Perspectives from ISB

With just 20 more days left for the Cycle -1 deadline, we thought we should share a glimpse of what we look for in a candidate and how we evaluate applications and some tips on how can you strengthen your application.

We believe that “People succeed because of their strengths; despite their weaknesses”. Hence we use a strength based evaluation methodology for assessing applicants.

  • TIP: Focus your application on showcasing your strengths

We evaluate candidates on 3 key areas

  1. Academic Potential
  2. Leadership Attributes
  3. Personal Attributes

 

Academic Potential gives us an idea your learning ability and whether you can cope with the rigor of the 1 year at PGP. The Class 12 & Grads and the Test Scores i.e GRE/ GMAT scores contribute to the academic bucket. It has the same weightage for everybody and is independent of the work experience and background.

 

  • TIP: You can make up for an average Class 12 & Graduation scores with a good test score (GRE/GMAT) and vise-versa

 

Through assessing leadership potential we try to understand if you will, in the time to come, emerge as a good leader. Leadership attributes is not necessarily about leading teams- being a good team player, taking initiatives, motivating colleagues etc can be emphasized.

  • TIP: Talk about the individual contributions you have made to take the organization forward. Quote examples of the initiatives you have taken in and outside work.

And lastly, the personal attributes, tell us about how well rounded you are as an individual i.e your skills, capabilities and interests in and outside work etc.

  • TIP: Tell us about your hobbies, extracurricular activities and achievements. Highlight your societal contributions if any.

 

Recommendations play an imperative role in assessing both leadership as well as personal attributes. Hence it is very critical you to choose a evaluator who knows you well professionally, knows how you work, is senior to you in terms of responsibilities and whose work was impacted by your contributions.  This time, the evaluation is quantitative as well as qualitative. And the evaluator has to wait for 24 hours for making changes.

 

  • TIP: Prefer someone whom you have worked with recently.
  • TIP: Designations of the evaluator don’t matter. The evaluator should be able to give qualitative insights about your work, so choose wisely.

 

You can log in to your application at apply.isb.edu ; The cycle1 deadline is October 15.

Write to pgp@isb.edu incase you have any admissions related queries.

Good Luck for your application.