The interview reports found at clearadmit.com and accepted.com make it clear that you need to know your resume completely as you will be asked about content in it ("Walk me through your resume"). Review it carefully and consider what your interviewer might ask you to explain more thoroughly. If it is on your resume, it is fair game.
My colleagues Steve Green and Jessica King have compiled and organized the following list of common Haas MBA questions based on publicly available reports.
WHY MBA/HAAS
-Tell me about yourself / Take me through your resume (be prepared to explain why/how you changed jobs)
-Why an MBA?
-Why part-time?
-Career goals?
-Why now?
-What will you contribute to Haas?
-Are there any clubs/activities that do not exist that you would like to start?
BEHAVIORAL QUESTIONS (For my advice on behavioral questions, see my post on MIT.)
Leadership
-A challenging leadership/teamwork experience.
-A time you led a group.
-A time when you were a humble leader.
Teamwork
-A time you failed/were on a team that failed.
-A time you displayed good teamwork.
-A time a team member was not pulling his/her own weight
Interpersonal skills
-A
time when you met resistance/faced a conflict in a professional
setting, either with a team or a person. How did you deal with it?
-A time you faced an interpersonal challenge.
-A time you received constructive feedback and how you responded.
Berkeley-esque questions
-A time you advocated for change/going in a different direction.
-A time you took a risk.
-A time you did something really innovative.
-A time you made an impact at the office.
-Something you wish you could have done differently.
GENERAL QUESTIONS
Professional
-How would you describe your management/leadership style?
-How do you define “leadership?” Give an example.
-How would your boss, co-workers, subordinates describe you? Friends? (give both strengths and weaknesses)
-3 strengths? 3 weaknesses?
Personal
-What book are you currently reading?
-Putting
aside your professional life, tell me about your personal life and the
activities that define you (he honed in on the "other interests" section
of the resume right from the start)
-Tell
me about your process for self-reflection. How do you define/measure
success and then evaluate whether you've been successful in a particular
situation?
-Tell me something about yourself that’s not on your resume.
-What do people like about you?
As you can see from the above, you need to be prepared to answer routine MBA questions, some of which might be asked in a behavioral style. It is important that you be prepared to show your fit to Haas and be well prepared to answer the above Berkeley-esque questions. Remember BILD!
I see no reports and have not been told about any trick questions really. Be prepared to ask questions about the program. If you have an alum interview, be prepared to have a number of questions.
Interviewers (students, adcom, or alumni) are usually friendly and consistently try to create a very relaxed interview atmosphere. Most interviews are conducted with students on-campus or alumni off-campus. I did read some reports of relatively weak student interviewers, so don't be surprised if this should happen. Regardless of how your interviewer performs, just be relaxed and positive. This is an interview about fit and your own potential, so make sure you can explain in depth why you want to attend Haas, how you will contribute to it, and what you intend to do afterwords. Previous contact with alum, visits to campus, and/or intensive school research are all great ways to prepare.
Campus interviews are scheduled for 30 minutes and usually last 30-45 minutes. Alum interviews seems to last about 45 minutes to an hour.
Click here to find out about my interview preparation services.
-Adam Markus
I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.
Here
I discuss INSEAD's essays for
September (Class of July 2013) 2012 intake and the January (Class of December 2013) 2013 intake. The questions are taken
from the PDF. INSEAD changed the essays for the first time in many years. In
2011, INSEAD changed the essays for the first time in many years. The
deadlines for September 2012 and January 2013, can be found here. As of January 30, 2012, the deadlines for the September 2013 intake are not yet on the INSEAD website.
Over
the years, I have had an opportunity to work with a large number of
clients admitted to INSEAD. I have had 5 client admitted for 2012 so
far, 6 clients admitted for 2011, 3 for 2010, 2 for 2009, and 2 for
2008. Testimonials from clients admitted to INSEAD can also be found here.
In September 2011, I visited the Singapore campus. My report can be found here.
The
INSEAD application, which a PDF based thing is a bit different from
most other business school's online applications. No resume is required,
so providing as complete an answer to all application form questions is
especially important.
"ADAM:
Regarding professional experience, what to do you look for in younger
(very early twenties) and older (late twenties or thirties) applicants?
DEBORAH:
For all applicants we want to see a track record of professional
accomplishments that sets them apart from their peers. For those with
only 1-2 years of professional experience, they must demonstrate
something distinctive in their profile, perhaps they have started their
own company. I would suggest, it is in the benefit of all younger
applicants to work for a minimum of two years before applying to
business school as they will get more out of the programme if they have
experiences to reflect back on. For older applicants, we are looking
for a strong professional track record and clear goals toward career
change or advancement. If an older applicant has been in the same role
for five years that might not demonstrate potential for growth, overall
ambition or success relative to his/her peers."
Based
on my experience with INSEAD applicants, the above statement from
Deborah is completely accurate. INSEAD is relatively forgiving of
those with limited (1-2 years) of professional experience as long as
there is something distinctive about their background, but for most
applicants, INSEAD is expecting to see a clear pattern of career
growth. While INSEAD can actually be quite flexible about the level of
international experience that an applicant has, when it comes to those
with 3-10+ years of experience, career growth really matters.
Deborah's comment about applicants in the same position for five years
is also really telling as it points to the fact that INSEAD is looking
for applicants who are not complacent. Keep in mind that an INSEAD
admission committee consists of faculty and alumni and the later, in
particular, are likely to have clear expectations of what good career
growth looks like.
I
think it is also important to keep in mind that a business background
is not a necessity for admission to INSEAD, but that good professional
experience is. See here.
Based on my experience working with clients coming from a variety of
professions, I can say that having a non-business, but solid
professional career, can be a real advantage.
As
I already mentioned, keep in mind that INSEAD does not require a CV or
resume. Therefore these job essays below are critical pieces of the
application. As you will see, the INSEAD application has relatively
limited space to discuss your past experience in typical resume style.
You should consider that these essays will really provide INSEAD with
their primary interpretation of your career.
1.
Briefly
summarise your current (or most recent) job, including the nature of
work, major responsibilities, and, where relevant, employees under your
supervision, size of budget, clients/ products and results achieved.
(250 words maximum)
This
is a very straightforward question for most applicants. For those who
are unemployed, I suggest you write about your last position held.
You want to focus on both major responsibilities and major results. Since
results (accomplishments) are likely to be specifically connected to
responsibilities, I would prioritize them in your description. I
think for many applicants, the easiest way to organize this essay will
be in terms of discussing their 2-4 most important results and/or
responsibilities. Here is one possible organizational scheme.
1. Brief introduction indicating the nature of the position and employer. 50 words.
2. Most important responsibility that lead to a result. 50-100 words.
The
Details: If you don't have employees working during under your
supervision, you should still indicate any project-based and/or
team-based leadership. As with a resume or CV include any numbers that
will help INSEAD understand the extent of your results or
responsibilities. Even approximate quantification is better than no
quantification if it helps to positively showcase your career.
Keep
in mind that you should be focused on your job, not on your
personality. Interpret your job, don't just summarize it. Explain why
the work you do is significant.
2.
Please give us a full description of your career since graduating from
university. If you were to remain with your present employer, what
would be your next step in terms of position? (250 words)
This essay should be a growth story.
If it is not a story that shows how your career has positively
evolved, it is unlikely to be very effective. You might be unemployed
at the moment, but what has been the trajectory so far? Did you take a
big risk along the way? Point that out. We each have our career ups
and downs, especially anyone who has taken risks. Don't shy away from
discussing the risks, but the overall focus of this essay should be
positive. In my experience, INSEAD rewards those who take risks and
does not look kindly on those that stay in the same position for five
years or more. Change or become boring! If you have been working in
the same position for five years or more, you will need to really show
how you have demonstrated growth in terms of results or
responsibilities, which would have been primarily discussed in Job
Essay 1.
In
terms of organizing this essay, think about the key turning points in
your career. Help INSEAD understand how you have evolved
professionally. Assume that you are being judged critically and
consider how to both effectively and honestly present your career.
The
final part of this question is what I would call an "opportunity cost"
question, in other words, by going to INSEAD, you will be sacrificing
the opportunity to take the next step at your current employer. If you
are unemployed, the way to handle this question is to discuss the kind
of position you would obtain if you were not seeking an MBA. For
everyone else, I think you should be realistic, but also present the
best possible version of your next position, which will show that you
are seeking an MBA to move beyond what would follow without it. A bad
answer to this question would involve identifying a next step that is
the same as the short term goal you discuss later in Essay 4 because
this would undermine much of the value of obtaining an MBA. I think
INSEAD asks this question not only to determine whether you have a clear
sense of your career trajectory, but also to confirm that you have
thought deeply about what you are sacrificing by pursuing an MBA. Given
the need to analyze your entire career development, for most
applicants, I would suggest providing a brief (50 words or less) answer
to this part of the question.
3.
If you are currently not working, what are you doing and what do you
plan to do until you start the MBA programme? (250 words maximum)
This
is the only completely new question on the INSEAD application. It is a
good addition as there was no place other than optional essay for
applicants who are not working to discuss their situation. I think it
is critical to provide a honest answer to the question and one that
hopefully shows that you are using your time well. Possible topics to
discuss:
1. Learning activities (NOT APPLICATION PREP PLEASE! That would be really weak)
2. Language learning
3. Internships
4. Volunteer activities
5. Travel
The Essays
THE WORD COUNTS ARE NOW LISTED WITH MAXIMUMS. This a change from prior years were approximate counts were given.
1.
Give a candid description of yourself, stressing the personal
characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the
main factors, which have influenced your personal development, giving
examples when necessary. (600 words maximum)
With
a question like this I think it is important to understand that you
are actually being asked to think about your strengths and weaknesses
in terms of your overall personality and development. What is
important here is provide both an analysis about specific
characteristics of yourself and to help admissions understand who you are. YOU NEED TO TELL A COMPELLING STORY ABOUT WHO YOU ARE AS A PERSON! I put this in bold because I get far too many essays from my clients that end up focusing on professional content, that don't focus on personality and personal background, or are otherwise not really effective portraits. When I get such initial drafts, I usually either write really long comments or have a conversation with my client restating my analysis here. Think of this essay as a highly focused portrait of yourself that will give admissions great insight into your life story and your characteristics (strengths and weaknesses). The most effective answers here consistently combine revealing parts of the applicant's personality and background while discussing strengths and weaknesses.
Obviously the strengths and weaknesses should be ones that relate to
your character, not to a skill set. Given the word count, I suggest
focusing on no more than about two strengths and two weaknesses. I
would try to give fairly equal consideration to both weaknesses and
strengths.
EMBRACE WEAKNESS!
I find that many applicants resist writing about their own weaknesses,
yet to do so reveals self-awareness and maturity. While I think it
is necessary to practice good judgment when writing about weakness, I
think it is also important that you provide something beyond the
routine.
One standard defensive strategy that many applicants seem drawn to is
to write about knowledge or skill areas where they are weak, but this
is not suitable for INSEAD's question because they want you to stress
personal characteristics.
STRENGTHS
Compared to weaknesses, strengths are easier for most people to write
about. Given the limited space here, you might find it helpful to
write about a strength here that is discussed in greater detail in
another essay. In other words, you might discuss the origins of one your key strengths and trace its connection to your personal or professional accomplishments.
IS IT A GOOD STRENGTH OR WEAKNESS?
Some questions to ask yourself:
1. Does the strength demonstrate one's potential for future academic
and/or professional success? If so it is a probably a good topic. If
not, why does INSEAD need to know about it?
2. Is a weakness fixable? If you are writing about a weakness that
cannot be improved upon through your program at INSEAD, why do they
need to know about it?
3. If your strength or weakness is not related to leadership, why does INSEAD need to know about it?
Finally, if you are having difficulty thinking about your strengths
and weaknesses in relation to your future academic and professional
goals, please see my analysis of Essay 4 because in it I discuss how
to think about strengths and weaknesses in relation to goals.
2. Describe what you believe to be your two most substantial accomplishments (if possible specify one personal and one professional, to date, explaining whyyou view them as such. (400 words maximum) Since
INSEAD is now asking that, if possible, you make one of your
accomplishments one personal and one professional, I strongly advise
that you do that.
Some key things to keep in mind when answering this question:
-Accomplishments reveal your potential to succeed at INSEAD and afterwords.
-Accomplishments reveal your potential for contributing to your classmates.
-Everyone has had accomplishments, so it is easy to compare applicants.
-What you consider to be an accomplishment are real tests of your self-awareness and judgment.
The following grid is the kind I have used successfully with applicants preparing this question:
(CLICK TO ENLARGE. )
How to use this grid for outlining your answer to Question 1:
Row 1: "Stories." The first thing you need to do is think of the
accomplishments. These will eventually take the form of stories, so
that is what I call them.A few things to keep in mind:
Your accomplishments maybe personal, professional, or academic.
While it is very important that your accomplishments be distinct so
as to reveal different things about you, there is no single formula
for what their content must be. It is quite possible that you might
have three professional accomplishments or one personal/one
professional/one academic or two academic/one personal. It will really
depend on your background.
The key consideration is that each accomplishment must be substantial and that you can explain why that is the case.
Row 2: "What skill, value, or unique experience is being showcased?"
Your accomplishments need to reveal valuable things about you. Some
will call these selling points, but more specifically they consist of
skills, values, or unique experiences. One might use a specific
accomplishment to emphasize one's leadership skills, another to show
one's ethical values, and another to explain a significant barrier
that was overcome. The point is that each accomplishment must at its
core reveal something key to understanding who you are.
Row 3: "What potential for success in the MBA program or afterwords is demonstrated?" You may or may not be directly statingthis
in the essay, but you should think about what each accomplishment
reveals in terms of your potential. INSEAD Adcom will most certainly
be considering how your accomplishments demonstrate your potential to
succeed at INSEAD and afterwords, so you should as well. One key way
of thinking about the MBA application process is to see it as a test
of potential. Potential itself can
mean different things at different schools and so you must keep in
mind differences between schools and in particular must pay close
attention to what schools say really matters when they assess
applicants. Please click here to read about what INSEAD values in applicants. Please keep in mind that
a core part of your own application strategy should be determining
which parts of you to emphasize both overall and for a particular
school.
Row 4: "Will this be a contribution to others in the MBA program? How?"
Just as with potential, think about whether your accomplishments
demonstrate your ability to add value to other students at INSEAD. Given
space limitations, it is not likely that you will be explaining how
one or more of your accomplishments will be contribution, but rather
this is a strategic consideration. The dynamic nature of study
groups at INSEAD is very much based on what each student
contributes. Think about whether any of your accomplishments
demonstrate how you will likely add value to other students INSEAD
experience. Not all substantial accomplishments will have this
quality, but many will.
Row 5: "Why does Adcom need to know about this?"
If your accomplishment has made it this far, chances are it is
substantial. That said, I have two simple tests for determining
whether an accomplishment really belongs in this essay. The first is
whether INSEAD really needs to know about this accomplishment. After
all, you might consider getting the love of your life to marry you to be
one of your most substantial accomplishments, but will Adcom care?
If an accomplishment does not reveal (whether stated or implied)
potential and/or contribution, chances are likely that it is not
significant enough.
Row 6: "Is this something Adcom could learn about you elsewhere? (If "YES," find another accomplishment)" The
second and final simple test I have for determining whether an
accomplishment really belongs in this essay is based on the idea that
something that is totally obvious about you to anyone looking at your
resume and transcript is probably not worth mentioning. If you were a
CPA, having an accomplishment that merely demonstrated you were good
at accounting would not be worth writing about. Instead it would be
important to show something more specific that reveals something that
is not obvious by a mere examination of the basic facts of your
application.
Finally,
as I mentioned above what you include here is a real test of your
judgment, so don't just write about your obvious accomplishments.
Think deeply and come up with a set of unique accomplishments that
reveal distinct, interesting, and the most important things about you
that will compel admissions to want to interview you.
3. Describe
a situation taken from your personal or professional life where you
failed. Discuss what you learned (400 words maximum)
This is a fairly standard failure question. It is important to
remember that you might very well succeed from the perspective of
others, but fail from your own perspective. It is critical that you learned something meaningful about yourself.
The basic components of an answer:
1. Clearly state what the failure was.
2. Clearly state your role.
3. Clearly state the result.
4. Explain the effect in terms of what you learned and perhaps also how you applied what you learned.
If possible, show how you applied what you learned to a new situation
because the application of abstract learning to a new situation is a
key indicator of real learning.
4. a)
Discuss your short and long term career goals. (300 words maximum) and
b) How will studying at INSEAD help you achieve your vision? (250 words
maximum)
THESE ARE FUTURE DIRECTED QUESTIONS
Unlike some other "Why MBA" questions, INSEAD is not asking about the
past. You will write about that in the other essays. Instead focus on
your goals and the skills that you will obtain at INSEAD that will
help you accomplish those goals. You
must offer both a short term-plan and long-term vision for your
intended future. Given the short length of the INSEAD program, it
really is quite important that you give them a clear future post-MBA
plan. a) Discuss your short and long term career goals. (300 words maximum)
Given
the intensive nature of the INSEAD experience, you need to go into the
program with a clear idea of what you want to do after your MBA. Of
course, this might change, but given the program length and the reality
that you will need to begin recruiting/internship hunting soon after
entry, you will need a clear plan for your future. If you are having
difficulty articulating such a plan, I suggest you go through the
following formal analysis:
You can use my GAP, SWOT, AND ROI TABLE FOR FORMULATING GRADUATE DEGREE GOALSfor this purpose (see below). I think Gap, SWOT, and ROIanalysis are great ways for understanding what your goals are, why you want a degree, and how you will use it. (Click here for a GMAC report on MBA ROI.)
(To best view the following table, click on it. )
How to use this table:
Step 1. Begin by analyzing your "Present Situation." What job(s) have you held? What was/is your functional role(s)? What was/are your responsibilities?
Next,
analyze your present strengths and weaknesses for succeeding in your
present career. REMEMBER: WHEN YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT YOUR STRENGTHS AND
WEAKNESS DON'T ONLY THINK ABOUT WORK, THINK ABOUT OTHER ASPECTS OF YOUR
LIFE. In particular, some of your greatest strengths may have been
demonstrated outside of work, so make sure you are accounting for them. Strengths: What are you good at? Where do you add value? What are you praised for? What are you proud of? Weakness:What are you bad at? What are you criticized for? What do you try to avoid due to your own limitations? What do you fear?
Next, analyze the
environment you work in right now. What opportunities exist for your
growth and success? What threats could limit your career growth?
Step 2. Now, do the same thing in Step 1 for your "Post-Degree" future after you have earned your graduate degree. IF YOU CANNOT COMPLETE STEP 2, YOU HAVE NOT SUFFICIENTLY PLANNED FOR YOUR FUTURE and therefore you need to do more research and need to think more about it.
Step 3. If you could complete step 2, than you should see the "Gap" between
your present and your future. What skills, knowledge, and other
resources do you need to close the gap between your present and future
responsibilities, strengths, and opportunities?
Step 4. After
completing Step 3, you now need to determine how an MBA will add value
to you. It is possible that an increased salary as a result of job
change will be sufficient "ROI" for
the degree to justify itself, but you should show how a degree will
allow you to reach your career goals. How will the degree enhance your
skills and opportunities and help you overcome your weaknesses and
external threats? If you can complete Step 4, then you should be ready
to explain what your goals are, why you want a degree, and the
relationship between your past and future career, as well as your
strengths and weaknesses. If you know about INSEAD, you are ready to
write about your goals, whether in Question 3-4 or elsewhere in the
essay set.
The above table will also help you answer such common interview questions as: Where
do you want to work after you finish your degree? Why do you want an
MBA (or other degree)? What are you strengths? What are your weaknesses?
What are your goals?
b) How will studying at INSEAD help you achieve your vision? (250 words maximum)
As
with other schools, I strongly recommend becoming informed about
INSEAD. Attending admission events, meeting alum, and making full use of
INSEAD's online resources is critical for making the strongest
possible case for why your goals require an INSEAD education. You
should most certainly look at INSEAD KNOWLEDGE and listen to some INSEAD Knowledgecasts. Finally,
keep in mind that INSEAD is a fun school, so express your personality
in terms of why you want to attend it. Perhaps this video will inspire
you:
5. Please choose one of the following two essay topics:a) Have you ever experienced culture shock? What insights did you gain? (250 words maximum), orb) Describe the ways in which a foreigner in your country might experience culture shock (250 words maximum)
One
core characteristic of those who are admitted to INSEAD is that they
are international in their perspective and experience:
I
have found that it is usually those with extensive international
experience that have the greatest likelihood for admission. That
said, in my interview with Deborah Riger, I asked her about this issue:
"ADAM: Is it possible to be accepted to INSEAD without having international experience?
DEBORAH:
Yes, it is possible to be admitted without significant experience
outside of your home country. While it is important for all applicants
to show their international motivations in their essays, it is
especially critical for those who lack international exposure to do so.
Applicants need to share how they are comfortable and confident in
their own culture, why they are seeking out the international exposure
in the MBA and sharing perhaps how the world has come to them at home."
Both options for Question 5 are really great ways for INSEAD to gauge your global perspective.
a) Have you ever experienced culture shock? What insights did you gain? This is a very standard question that frequently gets asked in
interviews and has appeared on a number of MBA applications. It is also
a question with significant room for saying something stupid and
potentially fatal to your application. Some topics to avoid:
1. Topics where you negatively stereotype another nation: Martians are argumentative, so I was surprised to learn that some of them are not.
2. Topics where you are the victim: The Martians lied to me and as a result I lost the contract to a local provider.
3. Topics where you don't actually learn anything: This situation taught me the importance of human communication.
Successful
versions of this topic almost always involve real learning. I
suppose it is possible for something to mean much to you without
learning something important, but I can't recall a successful version
of this essay that did that. After all to be shocked is to
experience something outside of your previous understanding. Getting
shocked teaches something important that changes your perspective.
This may lead to a new career decision, a new way of looking at
oneself, a new way of interacting with other people, or a myriad of
other possibilities.
b) Describe the ways in which a foreigner in your country might experience culture shock American Adam's bad answer: Those traveling to America might be shocked by the need to tip.
Why is that answer bad?
It certainly is useful to know how to tip. I can think of almost
nothing more annoying in the US than our system of tipping and how it
would be a bit of a culture shock to someone not used to doing it. Every
time I go back to the US, I am at a loss. Doesn't this make for a
good topic? NO, BECAUSE IT IS OBVIOUS, IS COVERED IN EVERY TRAVEL
GUIDE, AND WOULD GIVE ADMISSIONS NO REAL INSIGHT INTO YOUR ABILITY TO
HAVE INTERESTING AND USEFUL THINGS TO SAY ABOUT YOUR OWN COUNTRY.
Uppercase is used here in the hope that I don't have to read another
version of this essay where the writer says commonplace things about
their own country that any tourist would know and probably would not
be shocked by.
If you write on option b), think deeply about how your knowledge of your country will contribute to your fellow classmates at INSEAD.
INSEAD is a place were students really have the option of getting to
know (and drink with) people from all over the world. It is truly
international in a way that no American program could ever claim. This
question directly relates to your own self-consciousness about what
is different about your country. They will, to some extent, depend on
you for their knowledge of your home country. Don't tell them the
easy stuff they can get by flipping through the first few pages of a Lonely Planet travel guide to your country. Give them real insight. The kind of insight they could use if they were going to move there.
Now
while the question is not in regards to your classmates, I think it
is useful to think of it that way so that you focus on writing
something that would actually be interesting and useful to someone
who visits your country. You don't have to write on a business
related topic, but if you have a good one, do so. The following
questions should help you:
1. What kind of problems have you seen foreigners have when communicating with people in your country?
2. What do people say in your country about foreigners? Do they have a bias against them or even a bias for them?
3.
What most annoys you about your own country that would be something
that someone coming from outside of it is likely to experience?
4. What aspects of your country's culture seem hard for foreigners to handle (Not just the language as that is too obvious)?
6.
Is there anything that you have not mentioned in the above essays
that you would like the Admissions Committee to know? (350 words
maximum) This essay is optional.
While this question is
optional, I have every client write about something here. There has to
be an explanation for an application problem, extracurricular activity,
professional experience, personal experience, and/or other matter that
you can add here to provide another positive perspective about you.
This
is a completely open question. While you might very well need to
tell the Admissions Committee something negative, such as an
explanation for a low GPA, I would suggest using at least part of it to
tell them something positive about you. Feel free to write on any
topic that will add another dimension to Admissions' perception of who
you are. I would not treat it as optional unless you truly feel that
the rest of your essays have fully expressed everything you want
INSEAD to know about you. I don't suggest writing about something that
would be obvious from reviewing your application, instead tell
INSEAD that one or two additional key points that will give them
another reason to admit you.
7.
In case of reapplication, please provide an update on any new aspects
of your professional, international, academic or personal profile that
would not have been included in your previous application. Please also
explain your motivation for re-applying to INSEAD. (400 words maximum)
For
reapplicants, it is critical that you provide clearly stated updates
that show growth since the last application. Whatever form(s) this
growth takes, please provide a summary of it here, even if you have
addressed the topic elsewhere in the application. In addition, beyond
what you write about INSEAD in Essay 4b, please provide a clear
explanation of why INSEAD is your first choice. I think it is
especially useful to show what steps you have taken to learn more about
the program.
I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE QUESTIONS FOR IMD CHANGED FOR JANUARY 2014 ADMISSION. I have posted analysis for January 2014 admission questions here. IMD (The Institute for Management Development), consistently ranked among
the best MBA programs in the world, is a small intensive one-year
program that starts in January. IMD, along with Columbia January Term
and INSEAD (INSEAD
has both September and January start dates) are three of the best
options for those who want to start in January 2013 at a top MBA
program.
To learn about IMD, visit the website. You should download three PDFs from the website:
"MBA Program Brochure," "MBA Class Profiles," and "Class and Placement
Overview." I will refer to these below. In addition, if possible, I
suggest either attending an information session or visiting. Getting an
alumni perspective would also be particularly helpful. Review the
website completely and by all means read the MBA Diary to get IMD students' perspectives. Japanese applicants should also look at IMD Japan Club 2012. To learn about IMD faculty perspectives, please visit Tomorrrow's Challenges.
I also suggest reading my interview with Lisa Piguet and also my Q&A with a former client who is a member of the Class of 2009. I think this interview will provide you with some key insights into IMD. My own report on my visit to IMD can be found here.
IMD's small size sets it apart from other top programs, as its brochure
states: "90 Exceptional People Who Will Shape The Future of Business."
While it is not easy to get into IMD, it has an acceptance rate of 27%, it has an 76% yield, one of the highest yields worldwide. If you get into IMD, chances are quite high that you will go there.
When you think about IMD, two keywords to focus on are "international"
and "leadership." Based on my experience working with clients admitted
there for the Class of 2011 (See here for a testimonial), Class of 2010 (See here for my client's testimonial), and Class of 2009 (See here for my client's testimonial), I
can say that IMD is looking for those individuals who both already have
and aspire to increased capacity in both being international and being
leaders.
In any
given year, I work with only a few people applying to IMD because this
is most certainly a very unique program. For the Class of 2012, I had
two clients who were offered interview, but one was admitted to his
first choice school and did not interview and the other, was
unfortunately dinged after interview. Getting dinged after an IMD interview, especially for candidates without solid English ability, effective presentation skills, and the perceived potential to work well in a small group is common enough.
THE ESSAYS ARE THE EASY PART OF THE IMD APPLICATION PROCESS. There is no MBA interview that compares to the day of trial that IMD
puts potential applicants through. Reading a report of an IMD interview
makes me feel exhausted. The particular style of group and individual
interviewing and observation admissions does, is truly impressive and totally
necessary given their class size and reputation. The IMD interview
eliminates those who will not be able to survive in a very intense
program. IMD interviews 46% of those that apply, which is a rather high percentage on the face of it, but again, the program is rather self-selecting so this percentage makes sense. Consider that IMD is trying to fill a class of 90 and received 441 applications. They are working with limited numbers and based on my 2010 conversation with the admissions director, I know that they are being highly selective when it comes to making final decisions.
INTERNATIONAL
Like its bigger rival INSEAD, IMD is truly an international program with
a very diverse student body and faculty. You can actually view all of
the Class of 2009 as well as read a statistical summary of their
backgrounds on PDFs found on the IMD site. Doing so will certainly help
you understand that IMD students are incredibly diverse and
multilingual.
LEADERS The IMD program is focused on making leaders, not managers. It also is
not designed for those who want to develop expertise in a business
subfield. IMD makes the program's focus very clear on page 2 of the PDF
version of their brochure: Top executives of
leading multinational companies tell us clearly: they need leaders, not
managers. Leaders with the insight and ability to address issues and
problems that are more complex and changing more quickly than ever
before. Leaders who are confident, creating their own solutions to these
emerging issues with integrity and
high ethics. Leaders who understand themselves and how they interact
with others. Leaders who understand the needs of their organizations and
their business environments. Leaders who can drive change through
innovation. Leaders who can move their businesses forward. The single aim of the IMD MBA program is to develop these leaders.
A review of the program structure
makes it perfectly clear that it is not a degree for those wanting
expertise in a particular business subfield (e.g. finance or marketing)
because there is actually only one three-week period of study
available for electives.
THE QUESTIONS
Considering the above, I will analyze IMD's 12 "essay questions." I
have taken the questions from the online application. While there are
10 questions that are called "Essays" in the application, there are
actually 12 such questions. I think IMD's "essay" designation is
incredibly confusing for no particular reason. As you will see the
first two questions below are clearly essays, whereas some of IMD's
"essays" are more administrative questions.
Position sought after graduation Please give us your short term career goal post MBA (up to 5 years).
Describe how the IMD MBA will help you achieve this goal and how you
will approach your job search. 2000 Characters Maximum. Curiously,
the standard why MBA /Short term goal only is not called an essay, yet
clearly it is. It is also the single longest essay in the entire set of
IMD questions. THIS QUESTION DOES NOT FOCUS ON YOUR LONG TERM GOALS. It
is about a post-MBA plan and how IMD will help you carry out that plan.
The focus should be on your plans and not your motivation for those
plans. Certainly mention the motivation, but conceptualize this as a
very practical question regarding your 5-year plan post-IMD and how IMD
figures into that plan. Don't forget to answer "how
you will approach your job search?" because this is an important part
of your plan. IMD is looking for applicants who can take charge of their
own careers and drive them, not people who expect a career services
office to simply take care of them. Explain what resources you can
leverage to launch your post-IMD career.
If you are having trouble formulating your plan, you might want to go through a formal analysis of why you need an MBA. You can use my GAP, SWOT, AND ROI TABLE FOR FORMULATING GRADUATE DEGREE GOALSfor this purpose (see below). I think Gap, SWOT, and ROIanalysis are great ways for understanding what your goals are, why you want a degree, and how you will use it. (Click here for the Businessweek MBA ROI calculator. Click here for a GMAC report on MBA ROI. )
(To best view the following table, click on it.)
How to use this table:
Step 1. Begin by analyzing your "Present Situation." What job(s) have you held? What was/is your functional role(s)? What was/are your responsibilities?
Next, analyze your present
strengths and weaknesses for succeeding in your present career.
REMEMBER:WHEN YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS DON'T
ONLY THINK ABOUT WORK, THINK ABOUT OTHER ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE. In
particular, some of your greatest strengths may have been demonstrated
outside of work, so make sure you are accounting for them. Strengths: What are you good at? Where do you add value? What are you praised for? What are you proud of? Weakness:What are you bad at? What are you criticized for? What do you try to avoid due to your own limitations? What do you fear?
Next, analyze the
environment you work in right now. What opportunities exist for your
growth and success? What threats could limit your career growth?
Step 2. Now, do the same thing in Step 1 for your "Post-Degree"
future after you have earned your MBA. IF YOU CANNOT COMPLETE STEP 2,
YOU HAVE NOT SUFFICIENTLY PLANNED FOR YOUR FUTURE and therefore you need
to do more research and need to think more about it.
Step 3. If you could complete step 2, than you should see the "Gap"
between your present and your future. What skills, knowledge, and other
resources do you need to close the gap between your present and future
responsibilities, strengths, and opportunities?
Step 4. After completing Step 3,
you need to determine how an MBA will add value to you. It is possible
that an increased salary as a result of job change will be sufficient "ROI"
for the degree to justify itself, but you should show how a degree will
allow you to reach your career goals. How will the degree enhance your
skills and opportunities and help you overcome your weaknesses and
external threats? If you can complete Step 4 than you should be ready to
explain what your goals are, why you want a degree, and the
relationship between your past and future career, as well as your
strengths and weaknesses.
The above table will also help you answer such common interview questions as: Where
do you want to work after you finish your degree? Why do you want an
MBA (or other degree)? What are you strengths? What are your weaknesses?
What are your goals? Thinking about these issues now will help
you to develop a fully worked-out strategy for how you will best present
yourself both in the application and in an interview.
After going through this formal process, review what you know about IMD
again. In your answer to the question, please focus on showing how IMD
will help make your post-MBA future objectives a reality. BOTTOM LINE:
Conceptualize this as a business plan with IMD as a partner who will
help enable that plan.
Most important achievement
What do you consider to be your single most important achievement and why? 1230 Characters Maximum
This question is not called an essay either, but it is. Clearly you
need to write on something different from the two topics you cover in
Essay 1. See my analysis of HBS Essay 1 as
it applies to this question and also to Essay 1. My analysis of HBS
will also help you choose and differentiate between the topics in the
this essay and in Essay 1.
The 10 Essays
LENGTH
Each essay answer is quite short, just a maximum of 1230 characters with
spaces for each required answer. Essay 1 requires two separate answers.
Each answer would be a maximum of about 200-300 words each.
Essay 1: Two situations of importance to you Situation 1 Situation 2 You have 1230 characters for each situation. On the online
application they are treated as separate answers, so I suggest you treat
them as separate essays.
I don't necessarily suggest answering this question first due to its
open-ended nature. Instead, first determine what topics you will write
about for Essays 2 through 5. Essay 1 is what I call a "balance
question" because you can use it to make sure that you are emphasizing
all of your most compelling personality characteristics, background, and
strengths in your application. Given the limited space in Essay 4 to
write about strengths, I think it is fine if you briefly mention a
strength in Essay 4 that is substantially proven by one of the
situations you write about in Essay 1.
While situations of importance to you may not be accomplishments, many
applicants will use this essay for that purpose. If you write about
accomplishments, please see my analysis of HBS Essay 1 as
it would apply here. I think most applicants will consider it to their
advantage to have at least one of these situations be an accomplishment.
Of course, you will have already written about your "single most important achievement."
.
Essay 2: Failure to reach objective Please comment on a situation where you failed to reach an objective and what you learned from it.
INSEAD asks almost the same question, so if you are applying to both,
excepting for possible differences in word count, you could use the same
topic.
This is a fairly standard failure question. That said, I think it is
important to remember that the objective you fail to reach might very
well be your own personal objective and not one imposed on you. You
might very well succeed from the perspective of others, but fail from
your own perspective.
It is critical that you learned something meaningful about yourself. And your learning about yourself should be important, otherwise why tell admissions about it? Therefore the key constraint of this question is that whatever the failure is, you have learned something important from it. While
not stated, you may very well find that one way of showing what you
learned is to discuss how you applied your lesson to a new situation.
I would, in fact, argue that the heart
of any sort of "failure question," whether it is an essay question or an
interview is what you learned. Also depending on what your role was, how you reacted is also very important.
The basic components of an answer:
1. Clearly state what the objective was.
2. Clearly state your role.
3. Clearly state your failure.
4. Explain what you learned.
The word count is limited, but, if you can, show how you applied what
you learned to a new situation because the application of abstract
learning to a new situation is a key indicator of real learning.
Essay 3: Leadership Describe a situation where you had to demonstrate strong leadership skills. Explain how effective you were and what you learned.
Obviously, given the centrality of leadership to IMD, use your best (or
one of your best) leadership story here. This should be a story where
you demonstrate your strengths as leader, have a concrete result, and
are able to provide IMD with an interpretation of your actions.
I have developed the following
grid to help you outline leadership stories. The categories this grid
employs may go beyond any particular school's essay requirements.
Filling it out completely will help you write about your leadership in a
way that will convince admissions of your leadership potential. CLICK TO ENLARGE. EMAIL me at adammarkus@gmail.com if you want the original excel version.
How to use the grid:
1. Decide on a specific story.
2. Identify the most significant things you did in the situation, these are you action steps.
3. For each action step identify:
What skills or qualities you demonstrated to complete this step.
The strengths you demonstrated to complete this step.
The kind of leadership you demonstrated.
What you still need to learn about leadership.
4. Think about
the results and identify how they relate to your action steps. So, at
minimum, you should be able to state the impact on others and/or
yourself.
5. After completing the chart you will see that some aspects of your
action steps may be repeated. If there is a total duplication and
nothing new is shown, either you need to redefine the action step or you
may decide not to focus on it very much.
6. Once you think you have two to four fully worked-out action steps, start writing your essay.
7. Next, start re-writing. Eliminate duplicate points made between
action steps. Make choices about what parts of each action to step to
highlight. Given that there are usually word limits, you will have to
make some decisions about what to include.
Simply providing a description of your actions, is not enough. Think
about what it signifies about you. Think about what your actions reveals
about your leadership potential. State what you learned.
Finally, thinking and writing about leadership is an important part of
preparing for interviews because you can be certain that you will have
to talk about leadership. So you might
find that the parts of the outline you jettison now will become valuable
when you will want to have alternative stories for your IMD interview.
Essay 4: Describe yourself How do you imagine your superior would describe your strengths and weaknesses to someone who does not know you?
With a question like this I think it is important to understand that you
are actually being asked to think about your strengths and weaknesses
more objectively than you might otherwise. In particular, you need to
judge yourself from the viewpoint of a hypothetical supervisor who is
describing you to someone who does not know you.
My suggestion is to think about what your supervisors in the past have
mentioned to you as both your strengths and weaknesses. Of course, this should reflect the perspective of your current (or most current supervisor). Don't feel
obligated to focus on that exclusively, but just make sure that your
strengths and weaknesses are ones that your superior could recognize.
Obviously the strengths and weaknesses under consideration are mostly,
though not necessarily exclusively, of a professional nature. Given the
word count, I suggest focusing on no more than about two strengths and
two weaknesses. I would try to give fairly equal consideration to both
weaknesses and strengths.
EMBRACE WEAKNESS!
I find that many applicants resist writing about their own weaknesses.
Yet, to do so reveals self-awareness and maturity. While I think it is
necessary to practice good judgment when writing about weakness, I think
it is also important that you provide something beyond the routine.
One standard defensive strategy that many applicants seem drawn to is to
write about knowledge areas where they are weak. While this can be OK
in some cases, it tends to lack any real depth. One thing to avoid is to
discuss a skill that you need for the future, but don't need now as a
weakness. It is not a weakness because up till now you have not needed
it.
STRENGTHS
Strengths are easier to write about, but do keep in mind that you want
to be specific about them. Given the limited space here, you might find
it helpful to write about a topic here that is discussed in greater
detail in another essay.
IS IT A GOOD STRENGTH OR WEAKNESS?
Some questions to ask yourself:
1. Does the strength demonstrate one's potential for future academic
and/or professional success? If so, it is a probably a good topic. If
not, why does IMD need to know about it?
2. Is a weakness fixable? If you are writing about a weakness that
cannot be improved upon through your program at IMD, why do they need to
know about it?
3. If your strength or weakness is not related to leadership, why does IMD need to know about it?
Essay 5: International Exposure
Describe a situation where you successfully worked across cultures and/or nations.
What this is not: It is not a culture shock question. While most everyone who applies to IMD
has international experience, the topic of this essay ineed not be outside of your home
country: It just needs to involve dealing with a different nation or
culture. The point is that it has to be an accomplishment story
involving an international component. For many applicants to IMD, this
will be easy because a significant percentage of their work will be
international. Working across cultures or nations, may mean something
professional, but if you don't have such a story, think of a successful
experience you had that involved more than one culture or nation. For
some applicants this essay will be about a major accomplishment, but for
others it will simply be about being effective in an international or multi-cultural
setting.
Essay 6:Differentiators
IMD receives numerous applications per year. Give us four bullet points that clearly differentiate you from this applicant pool.
1230 Characters Maximum
In a Class of 90, there is no room for letting in someone who can't
function well and does not have something distinct to contribute. I like
this question because it forces applicants to really think about their
core selling points. Clearly, there will be significant overlap with
other essays. Think of this as more than an executive summary because
really it is a your "elevator pitch"
to IMD. What are the key statements that IMD really needs to know
about you that will make them want to invite you for their interview?
Essay 7: Alternatives If you are not admitted, what alternatives will you consider?
This question is designed to test both your real motivations and your
ability to develop a plan for meeting your own professional objectives.
Therefore I think it is important to consider it in relation to your
answer to"Position sought after graduation" above. How will you still
work towards your five-year plan without an IMD MBA?
While a successful answer to this question can certainly include the
fact that you have already been admitted elsewhere, that would not be a
sufficient answer. You would also want to explain why IMD would be a
better choice for you than that other school.
Some think about stating they would reapply. If you are not
company-sponsored, that certainly is an option. If you are, it is
probably not.That said, simply stating that you would reapply is not
enough, instead you need to think about how you will move forward to
accomplish what you would have tried to accomplish at IMD.
Essay 8: Finance Please explain how you intend to finance your studies at IMD. What would be your budget? This should be treated as more of an administrate rather than an
evaluative topic. You just need to state your plan for financing your
education. Stick to the facts and make sure what you write is easy to
understand and will in no way be a source of concern to the admissions
committee.
Essay 9: Disability / illness Do you have a disability or illness that could affect your performance at IMD? If so, please explain.
If you have no disability or illness of significance, you need not
answer this one. In that case, just write "Not Applicable" or words to
that effect. If you do have a disability or illness, then I suggest
taking the time to contact IMD first, so you can get a better idea about
how to best answer this question. If some sort of special arrangement
would be necessary for you, please contact IMD to make sure that they
can provide it.
Essay 10: Additional InformationOptional question: Is there any additional information that is critical for the Admissions Committee to know which has not been covered elsewhere in this application? While I suppose it is possible to answer this question with "No," in most cases I would not recommend doing so.
For some applicants who have to discuss something negative such as a low
GPA, the topic for this essay will be clear enough. Just make sure your
answer is a clear and believable explanation and not an excuse.
For those who have nothing negative to write about, think about one or
two topics that you believe would help admissions to understand you and
support your admission. Be careful that you do not pick a trivial topic.
-Adam Markus
I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.
