How to Highlight Your Work Experience in the ISB Application

Work experience plays a vital role in ISB admission because it indicates a candidate’s leadership potential, problem-solving abilities, the ability to work cohesively in team settings – all of which are important attributes for a business student / future business professional. ISB offers multiple post graduate management programs, of varying durations, and for people of different experience levels.

For ISB’s flagship program (Post Graduate Program in Management), which is for early- career professionals with a work experience of 2+ years, having a meaningful work experience ensures that students bring relevant industry exposure to classroom discussions. Since most of these professionals come from different industries, they can enhance others’ learning experiences by bringing in real-world experiences from different industries, enriching class discussions and group projects. Work experience, for these students, also substantiates their ability to thrive in a peer-based and collaborative environment.

The PGP PRO caters to mid-career professionals and entrepreneurs with 5+ years of experience; for them, work experience is important because it shows that they have a foundation for advanced leadership learning that the PGP Pro will offer them. By the time someone reaches the mid-career level, they are expected to have managed teams, led projects, or developed the strategic thinking ability to influence key business decisions. Their work experience stories should be able to demonstrate their readiness for senior leadership positions, post-MBA. In their case, having a good work experience can also signal more enriching knowledge-exchange across industries.

At the senior-most level, the ISB PGP Max is structured for executives with 10+ years of work experience. Since these individuals are expected to operate at a CXO, director or senior management level, where strategic leadership and decision-making impacts the entire organization, their work experiences can provide insights into how they have navigated complex business challenges, driven organizational change, fostered innovation, and executed high-stakes decisions that have shaped their company’s future. By this stage in their career, these professionals have also navigated market shifts and driven business transformations. So, their work experience demonstrates their ability to adapt to evolving business landscapes, think strategically under uncertainty, and lead organizations through change.

From the above, it is evident that robust work experience is a necessity for all these programs as it offers tangible proof of an applicant’s ability to drive impact, lead teams, and contribute meaningfully to peer-learning. But what about candidates applying to PGP Young Leaders (ISB PGP YL), which is designed for those with 0-2 years of experience? Since many of these YL candidates do not possess any significant work experience, how do they showcase their professional skills? Even without extensive industry experience, the PGP YL candidates can highlight their leadership, teamwork and problem-solving abilities through internships, academic projects, entrepreneurial ventures taken at the undergraduate level or as personal initiatives), or through extracurricular leadership roles. Whatever helps you demonstrate your initiative, resilience and the ability to navigate challenges, whether in a professional, academic or social setting, must be highlighted to make a good ISB application.

Now that we understand the importance of work experience, let us now look at ways to highlight this work experience in a way that makes your ISB application stand out to the ISB Adcom? Here are some pointers: –

1. Focus on your professional achievements, rather than giving a laundry list of your job responsibilities. What you do at work, on a daily basis, may be impressive, but does that truly make you stand out? Fulfilling your job responsibilities is expected out of you; it is just a part of your professional mandate, just like it is for every employee. The ISB admissions committee is looking for candidates who go beyond the expected and create meaningful impact. For instance, instead of stating that you “managed a team” or “worked on client deliverables”, illustrate the extent to which your leadership initiatives drove results.

2. Quantify your impact. Maybe your leadership helped you deliver a high-impact project on time that salvaged a client relationship worth millions. It could also be true that you secured a key client for your company, which translated into a certain amount of revenue generation. Or maybe you optimized a process that saved costs; quantify this. Giving concrete examples will help you stand out. For example, saying something like, “I led a digital transformation initiative that increased operational efficiency by 30%” or “I managed a P&L of $10M, driving 15% YoY growth”, will help you flaunt your achievements in a meaningful way rather than sounding boastful.

   In other words, besides the “number of years” you have worked for, the “depth of your work” is more important. For example, 5 years of work experience is not necessarily better than 4 years if you have not shown any progress in your career or measurable achievements.

3. Emphasise Leadership. ISB looks for candidates who showcase leadership potential and capability to handle teams and manage different projects. So, remember to mention any of your successful projects that have impacted your organisation’s sales growth or revenue. You may also showcase your leadership through initiatives that have led to conflict-resolution or salvaging client relationships. It would also work in your favour to mention if you have mentored juniors/co-workers, or motivated others to achieve beyond their perceived capabilities, thus unveiling yourself as someone with leadership spirit. Whether through cross-functional team projects or coordination on complex business issues, effective collaboration is as significant as leadership skills for the ISB application.

4. Highlight problem-solving skills. ISB seeks candidates who embrace challenges without any escapist attitude. They identify and embrace applicants who can think critically and provide innovative solutions to problems. To stand out in your application, emphasise your resilience and willingness to handle difficult situations by implying creative and niche ideas in your work. Some examples of this could include upgrading/automating processes, cutting costs or brainstorming/developing new products that boost customer engagement. Thus, concentrating on your creative and analytical skills in your application will help establish your strategic thinking and diligent efforts in facing tough situations.

5. Community Involvement. While work experience is a key focus area, showcasing your extracurricular involvement will also make your application engaging for the ISB Adcom. ISB considers candidates who are not only academically strong but also possess diverse skills and experiences in any volunteer work or community engagement. All these activities showcase you as someone who is holistically groomed and can contribute to a diverse and dynamic campus community. Community involvement also depicts your teamwork, time management and leadership acumen, all of which is as important as work experience. Moreover, in today’s industry demands of ethical leadership, it is important to showcase yourself as a potential leader who nurtures corporate social responsibility.

6. Highlight experience that strategically aligns with your long-term plan. The Adcom looks for candidates with clarity of purpose. So, it is advisable to show a logical progression from your past roles to your post-MBA aspirations. Hence, in your past/current work experience, you must highlight projects and leadership roles that bring out the skills that would be critical to your future goals. For instance,

   1. If you aim to transition into product management, you must highlight skills like stakeholder management, user-centric problem-solving, and data-driven decision-making, which you may have demonstrated through collaborating with cross-functional teams, leading product development, or launching innovative solutions in your past/current work profile.

   2. Similarly, if your goal is strategy consulting, talk about skills like business analysis, structured problem-solving, and client engagement, which may have been developed through market research, process optimization, or working on high-impact strategic initiatives.

   3. Likewise, if you aspire to move into entrepreneurship, emphasize innovation, risk management, navigating uncertainty and scaling businesses, which could be reflected through your efforts to drive new initiatives or spearhead market expansion at your current/past organizations.

      In other words, don’t just mention what you’ve done—explain how it shapes your aspirations. This way, by strategically linking your past achievements with your post-MBA vision, you can position yourself as a candidate with a clear and well-thought-out career plan.

7. Career Progression. ISB measures the worth of a candidate by the advancement in their career graph. Hence, in the application, you must highlight your increased level of responsibility as compared to your past role(s). Demonstrate how your responsibilities have expanded (and how your skills have evolved) over time, reflecting growth in leadership, strategic thinking, and industry expertise.

If the above points are kept in mind, it is possible to build a well-structured and compelling narrative that can significantly enhance your chances of securing ISB admission. Needless to say, ISB seeks professionals who can contribute meaningfully to its dynamic learning environment, and a strong portrayal of work experience can set you apart from the competition. In fact, these guidelines can be followed for other B-schools too. By strategically incorporating these elements, you can make a lasting impression on the Adcom.

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