Calling all Kelley (Indiana) Applicants: (2016 Intake) Class of 2018!!

FROM Kelley MBA Blog: Why Rocky never gets old

by Nicolette Michele Johnson, Associate Director of Kelley School's Graduate Career Services Nicolette Michele Johnson I was introduced to Ryan Coogler, the twenty-something creator and director of Creed, the seventh film in the Rocky series, while watching The Daily Show with Trevor Noah last weekend (I often record the show and watch a week’s worth in one sitting.) Coogler told Noah that he was focusing on football in college when his college writing instructor called his dorm room, asking him to stop by her office, which was nearby. Coogler said that he thought that he had done something wrong or would be told something bad. However, when he arrived and to his surprise, his instructor complimented his writing ability and encouraged him to continue to writing. With that seemingly small piece of encouragement, he continued to write and later attended USC’s School of Cinematic Arts before directing his first feature film Fruitvale Station, a Sundance Film Festival winner, and the subsequent Creed film for which Sylvester Stallone just won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. I’m always amazed at how simple words of encouragement can do so much to help people -- move forward or bask in greatness right then and there. A simple positive comment can spark a special something in someone for only a few minutes or perhaps a lifetime, if the person really lets it sink in. I recently participated in a coaching training class, where we focused on helping people work through their feelings and impressions about their present circumstances. One common practice in the class, like in the ones prior, was to verbally “acknowledge” another person’s good qualities. The class was filled with adult professionals, who may not be quite as receptive to "acknowledgment" as more impressionable young people. Regardless, I believe that acknowledging adults also carries a strong influence, although we may need more of it to overcome the limiting self-talk that gets in the way, especially when positive affirmations are less sticky than negative thoughts. I’ve done my share of acknowledging the greatness in people. But I haven’t done enough. There are too many people, especially kids with uncelebrated capability, who aren't aware of their greatness or potential. Beginning in 2016, I’ll make a point to acknowledge (hopefully with soul-stirring impact at least on occasion) the greatness in others and devise ways to reach those for whom acknowledgment will have the greatest positive impact. If you have suggestions for acknowledgment or examples of how you do it, please let me know. “Why Rocky never gets old” was originally published on LinkedIn Pulse on January 12, 2016.

FROM Kelley MBA Blog: Everything I Needed to Get through My MBA, I Learned from Yoga

Jordan Leopold By Jordan Leopold, MBA'16 I started mentoring a group of first year students through the leadership academy as a part of my growth and development as I continue on my MBA journey. Last week in one of my coaching meetings, I caught myself saying, “Take inventory of yourself and what you need and let go of what you don’t”.  I realized that I was reciting the words of my yoga instructor from the particularly steamy class I had taken the night before. Later on when reflecting back, I came to the realization that so much of what got me through the first year of my MBA, I learned on a 71”x 24” rubber mat. I have been practicing yoga now for about three years and I am still terrible at it.  As a former college athlete, I do not take kindly to being bad at things. Despite my lack of headstands, splits or generally any cool trick, I have gained so much from developing a consistent practice and have carried those lessons off my mat and into the halls of the Kelley School of Business. Here are a few of the things I’ve learned: Lesson 1 - Leave Your Ego at the Door Did I mention I’m really bad at yoga?  When learning more advanced poses, there is a high risk of toppling over in a grand fashion time after time.  But one of those times when you flail yourself up into one of the seemingly impossible positions, you won’t fall and all of those other times when you crumpled into a sweaty heap will be forgotten.  Kelley is very much the same experience.  I failed a lot in my first year.  I bombed exams.  I bombed interviews. I applied for many jobs I didn’t get. However, I also took first prize in a national case competition and scored internship offers from my dream companies.  At Kelley, we are encouraged to take risks and not all of those risks work out. But the way this community celebrates our successes and lifts us up from our disappointments makes it that much easier to jump again. Lesson 2 - Keep your eyes on your own mat This was one of the hardest lessons for me to learn both in yoga and in business school.  In yoga class, I invariably end up next to the bendy dancer who seems to be incapable of sweating.  I could spend all class glancing over at her to see what crazy position she had gotten herself into but that wouldn’t serve me.  If I allowed myself to be intimidated by other yogis, I would never show up to class and what good would that do me?  Same goes for business school.  Being at Kelley, I am constantly surrounded by amazingly smart people. We are all on our own MBA journeys together but we are all moving at our own pace.  It’s great to have a benchmark but you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to keep up with everyone else.  It’s important to know yourself and be able to let go of those things that aren’t serving you as you work towards your goals. Lesson 3- It’s brave to ask for help Help in yoga comes in a lot of different forms. You can use props like a strap or block to help you get into certain poses. Another form of help is to retreat into a static, resting pose in the middle of class while everyone else continues to move and flow. It took me a long time to get used to incorporating these tools into my practice. I wanted to look like a strong, solid yogi who could hold the pose without “cheating” but didn’t realize that I was compromising my form and ultimately risking injury by pushing myself beyond my limits. As I’ve started to practice more, I have embraced these assisting tools and it has had the most profound impact on my yoga experience. At Kelley, we have unlimited resources at our disposal. You will run into problems as you navigate through business school and I wish I had spent more time getting to know every single person in GCS, the different resources in the MBA office and the faculty members and bravely asking for help and support as I moved through my first year. These amazing people want to help you achieve your goals and love to celebrate your successes. Your Kelley classmates are also an amazing support system. Despite being in a competitive environment, I am always humbled by my classmates and their wiliness and desire to go the extra mile for me.  Kelley is a reciprocal environment.  I am constantly learning from my classmates and I work just as hard to help them through this process as well. Lesson 4- Shavasana- Rest is good It’s also important to force yourself to take a step back from the program every now and again and check in with yourself.  I learned so much in my first year but as I look back, the biggest impact Kelley has had on me was my own personal growth. Sometimes I got caught up in the rat race but allowing myself to take a moment, a night, a weekend for myself helped me re-center and focus on why I went back to school to get my MBA in the first place: to become not only a better marketer but also a better leader and person.  Kelley is a unique community and having the courage to ask others for help will immeasurably improve your MBA experience. The lessons above are just a few of many that I’ve taken away from my yoga practice that have gotten me through the last year.  Honestly, I may always be terrible at yoga.  However, I will continue to show up because although I might not be reaping the benefits of my work in the studio, yoga has given me the confidence and the poise to perform in class, in team environments and in the interview room. That makes every bead of sweat and face plant worth it.

I submitted my application on Jan 5 and haven't received an interview invite yet. What are my chances?

Dear Kelley..


Please send something............... Its been a long time.............



Love,
mspmet

Any fresh invites ?? I submitted my app on 5th jan , haven't heard anything back....

Nope

I have my interview on campus this friday. Any common questions I should be prepared for?

Just finished my interview with 2nd year student. Got following questions:
1. Walk me through your Resume
2. Why MBA
3. Why Kelley
4. Work in Teams, how did you contribute and best accomplishment
5. Leadership style
6. Anything else you would like to share
And some other minor questions. 2nd year students they just shoot the questions at you, it feels more like interrogation rather than conversation. Good luck to all.

You dont reeeeeally think they will wait until March 15 to notify anyone of admission do you? I had my interview with them about 3 weeks ago, so Im hoping they do a wave of notification letters before the march 15 date (fingers crossed!)

Good luck to all for interviews! We would really appreciate if interviewed applicants could post their interview debriefs on our newly launched Bschool review system - https://gmatclub.com/reviews/business_schools/ (Click on 'Create your Own Review', then select 'Business Schools' -- School Name -- Program Name -- Admission Interview)

Hi everybody,

I had my interview with a second-year student on January 19.

My interview was not easy, but I felt it went well. My interviewer was nice, but she asked more about leadership than I expected.

Each interviewer can ask pretty much whatever they want, but the questions tend to focus on the following concepts. If you can answers these questions with genuine developed ideas, you should do great.


1. Walk me through your resume.

2. Why Kelley?

3. What are your career goals? Be able to answer both short and long term.

4. What is your plan B for career goals?

5. Tell me about a time when you faced adversity or failure or success or etc? Use the STAR method: situation, task, action, result.

Last I would say that you should try to be yourself. The interviewers probably talk with dozens of people that say the same thing. If you are honest and calm, you will be more able to show how mature and unique you are. Then, you will have more chances to stand out.

I wish you guys all the best! Good luck!

FROM Kelley MBA Blog: Latin America: The Land of Opportunity

Clinical Professor of International Business Roberto García introduces the first speaker at the Doing Business in Latin America conference. Guillermo Kalen By Guillermo Kalen, MBA ‘17 Every year, the Institute for Global Organizational Effectiveness (IGOE) and the Latin MBA Association organize an event focused on Latin America. This year we had a conference titled “Doing Business in Latin America," which dealt with the importance of Latin America and the US economy and how to position yourself for a career in the region. Roberto García, clinical professor of International Business and a member of the Management and Entrepreneurship department at Kelley, opened the event with a very special introduction: Jose Eduardo Claro, a Kelley alum who was a member of the first GLOBASEproject, one in which García himself participated, has become a successful program within the business school that helps Kelley form and strengthen its relationships around the world. Claro, a current Embraco/Whirlpool manager in Brazil, focused his presentation on solving two main questions: What is the importance of Latin America for corporate America? Will Latin American remain important for the US? Jose was able to not only to demonstrate the impact of Latin America on the U.S. economy, but also the opportunities American businesses have in the region through a presentation filled with useful and relevant statistics. For example, Walmart in the U.S. has one store for every 65,000 people, while Latin America only has one store for every 320,000 people. Another great example was Netflix. It has a current household penetration of 36% in the U.S., but only 0.9% in Latin America. He ended his presentation by sharing that there are some roadblocks in the region, but there is also opportunities. Next, Erick Arnberg gave a presentation. Arnberg is currently a digital strategist at Google with experience in the U.S., Mexico and Sweden. His approach was to compare Sweden, U.S. and Mexico in different cultural dimensions (Hofstede’s theory). He compared the countries in six main dimensions: power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, and long-term vs. short-term orientation. It was very interesting to see that not only did Sweden and the U.S. share some cultural dimensions, but so did Mexico and the U.S. One thing was clear: Mexico thrives in uncertainty, values traditions, and relationships—key things to know when doing business with there. After a brief break, Herman Aguinis, Founding and Managing Director of IGOE and the John F. Mee Chair in Management, talked about the Institute for Global Organizational Effectiveness; while Eric Johnson, Director of Kelley’s Graduate Career Services, introduced the second part of the conference: positioning yourself for a career in Latin America. Roberto Cortez, Financial Advisory Services Director at Deloitte (Dallas), shared his experience in restructuring Deloitte South America, and the aspects anyone considering a career in Latin America should consider in order to be successful. The idea is to evaluate both yourself and your destination in geographic, technical, cultural, and both short and long term views. It was a very interesting presentation on how to identify intent and skills, define value, and recognize potential hurdles. Overall, he focused on the diversity of experiences, cultures and needs in Latin America, and its potential for growth and development. Our last presenter was Scott Dorman, Marketing Director for General Mills in Mexico City and also a Kelley alumnus. Visionary leadership, acting with agility and the importance of influence were his main take-aways from his experience in Mexico. Latin America not only has potential, but is growing quickly. In conclusion: We learned that Latin America is a place with impressive opportunity, rapid growth and of great importance for the U.S. The best way to be successful is by learning its culture, focusing on relationship-building, and leveraging those experiences and skills to generate value in the region. It was Warren Buffett that said “You can’t make a good deal with a bad person.” So, let’s start to use some Latin American strategies in our future business dealings! From left to right: Miguel Cruz, MBA'16;  Roberto Cortez, Financial Advisory Services Director at Deloitte; Herman Aguinis, Professor of Organizational Behavior & Human Resources and Managing Director of IGOE; César Sánchez, MBA'16 and President of the Latin MBA Association; Jesús Salinas, MBA'16, Erick Arnberg, Digital Strategist at Google, Sweden; Jose Eduardo Claro, Manager at Whirlpool/Embraco, Brazil; and Scott Dorman, Marketing Director at General Mills, Mexico City

Hey Guys,
I have a question, is there anyway at all to check the application status?

I submitted my application on the 3rd Jan and haven't heard back from them. Just wondering...

They usually start about a week before the deadline, and they WILL continue until the 15th deadline.

You should have received an email confirming receipt of your application and indicating that they do not share a status but will let you know if they need more informaiton.

Any new invites ??? I am waiting since 5th Jan..no news at all.

Talked to Brad with whom I interviewed around 3 weeks ago...got reply that decisions will be sent via email by mid march...would be tough for me to wait for kelley or other US schools...will have to submit notice to employer by 15th march since ISB session commences by 16th April.

Seriously I can't wait until mid march, I need to let other schools know and start finding a place to live before then lol

I had my interview on January 28th. I submitted my application on December 26th and got an interview invite on January 9th. I found the interview to be the opposite of what others were saying. It was very conversational. My interviewer was a 2nd year, and he asked me what I liked about my job now, what had been my greatest challenge in that roll, my greatest accomplishment in that roll, etc. He never tried to stump me or asked any particularly difficult questions. It genuinely felt like he was just trying to get to know me to see if my personality and experience would fit well with Kelley. Waiting anxiously to hear back! I was really hoping to hear back before March; it's so far away!