About Me.
A little something about me:
Name: Anita Visvanath
Occupation: Full-time MBA graduate, Mannheim Business School – Class of 2011.
Nationality: Indian
Hometown: Mumbai (Bombay), India
Education & Qualifications:
2010 – 2011 Mannheim MBA, full-time from Mannheim Business School, Germany,
2002 – 2004 Master of Commerce, (Accounting, Economics, Business Policy) from University of Mumbai, India
1996 – 1999 Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting, Economics, Advertising) from University of Mumbai, India
Work-Experience:
I have a total of 9.5 years of work-experience in Information Technology (IT) with India’s leading firms; Shoppers Stop Ltd., Syntel Ltd. and Tech Mahindra Ltd. I have handled a variety of roles so far; programmer, solutions designer, team-lead, business analyst and IT-Manager. My most recent profile was as Manager-IT for Crossword Bookstores Ltd., part of the Shoppers Stop Ltd.. This portfolio of IT in a business environment was the result of a conscious transition from a team-leader in an IT-firm managing client-systems to a Manager responsible for IT-operations for a business.
About MyMBSadventure:
This is my attempt to bring across what a day in the life of a full-time MBA student at Mannheim Business School is. It is a lot of work, study, group-work. It is also a lot of meeting tonnes of interesting people, lots of walking around and fun-times at parties. It is, in a nutshell, a beautiful journey in the great trip of life!
I welcome you aboard and sincerely hope that you get a feel for the life of a Full-time MBA student at MBS!
Cheers,
Anita
Hi Anita,
Firstly thanks for an informative website!. I too am an IT guy with about 6 yrs of experience and based out @Bangalore. I was planning to apply for MBS for the coming academic year. I wanted to get into touch with you to understand more about the programme and opportunities in general. I would really really appreciate if you can find some time to help me clarify my queries.
Thanks,
_Srinivas
Dear Srinivas,
Thank you for dropping in and for your feedback!
Its great to know about your interest in Mannheim Business School and my blog. For detailed information on the program and the admissions process, Stefanie Goedker, Admissions Manager at Mannheim Business School, will contact you directly.
And of course, any queries that I can help with, from a student’s perspective, feel free to email me.
Good luck with your application!
Have a nice day!
Regards,
Anita
Hey Anitha ,
Nice to read your blog . I am from Mumbai with 3 yrs + exp in Business Development .I am planning to apply for the coming MBS Fulltime MBA . For quite some time I was looking to network with any Indian Student at MBS .
Can you help me with some information on the BRAND Value or Brand presence of MBS among INDIAN companies .
Thanks ,
Balaji
Hello Balaji,
The full-time MBA program from Mannheim Business School is ranked 26th worldwide in the full-time MBA ranking by The Economist in 2010, for the second time in a row. Mannheim Business School is also the only German institution to be accredited by AACSB International, EQUIS and AMBA.
As regards the brand-value/ brand-presence of MBS among Indian companies, my personal impression is that MBS is extremely well-renowned amongst Indian companies of German origin, since the Mannheim-MBA is the best MBA program in Germany. Also the awareness of the Mannheim-MBA in India is only growing every year since it is turning out to be a preferred school for several Indian MBA candidates. Furthermore, MBS has an exchange program with IIM-Bangalore; which also adds to its brand-value.
I am not sure if you speak German, but German is amongst the top3 foreign languages that Indian students choose to learn. In this context, several students and companies automatically connect with MBS when looking for international MBA candidates with a German/ European focus.
In case you have further questions, please feel free to ask.
Warm regards,
Anita
Hi Anita,
It is good to see you do a wonderful support for the prospect students. I have applied for the F T MBA – 2012. It would be great if you could give me some basic pre MBA preparations that .
I am interested in learning more about the program and the possibilities to get an admission. Can you also give me some pre-MBA preparations that i can do.
Thanks
Hariprasath U
Thanks for stopping by the blog Hari, its always nice to know that its a help in the admissions process.
Also, its great to hear about your interest in MBS.
The 1st interview is usually more of a general, personal interview. Its content tends to be more around getting to know the CV, background, previous work-ex, why the MBA, etc. The case study is usually a business case-study to solve a particular business problem. The expected output is possible solutions that would solve the problem. The 2nd interview usually is based on the solution to understand how one went about solving it. The case topic could be anything, but I suspect popular choices tend to be around market entry for a new product, improving a product’s sales, analysis of a company’s marketing strategy, etc. The solution should be yours; what I mean by that is, although there would be a lot of information on the net, perhaps even some possible answers, do try and use the net only for background information and/or conceptual theories. Make sure your case submission has a logical flow and reads well. Definitely proof-read it and make it interesting for the reader.
General advice for the interviews- My interviews were over video-chat. The video-call made it far easier for me, instead of just a telephone interview. Just be prepared, rehearse your answers but don’t by-heart them, take the day off from work, book a conference room at a good cyber-cafe, ensure the connection works fine, smile, just be yourself and try and have a conversation. Also, do make sure that you pay close attention to the questions and answer accordingly. Sometimes one is so prepared with some answers that we tend to rattle them off.
Further, I would suggest that one starts learning German if one would like to live and work in Germany. Though the course is in English and the working language in many companies is English or at least bi-lingual (English and German), its a definite advantage knowing some German when applying for companies here. It also makes it easier to manage everyday since it helps one integrate better.
Also, I would recommend that one reads up on some topics that one may not be so comfortable in, e.g. Marketing if one has never studied or worked in that field. Since the Mannheim-MBA is a one-year course, there is sometimes not much time to pre-prepare for courses. So a bit of reading helps, you can ask the admissions team for suggested reading material/ books and start reading them.
I hope these help you. Good luck with your application!
Best regards,
Anita
Hi Anita
Hope your christmas preperations are going well. Actually i was planning to apply for MBS so i thought ill get a clear picture from you.
I am working with ALSTOM in India and as they have a plant in Mannheim too, i was looking for a move there thru MBS. I work relates to Project management and planning so i thing that would be a bit of a different profile from regular intakes. I have around 3 1/2 yrs of exp. in Hydrocarbon and Power sector in the same function.
Have few other querries so would be realllly thankfull if could clarify them with you.
Regards..
Hi Animay,
Thank you for dropping by!
Its great to know about your interest in Mannheim Business School. There are students from varied profiles in our program. The criteria for selection focuses on a good-fit for the program while focusing on diversity.
I’ll forward your details to the Admissions Manager, who could then help you out with the admissions criteria. Of course, feel free to contact me for any queries that I could help you with from a student-perspective.
Warm regards,
Anita
Hi Anita,
I came across your blog by accident and find your capture of the MBA program at Mannheim School of Business to be very useful.
I am currently at Queen’s University, and am coming to Mannheim in Feb as part of the exchange program! I was wondering if you might be able to provide some insight into housing and travel options – from a student’s perspective.
Looking forward to coming to Mannheim shortly!
-Ricky
Hello Anita,
This is Sreevatsan from Chennai. I was going through the site for the application process and criteria. I came across your blog and found it to be very interesting and informative. I am planning to apply for 2012 MBA by which time I would have completed 3 years of experience in IT sector. Though not strictly in a Managerial position, my work is related a lot to Management with frequent contact with International people. I did my B.E and passed out in 2008 with 75%. Can you please tell me what you think are my chances for an admit? I can see average age is 29 years for last batch with 5 years work experience. But if I get a 700+ GMAT score and fare very well in the interview will it help? or Is there anything else I can do to boost my chances? Please let me know.
Thanks a lot for your time.
- Sreevatsan
Hi Anita
What are the job options for someone who does not speak German? (Can learn)
Monu,
Regarding job prospects, I’d say that depends on the job, industry and the function.
The knowledge of German is definitely an asset and I would recommend that people who wish to work in Germany learn the language. Of course, companies here are looking for diverse profiles and the official language is English. Most companies that I know of offer German language courses on the company premises. If the official language is German, well, then one needs to very business-fluent, else at least a B1/B2 level would be great.
Have a nice day!
Warm regards,
Anita
hi, I am applying for exec MBA… wanted your reference about MBS. I live in Frankfurt since 2008, working for a bank…can we connect via email / phone??
Thank you for dropping by my blog Sitanshu. Its great to know about your interest in Mannheim Business School. Have you already applied for the program starting this year?
I’ll also forward your details to the Admissions Manager, who could then help you out with the admissions criteria. Of course, feel free to contact me for any queries that I could help you with from a student-perspective.
MBS is present at the World MBA Tour in Frankfurt on 14th March. you’ need to register at
http://tours.qsnetwork.com/index_wmt.php?module=wmt2&page=reg_form&eventid=915 . This would be a great opportunity to meet the MBS admissions team in person for more insights.
Have a nice day!
Warm regards,
Anita
Hi Anita,
Thanks for the initiative, but we would appreciate if you please be a little more transparent about the employemnt scene there, with statistics , if pissible, for Indians studying there. what percent of them get recruited in campus and what percent within 3 months?
Br
Kapil
Hello Kapil,
Thank you for dropping by my blog at http://blog.mannheim-mba.com/ . I am glad that you find it informative and helpful.
I am not sure whether this is your correct Email Address, perhaps you could send another email ID on which we could send you information.
Regards,
Anita
Your blog seems a very good insight into college and related activities. Thank you for the effort and time for enlightening us with the information.
After going thru it, my query regarding my application to MBS goes down to German language.Learning is not an issue but an year is too less to be frequent considering other activities which we will be engrossed with during mba. So will it be a trouble finding career options post mba in Germany (Return on investments is an issue!). I am not very sure if this is going to help us in India. If you can find sometime to help me with my query coz am a bit confused with my selection of B-schools.
I’ll be obliged
Many thanks!
Regards,
Gaurav
hi anita … i wish to apply for mannheim mba … but i had one doubt in my mind .. and i was unable to get it cleared.. some how .. please elaborate on the job prospects after the mannheim mba for us indians …i have just about 3 years of work ex in softwares now.
i dont know german as of now … but since the official language of the course is english .. can i assume that after graduating job/language will not be a big issue.
also clarify .. what are the chances of getting a job after mannheim mba in india
Thanks for stopping by Nikhil.
To answer your query, regarding employment opportunities, I’d say they are pretty good for an international student in Germany with an MBA from MBS. Of course, it all depends a lot on the job-market (which is good now, touch wood) and the student’s past experience and where the student wants to go. For e..g if one wants to stay in the same field as before, its surely easier to find a job but changing fields is challenging. But I’d say one should be able to speak relatively good German to work in Germany; just makes it all a whole lot easier.
The Mannheim MBA is an European MBA and as far as I know, most people work in the same country/ region where they have done their MBA. I really do not have specific information about whether the Mannheim-MBA is well-known in India. But I suppose there would be a higher chance of German firms knowing about the MBA than other firms.
I have passed on your contact to the Admissions Director who’ll be willing to answer your questions concerning admissions criteria.
Good luck with your application!
Best regards,
Anita
Hi Anita.
I am not sure whether this blog is still active or not as i don’t see any recent comments. I would be greatful if you could send the placement statistics with regard to the indian students. I cant seem to find anything through google. May be i am just doing the wrong search… still would be greatful if you could provide me with some information.
M still very much in the planning phase and currently preparing for gmat and shortlisting my college options. My total Work EX is 6 years with Siemens in India. My int work ex is very small and i have been to germany for a business meeting in karlsruhe for a week.
Thank you for stopping by my blog, Aditya.
To answer your query, regarding employment opportunities, I’d say they are pretty good for an international student in Germany with an MBA from MBS. Of course, it all depends a lot on the job-market (which is good now, touch wood) and the student’s past experience and where the student wants to go. For e..g if one wants to stay in the same field as before, its surely easier to find a job but changing fields is challenging. But I’d say one should be able to speak relatively good Germany to work in Germany; just makes it all a whole lot easier.
As far as I know, most students get placed even before the MBA, or within 3 – 6 months post the MBA. The MBA-rankings usually have some information in the direction of placement statistics. However, it really depends on where the student wants to go. Let me be honest, someone who has already worked for a German firm, and / or in Germany and wants to work in the same function/ industry with minor changes to their previous role has a better chance of getting placed sooner. In contrast to someone who would like to do something different and change function/ industry and is willing to wait it out and search for a company willing to take on someone with relatively less experience in a particular function/ industry. So it all does depend, but overall I can safely say, that if one is actively job-searching and puts their profile out there online/ career fairs, etc. working in Germany post the MBA would work out.
I have passed on your contact to the Admissions Director who’ll be willing to answer your questions concerning admissions criteria.
Good luck with your application!
-Anita
Hi Anita,
Thanks for the very informative blog. I am currently working as a Business Analyst in Bangalore and am looking at MBS for 2013. My question is very close to Kapil’s. Can you please share some information about the job prospects after completing the MBA. Also, I am quite keen on Consultancy firms. Does MBS MBA provide enough opportunities for Indians wanting to break into the field?
Many Thanks,
Smriti
Thanks for stopping by my blog, Smriti its always nice to know that its a help in the admissions process.
Regarding your question on the employment opportunities post the MBA, I’d say they are pretty good for an international student in Germany with an MBA from MBS. Of course, it all depends a lot on the job-market (which is good now, touch wood) and the student’s past experience and where the student wants to go. For e..g if one wants to stay in the same field as before, its surely easier to find a job but changing fields is challenging. About consulting in specific, to be fair, the MBA is the ideal stepping stone for consulting. So, yes, post-MBA, the chances to break into consulting are very positive. Germany also has a lot of niche, consulting firms that specialize in particular areas of consulting, along with many international firms. So, its got a strong variety to offer and one should be able to break into consulting.
Good luck with your application!
Best regards,
Anita
Hi Anita,
It’s great to see a blog on MBS, it really gives the student perspective about the school. I am glad to tell you that I have been admitted to MBS for the Sept. 2012 Full Time MBA course and I m really excited and looking forward to join the school. I had a question about the networking opportunities available at MBS. As it is relatively a new B-School (founded in 2005), what do you feel about the alumni network as the number of alumni would definitely be less compared to other old B-Schools ? Also as I would be moving to Mannheim, can you also please tell how could I get in touch with the existing alumni/current students, in case of some questions ?
Aniket
Heartiest congratulations, Aniket and welcome to MBS!
As you have mentioned, the number of alumni is definitely relative to the size of the program and the age of the school. Having said that, the MBS alumni network is surely growing and getting stronger with new events and networking opportunites getting added each year. These events are spread out over spring-summer and autumn-winter, so there is a good mix of students that one gets to meet. Besides, we also get the opportunity to network with the students from other MBA-programs (Executive) and the visiting exchange students. And being a smaller program helps one to make closer connections than perhaps in a very large network.
Please ask your contact in the admissions team for alumni contacts who can guide you.
Good luck with your preps for MBS!
Best regards,
Anita