The INSEAD MBA Experience

First four months of my INSEAD MBA: reading countless business cases, attending numerous company presentations, learning about business in Asia, acquiring new skills, learning how to work with people from very different professional and cultural backgrounds, learning about my own tendencies and response to stress and actively adopting techniques to cope more effectively, learning from people around me, becoming much better at prioritizing when there are literally a million things going on, participating in national week bidding, DASH, pajama day, and all other fun events on campus… and of course the traveling – exploring eight new countries with amazing people!

Then two weeks ago, almost 100 of us from 13D moved from Singapore to Fontainebleau to start P3. It is definitely an adjustment to move across continents, but I think that’s one of the best opportunities that INSEAD offers! Everyone’s experience with the grand move is different, but I loved it here from day one. Granted, I have been looking forward to moving back to Europe for a while now, and I had visited the Fontainebleau campus before applying, but adjusting to life in a small town can take some time before the town grows on you. If you love the outdoors, seasons, wine and cheese, lots of bakeries, biking around, and you can be patient when it comes to things that are less efficient than in a big city, you’ll probably like it here! While the town and the campus are new, it is great to already have friends here and to see so many familiar faces everywhere. The “Fonty” guys have also been great at welcoming us and organising various events to integrate us, so it has overall been a great experience so far.

P3 is also the first time we can take electives, and I am really happy with the electives that I chose! The electives are either a full credit or half credit, and for example two of mine are halves that will take place in June only, so this month is pretty light for me, and then in June I’ll have six instead of four classes.

Last but definitely not least, getting the internship that I really really really wanted since before even starting at INSEAD, has definitely added a lot to my overall excitement from moving to a new place! INSEAD is definitely living up to my expectations so far! Now I can use the next month and a half from P3 to focus on my classes and learn some French!

Remember that boyfriend or girlfriend you had in the past? Yes, that relationship – so intense that you felt amazing while you were in it and uncomfortable without it. You had your inside jokes and your own rhythms of interaction. It felt amazing. Of course, you sacrificed a lot to be in it as well. You noticeably talked to your friends less and neglected your family. They sometimes confronted you about it, but you were fully committed to the relationship.

While you were in it, the actions, assumptions and experiences were natural and totally normal. Only when you ended the relationship did you appreciate what the experience was, what you learned, how you changed (temporarily or permanently) and its significance on your life.

The INSEAD experience has a lot of the same characteristics of that intense relationship. Yes, most people have heard about the INSEAD bubble before arriving, however, no one appreciates the power of said bubble and its ability to trap you inside.

Common symptoms of people who are caught in the bubble when in “Singy”:

• Your linked-in profile is blowing up with hundreds of new connections
• You can name at least 6 beach destinations in S.E. Asia
• You do not know how to spell “Fontainebleau”
• You live in Heritage or Dover
• You often get called by your real name that was given to you by the Rugby Gods
• You have added 300 new friends on Facebook in the past 2 months and your wall only has INSEAD people posting on it
• You are a part of at least 5 INSEAD what’sapp groups
• Your family/bf or gf is getting upset at you for not giving them enough attention
• You feel like you have very few topics of conversation with “Out”siders
• You have at least 3 INSEAD polo shirts
• You are just “hanging out” with him/her
• You use INSEAD acronyms (BOR, MBS, FMV and UDJ) in every other sentence.
• You have a nickname designed specifically for you (Izzerly, Yinda, Diedu)
• You find it difficult to recollect your life before INSEAD
• You are planning/have planned 4 trips for the next 2 months
• You have been to the same nightclub 3x in the same week

While some of us have been able to identify these symptoms as important trademarks of the “Singy” experience, the true impact of the overall INSEAD MBA will only be truly understood after we finish the program and join the ranks of the alumni. Hopefully then, we will understand the power of INSEAD in our lives.

In early May, a group of INSEAD students descended on Lagos and were shepherded by their generous Nigerian hosts through a week of company visits and cultural experiences.

The company visits were great for getting to know firms in Nigeria, allowing us to develop a deeper understanding of the corporate scene. There were some fascinating local firms such as Paga, a mobile payment facility and CBO Capital, an investment advisory focused on Africa. The general optimism about the Nigerian economy was impressive – every Nigerian we met, including those in our group, were upbeat about the country and excited about the opportunities available.

On the culture end, we enjoyed an array of different cuisines, feasting on Jollof rice, Suya and pepper snails, but also sneakily indulged in burgers and milkshakes at an American burger chain (American culture was indeed flourishing in Lagos as proven by the KFC, Cold Stone Creamery and Johnny Rockets outlets around town). Our merry band of travellers also gatecrashed a traditional wedding, disguised in traditional outfits to blend in with the local crowd. It was a glorious Technicolor dance sequence, to say the least.

Time flies when you’re having fun and the trek was over before we knew it. We stumbled onto our flight back to France, drunk on Nigerian sunshine. One of the best things about INSEAD is the opportunity to travel. Plan your weekend breaks around European cities and tropical islands but don’t miss out on the student treks either. Many thanks to the INSEAD Africa Club for making this happen!

I am sitting here on the beach in Sydney, where I had come to relax/interview/prioritise for the next few months. After the two very busy P1 and P2, now has come a time to look into the horizon, and reflect having felt a real sense of the dynamism at play from the first 4 months. The course load was definitely heavy and hard skills-oriented, at least up to this point. Looking back on the four months of the course, recruitment and social experiences, I can clearly see that my thinking had started shifting.

It has been an eye opener to come together with so many people from all walks of life and all nationalities. The interaction and teamwork among people with different values and ideas, has often been hilarious and occasionally frustrating. In all cases, lots of surprising ideas came out of this diversity.

As a participant in these interactions at INSEAD, you learn how to better navigate across the vast cultural landscape. Some ideas are universally shared while some ways of communicating don’t work with certain nationalities. As you bond with other students, you gain cultural perspective that shapes your behavior and the way you deal with different people. As a consequence of this intensive cultural exposure, you start second-guessing your own pre-established ideas. You learn to ask “WHY” a lot more. And your thinking starts to change, as a result.

Could the ability to adapt and engage with different cultures be a driver for leadership development? Without a doubt, leadership has a lot to do with human behavior. I would guess then that cultural “fluency” can help improve a leader’s behavior. Learning how to adapt your approach to communication and teamwork can increase trust, credibility and influence.

In my opinion, it is true that the cultural bath is a big component of the learning that gives INSEAD some serious zest.

I never got the chance to write much in P4. I was caught up in the recruiting craze and I fell into the death spiral of making a career choice I never genuinely wanted. Like everyone else, I got attracted by the consulting frenzy on campus and was peer-pressured to apply. Along with almost every MBA on campus, I went to those presentations in amphi A, those networking sessions, those endless coffee chats and those fancy dinners in Barbizon. I convinced myself that it was what I wanted. After all, it is easier to find a job with structured timelines, in order to receive a potential offer by the end of the period. I spent weeks writing my cover letters, hunting down consultants for mock interviews and practicing cases with my friends.

As I moved further in the process from round to round, I convinced myself more and more that it was the right career choice. I practiced more cases, talked about it 24/7, and stressfully paced around the waiting area before my interviews. It never ended there. After the interviews, the stress mounted as I watched my phone like a teenage girl wondering “why didn’t he call me?!” while a part of me still envied those who ringed that “ding” bell and moved on.

I’m writing this after the “ding” last night from my top choice employer. Yes I was disappointed and yes I felt like a failure, but deep down inside, I felt this sense of relief that it was finally over. I was happy I didn’t fall deeper down the spiral by accepting an offer in a career I didn’t want for myself just because I wanted to feel secure and to enjoy my P5.

In P4, it’s easy to lose sight of why you left your previous job, why you came to INSEAD and what were you really looking for. It’s ok if it takes longer to find that dream job; at the end of the day you’ll be working for the next 40 years of your life. It’s easy to forget that you are blessed with a new blank page waiting for you to fill with everything that you ever wanted. I’m lucky I didn’t end up filling my page with things I don’t love, and I’m glad I can still draw which city I’ll be living in, what I’ll be doing and everything else that makes me happy- on that blank page. With that said, try not to fall into the same spiral I fell into, and if you’re one of those who only learn by hitting the wall like myself, I hope you get lucky too.

Two big things towards the end of P2:

• Electives bidding +
• The end of our sections +

 A word about electives: It’s not as green as you imagined.

While there are plenty of great courses, the bidding pool you have gets severely restricted if you decide to switch campuses. Since most of the good courses do go up for bidding points, this usually means you have to prioritise points and only go after some courses that you really want.

But the worst thing about electives is the course conflict grid. You might come to INSEAD specifically wanting to do 2-3 electives – unfortunately, it might turn out that they’re in direct conflict with each other. There are multiple sections which makes things a LITTLE easier but not much. This was super disappointing but I guess I’ll just have to deal with it

On the bright (but bittersweet) side… section farewells are happening.

I find it hard to believe but I’ve spent 28 weeks with these guys. At first I felt I’d never get to know everyone; now at least I know all names, most histories and there are plenty of great friends in the crowd.

From class buzzwords to jungle safari to impromptu dinners to paintball to champagne fund to random questions – it’s been a fantastic ride.

Make sure you vote well for your class reps Ours were the lifeline of our section and did a fabulous job.

I’ve realised INSEAD is a special place – it’s life as you see it. Like everything else in the world, nothing is perfect – but some truly great people help you make it pretty damn close and that’s what counts.

I’ll miss you E09. You’re the best section EVER!

Had someone told me before the start of the program that some of my greatest learnings from INSEAD would be during P4-5 (when the academics is almost over), I would have laughed in their face. However, it turned out to be true! Every day, talking to employers and “trying on” a certain role in an organisation, I reflect on my motivations, past experiences and plans for the future. A year ago I thought I’d just get a very nice international diploma, will learn some basic business subjects and will ultimately be able to read Financial Times without a dictionary. But reality turned out to be much more complex.

The main professional quality I have been working on for the last several weeks is having a “proactive” approach to work. The main reason why employers are inviting MBA graduates to join their companies is the renewed mind and enthusiasm, which allows them to get a new perspective of the company’s business and decide what to do next. As a result, many companies have a very unclear understanding as to why they are hiring a particular person and what his/her exact role will be – very often there is no job description as such or any particular goals that the person would be achieving, apart from making money . This approach forces the interviewee to play a consultant role –to figure out what the company’s goals are and to make suggestions on how he/she can help achieve these goals. This is the exact reason why our current interviews are far from the habitual format of “Tell me about your professional experience” and are more like “These are the sales figures for the last three quarters. Based on that, could you advise us on ways to improve our partner relations?”. Such format of interaction between companies and future graduates sometimes create ambiguous feelings among students, who used to work in concrete well-defined positions with a clear job description and achieving measurable targets.

Read more…

P2 is drawing to a close and it feels like I have lived a year in 4 months. I still can’t get over the number of things that’s possible to fit into one day. There is never a dull moment. As someone who is always up for new experiences, I have finally learnt to accept that there will be some experiences I will have to forego!! This lesson was learnt the hard way however, when one week I decided I could do the start-up bootcamp, participate in the Venture Capital Investment Competition, study for quizzes and do group work altogether (there was a trip to Paris squeezed somewhere in between too, phew!). While the experiences were more than worth it, they had me exhausted and I had to compensate by having a weekend where I just did nothing! I am now learning to pace myself better. There are choices to be made – to do a few things (assignments, quiz preparations, etc) really well or skim through many, to deepen friendships or keep expanding your network. I think I finally have my juggling act figured out and am making choices that feel right!!!

Highlights so far:-

1. Start-up bootcamp: In one line, I walked out of the 48 hour bootcamp thinking I could start my business today if I wanted to. It provides you with a framework for thinking about the various objectives of starting your own business. From beginning with just an idea on Friday, we made a perfect investor pitch by Sunday with feedback from the Professors and fellow campers.
2. Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC): Spending hours evaluating business plans, difficult discussions with team members about which plan to pick and teaching myself how to draft a term sheet without lawyers! Competitions are an excellent opportunity to team up with students from different groups/classes and push yourself to learn outside the class (in case you aren’t getting enough of that )
3. Lisbon takeover: More than 50 of us descended on Lisbon, Portugal for the P1-P2 break. With an excellent guide created by a Portuguese section mate and a Whatsapp group to co-ordinate, we ended up taking over entire restaurants and clubs in Lisbon. With warm weather (relatively) and gorgeous seaside, we came back refreshed for the next period (of course some people came back devastated from excessive partying!).

P2 has been more intense with more courses, internship applications and attending networking events. The pressure is high but the advent of warm weather (at last) has everyone in high spirits!

Thumbing through the 13J INSEAD photobook, I am instantly overwhelmed by a sense of joy, a smattering of pride, and a pang of nostalgia. Almost half a year of work, the 300 odd pages Photobook for 13J students that started their INSEAD adventure in Fonty is completed, in the hands of 240 students.

It started with a bunch of a few avid photographers who enjoyed taking pictures with our expensive cameras. We saw a similar book produced for the 12D Class in Singapore, and thought of doing the same, keeping the best memories of “the best year of our life” and the great people who made it so. The idea was to take good quality pictures of each student and compile them into the book.

No great achievement comes without hurdles. And the hurdles came one after the other. How to pump up interest amongst the classmates? How to organise the photoshoots? How to find quality designers but keep the cost down? How to juggle workloads? How to manage the logistics given that we were shifting from campus to campus? How to manage our finances? At times, we really didn’t know what was in store for the Photobook.

But that’s where the beauty of the INSEAD spirit shines through. Corny but true. There were so many classmates who learned about our project and were eager to help out. Some with marketing expertise helped boost the Photobook awareness, critical to the initial stages of the project; there were those with good finance and operational skills helped to prevent the project from running out of cash; and others provided technical expertise and aesthetic senses. And of course, all the classmates who took time to have their photos taken and to have fun with the camera; that gave the Photobook its soul.

Although only a fraction of the photos made it to the Photobook, there is a unique story behind each smile, each shot of the 11,000 photos taken in the Autumn and Winter of 2012. Flipping through the pages now, we see the familiar faces and familiar surroundings in Fonty, as well as the fun that we had. We see our classmates, their laughter, optimism and enthusiasm resonate from Fonty onto these pages. It is the INSEAD journey, not the destination that is so amazing. These memories will last us a lifetime.

The Photobook was conceived from the passion of a few individuals, but it took a whole village (of 13J) to make it come to life. I love INSEAD.

Today I’d like to say a few words about the criteria you should consider when you’re making a campus choice/exchange decision.

1. Finding a job. The most popular strategy is to spend P4-5 in the same location/region where you are looking to be employed (Fontainebleau for Europe, Latin America and the US, Singapore for Australasia). Naturally, people choose to start at a different campus and then exchange closer to the recruiting season. This, of course, has an explanation – towards the end of the program INSEAD starts to organise various company presentations, coffee chats and interviews. Sometimes (especially in a bad economy) employers aren’t very eager to sponsor air flights for interviews and might prefer to choose the nearest available candidate. However, one shouldn’t overestimate the importance of being present at a particular campus either, especially if you wish to work in consulting or for a big MNC; most of which are able to interview you on any campus as the recruitment process is the same for them worldwide. Big international conglomerates very often manage with just VCs or phone interviews. But the devil is in the detail. If you plan to work for a smaller company, a startup, or set up your own, you’ll need to network a lot. Some of my classmates manage to do investor pitches across 10 time zones, however, it’s not the most convenient option. Asia is also very different from Europe in its recruitment customs. You really need to be here if you want to secure a job at a local office. Even if a company comes to campus (and most don’t), they expect you to network a lot before they call you for an interview. The local job market is less mature than in Europe, so employers are used to interacting face to face, and it is also part of the culture. This is why I am a little skeptical as to finding a job in Asia if one is based in Fontainebleau in P4-P5. If Singapore is your target, come here early enough to build your network.

If I already had a job offer before INSEAD, I’d probably go somewhere far from my original culture and would travel a lot!

2. Professors. Having spent almost 4 periods at INSEAD, I realise that the quality of the education you get depends on the professors who teach you. Had I known this before, I’d probably have contacted the MBA Office long before the start of the program with questions on who’s teaching where. Usually the schedule for the incoming class is formed a lot in advance, so I wouldn’t neglect the opportunity to collect such information. INSEAD alumni are also very approachable and ready to share the names of the stellar professors.

3. Electives. Not all electives (though most) are offered on both campuses at the same time – this information is usually available at the MBA Office. I can hardly imagine a situation in which you’d choose a campus for the sake of a certain elective, but this is still a possibility.

4. Lifestyle. I have noticed that many people mistakenly disregard this, but Fontainebleau and Singapore are definitely two different experiences! Singapore is a big bustling city. It’s perhaps not as big and glamorous as New York, but definitely a very exciting and diverse place, offering a unique multicultural experience. Every Wednesday, INSEADers go to popular local night clubs for Ladies’ Night. Every weekend is filled with trips to neighbouring countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and many others. The airport is only 20 minutes from the city center, and flights are generally quite affordable. As a downside, many Europeans find it hard to adapt to the local culture, although Singapore is regarded to be the most “westernised” of all Asian countries; a sort of “Asia for beginners”. Still, many people miss their native cultures here.

Fontainebleau is a dolly village in the middle of a forest in France. You have wonderful landscapes and amazing European food (cheese and wine in particular) there. Despite the popular belief, it is not exactly near to Paris, so going there every evening isn’t feasible. It’s quite important to have a car there (forget about having a car in Singapore!), as public transport is quite unpredictable and not very common. Thus, the socialising part of INSEAD usually happens in chateaus during parties as basically this is the only option to have fun there.

I’d highly recommend Singapore for couples with children, as nannies are very affordable here, whereas in France they cost a fortune.

4. Budget. Singapore is a ridiculously EXPENSIVE city. For example, you pay on average 1500 SGD (~1000 Euro) for a room in a 3-bedroom apartment, excluding utilities. In Fontainebleau, for the same amount you’d get an apartment of your own. For 400-500 euro a month you’d easily get a room in a chateau.

5. Climate. Being a Russian person, I’d like to emphasize this point as a very important one! =) I was very happy of the mere idea to spend one winter in a warm climate. Some of the Indian people in my program, were no less happy to spend the winter in a really cold climate, because they hadn’t ever seen snow before and wanted to try mountain sking, so they went to Fontainebleau for the January-February (P3) period.

6. This is perhaps not a priority to many people, but still it seems important to some – figure out where your friends are going to be. The MBA programme is not all about study and recruitment, it’s also about making friends for life. So make sure your friends are in the right place =).

This are my two cents on campus exchange. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!