Do we know if they have started giving out interview calls for R1 applications for the class of 2019-20?
IIMA PGPX Essay Analysis:
1. Describe your best Day at Work
IIMA has certainly given good thought to their essay prompts this year, and both the essays would require you to read between the lines. With a typical PGPX applicant having more than 5 years of experience, there must be several instances when they felt good about their work or felt “accomplished and appreciated”. The school asks you to pick the best of the lot.
With the candidates we are working with already, a typical trend observed is of coming up with stories around some project they received an award for and how they were the happiest that day. Another variation is the philosophical and philanthropic angle of “supporting” a junior colleague, so much so, that he/she would have lost their job otherwise.
While these may be a few desirable elements in your story, the choice of your story should be driven more by your biggest achievement in the course of working on your core projects than something you may have had a one-off experience on. Even if the activity does not include any awards that you received, if it was a challenging project and if you were the hero of the story, feel free to choose that. The key is to be able to demonstrate your best work; and through the medium of your biggest achievement, establish the quality of projects you are involved in. It may be as simple as delivering what you were supposed to deliver in the first place, but if it is a good project to talk about, and entails unexpected challenges and how you presented strategic, out-of-the-box solutions to the problem, you have the right ingredients for a strong essay. In contrast, if all you have is an “automation” story even after working for 5+ years in the industry, then you need to think more (and do more).
2. Why would you not like to go back to your last Organization?
Would you not? You never stated that you wouldn’t – so if you are open to going back to your organization, feel free to accept that you don’t mind going back. With the high work-ex that PGPX candidates come with, a drastic career or industry shift remains challenging even with an MBA. And if you were to remain in the same industry, you may very well be open to going back to your organization, taking advantage of your network, and your understanding of the organizational culture and business.
Never ever criticize (read *complain* about) your employer or the set-up or the people even if you are very clear about moving on. The key is to present your past experience in good light (rather present it as awesome), and then go on to present your reasons to explore alternate opportunities. This could be driven by the motivation to gain exposure to a more diverse business, products or clients, move to a certain role or function, or just explore opportunities that are more leadership or business oriented.
This in principle, also means that your essay will have to present your short-term and long-term goals and how working with a certain set of organizations will help you achieve your goals better. This may happen equally well if you were to go back to your last organization (in your desired role of course), and if that’s the case, don’t say no to your last organization just for the sake of answering the question right.
A few candidates asked us if the essay prompt may be about going back to your last organization even before your MBA? Well, we think it would be more logical for IIM-A to discuss your plans and the reasoning behind those plans post MBA than a scenario where you don’t have an MBA at all. Also, there are several candidates who have worked for 7-8 years with the same organization, ever since they started their career – what would they answer if it was about going back to your organization before the MBA?
Happy to help you Build your own Personal Story. Contact us for more details.
All the Best!
ISBmantra / Admit Square Consulting
http://www.isbmantra.com | http://www.admitsquare.com
ISB gives you just 5-7 days for your interview prep. Read past interview experiences here to get a broad-level understanding of the kind of questions asked: https://www.isbmantra.com/resources/isb-interview-questions/interview-experience-manufacturing
All the Best!
ISBmantra
I need to know about the PGPpro programme. May I know if anyone enrolled on it earlier?
When will the admissions open for eeo 2019? I am not able to create an account and the message displayed is "Admissions closed for PGP 2018-19" . Can I still apply for eeo, if yes then how?
Hi, I have a small doubt. So essentially ISB gives you a 2 year defer after your graduation in YLP to complete 20 months of work-ex, however, in extraordinary circumstances as these when job joinings have been deferred, can a YLP admitted candidate get an extra year of defer to complete their required work-ex? Really hoping that someone who knows about this responds quickly!
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GRE: 321
Xth 9.8
X11: 93.9
BTech CSE: 7.43- IIIT
Worex; 4 in total (2 years in Product Management)
Any hopes?