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Experts’ Global: Hi Shankar, thank you for agreeing to share your story with us today. Could you kindly share your journey in your own words?

Shankar: I come from an engineering background and worked at Bosch for a few years. I saw my work was technically rewarding but had little visibility. I wanted to move to the business side of things and so targeted an MBA, with the help of MBA admissions consulting. During my business school tenure, my internship at Dell allowed me to move into product management, and I am currently employed at Adobe.

Experts’ Global: What factors do you think made the difference in your success?

Shankar: In particular, I focused on networking. To do so, I had to put effort into cultivating relationships with people in fields relevant to my goals. Interviewing is a skill that also needs honing, and my MBA interview experience allowed me lessons that applied to my job search as well. For GMAT prep, I took the many free GMAT practice tests on offer to select a worthy mock test series for my benefit.

Experts’ Global: With the benefit of hindsight, what are a few mistakes you believe you committed in the process?

Shankar: Make sure to rehearse answers explaining highlights in your resume or highlighting stories from your career for the interviews you will face. Also, I was conservative with the companies I was targeting when I started my job search, but I soon came to realize that even big players such as Google or Microsoft were realistic landing spots for me. Be aggressive with your post-MBA profile selection.

Experts’ Global: What were your business school interviews like?

Shankar: Now that I have been interviewed for several jobs after the MBA, I regard the MBA interviews as relatively straightforward. All you need to do is to present yourself as a professional who would make a valuable addition to a team, and be easy to work with, and you can rely on your MBA interview prep to do so. Especially if you have a good GMAT score, just be sure to explain your story in an easy-to-grasp and listenable way and be conversational.

Experts’ Global: How would you describe your MBA experience?

Shankar: My MBA experience was quite fun! I would not say that I use much of the theory I learned in my current job, but the MBA did teach me to think in an ordered fashion and to think of problems in a modular fashion. I learned much about building valuable professional relationships and selling myself as a difference-maker.

Experts’ Global: What was your post-MBA job search like and what tips on the same do you have for future candidates?

Shankar: In my opinion, the easiest way to find a full-time job is to convert your internship opportunities. Further, target roles in companies that have a history of hiring international candidates to maximize your employment chances. Most companies have their own distinctive interview processes; use your school’s alumni network to reach out to employees in different companies and get the inside track on their interview lessons.

Experts’ Global: What lessons did you take from the pre-application process and your MBA journey to your present life?

Shankar: The MBA truly helped me drive a problem-solving task force end-to-end. I feel equipped to understand the fundamentals of any contingency and devise an action plan to address it, thanks to the investigative methods I learned in business school. The relationships I built in business school gave me an edge in picking up product management essentials and understanding the expectations of me in product-leading roles.

Experts’ Global: What are a few common mistakes all MBA aspirants should look out for?

Shankar: In your interviews, try and establish a conversational cadence. If you are asked a complex question, say that you need some time to think about it and respond at a later time. A reasoned answer is better than a rushed one. Make sure to use high-quality GMAT mocks to test your readiness for the real exam.

Experts’ Global: What is your final message to the MBA aspirants reading this?

Shankar: Aim high when targeting post-MBA roles, and try and secure a profile at a multinational. Your network is your biggest takeaway from the MBA journey, so focus on building the right relationships for your career maturation. For working professionals, GMAT prep can be simplified by using a quality GMAT online course.

Experts’ Global: Your suggestions are sure to help out other MBA applicants so much. Thank you for sharing them!

Shankar: I hope they prove useful!