INSEAD January 2016 Intake (Class of December 2016)

Just finished first interview with the COO of one of the biggest (international) financial services firms of the continent.

It was easygoing and friendly, and he was very, very inspiring in his humility and philosophies around work and life. Usual questions were asked: Why MBA, Why INSEAD, Why now. If my long-term goal is entrepreneurship, then why MBA and MBB? He asked this with the preface of 'forget about the interview for a moment, I just want to give you some advice personally ...'.

I had sent him my essays beforehand which he had read. At the end of the interview he said that looking at my application form he was like 'meh', but when he read my essays he was very impressed. He said 'ok just so that I can put your mind at ease for the next few days, I will definitely recommend you to INSEAD'.

I asked some stupid questions, but questions I honestly cared to hear the answers to, like bringing a pet to INSEAD, and what his leadership style is (prefaced by me saying that I don't get that many opportunities to pick the brain of many accomplished managers such as himself, so I'd be extremely interested to know in order to have some sounding board material for my own leadership style.)

My single biggest piece of advice is to be honest, and receptive to what they have to say. This is not just an interview to get into INSEAD, but also a fantastic opportunity to speak with some very accomplished leaders, and people.

Next interview should be before Sunday, he still needs to confirm because the nature of his schedule is very last minute.

Good luck to everyone !

Completed both interviews, typical questions. And one of them said according to insead's suggestion, he needed to play poker face... Lol.

Does anyone know when they will start to release decisions? I know the deadline, just wondering how early it could be.

From what's been posted so far, I think most of the interviews are along similar lines. Here's my debrief on both interviews. All questions pretty much came out in both interviews, with some variation in how they were phrased. Ones unique to second interview are presented in different colour.

Question 1: So tell me about yourself, how you got to where you are today?

I described how I ended up in my current job, where I went to university and what I did in uni, and key themes of my career so far. Obviously, this shouldn't be a chronological retelling. I did emphasize a few key themes:
- circumstances (from college and work) that instigated my interest in consulting.
- emphasized international experiences, having lived in the US and Europe for short periods (6 months each).

Question 2: What were some challenges you faced in your work?

Again, described my multicultural working experiences, collaborating with partners from different countries
- Emphasized difficulties in cross-cultural communication and cooperation - different expectations, working norms, etc.

Question 3: How did you overcome these challenges?

Explain how I overcame the cultural differences
- open communications.
- To overcome language barriers, show rather than tell.
- Providing relevant case studies for the partners to understand our needs.

Question 4: (Related to previous) So would you say you're satisfied with what you achieved?

Explained that in terms of the overall project, we were the first in the world to implement a new technology.
- Hence lots of unknown unknowns.
- Highlight my role in experimentation and trials (showing analytical rigour in my work, able to push new frontiers)

Question 4: Tell me about how you work in a team setting.

Showed that have the ability to adopt different styles of teamwork/leadership depending on the situation. I explained that in my experience leading high-performing teams, I enjoyed and appreciated multiple inputs and perspectives. Then explained that I was also able to remain task-focused, to strongly lead a team when there is no consensus.
- I think what may be key here is to show that you are able to connect and work effectively together with teams with diverse cultures, personalities and styles.
- Second interviewer actually asked me what I would bring to a team, specifically in the INSEAD setting. I explained the same. Ability to change leadership/team-player style to adapt to the demands of the situation. While embracing diversity of views, able to work towards achieving goals.

Question 5: Why are you pursuing an MBA now?

Explained my aspirations and how I am seeking a new challenge, and a new area to grow in.

Question 6: (Super random) How would you estimate the number of cups of coffee this cafe chain sells in a typical month?

Not so random considering my stated post-MBA goals. Did the standard (i'm assuming) snapshot of the cafe capacity at that time, extrapolated a churn rate based on observations in the past 30 minutes, multiply by the number of time periods in a day, and apply relevant discounts for lower-traffic days (weekdays since we were at a residential area) to arrive at total monthly sales volume.

Also asked me a little on what I would consider when evaluating the possibility of investing in said cafe chain. Explained my views - I would evaluate a business based on its possibility of scaling into other parts of Asia. Shared some views on various Asian economies.

At the end, as standard, I asked him a few questions about his experience. Asked him what he did pre-MBA, and how he managed the change of careers, and how his INSEAD experience was. Pretty generic, but I guess he felt involved enough to drag the conversation on by another 15-20 minutes. In all, I took about 80 minutes.

For second interviewer, I took the opportunity to ask him his thoughts n choosing between a US school and INSEAD (I explained to him that I was accepted at Kellogg). He was frank and shared my perspective that it would boil down to where I wanted to work post-MBA.

*Random thoughts - so many people posting asking about whether interview invites have been sent, fretting about decisions, etc. Yet, not many are coming forward with debriefs on their own interviews. Life is busy, yes. Do remember that INSEAD looks for people who can collaborate well. Good luck everyone.

Completed my first interview a couple of days back...Extremely conversational , nothing out of the ordinary and it seemed like a genuine attempt to get to know me and my story.All the standard questions were asked and my interviewer stopped me and dug deeper whenever he considered necessary.

My suggestion to everyone who is yet to interview,be confident about your story ! There is a reason why you have been invited to interview,show them you really are the person you represented in your application and the interviews should go just fine

Besides that , If anyone wants to talk or discuss my experience in further detail just shoot me a PM and i will do my best to help out.

Best of luck to all !

Just submitted four scholarship applications, and will submit my last one tonight. Anyone else applying for scholarships?

I have my second interview tomorrow evening at a bar ... he has already read my essays and decided to call my employer (they used to sit on a board together), and he said to her that I am a strong candidate. I presume the bar setting is because he just wants to check that I'm not boring?

Perhaps not. We'll see.

Just submitted scholarship essay. How many other people applied? Curious what percentage of applicants apply.

Applied for 2 scholarships and finished my second interview yesterday.

Second interview was more relaxed than the first one with usual questions like why INSEAD? Why MBA? Why Consulting (for me) etc

Now lets hope for the best! Good luck folks!

I've just submitted for R2, let the wait begin.

Had my second interview yesterday. It was a bit of an odd one. It was with a younger person who is a neurosurgeon, and we met at a bar, and he ordered a beer so I followed suit. It was pretty much entirely conversational, and he was questioning me quite a lot on my answers, especially around why I would waste my money and time on an MBA and then MBB if my long term ambition was to be an entrepreneur.

It still felt like we connected on certain things. He was obviously an extremely clever person, which made him a little on the odd perhaps and difficult to read. There were times where I felt like an idiot. He was very nice but intimidating.

Prior to the interview he had read my essays, and called one of the partners at my firm (who he had sat on a board of directors with some years ago) to ask about me, as sort of a reference check. In that conversation, he told her that I am a very strong candidate, and he asked if I was just a work horse who has no hobbies. She said I do have hobbies, surfing etc etc.

Not really sure how to feel now. My first interviewer said that he will definitely recommend me, whilst this second one did not say anything, even when he replied to my thank you email with "Pleasure to meet you. Good luck."

Anyway, now I can only wait.

Good luck everyone !

Just submitted my R2 application (nothing like cutting it fine!). Best of luck to everyone waiting to hear back.

Just submitted my R2 application. Good luck to all applicants!

Mind if I ask where you're applying from and your GMAT?

Was trying to submit my application now, 23-00 CET, 22 of April - the portal says deadline is passed...
Application inactive now, frustrated to death....

Hi, the INSEAD website says that the final decision notification for Round 1 is on 13th May. Does anyone know if they will be announcing on 13th May or will they start announcing before that date, just as they had done for the interviews?

Hi there,

could somebody who got an offer from INSEAD tell me how much time there is between the admission decision and the deadline of the offer?
If you also know, if INSEAD is flexible in this regards, i.e. willing to extend the deadline of offers, that would also be interesting to me.

Thank you!

Hi,

Its usually about a month (28 days), you get a deadline to accept the offer and need put a non-refundable deposit to hold your place by the deadline date.
Not sure how flexible INSEAD is in regards to that.

Hope it helps

Goodluck.

September R1 they started notifying 3-4 days before the deadline for decisions. Pretty steady for all subsequent rounds and seems to hold true for previous intakes as well.