and not related to your graduation.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
Thanks for your response. I wish to specialize in marketing during my MBA. However, am unable to get any job related to the same field at present. Job offers that I get are usually from the BPO sector or for content writing. Hence I asked whether it is better to get into one of these jobs with long working hours and unsatisfactory pay or work with an NGO, get more certifications etc and dedicate more time towards CAT.
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Hello Sir
I have 3 years of work ex in IT at present as project coordinator but i wish to change my career line and aspiring to take CAT 2019. Could you please suggest me what kind of courses/certifications (if possible, suggest some names) i should take in order to build my profile in finance or marketing ahead.
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Hi Aarushi,
To make a transition after 3 years of work-ex from IT to core Finance you will need to do a CFA, which has 3 levels; you need not finish all three levels at one go but L1 before joining a b-school and L2 immediately after completing MBA or during the second year is what people usually do.
To make the transition to Marketing it depends on how diverse your resume is as it is not solely driven by certifications. You can take up courses offered by Wharton on Coursera, additionally, you should take up a stint with an NGO. The rest you can build on-campus by becoming part of the Marketing club or taking part in various marketing contests conducted at different b-schools.
But what you should do first is to decide between Marketing and Finance, given three years of work-ex, b-school interviewers will expect you to have clarity — https://thecatwriter.com/2019/04/01/preparing-for-an-mba-and-not-just-the-cat-2/
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
My name is Siddharth and I have completed my graduation in 2018 and appeared for CAT 2018 but could not score well. As I was waiting till now with some positive hopes with my CMAT score but was not able to get any conversions. Now I am having a gap of more than a year and I am confused whether to go for a job or start preparing again. And also I am getting a job in the BPO sector, not in the marketing sector where I want to make my career. So what should I do now? Is the BPO sector be good enough to build my profile? Please help As Soon As Possible.
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Hello Sir,
I am Siddharth and I have completed my graduation in 2018 and appeared for CAT but couldn’t score well. Till now I was having some hope with my CMAT score but couldn’t get any conversions. Now I am having a gap for more than a year and I am confused that whether should I take a job or start preparing again. And also I am getting a job in BPO Company, not in a marketing firm where I want to make a career. So does BPO will help me to give some advantage? Or I should give another try for a marketing firm?
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Hi Siddharth,
It is a tricky situation, it depends on the chances of you landing a Marketing job soon.
If your resume is getting you shortlists and you have interviewed with a few firms then try for a Marketing job, else take up the job(it will not adversely affect your chances) and prepare.
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
I completed my graduation in 2018 in Instrumentation Engineering and am currently working in Schneider Electric which is a core company for my field. I had previously given CAT in 2017 but did’nt score extremely well. But now, my field of work experience( Industrial Automation) is pretty different to the MBA field. What can I do to boost my profile for a career in finance or operations?
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Hi Anjana,
Operations span the entire width from product design to manufacturing to QC to shipping to customer care.
So you work-ex in your core will be related to Operations and hence you need not too much to build your profile, a certification course from Wharton on Coursera.
As far as Finance goes, if you are really serious you should take up a CFA, which has 3 levels and costs 80000 per level, short of that everything else is child’s play.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hi Tony,
I have mailed you some of my doubts at toni@ims.com. It would be very helpful for me if you could please reply to the same.
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correction: tony@ims.com
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It’s tony@imsindia.com
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Ok. Will Resend the mail. Thanks for the confirmation.
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Hello sir,
I have completed my graduation(B.com) this year and my score in 10,12 & graduation is 76%,79% &56.2% and I want to do mba in finance.
What i do to build my profile?
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It depends on what you say when you say MBA Finance. If you want jobs in the BFSI (google what BFSI is) then you can do the NSE certifications that I mentioned in the blog post or the courses on Coursera.
If you want the best jobs in Finance — i-banking and others, you have to do two levels of the CFA.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hello sir,
Loved your article! I wanted to know different ways in which I could build my profile and the article helps alot.
I am a CA (qualified in 2018) and plan to pursue MBA in finance. Academics: 92/88/80/53 in X/XII/bcom/CA. I am also a Karate black belt (did it during my schooling but did not continue later).
I don’t intend to do any certifications as the CA degree would help in that area. I do want to join a ngo but it seems difficult because of my current job.
Your article does mention alot about interests/passion. I am not quite sure what am I passionate about. I do like the occasional singing/dancing/reading/fitness stuff but I might not be passionate about it. So I’m a little unsure as to how can I build my profile further. Any suggestions/recommendations would help.
Thanks in advance!
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Hi,
Since you are a CA that solves half the profile problem since your profile is already unique.
The number of CAs win every batch of the IIMs is less than 10% and for Fin jobs nothing comes in as handy as a CA. The people who usually get the best Fin jobs on campus are the CA-MBAs.
So do not worry about profile building, just focus on getting as high a percentile as possible and getting into IIM A or C.
A bit of NGO experience will come in handy if you are interested in working for McKinsey and other Consulting firms.
All the best!
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Hello sir,
I have completed my graduation(B.com) in 2018, almost a year now. And my score in 10th ,12th & graduation is 63%,57% &56% . I apppeared CAT 2018 but i ended up with 50 %ile only. I belong to NC-OBC. Recently I have joined a job from April 2019 and even preparing for CAT & other MBA Entrances. I don’t have a strong profile even. Sir, is it possible to get call’s from IIM’s or other top MBA colleges with these academics. And what more do I need to do to improve my profile. Can you help me how can I go for CAT preparation and also how to improve my profile?
Your Suggestion is required Sir.
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Hi Debraj,
I have outlined the various things that can be taken up for profile-building in the post itself, so you can take up as of the things listed as per your interest.
With your academic profile IIMs will be a tough ask but top 30 colleges are possible, so apply to a wide list of colleges.
As far as CAT Prep goes you can go through the posts in various on this page — https://thecatwriter.com/category/cat-strat/page/2/
Hope this helps,
All the best!
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Greetings of the day to you Sir,
I am a graduate in Hotel Management Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition from IHM Mumbai or Dadar Catering College in 2017. I have a work experience of 2 years with Accor Hotels as a Management Trainee turned Assistant Manager – Front Office. It also included a month of cross exposure training in sister company. I passed my 10th with 90% and 12th (Arts) with 83% along with graduation with 71% As mentioned in your blog I also have 4 months Internship certificate with Hyatt during my graduation. I have been part of Toastmasters for a year during my job and won at area and district level competition. Currently I have left my job due to heavy working hours and as it was away from my hometown. I am preparing for CAT 2019 and in future would like to continue in hospitality and tourism sector and work with Online Travel Agent companies or in MICE. What college should I aim for ? Also what else can I do to enhance my profile which will further reflect my interest in the sector I mentioned?
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Hi Kalyani,
you have a diverse profile and this can help you get calls from some of the old IIMs. Since your profile is already diverse and you have Toastmasters you can take up online certification courses in Marketing Analytics or hospitality management.
As far as which colleges to apply to, a degree in Marketing from a good college should suffice since you have a hotel management degree. You can look at specialised hospitality management courses but there are only a few colleges that offer them — Symbiosis has one if I am not wrong. You are more likely to find great hospitality management courses abroad than in India.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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This is such a brilliant article! However I have a doubt . Would you be kind enough to clear it?
I am in my 3rd year of my Engineering and looking to get admitted into one of the top B Schools in India. However, my college is a tier 3 Engineering college and I was wondering if this factor would play against me during summer/final placements (if I were to clear CAT and Interview) or even during admission processes seeing as how many Engineers go for MBA, and how many of them are from IITs/NITs and other premium colleges.
If it would help, my profile so far is 88.83% in 10th (ICSE), 91.2% in 12th(ISC). My graduation percentage is likely to be in the range 75-79%(Electrical and Electronics Engineering).
My extra curricular activities so far include winning a writing competition or two at college/department level and volunteering for social services club of my college (however I am not a member and volunteered only for one semester which lasts for 3-4 months). I have also helped organize an event where my college hosted professors from foreign countries such as USA, Canada, France, Egypt.
My work experience (if I go for it) is likely to be in a mass recruiter IT company.
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Hi Anmol,
The brand of graduation college plays no role in the selection process to get into an IIM since there is no mathematical weight that is assigned to it.
During summer and final placement, yes, the brand of graduation college will play a role but only for a handful of firms, such as the Big 4 consulting firms or a few other niche fin firms (that go as far as asking only those with a JEE AIR of 400 and below to apply 🙂 ). But these are only a very small fraction of the overall number of firms that recruit from top schools.
For summers, you can’t do much but accept what you get. By the time finals come around, you can use your two years at the b-school to build your profile and tailor it to the sector you want to apply to.
So if you are asking do you have a shot at McKinsey, NO, like it will be the case for more than 2/3rd of any batch. Do you have a shot at landing a great job with a good brand at a good salary, YES.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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hello sir,
i want to do MBA in finance and will appear for CAT 2019 exam.My 10th 12th percentages are 85%(ICSE) and 82%(ISC).I am currently studying in the last year of engineering but i have got a year drop in the last year itself . So please help me to build my CV even after the year drop or what should i do in this situation for a good college.
thankyou.
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If you want to get into good Finance roles and compensate for the poor academic performance, you have no option but to do a CFA and prove that you have the drive and academic capability required to succeed in Finance.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hello Sir, I plan on applying to ISB this year and want to know if my profile stands a chance to get selected for the interview rounds.
My scores for X/XII/Grad – CGPA10/92.5%/88.2%
I am a civil engineer and have two years work ex in a civil engineering MNC. However, I have quit my job to prepare for CAT right now.
At work I have trained multiple new recruits, written numerous guidance docs and reports which are being used by my colleagues as references while working. I have been part of the Graduate Forum of my company organizing events for new recruits.
During my graduation I have been core committee member of one fest, part of the CSR team and was actively involved in providing student feedback to the department to procure resources like library books or feedback about new professors.
During schooling I was the prefect (I have a badge to prove it) and deputy head girl (no certificate/badge).
Hobbies: Painting/Reading(Jane Austen/Emily Bronte/Dostoevsky)/Soap-making(I have a small business)
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Hi Shreya,
Your profile is very good — Academics being the spike. If you score around 700 you stand a good chance, obviously higher scores are always welcome but since you have a great Grad GPA, a 700 should suffice.
All the best!
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Thank you for your reply.
Could you please also tell me if it’s possible to push verbal scores in GMAT from 31 to 39 while preparing for CAT. Or do I need to work on each individually?
I took my first GMAT practice test without any prep and got a score of 49 on quant and 31 on verbal, giving an overall score of 660.
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Hi Shreya,
GMAT Verbal and CAT Verbal have absolutely nothing to do with each other. Your preparation for the CAT is in no way going to take you from 31 to 39!
Go through my GMAT Blog — https://thegmatblogger.in/ — for concepts you need to know to crack GMAT.
Buy official prep material from MBA.com, at least one test pack and the OG, to practice from.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Thanks for the article sir! However. I have a doubt . Can you be kind enough to clear that?
My acads in 10th and 12th are 88.83 % and 91.2% jn 12th (both from ICSE/ISC) . Currently I am in 3rd year of my Engineering (electrical and electronics) and my percentage is likely to be in the range of 75-80%. I intend to do mba in finance.
But since my college is a tier 3 Engineering college, I was wondering if that would play against me in summer/final placements , if I were to get into a good b school.
My extra curricular activities so far include first /second places in institute/department level writing competitions. I have also volunteered(for one semester) for the social services club of my college and have helped organize a conference where my college hosted professors from abroad too.
Is this profile good enough?
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If we have a history of 1-2 cleared backlogs in engineering degree from a tier-3 University, is that counted against us during admission PI, summer/final placements, the extra curricular activities being average (college level participations and a couple of wins)?
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Nope, does not matter, I had a couple myself.
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Hi sir please response to my chances of getting profile based call from SPJAIN. My profile is as follows:-
Xth- 78% (CBSE)
XIIth- 90.6% (district topper in PCM -94.66%) (CBSE)
B.Tech – 65% (Civil engineering)
Published my project of final year in International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology.
I was SCHOOL CAPTAIN in Army Public School, Devlali. Also the captain of my school basketball team.
I was also the captain of college basketball team in my final year and represented college in state level matches.
I have organised college events in the cultural activities such as dancing and making arrangements in events as a event head.
I have completed the diploma in Architecture software course (and practiced softwares like Revit architecture, Google Sketchup, 3ds max) and studied project management in construction field.
My preference is:-
1) Marketing
2) Finance
Should I apply for SPJAIN for profile based call?
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*respond
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Hi sir please respond to my chances of getting profile based call from SPJAIN. My profile is as follows:-
Xth- 78% (CBSE)
XIIth- 90.6% (district topper in PCM -94.66%) (CBSE)
B.Tech – 65% (Civil engineering)
Published my project of final year in International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology.
I was SCHOOL CAPTAIN in Army Public School, Devlali. Also the captain of my school basketball team.
I was also the captain of college basketball team in my final year and represented college in state level matches.
I have organised college events in the cultural activities such as dancing and making arrangements in events as a event head.
I have completed the diploma in Architecture software course (and practiced softwares like Revit architecture, Google Sketchup, 3ds max) and studied project management in construction field.
My preference is:-
1) Marketing
2) Finance
Should I apply for SPJAIN for profile based call?
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Hi Saurab,
The profile-based usually goes out to those with exceptional Acads, since CAT score requirement is low – 85 percentile. Since the MBA is an academically demanding program the academic capability to do well has to be demonstrated either through CAT scores or prior academics.
So exceptional Acads would mean 90/90/80.
You can apply for the profile-based call with limited expectations. Not getting a profile-based call does not mean that SPJIMR has rejected your profile altogether. You will get a score-based call if you score above 96.5 percentile.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hi Sir,
Please let me know which all colleges I can target based upon my below profile.
10th (CBSE) – 88 %
12th (CBSE) – 70%
Graduation – BTech in Electronics and Telecommunications from NMIMS – 64%
Work Exp duration – 25 months as on Dec 2019
Company – IBM
Description – 2 Years of extensive onsite experience at Client Location. Joined in as a consultant, currently leading a team of 3 and working as a business analyst for multiple applications. Received multiple awards from the client and IBM. Spearheaded various automation and business solutioning projects.
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Ps – Please help me with Domestic Colleges in India which I should apply via CAT or any other Management entrance exam.
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Hi Vishesh,
It would be next to impossible to suggest which colleges to apply without having any idea of what percentile you are expecting!
All the best!
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Do engineering graduates like me have a chance a good shot top B schools and a placement in good finance/marketing roles?
10th – 89%ICSE) ,
12th-91% (ISC),
Btech-77-78 % most likely (Still pursuing) , with a pending backlog,(AKTU), tier-3 university
Extra curricular- Won a writing competition at college, volunteered for social services club in my college for a semester, participated in a couple of quiz competitions. Nothing at state/national/international level
Position of responsibility- Part of Editorial board of college magazine.
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Hi Anmol,
Engineering Grads still form the bulk of the students in a b-school!
As far as placements into specific specializations go, you stand a chance to get Finance placements only if you do a CFA (all engineers serious about Finance are finishing L1 by the time they enter campus)
For Marketing, fresher engineers stand as good a chance as anyone else, if they have decent extracurriculars and build up the same along with PoRs during the two years.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hello Sir,
I’m preparing for CAT 2020 and I had some queries regarding profile building. My academic scores have been mediocre so far and I am looking for ways to cover it up by co-circulars and certificate courses, and obviously, a good CAT score. I’m targetting for specialisation in marketing from a first-tier college. My profile is as follows –
10th – 9.0 CGPA
12th – 85%
Graduation – 68%
Certificate courses – Introduction to Marketing from Wharton, Intermediate in Google Analytics. Business Analytics from Colorado, Inbound marketing from Hubspot academy and Introduction to digital marketing by Google
Internship – 8 months as a marketing intern at an agency based startup.
Apart from this, in co-circulars, I have designed websites for blogs where I post my content.
What else can I do to cover-up the weak UG grades and get a good shot at the top MBA colleges?
Thanks!
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Hi Parva,
The three parts of the profile — academic profile, ECAs, and work-ex — are mutually exclusive in that one cannot undo the other directly since each one has a certain weightage in the process for the first call. So it can be that in colleges where weightage for Grad MArks is very high, the only way you can counter it is by a very good CAT score, provided the weightage for CAT Score is high.
The place where your ECAs, certifications, and internships will come in handy are the interviews. If you have good ECAs your interview can be built around that to make a great case for admission into an MBA program.
So I feel you have done enough in terms of things for Marketing, which seems to be your area of interest. Doing an NGO stint can be useful from an interview perspective, colleges such as SPJIMR, and final placements at b-schools as well. So taking that up will be useful.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Could you please suggest some certificate courses related to core finance, from Wharton, Coursera, etc.
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Hi Darshit,
You can do NCFM certifications offered by NSE and the foundations of Finance course offered by Wharton on Coursera.
If you are super-serious about Finance though and are looking at CAT2020 then nothing better than finishing CFA L1 by June 2020, all the rest won’t really be of any real help, placements, if you are an engineer.
All the best!
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Hi Sir
I am a 2nd year student, pursuing BBA(FIA) from SSCBS, DU. I am a cat 2020 aspirant and is targeting IIM ABC (preferably A&C because of Finance). I would like to know about my profile and what all i can do to improve it.
Academics – 10th- 10 cgpa
12th- 95%
Graduation – 9 cgpq (may lie between 8.5 to 9.25 after 3rd year)
Internships – 2 internships one in core finance one in a startup
Certifications – Various certifications in finance from Wharton, ISB, IMF.
Achievements – Won few competitions in different colleges of DU
POR – Core Committee member of one of the college Society
What else can i do in my undergrad to stand out from the crowd and would help me not only in selection process of IIM but will also help in securing summer internship in investment banking.
Thanks!
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Hi,
If you want to do an internship in IB then the best thing you can do is get a CFA-L1 before entering campus that is the only way you can compete with CAs; at IIM-C there are around 80 engineers every year who have a CFA L-1. All the rest are just small embellishments on the resume, a CA or CFA is the real deal as far as IB roles go, so plan to finish L1 before entering or just after entering campus and L2 once you graduate.
Hope this helps,
All the best!
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Hi sir,
I have completed my graduation in BCOM this September. But I am aspiring for CAT 2020. so there will be a gap of 1 year and I do not hold any certifications till now. I want to go for MBA in finance or HR. Kindly suggest as to how do I justify my 1-year gap and my academic performance is average.
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Hi Onish,
Given the sort of year this has been, gap years might be treated leniently in interviews.
But you should still take up some certification courses online to show that you translated your decision to an MBA not just into CAT Prep but also to learn more about an MBA.
You will not get marks in the interview just for doing the courses rather they give you enough conservation points to discuss what you were up to in the past year and earn some marks in the interview based on how you answer the questions that follow.
Hope this helps,
All the best!
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Hello sir,
Today I saw the All about Specializations videos. My profile is very much similar to that student that you have mentioned in the video with everything above 90(in 10th, 12th and grads). Currently in my final year at NIT. I would like to pursue the top 5 roles that you had mentioned in the Finance sector. Considering the case of the student that you had mentioned should I reconsider my options?? What do you suggest should be done? I have really low interest in the Sales, Marketing and HR sectors. Kindly help. Thanks!!
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Hi Shubham,
You have an exceptional academic profile.
You need to start preparing for the CFA and crack L1 at least before Final Placements and preferably before summer placements — a CFA has become a hygiene factor on the the resumes of all non-Commerce/CA background Finance aspirants.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
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Hi sir,
Thank you so much for the article, although I have a few clarifications:
1) My academic scores are 95/94/71, graduated from NIT.
2) Have a few State level Olympiad rankings, won several school level sports and other tournaments.
3) Quit my job this year after completing 2 years in the Analytics field of a reputed firm.
4) NC-OBC Female.
5) No certifications as such but worked on quite a few good projects resulting in huge savings for my company.
6) I’m not sure of the specialization I should be aiming for (according to my profile) but I’m inclined more towards Marketing/Ops. Please let me know which one is better and which certifications are absolutely necessary?
7) Also, kindly let me know if I’m eligible for a Profile based called from SPJIMR and is there a chance of getting into any of the top B schools with a score of 90-95 percentile with my profile?
Thanks!
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Hi sir,
Thank you so much for the article, although I have a few clarifications:
1) My academics are 95/94/71, graduated from NIT.
2) Secured State level Olympiad rankings, won several school level sports and other tournaments.
3) Quit my job this year after completing 25 months in the Analytics field of a reputed firm.
4) NC-OBC Female.
5) No certifications as such but worked on some big projects resulting in huge savings for the company.
6) Not sure about the specialization I should be aiming for (on the basis of my profile) , although I’m more inclined towards Marketing and Ops. Would be really helpful if you enlighten me on this!
Also what are the certifications which are absolutely necessary for a particular specialization?
7) My chances of getting into any of the top B schools with my profile and a 90-95 percentile?
8) Lastly, am I eligible for a Profile based called from SPJIMR?
Thanks!!
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Hi Alexa,
Your profile is fairly competitive for SPJIMR and it seems aligned to Marketing(if the analytics were being used in a sales and marketing context) but not Ops (typical Ops work-ex would be in manufacturing, automobile power sector, logistics etc)
With a percentile around 90s you will get a call from new and baby IIMs and as it gets closer to and higher than 95, the old IIMs keep coming into play one by one.
Hope this helps,
All the best!
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sir i have completed my chemical engineering in 2020,i have national prizes in the field of music,i want to do mba in operations or analytics,which courses should i prefer for building my profile one course i have heard of is six sigma certifications ..
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Hi Deep,
For Operations what is most important is work-ex in the field of Operations.
You can get into an MBA without work-ex but getting great Ops jobs from campuses such as SPJIMR or NITIE will not be easy.
The six-sigma certification itself will not make any difference unless it is done as part or along with work-ex.
You can take up courses on Coursera in Operations and Analytics. If you are very interested in Analytics then learning a couple of programming languages such as R and Python will come in handy.
Hope this helps,
All the best!
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which will be more good for me as a chemical engineering:- operations or analytics keeping in mind i dont have any workex
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Hello Sir
Sorry to kick this thread to life again but I could really use some help :’).
First off, thanks so much for the fantastic blog, have been following it since 2019. Really enjoy your articles and sectional improvement tips.
My profile (want to specialize in Finance) –
Acads : 92 / 94 / 7.2 (68% 😦 ) 2020 Sciences grad from a Tier 1 insti.
Cleared CFA L1, will (hopefully!) clear L2 in the next few months.
Currently interning in an Asset Mgmt firm, with a full offer almost certainly confirmed (full WorkEx will be ~ 5 months by PI time).
Prev CAT attempts – 99.72 / 99.24, messed up my CL interviews both times and really want to make this season the last one.
24F.
Could you please provide your inputs on how the profile is, and what else I could do to bolster it (for PIs as well as for Summers)?
Thanks you 🙂
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Your profile is excellent, Ishita.
I honestly do not how you managed to mess up the interviews both times — did you seek professional help with seasoned people for your interviews?
For the interviews, I cannot think of anything to add to your profile.
For placements, you can add some NGO experience since even big Consults look for it.
Hope this helps,
All the best!
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That is heartening to hear, Sir.
I do have some NGO experience via college, will add some more if time permits.
I messed up CL last year, I believe, because at that point I was a fresher – with the very low CGPA dragging me down, and next-to-no extracurriculars.
And this year, had my recruiting rounds + CFA L1 + PIs in the same 3-4 weeks’ span, and focusing on the first 2 majorly, did not prepare much this time (also had a gap of a few months after grad, due to COVID).
Will make a proper go of it in the PIs this time, now that the profile is a little more aligned.
Thank you 🙂
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Hello Sir, “Ishita” here (apologies for the pseudonym 😅). Will be joining IIMA this year, after finally belling my CAT. Thank you very much for all your posts and advice – it is of immense help to numerous aspirants. Wishing you, J and the rest of the IMS community all the very best.
Warm Regards,
T
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Hi Ishita 🙂
Congratulations on IIM-A! Awesome job!
Always good to hear from a blog reader and know that the work helps aspirants in some way. (I don’t know whether you are J’s student or a reader of cat100percentile.com.)
Thanks for the wishes. Glad to know that the entire IMS team could be of some help.
All the very best for your two years at WIMWI and beyond.
Congrats, once again!
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Thank you very much, Sir, A was my absolute dream :D.
I had the fortune of being J’s student, through multiple attempts; he’s been of immense help of course. Also got to meet him in person recently, before I left Mumbai :).
Thanks again for this blog, and my best to you all.
T
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J is the best 🙂
Keep up the excellent work with the semi-colons!
All the best!
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Hi!
A bit about me – 10th (91.82), 12th (75.17), BS-MS IISER Kolkata (85.5), no work-ex, no such exact inclination as of now in the specialization I take. I have an IMT-G (marketing), XIM-B (BM), IIM Rohtak & DoMS IIT-Roorkee converts, what would you suggest between these & please guide me on this situation. I would love to listen to your opinion.
Also, what would be the best possible way to utilise my time before the start of college? (any specific certifications, works, volunteering, basics, etc.)
Thank you.
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Hi Roy,
Among the options, if you want to keep your specialisation choice open, I would suggest XIM-B and IIM-Rohtak.
Between the two, the call has to be yours. Compare placements, your personal preference and then take a call.
Hope this helps,
All the best!
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Thank you so much.
What would be the best possible way to utilise my time before the start of college? (any specific certifications, works, volunteering, basics, etc.) To improve my profile.
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Hi Sir!
A bit about me – 10th (91.82%), 12th (75.17%), BS-MS Tier 1 College (8.55), CAT (95.52%ile) no work-ex, no such exact inclination as of now in the specialization I take. I have an IMT-G (Marketing), XIM-B (BM), IIM Rohtak & DoMS IIT-Roorkee converts, what would you suggest between these & please guide me on this situation. I would love to listen to your opinion. I would be extremely thankful if you could guide me here a bit.
Also, what would be the best possible way to utilise my time before the start of college? (any specific certifications, works, volunteering, basics, etc.)
Thank you.
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