Planing ahead for application: GMAT, S&P500 experience...

Question

Hello,

I have bad Abitur (German: 2.9), average Bachelor (German 2.3) and good Master grades (French 16.8) in addition to work experience of 5 years (2-3years in SME, 1 year Accenture, 1.5 years Procter and Gamble (by the time I could reapply this will be 2.5 years)). This year I have been rejected by all MBBs and I am now trying to plan ahead what I can do to increase my chances for the future. For MBB:

- is a great GMAT score (i.e. 720-740) relevant in an application? Could it help to "make up" for the GPA/Bachelor performance?

- will further S&P500 experience improve my chances? How long of an experience would be required?

- with that background, will I ever have chances at all?

Answer 1

Hi Anonymous,

based on my experience:

Unless you get a super strong GMAT (760+) I don’t think it can leave a relevant impression justifying the effort; in general I would not concentrate my effort there for a new MBB application. On the other hand, a GMAT would be a necessary step for an MBA, which can then lead to reapply more easily for MBB (see point 3 below).
I believe the best experience given your background would be a Tier 2 company for 1-2 years
I would suggest three options, not necessarily mutually exclusive:
- Apply first for a Tier 2 company, spend 1-2 years there, then reapply for MBB
- Do an MBA first, then reapply for MBB
- Find a strategy/business development role in a top brand, find a strong referral, then reapply for MBB

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Answer 2

Hi,

Since you had good master grades I guess grades are not the problem. Thus GMAT will not help you. Agree with Francesco - the effort is too big

Since you already had an experience with a major FMCG company, I think staying with Accenture will be more beneficial for you. I understand that you need to show some career progression to be reconsidered for MBB, so I suggest to leave Accenture only if you'll have a role with significantly higher responsibilities (Managing the department / experience abroad / role very valuable in a particular industry that may be later relevant for MBB)

Another option is MBA with a good university

Best!

Answer 3

Hello Vlad,

I am currently still at P&G, 1.5 years into the role. Will staying at P&G help to have more industry experience (FMCG is a big focus area for MBB in Switzerland) or do you suggest that I look for a 2nd tier role f.e.at Deloitte Monitor after my promotion (which should be due in the next 3-6 months)?

Thanks a lot for your support.