PhD in Organizational Behavior/HR - Please Help..!!!

[SR83]

Hello Everybody,

I am targeting for PhD in Organizational Behavior/HR for 2013 (My research interests – i. Employee motivation, performance and retention, ii. Alignment of business and HR Strategy)

Motive: To make some valuable contribution in the same field (Obviously I want to be an Assistant Professor)

Please have a look and advice me. Thank you..!

About Me:
29, Indian, Married

Educational Details:
MS Information Technology for Management, UK (Merit)
Bachelors in Computer Science and Engineering (62.80%)
HSC (12th) - 83.10%
SSC (10th) - 75.60%

Work Experience:
3 Yrs in Software Development Exp.
13 Months – Academic Research Assistant
And since Jan2011, I am working as Sr. talent Acquisition Consultant for European Market. My current role is mix of primary research and ‘exclusive’ recruitment.

GMAT: 640 (Taking again in Sept 2012)
I haven’t published any paper but was awarded US Conference Scholarship (6-Day) based on my Master’s Thesis.

Referees:
2 Professors and 1 Employer

I need guidance on the following:

• Which are the best schools for PhD in Organizational Behavior/HR? (Worldwide)
• Is my experience suitable to get into Top 20’s?
• When should I contact prospective supervisors now?

Please help me.


Thanks and Regards,
SR83

[busybee3]

Hello Everybody,

I am targeting for PhD in Organizational Behavior/HR for 2013 (My research interests – i. Employee motivation, performance and retention, ii. Alignment of business and HR Strategy)

Motive: To make some valuable contribution in the same field (Obviously I want to be an Assistant Professor)

Please have a look and advice me. Thank you..!

About Me:
29, Indian, Married

Educational Details:
MS Information Technology for Management, UK (Merit)
Bachelors in Computer Science and Engineering (62.80%)
HSC (12th) - 83.10%
SSC (10th) - 75.60%

I can't truly speak to your academic performance without a translation to the standard U.S. 4.0 scale. However, your undergraduate average seems lacking. I don't knwo what HSC or SSC mean, nor do I know what the rankings beside them mean compared to the total population. A ranking of "10th" doesn't mean much if the population is 15. It looks a lot better if the ranking is out of 200.

Work Experience:
3 Yrs in Software Development Exp.
13 Months – Academic Research Assistant
And since Jan2011, I am working as Sr. talent Acquisition Consultant for European Market. My current role is mix of primary research and ‘exclusive’ recruitment.

Your years in software development are pretty irrelevant to the application process unless you can tie the experience to your research interests. Your time as a research assistant will provide a better boost to your admissions profile...especially if you spent time performing meaningful tasks. Do you have any papers in the pipeline? Is your research related to OB?

GMAT: 640 (Taking again in Sept 2012)
I haven’t published any paper but was awarded US Conference Scholarship (6-Day) based on my Master’s Thesis.

Definitely increase the GMAT score. With 4 months and dedication, you could potentially boost your score by 100 points. With what I "assume" is an average to weak undergraduate average, you need to shine on the GMAT.

Referees:
2 Professors and 1 Employer

Most schools prefer academic references. Unless your employer is the person you're assisting with academic research, you should try to replace him/her with another academic reference.

I need guidance on the following:

• Which are the best schools for PhD in Organizational Behavior/HR? (Worldwide)
• Is my experience suitable to get into Top 20’s?
• When should I contact prospective supervisors now?

Please help me.


Thanks and Regards,
SR83

This is where my assistance is limited. There are several schools that people will place in their Top 10/Top 20, but the truth is that you want to find a school and an advisor that fits your research agenda and that will serve as a suitable launching pad for your academic career. Your current profile is not suitable for "Top 20" because there is nothing in your profile to make up for your current GMAT score. Even with a stellar profile, competition is seemingly stiffer every year and there is no guarantee that you will make it into your first choice schools. Good luck with the application process!

[SR83]

I can't truly speak to your academic performance without a translation to the standard U.S. 4.0 scale. However, your undergraduate average seems lacking. I don't knwo what HSC or SSC mean, nor do I know what the rankings beside them mean compared to the total population. A ranking of "10th" doesn't mean much if the population is 15. It looks a lot better if the ranking is out of 200.

"Thank you very much for your reply.
Firstly, I will contact the authorized US Admission consultant to understand how the US grade system works."


Your years in software development are pretty irrelevant to the application process unless you can tie the experience to your research interests. Your time as a research assistant will provide a better boost to your admissions profile...especially if you spent time performing meaningful tasks. Do you have any papers in the pipeline? Is your research related to OB?

"Yes, I have a paper under review and my research is related to OB"


Definitely increase the GMAT score. With 4 months and dedication, you could potentially boost your score by 100 points. With what I "assume" is an average to weak undergraduate average, you need to shine on the GMAT.

"Yes, I have gone through this forum and understood that I need 750+ on GMAT to get into Top20".


Most schools prefer academic references. Unless your employer is the person you're assisting with academic research, you should try to replace him/her with another academic reference.

"Sure, I will contact another professor with whom I worked on 2 projects and skip the reference from employer".


This is where my assistance is limited. There are several schools that people will place in their Top 10/Top 20, but the truth is that you want to find a school and an advisor that fits your research agenda and that will serve as a suitable launching pad for your academic career. Your current profile is not suitable for "Top 20" because there is nothing in your profile to make up for your current GMAT score. Even with a stellar profile, competition is seemingly stiffer every year and there is no guarantee that you will make it into your first choice schools. Good luck with the application process!

You took some time out to help me. Thank you very much..!

[daffodil5435]

[*]Which are the best schools for PhD in Organizational Behavior/HR? (Worldwide)[*]Is my experience suitable to get into Top 20’s?[*]When should I contact prospective supervisors now?[/LIST]

- Best Schools - Look up UTD or University of Arizona Rankings by Journal, I guess you are aware of which journals are there in your chosen fields.
- Experience - Work-ex does not matter in a PhD unlike an MBA, unless the work was academic in nature.Once you get the top schools in your field from the rankings (above) try looking at the profiles of the current students. That should give you an idea of how competitive your profile would be at that school.
-Contacting Supervisors - No need at this stage.

Try and boost your GMAT to atleast 720+ to have a competitive application.

Lookup the SSRN website and try reading papers published in your field, that way you'll be able to find schools where research interests match.

Good Luck.

[Indus]

Hello SR83: Welcome to the forum!

MS Information Technology for Management, UK (Merit)
This is fine. which university? The real value will depend on that.

Bachelors in Computer Science and Engineering (62.80%)
You will pass the muster, though its not great. Again, which university? You might be ok if its an RIT. But you cant do much about it anyway, so don't fret too much about it.

HSC (12th) - 83.10%
SSC (10th) - 75.60%
Irrelevant for PhD admissions. Don't include in your CV.

3 Yrs in Software Development Exp. - Irrelevant for PhD - OB admissions

13 Months – Academic Research Assistant
since Jan2011, I am working as Sr. talent Acquisition Consultant for European Market. My current role is mix of primary research and ‘exclusive’ recruitment.
Relevant and very interesting. This should be the key story of your SOP. What you did/what you learnt/how it developed your research interests etc.

GMAT: 640 (Taking again in Sept 2012) - Too low. retaking is the right step.

US Conference Scholarship (6-Day) based on my Master’s Thesis
Strong positive. Your Master's thesis can be the key differentiator.

Referees: 2 Professors and 1 Employer
I would not suggest including the employer. Unless he was supervising you in a research related position.
Which are the best schools for PhD in Organizational Behavior/HR? (Worldwide)
This is a bit premature. Wait till you have your GMAT score. Also the "best" school is the one matching your research interests, not some place based on MBA rankings.

Is my experience suitable to get into Top 20’s?
I am sorry, but as of now, I don't think so. Hope I am wrong. But you don't need to go to a T20 to become an assistant professor.

When should I contact prospective supervisors now?
Depends on the school. Check with the PhD program director first.

My research interests – Employee motivation, performance and retention, ii. Alignment of business and HR Strategy)
Bit too broad. I would encourage you to learn a bit more about current research in HR issues and try to narrow your interests. Also, be carefull about the distinction between OB and HR. "HR" is not the key thing in most schools and OB is much broader. So I would suggest looking at schools in light of your interests and targetting schools accordingly.

All the best!