Re: Calling all INSEAD MBA Applicants: (January 2017 Intake) Class of 2017
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12 Apr 2016, 12:24
I had my first interview in my home city with a relatively young alum last week. She worked for years in the US and then returned to India to start up her own venture. She took me to a nice restaurant, put me at ease and we ended up talking for a little under 90 minutes or so.
It was pretty conversational. She had only read through my resume once and was not carrying my application essays or my resume with her. So she asked me to refresh her memory about my background, which I took as an opportunity to walk her through my resume and my experience. Next, we went into details about the company I work for, its market position etc. about which she was not totally informed, discussed the challenges that I overcame at work. She also asked me about my accomplishment at my previous workplace. We then discussed my career goals and she probed me on whether I am interested in entrepreneurship. It was a googly question and I blabbered about an idea I had and we spent some 5 minutes on it.
Next, we spent some time on why MBA, (I have an unusual profile - I already have an MBA from a top 10 institute in India) and that needed some explanation. She also wanted to understand whether MBA is just a stepping stone to my next position and if so why can't I already move to my target industry given my experience and background.
Towards the end, she asked me what other schools did I apply to and how am I going to finance my MBA. And finally, she gave me an opportunity to ask her questions, where I probed her on her INSEAD experience and related stuff. Surprisingly, almost as an afterthought, she asked "Do you like to party? INSEAD is a party school!"
She mentioned that I shall have no problem with academics and that I should spend time on career events and networking at INSEAD.
I left with a good feeling about the interview. The next one is lined up fro today!
Best