Sample ISB Essays

Describe with examples the most important personal quality that you possess which significantly enhances your prospects of being successful as a leader?

Being “self-driven” has remained my most important personal quality that has allowed me to take constant initiatives, drive projects and pursue my aspirations, relentlessly. 

Ever since childhood, sports have been an abiding engagement that inculcated these qualities in me. From representing my state at the Yoga Nationals when I was just 7, to winning the Gold medal in Softball Nationals in 2014, I learnt to balance my priorities and push myself to achieve more. Further, through my own initiative, I was able to convince Prof. Max at Rice University, USA, to be invited for a paper presentation. 

In my first year at Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), I volunteered to be the Batch Coordinator and led the Lost Case Analysis project in the Marketing & Sales vertical. My learnings from captaining teams made me proficient at resolving conflicts and harnessing the best ideas from my team. Spotted by the Sales Head of India, MSIL, during this project, I was handpicked for a role in Sales Planning. 

Sales planning being the powerhouse department for sales at MSIL, I was expected to deliver with speed, responsibility, and accountability. What added to my responsibility was the fact that I was one of the barely 10 female employees across India, in the sales team of size more than 150 people. The mindset barrier among seniors and colleagues was for me to break. I constantly challenged myself to deliver beyond expectations.

More recently, as part of the brand management team of one of the newly launched cars, I took up significant responsibilities, while leading a budget of INR XXXX, working closely with the senior management at MSIL, competition counterparts, field sales teams and various high-profile marketing services vendors such as Facebook and Google. My ability to take initiatives has enabled my fast-track career growth during my short career at MSIL and will continue to fuel my aspirations to achieve the higher echelons of leadership in the coming years, post ISB. 

At ISB, while working with my teams and study groups, or while taking the lead in events like the ILS, or while participating in competitions like the Aditya Birla Stratos, I will look to summon my ability drive teams and projects, leading from the front. Through these engagements, I further seek to enhance my leadership potential, to shape my approach and perspective, to lead organizations and communities more efficiently.  

What are your short term and long-term career goals? How will Post Graduate Program at ISB assist you in achieving your goals? 

During my stint as a Relationship Manager at one of the largest wealth management firms in Hyderabad, I managed client accounts worth INR 30 crores. During this time, I developed a keen interest in the asset management industry in particular, and financial services, in general. Guiding High Net Worth clients through the ebbs and flows of the market, and assisting the management in creating their exit and entry strategies has helped me gain a profound understanding of various risk profiles of HNI clients. As a product strategist at a FinTech start up, I was responsible for the market research and the crafting of the market entry strategy. 

With extensive experience in the buy side of the wealth management services, I now intend to make a transition to the sell side of the asset management industry and take part in active investing, as a financial analyst, in a large capital management firm. I intend to develop a wider specialization in various industries and by 2030, see myself in a Mergers and Acquisitions role. My conversation with ABC (Co20xx), former President of the Finance Club, gave me the confidence to pursue this path and alerted me to the need for an MBA.

The NSE-ISB Trading laboratory and its inclusion in the business pedagogy of ISB will be instrumental in my developing my technical knowledge of investing. My educational background in Economics and experience in Finance, bolstered by the PGP curriculum, will give me a holistic understanding of the business environment. A dual specialization in Finance and Strategy & Leadership will set me on the path towards my long-term goals. Further, I hope to actively participate in the Finance club and utilize its deep industry ties to gain a more comprehensive perspective of the finance industry.

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