Ask me anything with LBS Alumnus - Results are in

Great initiative Arro44! Here are a bunch of questions I would like to add to the list.

• How did you prepare for the MBA applications? What do you wish you had done and not done in hindsight?
• Can you describe a typical day in your school?
• How did you navigate the internship recruiting process?
• What advice would you give to someone in the same shoes you were in last year?

Ask him or her:

1. What was your pre-MBA career?
2. Before you were accepted why did you want to do an MBA? How did that goal change throughout your studies and why did it change? (Deep question lol)
3. What was the biggest unknown/ fear before starting at LBS? Was it relocating to London? Finding housing? Financing?

Thank you for the input guys.

I think I´ll keep this thread open until Friday, at this point I would share our list of questions.
It´s quite cool to see this level of participation, the more people share their question the more complete our overall picture is going to be.

Cheers,
Chris

Could you please ask him the proportion of students who get company sponsorship?
I have an impression that LBS prefers sponsorship students relatively to other European schools.(INSEAD, IESE,,,)

Posted from my mobile device

Alright folks, I´ll send out the list tomorrow, do you have any additional questions?

Thank you for the great opportunity, I have the following questions:
1) what is your experience / opinion about the internship recruiting process of LBS, does LBS attract the big players of the market?
2) Is LBS only for people who are focused on working in Europe or does it provide some opportunities in the USA (do american companies regard LBS alumni the same way they would regard someone from Booth for example)
3) Is it true that most companies during the interviews ask for a gmat score and that they tend to require at least a 700 .

Hi,

I would like to add the below questions:
1. How are the masters programs(masters in management/analytics/financing etc) at LBS?
2. What are chances of getting into LBS for masters programs with GRE ?

Thankyou for this opportunity, I would like to add these questions:
1. What do they mainly look up to in Master in Management profiles?
2 Can I get into MiM program with 650 gmat score?

Posted from my mobile device

Thank you for this initiative!

I have the following questions to add:
- What clubs and other activities was he part of and how was his experience with the same?
( I hear that a lot of students love to participate in the MBAT tournament)
- Given the prime location in the heart of London, how are the part-time work opportunities during the second year?
- Depending on if he's a recent alumnus: How has the looming Brexit has affected the MBA job market especially for foreigners (EU and Non-EU), if at all. And how does he foresee the job market reacting to it in the future?

Thanks for the amazing participation!

I have shared the list of questions and will post the respective answers here as soon as I can.

Best regards,
Chris

Brief update;

Our alumn is quite occupied at work but will try to finalize his answer this weekend.

Cheers,
Chris

The results are in!
Thanks a lot to our alumni and MBAPrepCoach for making this possible!

1. What made you choose LBS over other business schools?

Selecting a Business School is a deeply individual choice, so it is hard to derive any lessons from my particular choice. When I applied to Business Schools, I looked for (1) culture, (2) location and (3) recruiting outcomes. LBS has an incredibly diverse and international culture, is one of the top-ranked schools in Europe and sends a large share of students to top consulting firms. I’d recommend visiting the school’s campus to get a feeling for its unique culture.



2. What is your favorite memory associated with your studies at LBS?

There are too many ? I loved my study group experience, the many professional and social treks I took while at LBS and the overall classroom experience. The whole MBA experience is both fun and rewarding – so wherever you end up, you will most likely enjoy your time.



3. Did you feel a decrease in the internationality of your class due to the impending Brexit?

From my experience, the class was as diverse as previous classes. My study group members came from five different continents (North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Australia) and our class represented more than 50 nationalities. In general, I don’t believe that Brexit has had a negative impact on student quality (and diversity) – while some applicants might have been swayed against LBS, there are just as many candidates that picked LBS over a US school because of the current political climate in the US.



4. How did you prepare for the MBA applications? What do you wish you had done and not done in hindsight?

In hindsight, I would spend more time prepping for the GMAT – make sure to get the score you are truly capable of. Moreover, I would spend more time introspecting. It is crucial to understand (1) your career goals (2) your skillset and (3) your overarching narrative. Lastly, I found it particularly helpful to talk to current or former students and would recommend to reach out to people in your network.



5. Can you describe a typical day in your school?

This is very difficult as the experience in the first and second year can vary greatly. A usual day during the core would consist of two or three lectures (e.g. finance, marketing, strategy, operations), a lunch break with the study group and some study group work. In the evening, most students would attend recruiting events (e.g. on campus presentations, dinners) or social events (guest speakers, club events, drinking a beer at the Windsor)



6. How did you navigate the internship recruiting process?

Give yourself some time to explore the various options, make a decision and then focus on that specific industry. In general, the recruiting process varies greatly (approach, timeline, preparation) depending on the industry that you are pursuing. If you are going for IB, consulting, multilaterals or big tech, the process is fairly straightforward. Companies present on campus, you try to form an understanding of the various companies and cultures and you go through a structured application process. If you are successful, you get your offer in February or March. If you are recruiting for less developed internship opportunities (PE, VC, startups) the process is a bit more difficult and involves heavy networking. Most organizations hire “just in time”, so you would get an offer in May or June. In any case, I would recommend focusing on a single industry – there were a few people recruiting for both consulting and investment banking but it is a huge time commitment to prepare for two industries at the same time.



7. What advice would you give to someone in the same shoes you were in last year?

(1) Explore your motivations for the MBA and make an honest assessment of your skills and career goals. (2) Talk to current or former students. (3) Visit the campus of your target schools. (4) Start the application process early. (5) Don’t overthink, you will be fine!



8. What was your pre-MBA career?

Prior to my MBA, I worked in the public sector. I eventually got bored by the bureaucracy and hierarchy so decided to switch careers via an MBA.



9. Before you were accepted why did you want to do an MBA? How did that goal change throughout your studies and why did it change?

Prior to the MBA, I was looking for jobs at the intersection of business and politics. While my overall career aspirations stayed the same, I considered a variety of different options throughout the MBA. In the end, every career decision should not only involve your interests and preferences, but also an honest assessment of your skills and experience.



10. What was the biggest unknown/ fear before starting at LBS? Relocating to London, finding housing or maybe Financing?

I was pretty unsure if I was able to deal with the workload – both from a work/life-balance perspective (as a former civil servant I was used to 35 hrs of work per week ?) and from a content perspective (Finance, Accounting). In the end, everything worked out well. LBS has a great support system consisting of formal institutions (career service, student association, programme office) and informal networks (stream, study group, clubs) to help you deal with the workload.



11. What was the share of sponsored students in your class?

Honest answer: Not sure – there are a bunch of ex-MBB consultants but I don’t have data on the exact number of sponsored students.



12. What clubs and other activities were you part of and how was your experience with the same?

The most valuable resource during an MBA is time, so you will always need to make tradeoffs. In hindsight, I wish I would have engaged more in social clubs (e.g. soccer club) and spent less time with recruiting and more academic/career-focuses clubs. I was pretty active in the Business & Government club and joined many tech club events (e.g. tech trek to San Francisco, Dublin, Berlin)



13. Given the prime location in the heart of London, how are the part-time work opportunities during the second year?

I reckon that almost 50% of all students pursue some form of internship or part-time work during their second year – it’s super easy to network with alumni in London and a lot of students tried out internships in PE or VC funds. Other students used the flexibility to start companies or work for startups. The options are almost limitless. The downside of the optionality is that campus sometimes feels a bit deserted for second year students as most other 2nd-years only come for occasional lectures and club events.



14. How has the looming Brexit affected the MBA job market especially for foreigners (EU and Non-EU), if at all.

Moreover, how do you foresee the job market reacting to it in the future?

Hard to say. I focused on consulting and had no issue getting offers in London (as EU citizen). I have heard that it can be considerably more difficult if you are trying to recruit in the finance sector. In the end, LBS has a superb brand recognition in London and many students manage to secure jobs via the network. Nevertheless, it might get more difficult depending on (1) the manner of Brexit and (2) regulatory changes the Johnson administration might pursue in the future

Congrats on the admission!

My friend, I am glad you have graduated from LBS and running your own admissions consulting company. That is awesome but I am afraid your post is still SPAM. Please consider contributing and actually helping rather than posting one-liners that don't fit the context.

Thank you!

Hi!

Could you kindly share your thoughts on the requirement for work experience at LBS? I got the interview but felt a little insecure about my chances. I have only ~3.5 years of WE at matriculation and some internships and voluntary work. LBS seems to favor candidates with more experience. What’s the motivation behind that inclination? Is there something I can do to help ease the concerns about lack of experience?

Thanks!

Posted from my mobile device

How did the the LBS Career Centre adjust/support its graduating students get internships/post-MBA employment given the Covid-19?

mbadream20 I think its too early to say what the wider implications of covid are with respect to employment. There are a lot of webinars hosted by the LBS careers team which you can attend or you can drop them an email.