Holding an M.A. in International Trade and Investment Policy from the George Washington University in Washington, DC, and a B.A. in Communications from the University of Texas at Arlington, Nadine had been working for the US government, most recently as a diplomat focused on economic policy at the US Mission to the European Union in Brussels.

Writing in “The INSEAD MBA Experience” blog, she gives several reasons for choosing this B-school over the others.

She says she wanted to study in a top-ranked school for her additional master’s degree to add value to her resume.

Having lived and worked in Europe for the past two years, she wanted to stay on. By joining a European institution, she felt she would be able to continue to live in the continent while making herself more competitive for the European job market.

Unlike in the US, where it is rare to have a master’s degree, due to the differences in the education systems, almost all Europeans pursuing their MBAs already have master’s degrees.  In this respect, she felt she would fit right in.

Insead was the only school where the administration went out of their way to tell a group of prospective students that they recognize the program is expensive and want to make sure they got their money’s worth.

Nadine also wanted to be in a country where she could improve her French or Spanish. “I love learning languages, even if I’m not particularly talented at it.  The language classes at INSEAD—included in tuition—appealed strongly to me,” she says.

She was also seeking diversity having been a minority as a Bangladeshi-American. “This lack of diversity amplified when I joined the government, where people are disproportionately recruited from elite schools.  At INSEAD, I found a level of diversity unmatched by top US schools.  When I visited the school, it was the first time in a very long time that I felt I wasn’t a minority.  Rather, I was just among a group of kind, intelligent, and interesting people from all over the world,” she says.

Another factor weighing in favour of INSEAD was the higher average age of the cohort compared to American programs. “I didn’t want to do an executive MBA program since I’m changing sectors from the government.  The average age in top US MBA programs (non-executive) ranges from 26 to about 28, and they increasingly admit students directly after undergrad or with less than two years of work experience.

“INSEAD’s average age is 29, with an average six years of work experience.  It’s not much higher than the US schools, but I felt the difference when I visited schools.  At each of these sessions, I sought out the 30+ crowd and asked about their experiences.  INSEAD was the only school where the older students had a positive experience and encouraged me to apply, and the younger students specifically said they had a better experience because of the older average age.  With too low of an average age, students would have less to contribute in terms of sharing their past experiences.”

She also says that while she spoke with current students and some alumni at the schools she visited, it was only at INSEAD she got a positive feedback.

Regarding the curriculum, she says of all the MBA masterclasses she attended, it was only the one at INSEAD that piqued her interest. “Granted, the first masterclass was with Erin Meyer, who I now know is some kind of international superstar professor, but I appreciate that INSEAD would bring out the big guns to attract new students.”

She also felt that this was the only school where the administration went out of their way to tell a group of prospective students that they recognize the program is expensive and want to make sure they got their money’s worth.

The location at Fontainebleau, she says, allows her to focus on the program and the MBA experience rather than being distracted in a bigger city. “Small doesn’t mean rural by any means; Fontainebleau is a tourist destination in and of itself.  There are plenty of supermarkets, restaurants, bars, and at least two artisanal bakeries on each block.  The campus is quite integrated into the town, so it’s easy to find a place to live that’s within walking distance of everything you’ll need on a day-to-day basis.  And of course, if it gets too small for you, a 45-minute train ride will put you in the centre of Paris,” she says.

The post Why Nadine Farouq Chose INSEAD MBA Program From Among 8 Schools appeared first on OneYearMBA.co.in.

The first point is that learning agility or leadership potential remain unaffected by age. It is your attitude that determines whether you see yourself as adaptable or as someone unable to overcome self-imposed limitations.

Secondly, with increasing talent shortages across the world, the number of older workers is also on the rise. Writing in the INSEAD blog Knowledge, the alumni quotes a Mercer study to say that by 2050, the number of people over 65 years old will triple worldwide and those over 80 will quadruple.

The sixth point is about upgrading your ability to embrace new technologies including self-study, peer-learning and inter-generational mentorship.

Combined with reduced birth rates, the result is severe skills shortages. With the right attitude, you will be able to make use of the situation to your advantage.

The third point is that a growing number of firms have realised the value of mature workers and some even have rolled out special programs like Daimler AG’s “Take experience into the future” project, and IKEA’s “silver recruitment” drive, which aim to derive value from experience.

Fourthly, you could always use the fact of having vast experience to your advantage over younger professionals, especially if you possess the attributes of flexibility, confidence, cool-headedness, resilience and objectivity.

Fifthly, you should learn to ignore the naysayers and focus on hiring managers who appreciate and value experience. You would also be probably better off sending your CV directly to your future boss than to HR.

The sixth point is about upgrading your ability to embrace new technologies including self-study, peer-learning and inter-generational mentorship.

The seventh point is about using your network to create new connections relevant to your proposed new industry. Join professional groups online and offline. Coaching might also help you with your search or entire career transition.

And finally, the eighth point is about bringing forth the active, passionate part of your personality during interviews and networking activities.

Antoine Tirard is a talent management advisor and the founder of NexTalent. Claire Harbour-Lyell is a coach and global talent expert, the founder of Culture Pearl and a speaker, consultant and writer about all things to do with optimising talent across borders. Neil Courtis is the Managing Director of Sensible Media.

The post How Old Is Too Old For Career Transition? appeared first on OneYearMBA.co.in.

An impressive 90% of the graduates had reported receiving an offer three months after graduation as compared to 89% in 2016, according to Katy Montgomery, Global Director, Career Development Centre, INSEAD.

Overall annual median salary was $103,100 and overall median performance bonus $22,200.

The school maintained its diverse and global footprint in 2017 with students accepting job offers in 64 countries.

INSEAD’s multi-campus employer engagement specialists engaged with more than 600 companies and expanded recruiting activities beyond the traditional on-campus interviewing to include networking afternoons, career treks and talent & networking fora.

Consulting continues to be the most popular sector with 49% of the students (33% new hires and 16% returnees) deciding to join or remain in the industry.

Career opportunities remained high in other sectors also. Technology, Media & Telecommunications came second as the most desirable industry.

For the first time, Fintech has been added as a sub-sector with 11% of the graduates accepting job offers.

INSEAD’s multi-campus employer engagement specialists engaged with more than 600 companies and expanded recruiting activities beyond the traditional on-campus interviewing to include networking afternoons, career treks and talent & networking fora.

Following the trend of marketplace disruption, external and internal career events included start-ups and mid-size businesses in addition to big company brands and conglomerates.

“We now count four mid-size companies within the top employers’ list,” says Katy.

Mirroring innovation in the market and to meet the ever-changing talent needs of employers, the Career Development Centre team has created and implemented a unique career coaching model, careers core and electives curriculum and pre-INSEAD career activities to best prepare students for recruitment activities and life-long career management.

Career education includes experiential learning and multiple opportunities to practice and perfect, says Katy.

While a total 1029 completed the MBA program in December 2016 and July 2017, 998 graduates participated in the formal recruitment activities.

The school said 98% of the students had responded to the Employment Statistics Survey. Of them, 90% reported having received at least one job offer 3 months after their graduation date.

While 85% parted with details of their career decision, 75% reported full salary information.

A majority of 52% (445) students stated they found a job with the help of the Career Development Centre and Alumni network, 23% (192) said Returnees and/or Sponsored Students helped them. Own contacts were cited by 13% (115).

Summer internship was reported by 8% (70) while 4% (30) embarked on creating their own company.

As far as job locations are concerned, 38% chose Western Europe and 26% Asia Pacific. Africa/Middle East was the choice for 10%, North America 9%, Southern Europe 6%, Latin America 5%, Central/Eastern Europe 4% and Northern Europe 2%.

While 79% of the graduates changed sector or country or function, 29% changed all three dimensions, 53% changed the country, 54% changed sector and 62% changed function.

The post INSEAD Employment Report: Average Annual Base Salary Up At $104,800 appeared first on OneYearMBA.co.in.

INSEAD, the first in Europe to launch the MBA program, has campuses in Fontainebleau near Paris, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. The three places offer locational advantages of being prominent financial and business hubs.

HEC, with its campus, built around a 19th-century château, on a woodland close to the Versailles and Paris, also shares the location advantage.

The INSEAD’s MBA program is divided into five sections of 8-weeks that conclude with an exam, essay or project. The first three cover the 14 core courses that give students a thorough grounding in the business skills. The core courses include financial accounting, organizational behaviour, corporate financial policy and macroeconomics in the global economy.

The highest-salaried industry for graduates was finance, with an average annual salary package of €116,800 (US$137,365).  In consulting that figure was €110,500 (US$129,956), and for the industry in general – €94,500 (US$111,139).

The second part of the course, consisting of two sections, allows students to customize the program with a choice of 75 electives in more than 10 academic areas.

The students get to know about business practices in different cultures as they are allowed to switch campuses during this period. Several of the electives also have international travel options.

INSEAD also takes care to keep the content and curriculum constantly updated. The faculty ensures that students are aware of changing trends in the business and economic worlds.

In the case of HEC, the program is divided into two phases. The first is fundamental or core subjects and the second one, customized. The fundamental part is taken care of in eight months. It deals with several essential subjects including financial policy, management skills, accounting and other entrepreneurship essentials.

The next eight months form the customized period in which students could take up elective courses, specializations, international exchanges and fieldwork projects.

HEC also has two intakes, in September and January. The school also offers personalized career development programs.

In teaching, INSEAD promotes individuality. The faculty are free to choose the method they feel is most appropriate for the course and the class. Thus, there would be case studies, computer simulations, role-playing, project work and study tours.

Another feature of the program is that students are put into 6-member study groups of around six students at the beginning of the program. The groups are made as diversified as possible with the inclusion of a range of genders, nationalities, ages, experience levels and educational backgrounds. It allows for academic debates that enable students to understand various perspectives.

HEC Paris has creativity talks, weekly mentoring sessions with experienced entrepreneurs besides lectures and talks from top business leaders. The faculty has a tailored approach and lays stress on learning by working. Students get ample opportunities to put into practice the theoretical knowledge they had acquired.

The international and diverse nature of cohort allows them to evolve a multicultural approach to strategy and problem-solving.

INSEAD has 600 students in its most recent intake, 34% of whom are female and 90% international. As many as 75 nationalities are represented.

HEC has 232 students in the class of 2018, 34% female and 93% international students. The class has 52 nationalities represented.

The latest cohort at INSEAD has an average GMAT score of 707 and 5.7 years of work experience. In education background, 33% of the students had majored in business administration followed by 29% in engineering.

The average GMAT score for students at HEC is 690 this year, with an average of six years’ work experience. The most popular undergraduate major is engineering at 26%.

In terms of fees, INSEAD is more expensive than HEC. The school charges €82,000 (US$95,018) for the 2018 batch. For HEC, the fee for January 2018 intake is €62,000 (US$71,843) and for September intake €66,000 (US$76,478).

As far as employment is concerned, the Class of 2016 graduates reported having received an overall Annual Mean Salary of US$ 103,700 and an overall Annual Median Salary of US$ 102,500.

The school had stated that 89% of the December 2015 and July 2016 graduates secured employment within 3 months of graduation. Of them, 53% found their job via INSEAD’s career development center or the alumni network.

In terms of sectors, 46% of graduates pursued careers in management consulting, 14% in financial services, and 19% in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors.

In HEC, 92% of the 2015-2017 class had accepted a job offer within three months post-graduation and on average, doubled their pre-MBA salaries. The average base salary of graduates was around €86,300 (US$101,495), with around €17,500 (US$20,581) of annual benefits. The average sign-on bonus was around €14,200 (US$16700).

The highest-salaried industry for graduates was finance, with an average annual salary package of €116,800 (US$137,365).  In consulting that figure was €110,500 (US$129,956), and for the industry in general – €94,500 (US$111,139).

The post INSEAD or HEC Paris, Which One Would You Choose for MBA? appeared first on OneYearMBA.co.in.