Q&A: MBA Specialization

Another , most of the applications ask for what MBA major I would like to choose...for IIMs u can mostly get away with ' I haven't decided' but here ,'not decided' would be a bad impression? I can choose finance or something but I am actually not decided. I mean if I choose finance but then I wouldn't know why finance-corporate and not finance-investment or vice versa.This I asked in my previous email , just consolidating my questions.


You have to have some kind of plan to show what you want to do. Like your background and interests are in say IT and you want to do brand management just to sound kool, that would not be a good approach. The application asks for the details so that you do some research on the tracks that are available talk to various people what kind of job they do or the options available if they are an MBA in Finance or Marketing or IS . So there is a purpose to ask this question and that is for you to research and find out and be prepared.

The Indian counterparts a.k.a IIM's, IMT's , MDI's of the world do not ask for anything because of the difference in culture. With no malice towards India, people tend to be more of a herd mentality as I did Computer Science engineering because it will help me have better career options later. I did not know I like programming or not. Every one wants to get into IT because IT is hot. There are several examples and people do not research a whole lot as to what they are getting into while in the US they lay more emphasis on researching what they are getting into.

Most of the job interviews are also the same way. They are looking for more of a culture fit than the grades. I hope I was able to express myself on this one. Again, India is my home country too but I am trying to outline the difference in culture and that is true for a majority of population on both sides (exceptions are always there).

Q&A: Resume Contents

Also, I understand an MBA resume should be different from a job resume. How different, I am not sure. Is it ok to mention your appraisal ratings?

I had a quick glance at your resume and it is very very long. I think there is a lot of extra information which no one is interested in like your salary figures and stuff like that. There is no need to mention your appraisal ratings. Over the years whatever experience I have in reviewing resumes, I have realised that most of the Indian resumes are very long ( including mine when I did not know the correct approach).

We all tend to provide too much of information inthe resume as if there won't be any chance provided to talk in the interview. Also an ideal resume should contain :

1. Summary/Profile
2. Professional Experience
3. Education
4. Interests
5. Technical trainings or other details

The content should be so crisp that it should not take more than 2 pages at the max. although MBA resumes are just 1 page in length.

Q&A: Supporting documents for resume

Do we need to show all our certificates at the time of admission? I have joined an NGO since last year, but all I have with me is a membership card. What kind of proofs , if any, does one have to show for such activities?

There are no proofs that are required for any of the activities you have involved yourself in. A membership of an NGO is good but no one is going to ask you to provide a copy of the membership card along with the application. It is all based on the honor code. The university believes that you have completed the tasks and have actually gained experience from everything that you have written in your resume or mentioned during the application.

Although, every US university verifies your credentials like your degree and your work experience, the other aspects of your personality that you portray in your resume are hard to verify. So the short answer is that you do not need to include any proofs yourself but if the university asks for it, you will have to furnish.