Candidates from Government/PSUs/military, applying to ISB

Every year, numerous candidates from the Government or semi-Government sector apply to ISB. These candidates include people who work in the army, public banks (such as State Bank of India), and PSUs (Public Sector Undertakings such as ONGC, BHEL, HPCL, NTPC, BEL and SAIL). For various reasons, these candidates look at ISB, to transition from Government sector into Corporate life.

Many candidates from Government/PSUs/military, applying to ISB have this apprehension that ISB would not welcome them. They wonder whether their profile is good enough to apply to ISB. They believe that there is some stigma attached with working in the Government/semi-Government sector. Nothing can be farther from truth. Every year, we work with numerous such candidates who successfully make it into ISB.

What you should not do

Following are few things you should avoid in your application:

1) Do not be defensive: The decision to join Government/semi-Government sector is not a decision that you need to be defensive about. You most probably got this job after intense competition (through examinations such as GATE, NDA, or Public Service Commission exam, and you should highlight that in the application).

2) Do not provide explanation: There really is no need to go over-board, explaining how you will be able to transition well into Corporate life/private sector, despite your stint in the Government/semi-Government sector.

3) Do not fret over lack of leadership experience: It is well known that for the most part, promotions and leadership opportunities in the Government sector are time bound. It is common knowledge that promotions do not have any direct correlation with your ability or intent. Hence, your lack of leadership experience at work is not a reflection of your ability or the lack of it.

Play on your strengths

1) Highlight your skills: Your years and years of work in the Government/semi-Government sector would have endowed you with skills that you should highlight. For instance, people with experience in the military generally have significant work-experience in the area of Operations and Logistics; people with experience in companies such as SAIL generally have extensive experience in Manufacturing; people with experience in companies such as ONGC and HPCL generally have vast experience in dealer management and marketing.

2) Emphasize your strengths: There is red-tape in the Government sector. Navigating excessive bureaucracy to get tasks done, is an art that does not come easy. Government employees are adept at this. Similarly, other tasks such as tenders and contract management might fall in your sweet spot. These could very well be your differentiators. You would do yourself a disservice if you do not mention these in the application.

3) Articulate your goals: Make sure that you state your post-MBA goals that are aligned with your career experiences. For instance, if you have experience in Operations management, an ‘Operations Consulting’ goal could be the right-fit for you, post ISB. Beware not to put in entirely incoherent goals. For instance, with experience in Operations management, a post-ISB goal of Finance, investment-banking, or Marketing would come across as very incoherent. You would also have a very tough time defending such incoherent goals in the interview and hence, run the risk of spoiling the entire interview.

Bottomline

Candidates from Government/PSUs/military, applying to ISB should be proud of their association with this sector. The years that you have spent in this sector have bestowed you with skills and competencies that ISB values. Hence, do justice to articulating your skills and competencies in the application, to get invited to the ISB interview.