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Three months! That’s all it took for Priyamvada Joshi, a chemical engineer by qualification, to grasp that she didn’t need to proceed working within the textile business.
Most professionals in India find yourself selecting a profession, not as a result of they’re excited in regards to the subject, however as a result of that is what they bought based mostly on their entrance examination efficiency.
Most are unwilling to confess it was a mistake, and proceed to reside a life full of stress and remorse.
Priyamvada wasn’t amongst them. With no different job provide in hand, she selected to interrupt free and enterprise out to seek out one thing that basically excited her.
The thrilling and fast-paced world of startups caught her consideration. With the correct hustling, she managed to alter careers.
Beginning with a fundamental position, she made her solution to InMobi in a digital advertising and marketing position.
After 6 rewarding years of development and studying, she discovered herself once more at an inflection level.
What made her think about a world MBA after digital advertising and marketing?
What hurdles did she have to beat?
For the solutions, over to Priyamvada!
Why MBA after Digital Advertising
How I bought into Cambridge College
by Priyamvada Joshi
I grew up in a household of medical doctors within the metropolis of Bhopal, India. Rising up, I noticed my dad and mom work arduous and hustle at their jobs as medical doctors. I all the time regarded as much as them.
Nevertheless, I by no means had straight reply to the dreaded query:
What do you need to do while you develop up?
I used to be able to try and make one thing out of myself, identical to my dad and mom.
As a scholar, I used to be good at my teachers and practically aced each topic. After twelfth, I took the engineering entrance exams, identical to many different Indian college students.
I graduated as a chemical engineer and began working as a trainee at a textile companies plant.
Working at an industrial plant took a toll on me. So, I give up my job impulsively after 3 months.
For somebody who spent the final 4 years greedy ideas round vegetation and their processes , it was main setback. I used to be extra confused than ever.
The startup scene was booming in India. Whereas exploring for brand new jobs, I used to be drawn by the fast-paced nature of labor and the steep studying curve provided by start-ups.
I noticed this as the correct time and alternative to experiment with my expertise and joined an early-stage tech startup. I spent the following one 12 months promoting area of interest IOT merchandise in an immature market.
After a 12 months of working in the beginning up, I made a decision to affix InMobi Applied sciences (India’s first unicorn & cellular promoting know-how options supplier) as I used to be on the lookout for larger publicity and wished to streamline my learnings in a steady organizational setup.
Within the subsequent 5 years at InMobi, I explored totally different roles in know-how business on the intersection of enterprise growth, buyer success and program administration.
Working throughout numerous features, I spotted that I used to be all the time up for difficult initiatives in a extremely dynamic setting.
I actually loved studying new expertise and buying information in regards to the tech ecosystem. Over my 6 years work expertise, I understood my leanings as a person, personally & professionally.
My quest to proceed rising, exploring totally different roles and increasing my skill-set made the concept of pursuing an MBA actually interesting to me.
This was additional fortified by my ambitions to realize worldwide publicity and to construct a profession in product administration which appeared like a pure course given my cross-functional skill-set and curiosity within the area.
After discussing my aspirations with my friends, seniors, and product managers, a lot of whom had been MBA graduates, I felt assured with my determination to pursue MBA at this stage in my profession.
GMAT Preparation
I suppose that is the place I spotted what I had gotten myself into. 😀
GMAT is your trump card, they stated. It’s an absolute deal breaker in case you are an Indian aspirant.
I’ve all the time been a ahead thinker. I deliberate and began to arrange for my GMAT virtually 6 months upfront earlier than the R1 deadlines.
My goal rating was 750+ and something beneath 720 was topic to a different try.
It was the primary quarter of 2020. The pandemic had hit its peak and I discovered myself juggling my GMAT notes with work calls in a number of time zones.
Circumstances at dwelling had been tough as I noticed my dad and mom wrestle with their responsibility as COVID well being staff.
As a lot as I attempted, my 6-month plan bought prolonged to 8-month plan and so one. I took my first try in Sept 2020 which was method forward of the R1 deadlines.
I scored a 690.
My planning wasn’t understanding and I panicked. In that second, I wished to give up my job in order that I might give my full-fledged consideration to GMAT.
That is after I began scouring the web to grasp the GMAT scores and the impression of taking profession breaks.
I got here throughout a weblog by MCB and instantly messaged Sameer Kamat on LinkedIn to get his enter on my profession break plan in larger particulars.
I used to be shocked and considerably relieved, after I noticed his fast response to my question. Sameer linked me to Manish Gupta, who heads consulting at MCB.
Manish gave me trustworthy suggestions of my profile, outcomes of taking a profession break and his inputs with respect to my rating.
He actually got here throughout as somebody who understood what goes inside the pinnacle of an MBA aspirant.
From thereon, I continued my dialog with Manish and stored him up to date on my GMAT rating progress.
After my first try, I took 2 extra makes an attempt and ended my last try at 690 in Jan’21. I constantly aced my GMAT quant rating, however my verbal rating wasn’t arising.
I suppose I used to be not likely happy with my last rating, however I used to be mentally ready for the result that got here with this rating.
I knew that is the place I needed to cease.
My mentors from prime B-schools made me realise…
Even with my rating of 690, I used to be formidable with my faculty choice. I used to be aiming for the highest MBA applications within the US & UK.
After talking with a few of my mentors who graduated from prime B-Faculties, I realised the significance of working with a very good MBA admissions advisor.
I wished an trustworthy and reliable enter on the core competencies in my profile and how one can leverage them in my purposes.
I used to be on the lookout for an MBA utility advisor who wouldn’t write my purposes for me, quite assist me perceive the essays from an admissions committee perspective.
MCB was simply my best choice given their fast and devoted responses to my previous queries after I was taking my GMAT. I didn’t suppose twice after I determined to maneuver forward with their consulting companies.
I took the MAP + 4 Faculty choice package deal with the MCB crew and was lucky to work with Vibhav & Maitabi throughout my utility part.
Studying how one can crack the code
In the previous couple of years, I’ve spoken to many MBA aspirants, and I’ve realized that utility part is usually underestimated and thought of comparatively simpler as in comparison with taking the GMAT and getting a rating.
In my view, purposes are equally essential and require intense dedication, analysis & most significantly, introspection.
In some ways, MCB has formulated the code to cracking the proper utility with MAP framework on the forefront.
The MBA MAP framework made me mirror on my private {and professional} selections and helped me in establishing my actual causes for pursuing MBA.
The half that I loved probably the most was brainstorming over my concepts and selections with Vibhav and Maitabi.
A superb essay is usually confused with having nice writing expertise, vocabulary and so forth. however working with Vibhav and Maitabi, I understood that the essay content material wants to come back from inside and must be actual but tangible sufficient for the adcom to interpret.
What I tremendously admired all through my entire journey working with the MCB crew was that they by no means tried to write down my essays for me or mould my thought course of.
I regarded as much as Vibhav as my mentor. I actually preferred his impartial and trustworthy inputs on my expertise and thought course of.
Below Vibhav’s professional steering, I used to be capable of finding the required readability and depth with respect to my profession targets in product administration.
He had nice context on PM roles and know-how business, and he was capable of intently relate with my mission work.
Each session with him was enriching and he consistently nudged me to discover and analysis my concepts in-depth.
We brainstormed over faculties, utility, product administration, my profession trajectory and this gave me new perspective, one thing I couldn’t think about having if I made a decision to write down my essays on my own.
I had an equally nice expertise working with Maitabi. She actually helped me see by way of myself and my intrinsic ideas when it got here to writing private / life expertise essays. In her inputs, she made certain that the essay was coming from me.
Below her steering, I used to be in a position to discuss my vulnerabilities and current them honestly whereas setting the correct stability and tone.
Put up the MAP course of, I did a whole lot of analysis round faculties and product administration.
I made a decision to use to 4 faculties in R1 based mostly on the common scores, location, and put up -MBA alternatives in product administration.
Personally, I most well-liked Europe based mostly faculties over US-based as I wished a extra relaxed setting round visas and journey.
B-school choice was not a simple course of.
I spoke with a number of alumni and college students from prime B-schools to realize perception.
Cambridge Decide Faculty was a best choice given this system’s status, location, and tech placement information.
I additionally utilized to CMU, Foster Washington and Cornell contemplating the location stats at my goal corporations.
As soon as I had selected the colleges, I made a guidelines of the essay questions, the college necessities, and deadlines.
This actually helped my in defining the timelines round analysis, introspection and at last penning down my essays.
After months of arduous work, deliberation, and brainstorming periods I used to be lastly capable of ship nicely rounded purposes to all of the 4 faculties inside their deadlines.
I bought an interview invite from Cambridge Decide Faculty and bought waitlisted for CMU Tepper.
Given the worth addition I noticed in essay and utility course of, I used to be fairly desirous to work with MCB for interview preparation.
We had just a few mock MBA interview sittings adopted by detailed suggestions and suggestions.
I used to be nervous earlier than the mock periods however the entire course of actually conditioned me for the principle day. I needed to put together to not sound too ready.
On the day of interview, I had a 30-minute spherical. I had some solutions ready and a few had been ad-hoc questions. Maintaining calm and staying constructive actually helped me.
I lastly bought an admit on Cambridge Decide Enterprise Faculty which was additionally my best choice program.
As a candidate from an over-represented pool and with a median GMAT rating, I really feel my work expertise and purposes had been actually the important thing differentiator.
Prior planning and analysis actually helped my case. I owe an awesome deal to the MCB crew for serving to me construct robust purposes which certainly turned the deal breaker in my case.
Additionally learn:
– Stepping into Cambridge from India: My MBA admissions expertise
– Ivy league vs Oxbridge – Harvard Stanford vs Cambridge Oxford
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