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• Timing of JobChange / Second MBA From: theasharma  Jun 30, 2012 Posts 1

  Hi Brief Profile: Indian Male 25 years young! Engineer(Average College)+ Indian MBA(Top 10 college India)(degree:PGDM), No pre MBA work experience, total post MBA work experience 2.1 Years as on date. Precisely: Academic- 10th: 85, 10+2: 80, Engineering: 70%, MBA(PGDM): 7 (CGPA) Post MBA Work experience with an Indian FMCG in Sales. An "Area Manger" for the last 2 years. The Plan: To  1 Give Gmat latest by February 2013. 2 Submit Application by October 2013. 3 Appear for Interview/ Hopefully get selected by March 2014. 4. PLan to leave Job around March 2014. 4. Be a student of Class of 2016, and start in September 2014.   Current Situation: 1. I have recently been moved in to a Marketing role(Brand Manager) in my current "Indian FMCG" company. (The Corporate Group will be well known in US, but its FMCG Business Unit will be unheard of) 2 In this company I am not exactly in the FMCG Division but more in a Consumer Durable division. Also neither the Sales or the Marketing experience here has/will bee holistic since I have not been looking after the core FMCG products. 3. I Have an opportunity to switch to a MNC FMCG player in INdia, which is a $40 Billion, Consumer Healthcare company, in a Sales Profile. 4. Even though the switch is again to a Sales Profile! am sure I will get lots of new learnings as this MNC FMCG company is into Hardcore FMCG and will have loads of new systems and processes, which I will learn. The "Dilemma": "Should I switch"? My apprehensions: 1. Will the interviewer at Wharton not realize that I gave GMAT(By March'13) within 7 months of changing my Company.? 2. a. 4 Years of Proper Sales Experience is better ( @ 2 companies, different Geography and industry in India).     OR      b. 2 Years of Sales and 2 Years of Marketing( At comparitivey less better                company, with not many systems in place) 3. In case am not able to get through any of the screening rounds and end up not joining class of '16 or '17, in that case I want to switch rite now just to have a backup or Plan B.   Please advise as to what should I do right now.! Reply

• Re: Timing of JobChange / Second MBA From: Fanaticalfan  Jun 30, 2012 Posts 1,159

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  1. Wharton interviews are blind, in that the interviewer has not seen your application. They do not know your GMAT score, much less when you took it. In any event, I am not sure why this is relevant. Adcom would generally think that planning ahead is a GOOD thing, and would recommend getting the GMAT out of the way early (and early enough to allow for a retake if required) as better than trying to rush the application and the GMAT simultaneously in the space of a few weeks. 2. Adcom are more interested in what you did and what you learned from it, than in the brand name of the company you worked for. In any event, there is not really a right or wrong answer here. The essays themselves give you a significant opportunity to influence how adcom perceive your career choices. Two applicants may present identical resumes, but one does a lot better job in communicating the choices (and underlying reasons and decision-making processes) they have made, while the other seems like a simply random collection of jobs. 3. Is there a question here? Also, it is not clear from your post as to why you would want to quit your job in March 2014, but not start at Wharton until August 2014 (pre-term at Wharton is compulsory and typically starts in late July/early August each year). People do quit their jobs early, whether to travel, learn a language, learn some specific skills, etc, but often it is a wise idea to spell out how you see this fitting into your longer term goals. FF Reply

• Re: Timing of JobChange / Second MBA From: victormlee  Jul 01, 2012 Posts 2,531

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  theasharma, What choice is best for your CAREER? I get the sense that you are trying to tailor your job selection to what you think would help get you into the Wharton MBA program. This is dangerous.  The Wharton MBA program is best viewed as an enabler or accelerator for a promising career - not an end objective in its own right. Whatever decision you make, you should be comfortable with it even if you ultimately do not get accepted to Wharton. Spend more time considering what your career objectives are; then, afterwards, consider how Wharton would fit into the bigger picture. If you have a good story and clear picture of why you made the career decisions you did, you will be able to explain them better in your essays and interview responses; this narrative and sense of your short-term and long-term goals is far more important than which type of firm you join or what role you take on (assuming there is a progression of growth and advancement). Good luck, Victor WG '11 Reply

• Re: Timing of JobChange / Second MBA From: victormlee  Jul 01, 2012 Posts 2,531

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  Also, though I understand some Indian MBA programs differ from some Western MBA programs, if you do end up applying to Wharton's MBA program, you'll need to be able to rationalize why you are looking for another MBA and why you didn't get that out of your previous MBA training. Best, Victor Reply