The Touch MBA Admissions Podcast

Do you have to quit your job to get your MBA? Darren invites Chris Healy from Alliance Manchester Business school to share how the part-time / professional MBA has evolved with new technology and student and employer demands. If you're unsure about getting an online, blended, part-time or Executive MBA, you'll get key insights from this episode.

Questions

• How the part-time / professional MBA has evolved over the past 15 years (2:30)
• How employers view part-time / professional MBAs (15:50)
• Networking at b-school as a part-time / professional MBA (21:35)
• The quality of online courses (27:20)
• How do business schools with multiple campuses maintain quality of faculty? (33:25)
• The advantages of dual-MBAs (37:00)
• Grades, format, and commitment required of a typical Manchester MBA part-time course held over 6 months (40:35)
• The future of part-time / professional MBAs (47:20)

About Our Guest

Chris Healy is Head of MBA Marketing & Recruitment for Alliance Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester. Chris has been in the business education industry for nearly 15 years and got his Bachelors in Consumer Marketing from Manchester Metropolitan University.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/the-evolving-professional-mba-chris-healy

Inspired by the Harvard Business Review article Experience Doesn’t Predict a New Hire’s Success, Darren shares how you can demonstrate you're a great fit for your target MBA programs - or your next employer - even if you're short on experience. If you feel like you lack relevant work experience for the MBA, this episode is for you.

• Experience Doesn’t Predict a New Hire’s Success (Harvard Business Review)

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/experience-does-not-equal-performance/

Sachin Tipnis, Senior Executive Director of HKU's MBA, EMBA & 6 specialized Masters programs discusses the Hong Kong protests, curriculum changes, admissions, and picking the right Masters program for your career goals.

• The Hong Kong Protests - How Has this Affected Students? (2:45)
• Curriculum, Admissions and Career Services Updates with the HKU MBA (17:30)
• Full-time MBA vs. Specialized Masters vs. EMBA - Which Should You Choose (45:15)

HKU MBA Highlights (last updated Jan 2020)

• 12-months, Fall intake, 55-60 students/year
• Typical Class: 5-6 years work exp / ~15 nationalities / 640 GMAT
• Has 3 tracks: the London track, the New York track, and the Hong Kong/China track. After finishing 9 months of core courses at HKU, students can study at Columbia University in New York, London Business School in London, or Fudan University in Shanghai for one semester
• HKU has 2 rounds of interviews. The first is similar to a job interview; those that pass the first round may be required to give a presentation in the second round
• Graduates get a 1-year visa to stay in Hong Kong and find a job post-graduation
• Placement, Class of 2018: 83% w/job offers w/in 3 months, $82,551 USD avg post MBA salary (Economist MBA Ranking 2019)
• Top Destinations, Class of 2017 & 2018: 47% Hong Kong / 21% Other Regions of Asia / 13% Mainland China / 9% Americas / 7% India / 3% Europe
• Top Industries, Class of 2018: 36% Financial Services, Insurance / 12% Consumer Goods, Retail / 6% IT, Telecommunications
• Top Functions, Class of 2017 & 2018: 29% Finance, Audit, Accounting / 27% Consulting, Strategy / 21% Marketing, Branding, Business Development / 10% General Management
• Ranked #1 Asian Business School by Economist for 9 straight years

About Our Guest

Sachin Tipnis is the Senior Executive Director of MBA, EMBA Global Asia (joint Executive MBA Degree with Columbia and London Business School), and six specialized Master Programmes at the University of Hong Kong. Sachin was part of HKU's first graduating MBA class and has worked for over a decade developing the HKU MBA. Sachin worked in branding and marketing communications for 7 years before working in higher education.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/hku-mba-whats-up-in-2020

Gregory Wool, Cornell Johnson MBA '21, scored below average on the quantitative section of the GMAT. How did he overcome this score to not only get into Cornell Johnson, but win a prestigious tuition free scholarship? Gregory also shares his experience surviving a packed first semester, leading the student consulting club, and recruiting into strategy consulting.

Questions

• Gregory's application and GMAT journey (4:40)
• What Gregory did to overcome his low quant score (8:50)
• Gregory's experience with Cornell's L.E.A.D. admissions event (12:45)
• Gregory's career goals and how they affected his MBA search (18:50)
• Winning a Roy H. Park Leadership Fellowship (22:40)
• The importance of speaking to current students (24:30)
• Surviving first semester FOMO and coursework (26:50)
• Becoming an officer at Johnson Consulting club (32:12)
• Recruiting into consulting: clubs, case competitions, career working groups, and live consulting projects (36:15)
• Social life at Cornell Johnson (48:00)
• Being an older MBA candidate (54:00)
• Cornell's Present Value Podcast (58:16)

About Gregory

Gregory Wool worked as a Director of Operations at two boutique resorts before attending the Cornell Johnson MBA, where he is a first year MBA candidate and Roy H. Park Leadership Fellow. Gregory is also President of the Johnson Consulting Club, and Producer of the Present Value Podcast. Gregory got a Bachelors in Fine Arts in Dramatic Performance from the University of Cincinnati College - Conservatory of Music.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/quantless-in-cornell-gregory-wool

Around half of Insead MBA graduates end up working in consulting each year. Darren invites Massine Bouzerar, Insead MBA '19J, to share how he landed a job with Bain & Company AND made the most of his ten months at Insead's Fontainebleau campus.

Questions

• Massine’s overview of management consulting recruiting at Insead (4:35)
• Differentiating yourself from thousands of other MBA students applying to consulting firms (7:55)
• How Massine's career plans evolved at Insead (10:30)
• Work visas in Europe for non-Europeans (12:35)
• How Massine explored consulting offices worldwide (14:46)
• What helped Massine prepare for recruiting in management consulting (18:00)
• The culture of recruiting at Insead (20:55)
• Student clubs and recruiting (24:10)
• Recruiting for non-consulting jobs (26:00)
• Dealing with FOMO in a 1-year program (29:20)
• Making connections at Insead (31:40)
• Academics at Insead (32:55)
• Massine's takeaways from his MBA experience (40:23)
• Outsead, Insead's LGBTQ+ student club (44:20)
• Dating at Insead (47:56)
• Massine's final thoughts (51:00)

About Massine

Massine Bouzerar worked as a product manager and e-commerce strategist in Canada before attending the Insead MBA. Massine served as President of Outsead, Insead's LGBT+ student club, and as the academic representative for his section. He currently is an Associate for Bain & Company in Brussels.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/management-consulting-student-life-insead-massine-bouzerar

Gary Lo, Managing Director of Glo Consulting and former Head of Admissions for the HKUST MBA, shares three questions to ask before you make a career move - MBA included. Aside from working for 10 different companies in 7 industries, Gary has counseled hundreds of MBAs and professionals as a career coach, so don't miss this episode if you're thinking about making a career move.

Questions

• Gary's three questions to ask before you make a career move (3:10)
• Is following your passion practical? (13:50)
• Why Gary believes 10-15 years a good long-term planning period (23:04)
• The power song exercise (26:55)
• Applying Gary's framework to the MBA: what should more MBA applicants consider before applying? (30:08)
• How MBA recruiting has changed (39:25)
• Gary's questions to help MBA students breakthrough career planning paralysis (42:20)
• Building your personal brand (46:20)

About Gary

Gary Lo is a seasoned trainer with extensive corporate experience. He spent most of his career working at Fortune 500 companies including LVMH, Apple, Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline and Nestle, with a scope covering the Greater China & APAC region. He was the former Head of Marketing & Admissions for the HKUST MBA Programs, and now serves as a Guest Lecturer for the HKU SPACE Institute for China Business and Nielsen University. He is also an appointed career coach for top Universities in the region, where he has trained hundreds of MBA and Masters students, professionals and corporate executives from all around the world. Gary holds an MBA degree from the HKUST Business School.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/three-questions-to-ask-before-you-make-a-career-move-gary-lo

Darren recently attended a panel "Preparing Your Application: Advice from MBA Admissions Directors” at the MBA Tour in Ho Chi Minh. In this episode, he unpacks the application advice given by five admissions directors.

1. Why should you get an MBA? (3:16)
2. What type of experience are top business schools looking for? (7:20)
3. How can you assess school fit? (10:12)
4. What are your top essay tips? (13:00)
5. What are your top interview tips? (16:37)

Admissions Directors on MBA Tour Panel (August 2019)

• John-Derek (J.D.) Clarke, Ivey Business School
• Kylie Stewart, Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Business
• Gulnura Rakhyshova, Asia School of Business
• Jessica Morgan, Schulich School of Business
• John Lee, UCLA Anderson School of Management

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/five-takeaways-mba-tour-panel-ho-chi-minh-preparing-your-application-advice-from-admissions-directors

Cristian Molina Cornejo, Tuck MBA '21, shares how MBA applicants can take advantage of two programs that champion diversity and inclusion: Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) and the Consortium. Cristian also gives his best application tips after getting into four out of five top 20 US MBA programs.

Questions

• Cristian's background (3:20)
• What you need to know about MLT (14:25)
• What you need to know about Consortium (26:00)
• MLT's Professional Development program and its network (30:55)
• How to make the most out of MLT and Consortium (40:50)
• Cristian's best application tips after getting into four top schools (45:10)
• Cristian's thoughts on Tuck (52:50)

About Cristian

Cristian is a first year MBA at the Tuck School of Business. Prior to starting his MBA, Cristian graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Economics, and worked for Energeia, a research and advisory firm in energy technology and electronics.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/management-leadership-for-tomorrow-consortium-what-you-need-to-know

Hailing from Nigeria and having never visited the US, how did Ikechukwu Edeagu shortlist and apply to MBA programs? And what was his process for navigating internships and the job search as an international student? Listen to get a real-time, inside look into one international student's MBA experience at UNC Kenan Flagler.

Questions

• Ike's background (3:53)
• How Ike shortlisted business schools  (8:02)
• Ike's application tips for international students (14:20)
• Ike's thoughts on financing your MBA (22:20)
• How Ike secured his internship and job with Microsoft (25:08)
• Ike's recommended resources and research process for your MBA job search (44:30)
• The importance of soft skills in building relationships and careers in the US (53:55)
• Ike thoughts on the UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA experience and culture (1:00:00)
• Ike's final recommendations to applicants (1:11:30)

About our Guest

Ikechukwu Edeagu graduated from the UNC MBA with a double concentration in Capital Markets and Investments and Corporate Finance. Prior to starting his MBA, Ike worked in KPMG's Risk Consulting practice in Lagos, Nigeria. Ikechukwu is currently working as a Finance Manager, Cloud and Artificial Intelligence for Microsoft in Seattle. 

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/the-us-mba-experience-as-an-international-student-ikechukwu-edeagu-unc-mba

Do you feel like your MBA story is a bit bland? Or uninspiring compared to the applicant profiles you see online? What if you haven't overcome insurmountable odds or accomplished something amazing?

Darren explores the possibilities of kishōtenketsu - a four act story structure used by Japanese and Chinese writers for centuries. What makes this story structure interesting is that it relies on contrast - not conflict - to generate interest.

Kishōtenketsu in 4 acts:

1. Ki (start)
2. Shō (development)
3. Ten (twist)
4. Ketsu (conclusion)

Listen on for ways you can use this Eastern story structure to keep admissions officers' attention AND demonstrate your self-awareness.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/kishotenketsu