Naturally, it’s not possible to talk about CVs of all students who get selected at these B-schools. CVs of around the top 15-20% of students selected at IIMs, XLRI, FMS, or other popular management institutes are exceptional. But CV of an average student at these institutes usually has the following attributes.
Academics and Co-curricular activities:
Every student getting admission at these institutes doesn’t have international level or national level olympiads or other achievements. An average student usually has a few subject scores to boast about, a few competitive examination scores, some co-curricular activities, and a few certifications.
Work experience and Internships:
Most students have one or two job experiences. For this section, proper presentation helps a lot. If you present your job experience properly, your CV will look impressive.
Position of responsibilities:
Every student getting into IIM and other top management institutes doesn’t have exceptional PORs. Most student talks about their role in college fests and the responsibilities attached to it, NGO work, or a captain or vice-captain role in sports teams.
Extracurricular Activities:
Around 70% of students getting admission at these institutes have few social service initiatives, school/college level sports achievements, school/college level cultural achievements.
One of my friends recently graduated from SPJIMR, and his CV was average.
The two things that helped him get selected are his CAT score, i.e. 99.38 percentile, and work experience at a Top 20 Fortune 500 Automobile Firm.
This is the case for most students getting admission to these institutes. Only one or two sections of their CV stand out and the rest is fairly average.
For this, I think my friend’s CV will be the best example as he is an alumnus of IIM Kozhikode.
Academics:
Standard 10th |
88% |
Standard 12th |
81% |
Graduation |
82% |
M.Com |
72% |
Qualifications:CA; CFA- Cleared in the first attempt; FRM-Cleared in the first attempt.
Work Experience:
Extra-curricular Activities:
Teaching:
Writing:
Others:
Basically, you need to have a good background in any two or three of these above-mentioned aspects. Most of the IIM CV will have a good academic record, what sets you apart is your other achievements.