-
Target Test Prep's 2024 GMAT Focus Edition prep is discounted for the BTG community!
Redeem
INSEAD Grad Has Thoughts on the MBA in a Time of Crisis
Many prospective MBA applicants wonder how COVID-19 might affect the timing of their business school plans. While the world has never seen anything on the level of this pandemic, we can learn from those who weathered the global financial crisis of 2008 while pursuing an MBA.
Today, we’re sharing a Q&A with SBC consultant and INSEAD MBA Cathy. She considers her time at INSEAD a crucial inflection point in her career path. That's why Cathy enjoys helping MBA candidates pursue their own ambitions for top MBA programs.
We've asked Cathy for her insights into pursuing an MBA in a moment of crisis. Also, we wanted to find out what advice she would offer to INSEAD applicants in particular. Here's what Cathy had to say.
You decided to leave your Wall Street career in 2009 to attain your INSEAD MBA. Was the economic meltdown in 2008 a reason for your pivot to higher education?
Actually, I had been looking at MBA programs prior to 2008, as I had wished to advance significantly in my career. After doing my research, I knew that the right MBA could make all the difference in my career trajectory. So, I sought top-ranking MBA programs with whose culture and values I aligned.
It was a coincidence that I applied for MBA programs during the economic downturn. To outsiders, it might not have seemed the best decision to give up a well-respected position in a bulge-bracket investment bank to study, with no job guarantee afterward.
Maybe I was naïve, but my joy in getting into INSEAD outweighed my concerns. I was confident that the MBA itself would be a worthwhile investment, and I felt that it was the right timing nonetheless. So, off I went!
Do you feel that the economic downturn shaped your MBA experience in any way? For example, did you use the MBA education to find a career path that had more meaning or impact than your preceding finance career?
Since 9/11, I had wanted to do something more meaningful with my career. Pre-INSEAD, my goal was to enter social impact investing after graduating.
The economic downturn did reinforce the idea of pursuing a meaningful career, though. My INSEAD experience further encouraged me to do so, with its emphasis on its community being a "Force for Good."
But, I never knew I would completely switch my career. Thanks especially to its supportive community and excellent entrepreneurship classes, I felt equipped to pursue a passion I’ve had all my life---chocolate!
Combining this with my belief in sustainability, I’ve worked with some of the best chocolatiers whose values aligned with mine, making a positive difference for farmers and the environment while making delicious chocolate.
Would you recommend that young professionals pursue an MBA in this current climate, with uncertainty around the world, and why?
Without a doubt. The MBA is more than the perfect place to gain the knowledge you need to advance in your career. It also provides you a community of outstanding, driven professionals – peers and faculty alike – where you can have those discussions, ask those questions, and be a resource yourself. It’s where great minds gather, where ideas are generated, and passions turn into reality. It’s very stimulating.
Having an MBA is particularly relevant in this current climate. MBA students and alumni are very well-known for innovating. Pursuing an MBA will enable students to come up with collaborative solutions in an uncertain world.
With a host of business, leadership, strategy and interpersonal skills under their belts, and a passion to change the world for the better, MBA graduates will be among those with the confidence and abilities to lead the way.
What application advice do you have for MBA applicants who are applying for INSEAD?
INSEAD places a strong emphasis on bringing together students from around the world. If you love international diversity and discovering new places and cultures, remember to clearly share that in your application.
Secondly, INSEAD has also been very strong on being a Force for Good. The school encourages each student and alumni to make a positive contribution in society, no matter which industry s/he is in. If you feel passionate about making a positive impact on the world, let that shine through in your application as well.
Thirdly, INSEAD looks for leaders, or future leaders, to lead these important changes, whether it’s in your hometown, country, an entirely different part of the world, or globally. If you’ve exemplified leadership, or possess entrepreneurship skills, include that in your application.
Finally, a bit of humility doesn’t hurt. The INSEAD community, while extremely accomplished, is also surprisingly modest and down-to-earth. If you’re confident, but not arrogant, express that in your application as well. INSEAD isn’t looking for overly confident applicants.
The intensity of the pandemic and issues of racial equality will influence the MBA experience. Do you think it will be somehow strengthened as a result of these issues?
Yes, definitely. MBA experiences themselves are meant to be transformative. What better place to be challenged, and to develop professionally and personally, than in an environment conducive to collaboratively resolving issues with sustainable solutions, and with creativity and intelligence? In the INSEAD community, the pandemic has already sparked constructive solutions to tackle the spread and even combat COVID-19.
So to answer that part of your question, the pandemic is already strengthening the MBA community and experience. Regarding issues of racial equality, these are the impetus for the important discussions that take place between cohorts and professors, faculty, and staff.
With the diversity that INSEAD embraces and embodies, I believe that each member is reflecting on these serious issues, doing the necessary research to understand more, and figuring out how it translates personally and socially into changed mindsets and consequent actions.
I believe the MBA experience is already being strengthened as a result of these issues, and I have no doubt that it will also positively impact the curriculum in the near future.
***
Stacy Blackman Consulting is the only MBA admissions firm with a complete panel of former Admissions Officers from every M7 program and the elite European MBA programs. If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, we can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more.
Recent Articles
Archive
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009