Indian Institute of Management (IIM-C) PGPEX Application 2021

If you have been looking to apply to Indian business schools, you would have definitely come across the name – Indian Institute of Management, also known as IIM. In this article, we will be discussing the PGPEX course at IIM-Calcutta, and we will also be guiding you on how to go about the entire application process.

To start with, you should know that the IIM-C PGPEX course, as the name suggests, is an executive program offered by the B-school.

This program is specifically designed for candidates who will acquire five years of full-time professional work experience as of 31 March 2021 (Of course, this will change if you plan to apply next year).

So, if you have been working for five years or more after your graduation and have been holding a full-time paid job, you can apply to this program.

Remember, you will have to provide all the details about your work experience in your application chronologically.

To meet the basic eligibility requirements, you will have to submit your bachelor’s degree certificate. You can also submit your GMAT/GRE scores. While these scores are not mandatory, the AdCom. at IIM-C will consider it a part of your academic record if you submit! Isn’t that great?

So, what else do you need to complete the IIM-C PGPEX application, right?

To complete the application successfully, you need to submit a Statement of Purpose (SOP) and a letter of recommendation (LOR). Let us delve into these requirements and see how you can draft the SOP and get impactful letters of recommendation.

On a side note, if you’d like to know what advice our GMAT and MBA Expert, Arun Jagannathan, has to share with you when it comes to your IIM-C PGPEX application, you can watch this video. Don’t forget to make a note of all the relevant points you need to keep in mind!

IIM-C PGPEX Statement of Purpose (SOP)

We understand that there are multiple questions here.

Don’t worry about it.

We will give you a framework that you can follow to communicate clearly and effectively with the AdComs at IIM-C.

Here’s the framework that we suggest.

You can divide your SOP into three parts:

PART ONE: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE SO FAR? (150-200 WORDS)

In this part, you will be speaking about what you have done so far in your life.

You should know one thing:

The SOP is your pitch.

So, in this part, you should mention your qualities, experiences, and achievements.

You need to clearly state the transferable skills that you bring to the table. You need to mention what you have learned so far that makes you a professional.

PART TWO: WHAT IS YOUR IMMEDIATE POST-MBA GOAL AND YOUR LONG TERM GOAL? (150-200 WORDS)

Given the current COVID-19 situation, the industry you have been working in might have changed in various aspects, right?.

Taking all this into account, where do you want your career headed?

Give them a sense of your career goals. It should include your short-term and long-term goals.

But, don’t get too carried away with your career goals and fill up all the space already.

You also need to provide insights into what it will take you to elevate your career and get where you want to be in the future. This is what is going to add depth to this part of your SOP.

Make sure that you address the points mentioned above in part two of your IIM-C SOP.

PART THREE: HOW IS THE IIM-C PGPEX COURSE GOING TO HELP YOU? (150-200 WORDS)

Once you have mentioned all the necessary details in part two, you can utilize the third part to specifically say why you think this particular program will help you.

Let’s say that you are a mid-career professional with eight to ten years of work experience in the tech industry or a tech-specific role. In this part of the SOP, you could speak about your ability to understand technology. It need not be about coding or programming. It could be your ability to look at the world through the lens of technology.

Even if you have not been in the tech space, you will be able to do this.

Here, you could mention the experiences you have had with different products and the impact of technology on consumers.

Once you have given these details, you could speak about how you probably want to move from the tech space to become a product manager.

Product managers with a technical background are always considered assets. But, if you don’t have any knowledge about how businesses function, it might be difficult. This is exactly where you can say that the IIM-C PGPEX course is going to help you.

When you speak about your vision, mention the skill sets you will have to acquire to fit perfectly into the role. You could even talk about the tools you will require and how you need to learn to use them.

If you are someone who wants to become a product manager, you need to learn to look at a problem from different angles.

You could state how specific exercises in the one-year PGPEX course at IIM-C will help you understand different perspectives. You could attribute it to the diverse class profile that the program has.

Let us consider another scenario in which you are a product manager who wants to start something on your own later in life. In this scenario, your network becomes your net worth, and you can say that you intend to derive the network from the course at IIM-C.

So, if you go by the points we mentioned above and draft your SOP, it will definitely be unique.

Also, make sure that you don’t tell the AdCom. what they already know. This could be about their course or even about you. Ensure that your SOP gives an in-depth idea of who you are and what you want to achieve out of this course.

IIM-C PGPEX LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION (LOR)

Now that we have given you a brief idea on how to go about drafting your SOP, here’s our ten cents on the letter of recommendation that you need to provide the B-school

First of all, you need one letter of recommendation to complete your application to IIM-C.

And here’s what they ask the recommender:

Please describe the particular talents, strengths, and weaknesses if you have worked with the applicant on any type of special project. Please give an evaluation of his/her performance.

Please indicate any favorable, unfavorable indications of the applicant’s leadership potential and his/her ability to work independently.

As you can see, there are two questions that the B-school has for your recommender.

The first question is about your strengths and weaknesses, and the second question is in which they want to gauge your ability to work independently and your sense of leadership.

First things first, try to pick a recommender who has worked very closely with you. This will benefit you in ways you can’t imagine. 🙂

Also, make sure that the recommender is in a supervisory position, someone senior to you.

It could even be a client or a business partner with whom you have worked in a professional capacity in some of your cases. So, make sure that you pick your recommender wisely.

If you pick the right recommender, half your work is done. They will be able to write effectively about you. This will impact the AdCom.’s decision of you as a suitable candidate for their PGPEX course!

Before you get to drafting your SOP and finding the perfect recommender, you might want to check out the deadlines the B-school has set for you.

IIM-C Application Deadlines

Want to know more about the MBA Application Deadlines for Top B-Schools? Here’s the entire list of top B-Schools along with their deadlines – MBA Application Deadlines 2020-2021

We have worked closely with a lot of IIM-C aspirants. We have helped them put down their story clearly and have also helped them secure admissions at the B-school. So, if you feel that you need help drafting your IIM-C SOP or reviewing your application, or let’s say, even brainstorming your ideas, you can always reach out to us.

You can click on the image below and get in touch with our experts.

Want to know more about the business school? Get all the information about IIM-C!