Highlights from the recent INSEAD alum chat
Do you want to introduce yourself a little bit before we get started?Icecream87: I just graduated from Insead. And before that I was here with you all, reading biblically Bunuel and then going crazy with my application for INSEAD. The only school I actually applied for. I am french and congolese and I did finance before in paris and now heading to consulting in paris.
What do you think of recruiting trends at INSEAD? I know consulting is the biggest priority for most people, but what industries/sectors do you see your classmates going into?Icecream87: IB recruits early (before the recruitment period), for internships that then turn to fulltime positions. IB recruitment is mostly for London. We also have tech that is becoming big with Amazon as the biggest, Microsoft somewhere behind. And then we have industry for MBA programs, pharma, capital goods, and many others. But yes consulting remains big.
What was the range of work experience in your batch?Icecream87: The average is 5 years, with an average age of 29 and 34% women. It varies a bit from batch to batch, but this is a solid average.
How is the recruiting for non-Europeans in french / eu?Icecream87: Most firms (consulting first) recruit worldwide. It’s not a problem if you want to work in the US. But you need to have a work permit (unless it is consulting). You have job offers that come from the world, but most companies (excluding IB and consulting) don’t really want to sponsor students. If you want to work in France, you have to speak french. And that’s the case for most european countries excluding the UK and the Netherlands
How good is the recruitment scene in Singapore? Apologies for a location specific question, since I want to build a career in Asia, specifically Singapore. Follow-up question to this is - any idea on how good / bad the Private Equity / Venture Capital recruitments are in Asia?Icecream87: Fonty and singy are pretty much the same. Jobs in PE and VC are harder to get in general. Spots are limited and most of the time they search for a specific background. You can’t get into PE unless you have a previous PE background, consulting or IB background. Same for VC. Those who got in had the background. You can still make your way into a search fund but it’s not easy. You have to network a lot.
Why did you only apply to one school? what do you think makes a stand-out application for INSEAD?Icecream87: DIVERSITY! I didn’t want to be a minority. Age, the average age is higher than US schools, I wanted to be with people who have had a lot of work experience, interesting stories to share, a solid network. Only a year spent away from work. I also wanted to stay in europe and particularly france. It was a no brainer. Ultimately the alums were nice. Whenever I got in touch they answered.
Do you think International experience is a must for candidates applying from Asia as the nature of competition is really highIcecream87: Yes! or at least a strong international motivation. If you have only been in one single country, show that you are motivated to see the world, extracurricular also helps. Languages help as well.
Since the course is only for a year. Will this be enough time to build strong networks?Icecream87: More than enough. All the people who went to Wharton found it way too slow. INSEAD is a fast passed program. We work hard and play hard. You won’t really have time for your friends and family though
What is the current economic trends in EU, and how is brexit gonna impact on INSEAD. Doesn’t absence of the additional Internship programs that provide a real time experience in management strategy impacts the INSEAD quality?Icecream87: EU is doing surprisingly find (Macron effect?). We don’t really feel the impact of Brexit yet. IB in London is doing just fine for now. We still don’t know what will happen next. Consulting doesn’t care about internships. You can still do one if you want though. We also have two batches, the Ds that have an internship and the Js that don’t. If you want to do IB, you must do an internship (D or J) doesn’t matter. The Js just do it at the end of the program.
Given that INSEAD offers one of the shortest MBA program of 10 months, is there something you miss what you get from other traditional 2 year programs?Icecream87: At the end of the program I and my batch really wished we had an additional year. But that was FOMO talking! It was a great experience I won’t change a thing
What is the current economic trends in EU, and how is brexit gonna impact on INSEAD. Doesn’t absence of the additional Internship programs that provide a real time experience in management strategy impacts the INSEAD quality?
Can you walk us through the dual interview experience?Icecream87: If it’s the admission interviews, super easy. You don’t need much. Just show you are normal, your short and longterm goals are also normal. Don’t aim too big, but also don’t go blindly into saying you want to do consulting. Do your homework, talk to current students and alums. Understand what the recruitment process is really like. Most students end up in completely different positions than they primarily aimed for. Either because they were dinged (consulting and IB just doesn’t recruit everybody) or because they found some other company they never thought about that is actually very appealing. Be open and realistic. Just don’t be a weirdo. Know
your interviewers and asks them tones of questions to make them talk as much as possible and you will be fine.
INSEAD demands for a good amount of details and a lot of essays, along with video interview. Can you give us a tip to help us deal with this heavy application in a comprehensive and coherent manner, at the same time impressing the adcom?Icecream87: You have to be thorough and show that you fit with the four requirements of the school: leadership, contribution, intellectual capacity, and international motivation. Give examples of then all. It is tiresome, but there is no way around that.
What’s one thing that stands out from your INSEAD experience?Icecream87: The people for sure. That feeling of being an imposter, of not feeling that clever, of always having somebody else who has been there, done it. It creates great opportunities to learn and to meet great people. I also really loved the humility that this environment creates
One of the key aspects which you will like to recommend for the candidates before applying to Insead?Icecream87: Show you can contribute!!!! Show you have contributed before, and tell the school how you can contribute once in! You are talking to the admission’s team. They want students who will become ambassadors (Virginie Vougea head of admissions) knows my name and gets in touch because I contribute, my deans have contacted me for great conferences and such because I contribute. It will make your experience at school reacher, and the school will love you!
Doesn’t the Macron effect increase the already fierce competition? and How is Macron effect going to tackle the language barrier (Current biggest hurdle for international students in EU nations)?Icecream87: Each country is different. Some are more open to international employees more than others. Unfortunately in france so far Macron effect has not changed a thing. In any job in contact with french companies you need to speak french. Other countries in europe do a better job at that. The Netherlands and Switzerland do a better job (excluding the UK, obviously)
Where do you see most people going to in terms of geography? Does the campus location matter when it comes to recruiting location?Icecream87: Yes! Location matters. Taking the example of consulting, London is super competitive, so is Dubai, and Amsterdam. In the US, they still prefer americans, and in France, same old story, they can sponsor you only if you speak french. So you need to have a rational to apply to a country that isn’t yours and for which you don’t speak the language. A spouse can be one of it, but it makes it harder.
On campus recruiting allows you to recruit anywhere. Companies will interview you where you are, it doesn’t really matter. Unless you want to do IB (London) in which case you’d want to be in fontainebleau, even though you can still be recruited from singy. Stats just show that live recruitment works better that webex.
Could you elaborate on your learning experience at INSEAD? What’s typical day of an INSEAD student?Icecream87: No one typical day. Class at 8.30, lunch at noon, group work, sport, club activity, recruitment, drinks at freddy’s, poker night, party, night in paris, travelling on the weekend. You will just be super busy and everyday is different.
Is INSEAD a strong brand in Europe outside France or is there a particular preference to the Bschool of the nation (say IESE in Spain, IMD in Switzerland, etc)?Icecream87: The real rival of INSEAD in Europe is LBS. Not the others. Although it is true that people even in france don’t really know INSEAD. Even in the fontainebleau, which is very funny. But all the people who are supposed to know INSEAD (recruiters) know INSEAD and respect it quite a lot. The other major school in france is HEC which everyone knows for its grande école program. But as far as MBA is concerned, INSEAD is up there alone.
Updated on: 14 Nov 2018, 20:24
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