Kameswar Prasad is currently in his first year at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and has an MSc (Tech) Information Systems from BITS, Pilani (2002-2006).

 

Q. How did you know you were ready for an MBA?

A. While there can be people who are very young and get into school based on their GMATs alone, if you are not one of them you need to think harder about an MBA. It is wrong to say you can do your MBA anytime. It is not about the number of years of experience but what you learnt from it.

For me, I saw a divergence between my career path and my expectations. Had I continued, I would have been stuck in job that is not best for me. So an MBA.

Q. There are many factors/traits which contribute to the success of an MBA application. What do you think were your top 3?

A. 1) Getting to know the school: There is no substitute for this. If you can’t understand the school and can’t project a fit with it, it is hard to get an admit.

2) School visit: This shows a real interest in the school and helps you outline it in your essays. Writing essays becomes easier.

3) Alumni: They are the best resource we have got. Their help throughout the process is invaluable. Starting from information about the school to the final mock interviews interacting and keeping in touch with them has been one of the key success reasons.

Q. What’s the campus life like at your b-school? Can you draw some parallels from life at BITS, Pilani?

A. Pretty much similar to BITS. You have club activities you can take part in. There are a lot of socials where you can meet people and interact with them. The classes are much longer (90 mins) but the environment is very jovial, engaging and fun to be in. Mostly, there is no hostel system so staying with your classmates is not possible. However, you do spend the better part of your day with your team / class mates just like at BITS.

The only difference in B-school is it is not about developing your personality which BITS is. B-school is highly fast paced and you just won’t have time for many extracurricular.

Q. Some more insights on your work experience – what has your career progression been like? What was the thought process behind each step?

A. Just like the most of us, I chose BITS because I wanted to get a premier degree.

After graduating from BITS, I joined i2 technologies as a consultant. I worked with the company for 5 years and had a good career progress getting promoted twice. My interest in supply chain management was a core reason behind this decision

As I kept going up the ladder, I realized that I am more interested in business consulting than pure technical consulting. As I explored my options, B-school sounded great. Additionally, I also wanted to learn more about operations and SCM strategy. Thus an MBA.

Q. Does being a BITSian help you in your classroom?

A. Yeah a lot. We are used to working in teams and being an active participant in various activities. Additionally, the course work in BITS is equally or slightly more rigorous than an MBA and hence will help your handle the pressure in a better manner.

Q. What do you think should definitely be on this year’s aspirant’s checklist?

A. 1) Good GMAT ( > 720). If you are in the border and don’t have an awesome / outstanding profile, try retaking it.

2) Great resume. Try to understand the business side of the problem you are dealing with at work. Don’t be happy developing the most efficient applications / code possible. If you can’t explain the business implications of your projects you are not going anywhere.

3) Leadership and Team work. I haven’t seen a school that doesn’t look for this quality. Project it from various angles. Take initiatives at work.

4) NETWORK …. NETWORK …. NETWORK …. I can’t emphasize how important this is.

Q. Any suggestions for aspirants who are yet to graduate.

A. If you are thinking about a B-school in Pilani, it is great. My biggest advice would be to see if you can get a different experience other than IT. IT is a great domain and I have no problems with it. However, once you start applying you will see how difficult it is to differentiate yourself from others.

Try taking leadership in social ventures and make it long term. Have some credible results and don’t just check boxes.

Try to build an awesome profile. Don’t settle for less and don’t take a job which doesn’t excite you.

Q. Is there anything that you wish you had done differently during your journey to b-school?

A. As I said before, I wish I had diversified my experience and worked in various other roles / companies. I could have improved upon my GMAT score and probably could have waited to apply to B-school.

Q. Your take on working in a start-up before applying to B-Schools?

A. That is a great idea. It will help you even after being in the business school especially for consulting positions. Companies like McK love students who tried to do different things.

However, don’t work at a start-up for the heck of it. If you can’t articulate your learning from the job it will bite you in the back.

Q. Why do you think your current school is a right fit for you?

A. The people. Having visited Kenan-Flagler before I felt really nice about the people and the school’s culture. Like at BITS, the culture is highly collaborative and team oriented. If you are a person who has worked a lot in teams before you will love this place.

Secondly, Kenan-Flagler is a good school if you have consulting bent of mind. Most of the big 5 firms recruit here and it is a great opp to network with them and try to see if you can land a job.

Q. Top 3 reasons why a current BITSian applicant should apply to your school?

A. 1) If you are interested in consulting / banking this is a good school to be at.

2) The environment is pretty similar to BITS and you will feel a good fit with the school

3) The Kenan-Flagler alumni do a great job and it will help you during job search. RTP is a great hub for technology companies.

Q. What is the one thing you miss the most apart from sleep, after joining b-school?

A. ha ha ha ….. Certainly you will miss sleep but most importantly you will miss your family and friends, especially if you come to the U.S. It is just amazing how you don’t stay abreast of what is happening around till you get an email invite about your friend’s marriage 🙂

Having said that B-school is totally worth it just for the enormous learning that you get here. There is just a ton of courses, electives that help you gain knowledge of various industries, functions and strategies.

Q. Please share something about your interview (or the process) with any of the B-schools you applied that stands out from the usual.

A. (My interview with) Darden . There is not structured form of interview. They have only one question – tell me about yourself. They just will let you continue and might occasionally interupt you, but won’t ask any further questions.

Q. Let’s end with a slightly off-beat question. If you could choose one celebrity to do an MBA with you in your class, who would it be and why?

A. Vijay Mallya (not sure if you can call him celebrity) but I would have tried to impress him and see if I can work for RCB.