What’s going on, everyone. I’m writing this entry from the great state of VA, where I’m visiting my family for the weekend. I know I’ve been bringing up the election a lot lately, but it’s because this is probably the most important election of our lifetimes. As I was driving up here, I passed through a lot of the small towns and was shocked at the number of McCain-Palin signs I saw. I must have seen about a million “Virginia is McCain Country” posters and I cringed every time I saw one…I bet people driving by me thought I was having some sort of fit behind the wheel. I did see quite a few Obama posters though and those made me smile really big 
I especially liked the collection of signs in one particular county that said “Nelson County is Obama Country”…they offered the perfect contrast to the McCain signs and were both larger and more vivid in appearance I know that I’m from a traditionally Republican state, but I’m hoping the folks here get it right on Nov. 4. I wish I could cast a ballot here because every vote counts, but I can’t do that so I’ll just keep my fingers crossed.
OK, now to today’s entry…the message below is from an Indian IT professional who has a background similar to my own and is looking for a good general management program. I’ll let y’all read the rest of his background from his message, but it sounds like his plan is somewhat similar to my own back when I was applying to school. I hope he finds what I have to say helpful as he crafts his story.
—-
SS wrote:
“Hi Marquis,
I’ve been following your blog for quite some time now and I must say that yours is one of the best resources for anybody considering consulting after his MBA.
I’ve some queries regarding my post-MBA goals..
First my profile in short::
Indian IT Male from top-rated Engineering college (non-IIT) in India
4 years of software-develoipment experience (by July 2009) in top tech companies (1 year in CA, 3 years at Adobe Systems,) in India
GMAT 770. (Q51,V44)
No international exposure. No professinal managerial experience.
Excellent extra-curricular leadership experience.
I’m considering applying to a general management program with an immediate goal of joining a consulting firm (More details in next para) The schools that I’ve shortlisted are:: Tuck, Ross, Duke, Darden, Emory and ISB(India) (more or less in the same preference order)
In short term, I want to join one of the top consulting firms and work for strategy consulting specifically for Tech companies.I’d like to work on this for the initial 3-4 years. This’ll give me exposure to the industry and a rich experience, which I’d like to use at the next step of ladder, which is to join a tech-company in the business development role.
(I believe that my strong problem-solving skills and analytical abilities make consulting a right choice for me. But after a few initial years, I’d like to settle on the family front and would like a job demanding less traveling.)
In the long run, I want to start my own IT company in India. Right now, I’m not clear in which field. Software as a Service (SAAS) model is something that excites me today. But not sure whether it’d be still as great 10 years down the line.
Can you comment on the feasibility of my goals? Both from real life perspective and the B-schools admissions perspective? Also I need to know how specific do I need to be.
Also can you comment on the choices of school considering my profile and goals.
Regards
SS”
—-
My response:
SS,
Thanks for hitting up my blog and for thinking of me as a resource for your questions. If you’ve read any of my past entries, then you’ve probably noticed some similarities between our backgrounds. Having come into business school with a similar foundation, I’d say I have a sense for where you’re coming from. Hopefully, you’ll find my advice to be helpful as you navigate along your path.
In your email, you basically asked for my read on the following three issues:
- Feasibility of your goals: Your post-MBA goals sound very feasible to me and I know of a few people who’ve followed the path that you described. You’ll have a range of options when it comes to strategy consulting for tech companies, so you should be thoughtful about the firms you’d consider in order to better target those firms while in B-school. Also, you should start networking with some Biz Dev professionals soon to learn about the skills you’d need to pick up to make a transition into that sort of role at some point. One last thing…you might want to think about revising your expectation of staying in consulting for 3-4 years out of business school. The average tenure of an MBA grad in consulting (across most firms) is around two years. It probably wouldn’t be a big deal in terms of your business school applications, but I’m just mentioning it to help with your own expectation-setting.
- How specific do you need to be: This may be an odd response, but be as specific as you need to be when laying out your goals. What I mean is that you should balance being specific enough to show that you’ve put thought into your path, but don’t be so specific (i.e. naming specific companies and timelines) that it seems somewhat unrealistic. For example, I like the specificity of your desired path toward the biz dev position in the Tech industry and, if you flesh the story out a bit, it could look really good in a B-school application. But, when you describe your desired to start an IT company in India, it seemed a little too general for my tastes…it might be difficult to be more definitive because it’s something 10 years out, but try thinking it through a little more.
- Choice of schools: I don’t know anything about ISB in India, but your American schools seem to be great picks if you’re trying to find a strong general management program. In fact, I applied to three of your five listed US schools because of their strength in general management. One thing to watch out for is that those five schools are very different, so you’ll have to be sure to cater your MBA story to each school. I’m probably telling you something you already know, but some applicants just assume that all general management programs are the same and submit a bunch of generic essays expecting great results. Don’t let that happen to yourself.
Take care and I wish you the best of luck in your business school applications. Have a nice weekend.
-Marquis
I especially liked the collection of signs in one particular county that said “Nelson County is Obama Country”…they offered the perfect contrast to the McCain signs and were both larger and more vivid in appearance I know that I’m from a traditionally Republican state, but I’m hoping the folks here get it right on Nov. 4. I wish I could cast a ballot here because every vote counts, but I can’t do that so I’ll just keep my fingers crossed.OK, now to today’s entry…the message below is from an Indian IT professional who has a background similar to my own and is looking for a good general management program. I’ll let y’all read the rest of his background from his message, but it sounds like his plan is somewhat similar to my own back when I was applying to school. I hope he finds what I have to say helpful as he crafts his story.
—-
SS wrote:
“Hi Marquis,
I’ve been following your blog for quite some time now and I must say that yours is one of the best resources for anybody considering consulting after his MBA.
I’ve some queries regarding my post-MBA goals..
First my profile in short::
Indian IT Male from top-rated Engineering college (non-IIT) in India
4 years of software-develoipment experience (by July 2009) in top tech companies (1 year in CA, 3 years at Adobe Systems,) in India
GMAT 770. (Q51,V44)
No international exposure. No professinal managerial experience.
Excellent extra-curricular leadership experience.
I’m considering applying to a general management program with an immediate goal of joining a consulting firm (More details in next para) The schools that I’ve shortlisted are:: Tuck, Ross, Duke, Darden, Emory and ISB(India) (more or less in the same preference order)
In short term, I want to join one of the top consulting firms and work for strategy consulting specifically for Tech companies.I’d like to work on this for the initial 3-4 years. This’ll give me exposure to the industry and a rich experience, which I’d like to use at the next step of ladder, which is to join a tech-company in the business development role.
(I believe that my strong problem-solving skills and analytical abilities make consulting a right choice for me. But after a few initial years, I’d like to settle on the family front and would like a job demanding less traveling.)
In the long run, I want to start my own IT company in India. Right now, I’m not clear in which field. Software as a Service (SAAS) model is something that excites me today. But not sure whether it’d be still as great 10 years down the line.
Can you comment on the feasibility of my goals? Both from real life perspective and the B-schools admissions perspective? Also I need to know how specific do I need to be.
Also can you comment on the choices of school considering my profile and goals.
Regards
SS”
—-
My response:
SS,
Thanks for hitting up my blog and for thinking of me as a resource for your questions. If you’ve read any of my past entries, then you’ve probably noticed some similarities between our backgrounds. Having come into business school with a similar foundation, I’d say I have a sense for where you’re coming from. Hopefully, you’ll find my advice to be helpful as you navigate along your path.
In your email, you basically asked for my read on the following three issues:
- Feasibility of your goals: Your post-MBA goals sound very feasible to me and I know of a few people who’ve followed the path that you described. You’ll have a range of options when it comes to strategy consulting for tech companies, so you should be thoughtful about the firms you’d consider in order to better target those firms while in B-school. Also, you should start networking with some Biz Dev professionals soon to learn about the skills you’d need to pick up to make a transition into that sort of role at some point. One last thing…you might want to think about revising your expectation of staying in consulting for 3-4 years out of business school. The average tenure of an MBA grad in consulting (across most firms) is around two years. It probably wouldn’t be a big deal in terms of your business school applications, but I’m just mentioning it to help with your own expectation-setting.
- How specific do you need to be: This may be an odd response, but be as specific as you need to be when laying out your goals. What I mean is that you should balance being specific enough to show that you’ve put thought into your path, but don’t be so specific (i.e. naming specific companies and timelines) that it seems somewhat unrealistic. For example, I like the specificity of your desired path toward the biz dev position in the Tech industry and, if you flesh the story out a bit, it could look really good in a B-school application. But, when you describe your desired to start an IT company in India, it seemed a little too general for my tastes…it might be difficult to be more definitive because it’s something 10 years out, but try thinking it through a little more.
- Choice of schools: I don’t know anything about ISB in India, but your American schools seem to be great picks if you’re trying to find a strong general management program. In fact, I applied to three of your five listed US schools because of their strength in general management. One thing to watch out for is that those five schools are very different, so you’ll have to be sure to cater your MBA story to each school. I’m probably telling you something you already know, but some applicants just assume that all general management programs are the same and submit a bunch of generic essays expecting great results. Don’t let that happen to yourself.
Take care and I wish you the best of luck in your business school applications. Have a nice weekend.
-Marquis
