whiteshields1830 wrote:
gcb09173 wrote:
EMBAs start with 5+ years - but really depends on experience and running a global team would put you in the window.
Yep dont get me wrong, I believe its doable but there's a lot going on and you're going to give all that up to move around the globe - change industry - change function etc. Just a flag to make sure your essays are tight on motivation and how you manage all of these every week - what impact you have really.
I'd say you have a good chance of going into corporate strategy post MBA - an internship would definitely help - but the consultancy pathway is more challenging than straight into Corporate Strat/corporate development especially if you're triple jumping already.
Opportunities for strat roles in US companies may be limited in continental Europe - especially without the business level language - a lot of the these roles are based in regional HQs which are generally London. IESE still offers that opportunity to get into these given you have some French - could learn some Spanish - these language skills and accounting background would be massive advantage - but you may need to move to London post MBA to get a look in as they are often competitive.
LBS is definitely the right school and worth reapplying but i would suggest you work incredibly hard to improve your GMAT score. Knowing accountants coming from the 'Finance' pool getting into LBS - they have 720+ GMAT scores with similar types experiences to you etc. If you had a GMAT that didn't pull on LBS's average, that, with the others mentioned above, would show the profile improvement that might get you a shot at an interview. Insead offers you little that IESE doesnt unless you are set on consulting.
On a secondary point - have you considered Oxford Said and possibly Cambridge Judge? Lack the internship but are rising MBA brand names and the university brands are top 4 in the world. Puts you in the UK and offers the opportunity to jump to Strat/Corp development - they have strong recruitment for diversified industries. Also gives you a massive brand name on your CV back in Australia? Your profile would also be competitive at these schools.
I applied to Oxford and Cambridge last year as well (got accepted to Oxford), but my experience of the administration - maybe bad coincidence - and the career placements didnt make it as attractive as IESE.
Cambridge didnt even give me an interview - which I was quite shocked with considering i had interviews for INSEAD, Oxford and IESE by that point. Ive heard a lot of mixed things about Judge, and it seems like its like the Yale SOM of the USA, where a lot of the prestige rides on the University rather than the business school. Ive also heard from my friends in LBS, IESE and Oxford (maybe a bit bias) that most companies tend to go for the LBS, INSEAD, IESE, IMD as the big 4 in Europe. Obviously outside of LBS and INSEAD, what is classed as "big 4" in Europe is subjective. IMD being industry leaders, INSEAD as consulting and LBS as Finance (i wonder where IESE fits?)
I just find it hard to fathom that industry companies would hire someone into corporate strategy without any management/strategic consulting or investment banking background.
I noticed you said INSEAD is just as equal to IESE in industry? Id thought INSEAD would be stronger in all aspects compared to IESE - in particular consulting since half of INSEAD admits come from a consulting background.
As to the GMAT score, i will be taking it again before applying to LBS - but i dont think I am the 720+ GMAT calibre. If i combined my best Quant score and best verbal score, I would be looking at the 690-700 mark - which would put me at the cusp of the LBS average.
True, I know less about Cambridge but I do believe Oxford has a programme that would get you where you want to go - plenty of the large employers take Said grads but the careers service isn't the same powerhouse at Inseads or LBS - you would have to do a lot of the work yourself but your CV would be strong enough.
If you're going to corp start there is no recognised MBA recruiting process for that - these are often open positions you would be filling and so it would be via recruitment consultants filling the job spec, thats why i think IESE, Oxford etc could get you there just as much as LBS or Insead - the careers office will be less important.
I work in a Group Strategy and Corporate Development role - trained in finance as a charted management accountant - no IB or management consulting. Its very possible to go into this without having been a consultant. Having a strictly Corporate development role might be a challenge if not coming from a IB or Big Four transaction services background but I have had colleagues who have done so - but having the MBA gets you in there too especially given you have the chartered accountancy.
What i was saying was IESE would be as powerful for an industry role on your CV - whereas Insead is the juggernaut is in MC - but that really is in satellite offices across Europe. Your target industry and role will look for a MBA from a good school - the brand name is going to mean little between Insead and IESE. Similar with Oxford etc. If you start talking Hult for instance (a sa much lower ranked and generally unknown programme) then you might start to struggle - but for these types of jobs the MBA is just a 'tick box' exercise. Your experience leading teams, running own consumer business will be what they are more interested in talking about.
In the UK my experience has been that LBS is seen as the top dog and Insead is second place. Everything else is lower tier. IMD, IESE, ESADE, IE etc i have hardly heard anything about and only really learnt anything when i started applying to schools - and I've never met a MBA alumni from those schools in London whereas i've met plenty of Insead and LBS (and Oxford funnily enough) - the continental schools just aren't as prominent, perhaps because of their location alumni look for continental roles, this being London and finance focused , and their smaller size.
But this all by the by I suppose, to answer your question given your motivations above - LBS offers you a great opportunity to achieve your goals and would be worth applying again to at least know for sure. Maybe apply for the Jan intake at Insead, to get the internship, given you managed an interview before but only if you're sure you would prefer it over IESE. But resit the gmat first and aim for the 700 - it'd be worth spending every waking minute studying for it as it really can be learnt (take a course if you can as well).