Interview with a recently graduated IE MBA student

I am pleased to present here an interview with a recent graduate from the IE MBA program in Spain.

1. After you were admitted, looking back on the way you prepared for the MBA in the spring and summer, is there anything you would change? Anything you would have done more of or less of?

If I could go through the whole process again, I would make 3 changes, TOEFL, Campus visit and interview training.

- TOEFL

I would not go to a private school for listening and reading. It’s all about training to improve those scores and the program of those schools did not work well to improve the scores.

- Campus visit

Campus visit provides us with plenty of information which helps us work on application documents and choose school to go. In addition, it helps us know which kind of perspectives on B-schools we should have before choosing schools. 

- Interview training

I would do more interview training because it is more important than I thought. Interviewers carefully check applicants’ answers and your words and behaviors in the interviews greatly affect their decision. Therefore, I strongly recommend that applicants should carefully choose what to speak in the interviews and train for them in order to deliver your idea effectively.

2. What's a typical day in the life of an MBA student in your program?

8:00                 Wake up and have breakfast

9:00 – 15:00 3 sessions, 1.5 hours each session

15:00 – 16:00 Gym

16:00 – 21:00 Group work or preparation for the next sessions

21:00 – 22:30 Dinner (cook by myself)

22:30 – 2:00 Preparation for the next sessions

2:00 – 8:00      Sleep

3. Can you write a bit about a course that you would recommend future students take?

Financial Entrepreneurship & Private Equity: 

The professor is also working as a partner of a PE and she shared her real experiences which helped me understand how PE works and make their investment decisions deeply.

“Entrepreneurial Acquisition” and “Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital”:

Those courses are about Search Fund, a kind of small PE. Fund managers of those funds are also entrepreneurs and they raise a fund, search companies to invest and increase the value of the company they invest. Only 4 B-schools in the world (HBS, GSB, IESE and IE) provide with courses about Search Fund.

M&A Boot Camp:

This course is about M&A coordinator and the professor requires us to develop real M&A project, in which I could learn a lot about real M&A process. In addition, the professor has vast network in finance and he invited some of them to students which is a great opportunities to develop network in finance especially in Europe.

The professor, Prof. Paris, likes Japanese culture and he is really helpful to Japanese students. Sometimes he invited us to a party in his house.

4. Did you have the time to get involved in any extra-curricular activities? If so, what ones and what were you doing in them?

Yes, but I did not spend much time on club activities. I was in the Japan club in IE and my role was representative of the club.

5. What were your experiences like in learning/project teams? 

IE is known as its diversity and it gave me a plenty of opportunities to work with a variety of people. Through those experience, I could improve my skill to communicate with people with a variety of sense of values and people of multiple nationality.

6. Can you share your plans post-MBA?

I’ve already started to work in a management consulting firm in Japan. I will start to look for another opportunities in industrial area a few years later.

7. Looking back, what has been most surprising to you about your MBA life, compared to your original expectations before you enrolled?

Diversity of values, careers and life. Many Japanese students go to MBA for better salary, company, position and status in society. But I could see many students from other countries who have different type of motivation. For example, one Taiwanese girl came to MBA because she wants to live her Spanish partner in London and MBA helps her find the better job in London. It was eye-opening experience and enriched my perspective of my life.

Thanks very much for the information and your time! 

John Couke

john.couke@gmail.com

Interview with current INSEAD MBA Student

I am pleased to offer the following interview with a current student at INSEAD.

1. After you were admitted, looking back on the way you prepared for the MBA in the spring and summer, is there anything you would change? Anything you would have done more of or less of?

I could have been more open to other options including options outside MBA, although I believe INSEAD is a great choice for me. What really matters should be life after MBA and MBA should not be the only option for most people to move you forward. 

2. What's a typical day in the life of an MBA student in your program?

It depends on periods. For the first four months, students spend time in attending core courses, working with a study group in the daytime, and having parties (doing networking) at night. On weekends, most people travel together to countries nearby (across Asia and Europe). The schedule is really intense during these periods. After that, class schedule becomes more relaxing and students become more serious about life after INSEAD. Some people spend time in starting up their own companies and testing their business, while others spend time on networking for careers and interview preparation. Since we have huge diversity, it completely depends on each student.

3. Can you write a bit about a course that you would recommend future students take?

“Creative Thinking” is the course I personally loved most. There are design students coming from Art Center in California and we develop new product and service ideas together. Please note that this elective is one of few electives only held in the Singapore campus. “Identifying New Business Model” is the also fantastic elective that teaches how to brainstorm/select new ideas from scratch and how to test those ideas. INSEAD is strong in entrepreneurship and students here can take a bunch of great courses that leads them to real entrepreneurship.

4. Have you had the time to get involved in any extra-curricular activities? If so, what ones and what are you doing in them?

There are a lot of things going on, for example I started a consulting project for a social enterprise in Singapore in a team of four students from the consulting club. We discussed their problems with the CEO and conducted some surveys to identify growth opportunities for them. Recently, I am more focusing on getting a job after INSEAD.

5. What have your experiences been like in learning/project teams? 

At INSEAD, a study group for the first four months is assigned from the school and the nationalities and career backgrounds in each team are all different. It is really a valuable experience: some teams would face difficulty in managing team activities because of the diversity and learn a lot from such experiences. In my case, all four other team members are super nice and helpful, and it was always fun to work with them. 

6. Can you share your plans for the summer?

I am just finishing off my MBA (since it is a 10-month program) and might have a summer vacation before going back to the world of business.

7. Looking back, what has been most surprising to you about your MBA life, compared to your original expectations before you enrolled?

Diversity. It was quite difficult to imagine how life goes with friends from over 70 countries. When you talk in a small group, most of time you realise that the nationalities and backgrounds are all different. Since all students understand we are quite different in nature, all of them respect each other and their culture. This is really an amazing culture of INSEAD. 

Thanks for your time and answers to my questions! 

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

Is your LinkedIn profile ready for your Cornell MBA Application?

I found it interesting to see that Cornell Johnson MBA program is now allowing applicants to prefill elements of their application using their expanded LinkedIn profile. I thik that for those applying to Johnson this year and in the future, care should be taken to ensure that their LinkedIn profile is as strong as possible. What follows are some tips and suggestions towards that end.

1. Work responsibilities and accomplishments

Those who have considered their LinkedIn profile to be just as important as their resumes won’t have much of a problem here. I have long endorsed regularly maintaining your resume. The same thing goes for your LinkedIn profile. Make sure it is complete, and representative of your work and the impact you have had on all the organisations you have worked for during your career.

2. Extracurricular Activities

The additional section of the resume gives people headaches when it comes to MBA applications because ideally it would introduce you and your passions more effectively than any other part of the resume. (Read on here for suggestions on how you can do this.) Make sure that whatever efforts you have put into brainstorming interesting and memorable additional section bullet point contents is also reflected in your LinkedIn profile.

3. Proof

LinkedIn offers the chance for you to add recommendations to virtually any part of your profile, and you should definitely do this. I wouldn’t recommend getting 12-15 referrals for each position or volunteer role you have had, but I would certainly consider adding 1-2 impartial and objective voices to each major work role or volunteer commitment so that others can get a feel for your skill set as observed by others.

4. Consistency

Make sure that the resume and all other information you submit to the MBA program matches what is in your LinkedIn profile.

5. Network

“This modern platform gives our applicants the chance to […] show how they build a network.” I took this Ann Richards quote from this article at Stacy Blackman’s Consulting blog. It was revealing to me in that it shows that your network could be considered when evaluating your potential at Cornell. Now this to me is not just a numbers game, and I feel it is short-sighted to simply conclude that the applicant with 500 connections will be valued more highly the one with 5. However, I think it important that you show your ability to network. Certainly it makes sense to demonstrate connections with MBA holders if you are trying to position yourself as someone who is familiar with what goes on in an MBA. Beyond this, the ability to network demonstrates your potential to succeed, as having connections to people you know and trust can help you seek out opportunities that might not otherwise exist for you. 

When all is said and done, it makes sense for me to encourage Cornell MBA applicants to ensure that their LinkedIn profile is as strong, informing and accurate as possible. Beyond that, the same advice applies for anyone else using the platform. 

For more reading on this potentially trend-setting change to MBA admissions look here, here, here and here.

John Couke

john.couke@gmail.com

Balancing Work and Non-Work Contents in your MBA Applications

Most MBA programs ask a series of essay questions (or one essay question as application evolve) that allow you chance to bring out many sides of yourself: what you do for a career, what you do outside of work, and even your academic background. But how should you approach all of the topics in your MBA application if all you do, during the week and even a lot of the weekend, is work?  There is nothing wrong with showing dedication to your organization. However, if you are ready to make a change in your life, such as applying to business school, you need to realize that the one thing about your current life that will not go with you is that job.  The skills you have gained will - and you can show the benefits of those by describing in your essays and interview how they'll help you to make specific contributions to your classmates. But to help the admissions committee of a particular school get a good sense of your potential level of involvement outside of class, it is useful to present both your work and non-work sides in your application. There are several benefits to doing so.

1) Knowing what you choose to do outside of work helps people understand you better.

In the workplace there may be restrictions on what you can and cannot do with your time, based on your job description or level of responsibility. But in your free time, you have a lot more leverage and ability to choose what you get involved in and how you spend your time.  And understanding these decisions about what you choose to do with your free time will help your application reader better understand who you are and what you value. 

Sharing personal interests helps your reader feel that they know you better as a person and makes them feel a bit closer to you. A cold and impersonal description of a mega-merger in which you had only a minor role is not nearly as effective as a story about your determination to complete a marathon - especially when the reader if deciding whether you are an interesting person worthy of attending their school.

2) Balance in your application can make the admissions officer reassured that you will be able to make the transition to their school.  

If all you have is your job - then what will be left once you stop working?  Show that you will not sink at b-school but instead you'll swim - by describing your personal interests and what you want to get involved in while at the program. A lot of MBA graduates would likely say that they benefitted greatly from the education outside the classroom - events, trips, and other such activities with their peers. In some cases these experiences are academic in nature, such as a case competition.  But in others they are more peer-bonding exercises, where you get to know your classmates (and future global network) better. Don't underestimate the importance of a soccer club or baseball team in forming bonds with your classmates during the MBA.

3) Your work accomplishments may already be covered in your reference letters.

If one (or more) of your referees is a supervisor from your job, he/she will likely use a considerable portion of his/her letter describing the contribution you have made to projects, teams, or the organization itself. This doesn't mean you should ignore discussing your work in your essays - but it does show that certain work-related accomplishments will already be covered.

For all of these reasons, it is useful to ensure that your work takes it proper position in your application as a key part of who you are, not the entire definition. Take care to separate yourself as an individual from the work that you do.  When brainstorming potential topics, note the following two things:

1) Characteristics like leadership extend beyond the job.

Some schools (Harvard in particular) look for evidence of leadership in your application.  And it is worth noting that a true leader will exhibit this characteristic across many facets of their life. Do you know anyone who is bright, successful, trustworthy, approachable, fearless and dedicated while at work, but turns into a completely different person, devoid of all of these traits, once they leave the office?  When you are struggling with how to demonstrate your leadership, don't limit yourself to only work-related stories. Instead, show that the leadership you demonstrate at work is truly useful in understanding who you are, by showing how you exhibit that leadership outside of work too.

2) Many characteristics can be demonstrated equally well through work and non-work stories.

When asked for an example of how you have demonstrated the ability to work well in a team, often either a work-related story (your contribution to a team that made a big accomplishment) or a non-work related story (your role as the starting point guard on a community basketball team that won a big match) can work equally well.  Fo this reason, when brainstorming teamwork accomplishments, don't limit yourself to just the work experiences.  Consider what you do outside of work, and how those experiences may also be relevant. 

For those that truly dedicate the vast majority of their time to their organization, there is still one last idea to consider: informal volunteer work in your company. This may or may not be effective, depending on the individual situation.  However, there are options available to you even within the context of your organization that may help you to show balance, such as:

- attendance in a cross-functional or cross-departmental task force you chose to join to accomplish something

- weekend volunteer work done through your organization

- informal and/or extra-curricular training of subordinates

- organizing or participating in company activities such as community events, family events or other such activities

By using a variety of topics that span your work, life outside of work, and academic background, you can paint a picture of yourself that is well-rounded and will show effectively your potential to contribute to an MBA program.

John Couke

john.couke@gmail.com

Chicago Booth on Extracurricular Activities

I strongly encourage anyone interested in the MBA application process to read this entry called Demonstrating Community Contribution which was posted recently in Booth Insider: the Chicago Booth full-time MBA admissions blog. It's about the value of extracurricular activities to your application to business school.

For more reading on the importance and value of your personal interests when it comes to applying for your MBA, please read my article titled the Role of Balance in your MBA Application.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

Interview with Cambridge Judge Business School's Conrad Chua

I am pleased that Conrad Chua, the Head of Admissions, Marketing and Recruitment at the Judge Business School at theUniversity of Cambridge could take time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions. Be sure to follow his twitter feed or take a look at his blog.

1. How did you get into this line of work? What do you like and dislike about it?

I stumbled into it! Through a previous role, I got to know a recent alum from Cambridge Judge Business School who gave me great insights into the values and ethos of the MBA programme. These resonated with me so that when this role became available, it was a natural choice for me.

I have been in this role for three years now, enough time for me to see talented people go through the entire Cambridge MBA lifecycle - from a prospective candidate to a current student and now as alums. I love hearing their stories about their lives and their accomplishments. And it helps that I have a good, committed team that reflects the values of the school and our community.

The only thing I would like to see change is the harmful way in which MBA rankings are perceived. I value feedback and rankings do measure some very important criteria but we should understand that an MBA experience cannot be reduced to a number.

Admissions

2. The Cambridge Judge admissions website lists 110 as the minimum required TOEFL score for entering the program.  Should applicants not apply if their score is only 100? How about 105?

Candidates may still apply if their score is 100 or higher in TOEFL.  However, any later offer would be conditional on them undertaking an assessment by the University of Cambridge’s Language Centre.  They may then request that the individual attend an English course prior to the MBA if necessary.

3. Why is the second referee to be a team member or peer? What kind of information are you hoping for?

The Cambridge MBA is a highly practical programme, with a focus on group work and collaboration. This includes real consulting projects for actual clients. As such we need to understand how a candidate works within a team setting, and what skills they utilise and contributions they make when working with others.  The value of a diverse class only comes when people are willing to share their experience and skills with others.

4. Why do you ask as the 3rd required essay a hypothetical question about what the applicant would change about their current organization?

The third question is designed to help us to understand the candidate’s ability to reason an argument and to critically analyse the industry and company in which they have been operating.  It is also an opportunity to demonstrate clarity in writing and original ideas.

Curriculum

5. Cambridge is gaining a reputation for being strong at entrepreneurship. Do you agree, and if so can you give example as to how?

Cambridge cannot help but be strong in entrepreneurship by virtue of the environment in which the business school sits.  Firstly, the wider University of Cambridge is a hub of ideas and innovation, and has been for 800 years.  Secondly, this has infiltrated into the local business environment and the city is renowned for being one of the start-up hubs of the UK – Silicon Fen.  An example of how we take advantage of this is through the Cambridge Venture Project. At an early stage of the programme the students are required to undertake an actual consulting project on a real brief for a local start-up or other entrepreneurial venture. 

6. Some MBA professors bring real-world experience to the classroom. Others focus on academic research. How would you characterize the faculty at Judge?

Our faculty are very international, with a range of backgrounds.  Many have worked in leading global companies and bring that experience into their research and teaching.  Others have followed a more traditional academic path, but will bring “real-world” experience to their work through their engagement with clients on Executive Education courses, or through consulting projects that they may be doing for companies.  One of the benefits of a relatively small programme such as the 150 cohort at Cambridge is that they are open and accessible, available to discuss ideas with the students whom they will get to know by name and not just as another face in a lecture theatre.

7. The Cambridge Venture Project occurs relatively early within the academic calendar. What are the benefits of getting such a hands-on experience so early within the MBA?

There are two main benefits to undertaking the CVP early in the MBA.  As I mentioned previously it is firstly an opportunity to sample the local entrepreneurial scene and to work on a project for a business that is in its early stages of development.

Secondly, it feeds in to the core course in Management Practice. The CVP is undertaken with your study group – up to five individuals with a broad range of backgrounds who will not know each other very well. The exercise therefore also provides insights into how teams form and organise themselves and how this can be managed.  This can then be related back directly to the Management Practice module.

Outside the Classroom

8. Cambridge uses a college system. What benefits does this offer to students in the MBA program?

The collegiate system allows MBA students to engage and network with brilliant minds from across the various disciplines being practiced within the University of Cambridge.  In the past this has even led to the formation of successful entrepreneurial ventures.  It is also a place to socialise and undertake extra-curricular activities.  The Colleges allow participation at all levels, so there is the opportunity to try out a new cultural or sporting activity.  Being Cambridge, rowing is particularly popular amongst the MBAs.

9. Do student clubs and organizations MBAs tend to get involved in originate within Judge, their college, the greater Cambridge community or all of the above?

I see the opportunities for MBAs at Cambridge to be multi-layered.  The Business School Club provides student Special Interest Groups that may be of specific interest to those studying for an MBA.  However students can also engage as part of their College community or at the university level in the amazing range of clubs and societies that only being part of a world leading university can offer.

Thank you Conrad for taking the time to answer my questions!

John Couke

john.couke@gmail.com

Interview with Naoki Kamimaeda, current student in the Cambridge Judge MBA program

Naoki Kamimaeda is a current student at the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge, and was gracious enough to spend some of his busy time answering my questions below.  Read his own blog here (in Japanese only).

Your Life at Cambridge

1. What's a typical day in the life of an MBA student at Cambridge?

The Cambridge MBA has four terms during the academic year: Michaelmas, Lent, Easter and Summer Activity. In the first two terms (Michaelmas and Lent) students mainly take core MBA courses such as Corporate Finance, Strategy and Marketing. A typical day during these terms looks like this:

9:00 – 12:30                 Classes

12:30 – 14:00               Lunch, group work, projects or extracurricular activities

14:00 – 17:30               Classes

18:00 – 19:30               Career Sessions or some talks from guest speakers

19:30 – 22:30               Social activities like formal dinners or dinners and drinks with friends

22:30 – 2:00 (or 3:00)    Preparation for the next day’s classes

In the Easter and Summer Activity terms, students mainly take electives or complete a self-project. So, students can have more free time than the two terms above.

2. Where are you living now?

I am living in a college accommodation. The University of Cambridge has a unique college system.

When students get an admission from the school, students are allocated to a college. Most foreign students can have an accommodation within or near to a college, if they wish to.

The Classes and the School

3. If you could recommend just one class to prospective applicants, what would it be and why?

It would be hard to choose one class. But, if I had to, the class would be in an area such as Strategy or Marketing. These classes are core courses in other MBA programs as well. As far as my own experience at Cambridge, I found these classes were very interesting, interactive and engaging. 


One thing I want to mention about the Cambridge MBA is that it focuses more on projects than classes.
 I think this is a strength of the program. In one year, it is possible to join four projects: the Cambridge Venture Project, the Global Consulting Project, the Capstone Project and the IndividualProject. 
As far as I’m concerned these four projects are incredibly fruitful, because we can test our takeaways from classes in real world experiences immediately.

4. What kind of clubs or student activities are you involved with?

I am involved in a football club and some study groups organized by students. I am putting a lot of my time and effort into the Intrapreneurship Study Group at Cambridge. I founded this study group with some MBAs and other students at the university so we could have opportunities,to discuss how to foster an Intrapreneurship mentality within large organizations. I believe, especially for Japanese companies, this way of thinking is crucial, because still most great employees work for large organizations.

5. Have you collaborated with any students outside of the MBA program, and in the greater Cambridge community?

As I mentioned above, I am discussing Intrapreneurship issues with not only MBAs but also other students like Ph.D. students at Cambridge. 
There are so many opportunities to do something with other students outside of the MBA program, if students are willing to be proactive. Which opportunities students can get involved in is totally up to them.

Your Advice for Others

6. Do you wish you had prepared for the MBA program any more or any differently? What's your advice for someone already accepted and waiting to start their MBA?

I wish I had studied core MBA courses like Corporate Finance, Accounting, Strategy and Marketing before coming to Cambridge so that I could have had more time to be involved in extracurricular activities. In my opinion, we can learn more from extracurricular activities than classes, especially in the case of the Cambridge MBA, because there are plenty of opportunities such as creating new businesses with other students and having lectures or talks from famous people like nobel prize winners and CEOs of large companies.

Thanks very much for your time Kamimaeda-san!

John Couke

John.couke@gmail.com