TotalGadha GMAT

Forrest Gump is a Second Year student at University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business (formerly Chicago GSB). Before business school, he was a project manager in one of India’s biggest technology services firms. After business school, he will start off as a strategy consultant in a top-3 firm. He also writes a blog called Run Forrest, Run.

For the benefit of readers, can you give us a summary of your background?

As an undergrad, I studied engineering, and graduated with decent grades. After that, I went on to work for one of India’s biggest IT service providers ( think Infy, Wipro, TCS) starting as a software developer, and rising up the chain to be a project manager by the time I resigned. I spent all my seven work years with the same firm which certainly wasnt the norm. This had some advantages and disadvantages when I applied to business school. As part of work, I had the opportunity to live and work in Middle East as well as South East Asia, which are not the typical places IT professionals travel to. This again helped me a little when presenting my case in the business school essays.

What is the difference between doing an MBA from India and doing an MBA from a foreign university?

I seriously evaluated the Indian MBA schools as compared to US and Europe schools. Given my many years of experience, the PGDBM (or PGDM) programs in the IIMs didn’t really make sense because the student population there is lot younger and the jobs offered cater more to that segment rather than people like me. Further the MBA experience is very different among experienced professionals as compared to that among
fresh out of undergrad students. Therefore, I primarily looked at ISB and the PGPX programs in the IIMs. The primary difference between these schools and US b schools is the diversity in the class, and the diversity in opportunities. I “felt” that the larger majority of the students in ISB and IIMs came from IT industries (so, people like myself), and most of the post-MBA job opportunities were in the growing IT industry in India (please understand that this assertion isnt backed with data, and hence should be taken with a grain of salt; also class profiles might have changed since the time I applied). For me, this meant a lack of diversity and hence in some ways limiting in experience.

Can you tell us why you chose Chicago Booth over other Business Schools?

I chose Chicago Booth because of 3 reasons.

First, I had a great time interacting with alumni and students from the school. People were extremely friendly, helpful, and easy to talk to. I found them to be very smart, and for most part willing to engage in healthy intellectual debate. I enjoyed all these aspects of the student body, and over my interactions realised that I would really enjoy being in such an environment.

Second, I loved the academic rigor Booth provides, and given that I had no background in business, Booth’s rigor was something I needed to be at the forefront of what one can learn at business school. The flexible curriculum has its advantages and disadvantages, but for me, the advantages were more than the disadvantages (which for most part can be circumvented with better understand of the system).

Third, I applied to business school wanting the make a career change into strategy consulting, and Chicago Booth had a great reputation of sending graduates to the best consulting firms, and in large numbers.

As I finish my time here, I realize that I was right on all three points mentioned above. I have enjoyed my conversations with my class mates, and have found most of them to be passionate about something in the business world (for some it is macroeconomics, for some it is leadership, and so on). The flexible curriculum really helped my case, as I could take courses more suited to consulting recruitment. I found a large critical mass of students interested in going into consulting, and therefore it was very easy to find case practice partners, to find case books etc. Also, the second years and the amazing career services team play a huge part in the success of the first years in their internship search.

Is there a word of caution/ advice for an Indian applying to Chicago Booth?

Just one: Indians (broadly speaking) dont really understand the application process very well. I would urge applicants to spend the time understanding the process, talking to current students and alumni, and fellow applicants. It is important to move out of the exam-taking Indian mindset, and looking at other parts of their profile. I am still amazed at how many Indian applicants still ask me just about my GMAT score when they find out that I am in a US business school. People who have done their research should ask questions regarding how to structure their profile as compared to what the school values. On the same line - applicants should also bring in a broader set of experiences to their essays, and not just write about work related stories.

Chicago Booth encourages early career candidates to apply. Do you have any early career candidates in your class?

We do have a decent no of early career candidates. My advice to such candidates would be to use experiences from outside work to showcase the talents and skills valued in any business school - leadership, initiative, making things happen and hence make an impact, and analytical abilities. They should then use these experiences to craft a story on how they fit into the school and bring value to the school. For each story you tell, think if there is a big impact - it might be an impact on one person, or the community, or anything else, but impact is important.

Is the job scenario in US favourable for Indians? Is it easy/difficult to find a job after graduating from Chicago Booth?

The job scenario “currently” isn’t great for internationals (Indians and others alike), but things should improve. If the reader is an applicant, I would urge him to apply without being apprehensive. The current crisis will run its course and die out, and by the time you graduate you should be a okay (if not great) situation. If you are entering b school this year, keep a broader set of options open, more so if you want to recruit for non-big-mba-feeder career streams (big mba feeder career streams are finance and consulting, and to some extent general management and marketing).

It is reasonably easy to find jobs from Chicago Booth. The career services provides ample support, and second years are also very helpful. Alums respond to emails and meeting requests. And most top companies in every industry recruit on campus (consulting and finance being huge though). That being said, we cannot control for external factors. Also internationals should realize that in some industries opportunities are limited for international students because of visa issues (marketing is one such function for which most of the firms ask for work authorization - except tech marketing positions).

You come from the typical Indian-Male-IT profile. What made your application stand out?

Three things - first, I had more years of experience than the average person, which helped me show both growth potential, and varied leadership experiences at work. Second, I had traveled and lived internationally in three different countries, and I was able to bring my at-work and outside-work experiences from those countries into my essays. Third, I understood the basic mistake Indian IT applicants do by telling stories that strengthen the stereotype (good at analytical skills, poor people skills) and therefore told more stories to showcase other aspects of my profile. I used my resume to talk about my analytical skills (through experiences, undergrad gpa, gmat score etc). I also used a lot of examples from outside work.

How did you prepare your GMAT and how much did you score?

I scored a 720 (Q50 - 95%, V38 - 85%). My preparation story is pretty big, and if someone is interested, they should send an email. In short, I prepared more for the English section (I was pretty confident about the Quant). Practiced short and full length tests in a timed environment. Used online resources and the ETS official guide, and some of the tests provided by Kaplan and Princeton Review. On the day of the exam, I relaxed and told myself “I can take this test again if I screw up”. Thankfully I didnt have to.

What are the extracurricular activities/ clubs that you have joined at Chicago Booth?

I work as a second year Career Advisor at school, helping students with their internship search. I am also active in the South Asian Business Group and the French MBA group. Besides that, I try and remain active in the community by attending some of the zillion events happening in school, whether it be conferences, student led panels, parties etc.

We at TotalGadha.Com would like to thank Forrest for this invaluable interview.

Further Readings:

• Exclusive Interview With London Business School Alumnus- Vikas Lamba
• Exclusive Interview With Wharton Alumnus- Allwin Agnel/ PagalGuy
• Exclusive Interview With Stanford Graduate School Of Business Alumnus- Marquis
• Exclusive Interview With Darden Business School Student- Anand