Meet UCLA Anderson’s MBA Class of 2019

Bharti Bhargava 

UCLA, Anderson School of Management  

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: I am a sportsperson – I take the wins with humbleness and the losses with resilience

Hometown: Singapore

Fun Fact About Yourself: I worked and achieved a blackbelt in Karate at the age of seven. I was applauded by the Guinness World Records on my achievement.

Undergraduate School and Major: Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, India/ National University of Singapore, Singapore

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: Oxford Economics – Economist, Forecast – Regional Economist, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken – FX Analyst  

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: As the second economist in The Singapore office of Oxford Economics (OE), I helped establish and expand OE’s operations in Asia. I provided strategic advice on Korea and Indonesia to our clients, helping increase OE’s revenues by 30%.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? 

GMAT: This exam really tests the ability to manage time – a skill that will come in handy as you start the MBA program (with academics, social life and recruiting making equal demands on your time). During the exam, know your strengths and prioritize questions that you know that you can get right and save time for the ones that are tough.

Essays: You might have heard this several times before, but I want to stress on this again – in the essays – ‘be yourself’. The School wants to know the real you as every MBA cohort is a set of students with diverse backgrounds and experiences – so the more genuine you are with your story, the higher the chances you have of being accepted. Last but not the least, be creative in the way you tell your story.

Interview: Apart from the essay, the interview is the second chance when you can let your dream school know how much you want them and why the school should admit you. Work on communicating how you will add value to the class and learnings of your future classmates. Once again, it may sound cliché, but PREPARE, PREPARE and PREPARE.

What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? I spent seven years in economic research and wanted to transition into a business role in technology. Eventually, I want to have my own company that is at the intersection of retail and technology. Anderson became an obvious choice for me because of its focus on and strengths in technology and entrepreneurship. Since, 2012 more than 25% of the class has been recruited for roles in the technology industry, building a strong alumni network that you can reach out to for guidance. Furthermore, I wanted to leverage Anderson’s proximity to the start-up hub to develop skills to grow and scale businesses. Lastly, I highly valued the services of Parker CMC (career services) that will help me successfully pivot from the financial industry to technology.

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school?  Success would be for me to have an internship at a tech company in a product management or business development role. Alongside the internship, I hope to have built my team with my colleagues at Anderson to work on my start-up idea.