Calling all INSEAD Applicants (Sept 2016 Intake) Class of July 2017!!

Hate to sound ignorant but what are JS & AO?

I submitted a few days before the deadline and no call so far, wonder if it means I'm dinged?!?
This wait is ineffably annoying....

Not at all - AO is Admissions Officer. You get assigned a specific one for your region when you apply. JS is the initials of one of the admissions officers. I think she handles the applicants from the Asia-Pacific region.

It honestly doesn't matter how many days before the deadline you submit so don't panic yet. It doesn't mean that you've been dinged. If your AO is JS, the interview invites tend to come out either the day before the deadline or on the deadline itself, so I wouldn't worry. The wait is definitely agonising...if you can try to avoid chronic email checking

Had my first interview this morning It was at the interviewer's house and was really casual - he told me he was just about to vacuum when I arrived. He was really nice and there weren't a whole lot of questions asked. He started of telling a bit about himself as his background was entirely different to mine and then got me to talk through my CV, why I wanted to do an MBA and why INSEAD - the usual. Then asked about my goals and about team work and what my leadership style was. He also asked about whether I'd dealt with conflict and what sort of cultural diversity was in my workplace. All the questions were easy to answer and we got along well. He also asked me at the end if there was anything he hadn't asked about that I really wanted to talk about which gave me the chance to throw in a few things about my charity work. The last part of the interview was him answering my questions for him and giving me advice on how to get the most out of the programme.

My second interview is on Monday. Hopefully it goes just as well as this one Good luck to those who still have interviews to come!

Hi Guys,

Did anyone from India who applied in R2 get interview call?

Not yet. Who's your AO?

Sorry.. As I sent my last message, I got an interview invite.

Stefanie Hanny

Congrats! Who is your AO?

Sorry.. As I sent my last message, I got an interview invite. [/quote]

Congrats! Who is your AO?[/quote]


HS

Anyone with Anne Nigl as AO receive interview invites yet?

Congratulations Target MBA.. What's your profile and did you submit much before the deadline?

Are you based out of India or working abroad?

Sounds very positive! Congrats! And good luck with the second one. I found myself more relaxed for the second one as I understood there was, in fact, nothing to worry about

Let me put in my 2 cents there.

Currently live and work in Moscow. Applicant of R1. Had the last of the interviews this Friday.

First interview was with the founder of a boutique M&A firm. The interviewer was pretty reserved. The first person I've heard to be disappointed in academic part of the INSEAD MBA. Took a little less than one hour to finish.

Second interview was with the senior level manager at a major company producing building materials. This interview was more relaxed and the interviewer was much more positive and optimistic and pretty passionate about pursuing MBA. For him it was one of those "before and after" events.

The interviews were different but both interviewers had the questions: what you can bring to INSEAD, why they should accept you, what are your goals for mid-term and more distant future.

If you had good work with your application there will be no stress during these interviews. I strongly advise to be more relaxed during interviews and look at those as an opportunity to get to know how people progressed with their careers, goals thanks to INSEAD. In my case both interviewers were able to change all 3 dimensions of their careers: location, industry and function.

It is also a good idea to check out the LinkedIn profiles of interviewers beforehand.

P. S.: Are there any Russians applying for R1 as well? PM me if you wish to get to know each other better. What a potential for pre-induction team up

Thanks I had an LBS one before any of my INSEAD interviews which was much more intense so I think the second one shouldn't be too bad!

FROM Insead Admissions Blog: Getting to a Deeper Level When There’s No Time

Everyone who has been through an MBA knows that this is one of “the best years of your life” – from the academic education in the classroom to the social life outside of it and everything in between. I don’t think anyone would argue the thing that makes this so true by far, are the people. We spend every waking hour around each other – from the morning coffee chit-chatting about the day ahead followed by classroom time where we get to hear glimpses of each other’s past professional experiences. We then spend a further couple of hours in our study groups feverishly working through the week’s assignments after which we rush off our separate ways to what evening hours we still have left for the numerous additional activities we seem to think we have time for – an industry speaker event, soccer…er, I mean “football” club, organizing that upcoming PE event next week, filling out job applications, reading the 20-page case for tomorrow’s strategy class, or letting loose on the nightclub dance floor. Whatever it is, we are always doing something, which may seem great, but it always feels like we’re moving from one thing to the next, never getting a chance to breathe or even just stop and reflect about the world around us. And when you do manage to find yourself speaking with another breathing living human being, it’s difficult to get beyond the generalities of “how have you been” “what are you doing this weekend / what did you do last weekend” “it’s a busy week, isn’t it?” before one of you is rushing off to the next item slotted in the calendar. So in this year that’s rushing by before our eyes, how do we find the time to get beyond the surface level “how’s it going” generalities and get to real substantiated conversations? In an increasingly digital world, we are already minimizing face-to-face time with those around us and in an environment where time is the most precious commodity of all, turning face-to-face time into real human connection is even tougher. One of our professors asked if students would be interested if he were to arrange weekly lunches where students would get together, sit down, and have an hour dedicated to getting to know one another better. Almost everyone raised their hands. His response was – “Well, why aren’t you doing this already?” It made me question the same thing – it seems we all want that deeper level of connection, yet I find myself often having the same conversations over and over with many of the same people complaining about how busy we are or what’s the next weekend getaway destination. It just seems we never have the time to sit down and naturally allow that superficial conversation to build into something more. We spend so much time around each other, practically 24 hours every day, and yet how much do we really know about each other? Think about the person who sits next to you in class – how much do you really know about their favorite hobbies, what motivates them in life, their family, or even the amazing personal and professional experiences that brought them to INSEAD. Maybe you know what country they’re from, that they used to work in consulting, and even managed to climb a major mountain peak last year. But maybe what you don’t know is that back home they spend their free time volunteering at an orphanage or supporting a local children’s school because basic education access is not a given like it is in your home country. Or maybe that next mountain peak you can’t wait to tackle is their spiritual haven and has a significance beyond anything you’ve realized. Or maybe their parents were one of the thousands laid off in that business case we read in class the other day and was a major turning point in their lives. But you’ll never know because all you talk about is the Singapore haze, class schedules, travel plans to Bali, and class assignment details. All of us have a story to tell and that’s why we got into INSEAD, but very few of us have been able to share our stories. So how do we do it when everyone is running around like loose chickens in a thunderstorm? While studies have shown that intense moments can bring people closer together and this year at INSEAD would definitely classify, I believe it’s not enough as so many of us are constantly being shuffled around. We are flying off to a new destination every weekend and then every two months, many of us will be uprooted and resettled to a different campus. While it’s an intense period nonetheless, the constant change makes it difficult to build those deeper connections as we don’t spend the entirety of the intense period with each other all the way through. So my recommendation to get to that deeper level: just make the conscious effort and time to do so. It’s really that simple, but I know not as easy as it sounds. We are all extremely busy today and when we graduate from INSEAD, we’ll be just as busy tomorrow. But whether we’re in business school or back into the “real world”, the challenge of making deep real personal connections with those around us will always persist. The only solution I’ve come across so far is to just make time and be conscious about it. Get to school early before class starts and meet a colleague for coffee, or use the usual hour free during lunch or dinner. Sometimes the best times are those late night chats with your roommates while you’re just hanging out in the living room. Regardless of when it happens, it’s up to you to make it happen. Instead of always talking about last week’s party or this afternoon’s class schedule, try talking about what’s going on in the world. Economies and governments are changing and with that so are the implications these external forces can have on all of our lives. Ask someone to explain how the political system works in their country. Learn from a classmate about the dynamics of an industry you may not be familiar with. Discuss a social issue – maybe it’s controversial, maybe it’s not, but I guarantee with all the diversity of students around, you’ll learn a thing or two about how differently people see the world (and maybe even question your own ideals). Ask someone about their childhood or previous life experiences – maybe you’ll bond with someone who also lost someone close to them or you’ll better understand certain aspects of that person due to their upbringing and expectations from family. The matter of fact is, there are 500 very different perspectives of the world sitting next to you – take some time to hear out at least a few of them and your own life will only be the better for it.

FROM Insead Admissions Blog1: Getting to a Deeper Level When There’s No Time

Everyone who has been through an MBA knows that this is one of “the best years of your life” – from the academic education in the classroom to the social life outside of it and everything in between. I don’t think anyone would argue the thing that makes this so true by far, are the people. We spend every waking hour around each other – from the morning coffee chit-chatting about the day ahead followed by classroom time where we get to hear glimpses of each other’s past professional experiences. We then spend a further couple of hours in our study groups feverishly working through the week’s assignments after which we rush off our separate ways to what evening hours we still have left for the numerous additional activities we seem to think we have time for – an industry speaker event, soccer…er, I mean “football” club, organizing that upcoming PE event next week, filling out job applications, reading the 20-page case for tomorrow’s strategy class, or letting loose on the nightclub dance floor. Whatever it is, we are always doing something, which may seem great, but it always feels like we’re moving from one thing to the next, never getting a chance to breathe or even just stop and reflect about the world around us. And when you do manage to find yourself speaking with another breathing living human being, it’s difficult to get beyond the generalities of “how have you been” “what are you doing this weekend / what did you do last weekend” “it’s a busy week, isn’t it?” before one of you is rushing off to the next item slotted in the calendar. So in this year that’s rushing by before our eyes, how do we find the time to get beyond the surface level “how’s it going” generalities and get to real substantiated conversations? In an increasingly digital world, we are already minimizing face-to-face time with those around us and in an environment where time is the most precious commodity of all, turning face-to-face time into real human connection is even tougher. One of our professors asked if students would be interested if he were to arrange weekly lunches where students would get together, sit down, and have an hour dedicated to getting to know one another better. Almost everyone raised their hands. His response was – “Well, why aren’t you doing this already?” It made me question the same thing – it seems we all want that deeper level of connection, yet I find myself often having the same conversations over and over with many of the same people complaining about how busy we are or what’s the next weekend getaway destination. It just seems we never have the time to sit down and naturally allow that superficial conversation to build into something more. We spend so much time around each other, practically 24 hours every day, and yet how much do we really know about each other? Think about the person who sits next to you in class – how much do you really know about their favorite hobbies, what motivates them in life, their family, or even the amazing personal and professional experiences that brought them to INSEAD. Maybe you know what country they’re from, that they used to work in consulting, and even managed to climb a major mountain peak last year. But maybe what you don’t know is that back home they spend their free time volunteering at an orphanage or supporting a local children’s school because basic education access is not a given like it is in your home country. Or maybe that next mountain peak you can’t wait to tackle is their spiritual haven and has a significance beyond anything you’ve realized. Or maybe their parents were one of the thousands laid off in that business case we read in class the other day and was a major turning point in their lives. But you’ll never know because all you talk about is the Singapore haze, class schedules, travel plans to Bali, and class assignment details. All of us have a story to tell and that’s why we got into INSEAD, but very few of us have been able to share our stories. So how do we do it when everyone is running around like loose chickens in a thunderstorm? While studies have shown that intense moments can bring people closer together and this year at INSEAD would definitely classify, I believe it’s not enough as so many of us are constantly being shuffled around. We are flying off to a new destination every weekend and then every two months, many of us will be uprooted and resettled to a different campus. While it’s an intense period nonetheless, the constant change makes it difficult to build those deeper connections as we don’t spend the entirety of the intense period with each other all the way through. So my recommendation to get to that deeper level: just make the conscious effort and time to do so. It’s really that simple, but I know not as easy as it sounds. We are all extremely busy today and when we graduate from INSEAD, we’ll be just as busy tomorrow. But whether we’re in business school or back into the “real world”, the challenge of making deep real personal connections with those around us will always persist. The only solution I’ve come across so far is to just make time and be conscious about it. Get to school early before class starts and meet a colleague for coffee, or use the usual hour free during lunch or dinner. Sometimes the best times are those late night chats with your roommates while you’re just hanging out in the living room. Regardless of when it happens, it’s up to you to make it happen. Instead of always talking about last week’s party or this afternoon’s class schedule, try talking about what’s going on in the world. Economies and governments are changing and with that so are the implications these external forces can have on all of our lives. Ask someone to explain how the political system works in their country. Learn from a classmate about the dynamics of an industry you may not be familiar with. Discuss a social issue – maybe it’s controversial, maybe it’s not, but I guarantee with all the diversity of students around, you’ll learn a thing or two about how differently people see the world (and maybe even question your own ideals). Ask someone about their childhood or previous life experiences – maybe you’ll bond with someone who also lost someone close to them or you’ll better understand certain aspects of that person due to their upbringing and expectations from family. The matter of fact is, there are 500 very different perspectives of the world sitting next to you – take some time to hear out at least a few of them and your own life will only be the better for it.

Any updates on R2 interview invites? Last update was from TargetMBA.

Nothing yet. The business of refreshing the inbox continues.
My AO is JS..Last I heard she was on leave. Not sure if anyone has heard from her (or her proxy).Ind male in Spore.

Hi all,

My AO is Anne Nigl as well. Applied in round 2. Waiting for an update.