The Touch MBA Admissions Podcast

Darren shares three foundational application strategies from Avi Gordon's MBA Admissions Strategy: From Profile Building to Essay Writing (2005) that have stood the test of time. It's always advantageous to master the fundamentals of any art form - including constructing a winning MBA application. Listen on to review the basics! Topics Introduction (0:00) Marketing to Adcoms (3:50) Attributes that Count (10:40) Points, Stories, Analysis (19:40) EPISODE SPONSOR: QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY'S SMITH FULL-TIME MBA The path to your next big career move goes through Canada. The 12-month Full-time MBA program at Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business features a proven team-based, experiential curriculum — built around the exact set of skills that top employers seek. The results speak for themselves. 98% of the Class of 2021 accepted an offer for their dream role within 3 months of graduation. Listeners of the Touch MBA Podcast can receive a complimentary virtual consultation by visiting Yoursmithmba.com/touchmba. Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/mba-admissions-strategy-avi-gordon Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com  

What do MBA applicants need to know about breaking into the healthcare industry? Darren invites Veeral Desai, Harvard Business School MBA ’07, to share his experience moving from Bain & Company's Healthcare Practice to senior executive roles at Vantage Oncology and agilon health. Veeral shares his best tips on narrowing your target list of organizations, connecting with alumni, and acing the recruitment process. A big part of Veeral's roles has been recruiting MBAs, so don't miss his advice on how to give yourself the best chance of building a successful career in healthcare. This is Part 12 of our MBA Career Series. Looking for more career-related podcasts? Click here. Questions Introducing Veeral (0:00) Veeral's MBA journey and why Veeral pursued a career in healthcare (5:30) Why and how Veeral moved on from Bain & Company to Vantage Oncology (12:00) Tactics to break into healthcare (16:00) Interacting with MBA alumni (24:30) Acing the healthcare recruiting process (28:00) Key skills to succeed in healthcare (34:30) The ups and downs of Veeral's healthcare experience (44:15) How Covid has affected the healthcare industry (48:30) About Veeral Veeral Desai is the Chief Strategy and Development Officer at agilon health. Veeral joined agilon health in 2017 as President of Enterprise Operations, where he led the creation of agilon's operating platform, and held P&L and operating responsibility spanning the Western and Eastern regions of the company. Prior to agilon, Veeral served in several senior executive roles at Vantage Oncology (most recently as President of Operations) overseeing the growth and development of Vantage into a leading national cancer delivery network. Before joining Vantage, Veeral spent nearly a decade as a leader in the healthcare practice of Bain & Company. Veeral received his B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Episode Sponsor: Queens University's Smith Full-time MBA The path to your next big career move goes through Canada. The 12-month Full-time MBA program at Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business features a proven team-based, experiential curriculum — built around the exact set of skills that top employers seek. The results speak for themselves. 98% of the Class of 2021 accepted an offer for their dream role within 3 months of graduation. Listeners of the Touch MBA Podcast can receive a complimentary virtual consultation by visiting Yoursmithmba.com/touchmba Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/mba-careers-healthcare. Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Steve Dalton, a senior career consultant and program director at Duke University's Fuqua School, shares time-saving techniques for choosing a career and acing common interview questions from his new book, The Job Closer. Having worked in MBA career services for over 16 years, Steve also shares what MBA employers are looking for, how Covid-19 has changed recruiting, and one of his favorite exercises for helping MBAs make difficult career decisions. Questions Introducing Steve (0:00) Why Steve wrote The Job Closer and hates tips (5:00) Choosing a career in 63 minutes (15:00) Answering the "tell me about yourself (TMAY)" interview question with "FIT" (21:15) Can Steve's recipes be too formulaic? (33:30) What MBA employers are looking for (36:35) Building rapport online with recruiters (41:00) The "Sleep On It" exercise for making difficult decisions (44:20) Inner vs. outer ring careers (51:30) About Steve Steve Dalton is the author of The 2-Hour Job Search and The Job Closer, founder of the corporate training firm Contact2Colleague, and a senior career consultant and program director at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where he got his MBA in 2004. Steve lives in Durham, North Carolina. Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/the-job-closer-steve-dalton/ Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Amy Duckworth, Director of Admissions at Imperial College Business School, shares what makes the Imperial MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (2:00) | Admissions (13:00) | Financing & Scholarships (26:10) | Careers (29:10) What is unique about the Imperial MBA? What are its key advantages? Imperial College is one of the world’s leading STEM institutions, ranked 12th globally by the Times Higher Education 1-year MBA completed at two campuses (South Kensington and White City) in London Imperial is launching a new MBA curriculum for Fall 2022 class, which includes a year-long LEAD (Leadership, Ethics, Awareness, Diversity, Society) module Full-time students are encouraged to collaborate with the wider Imperial College student body and MBAs from Imperial's 3 other MBA programs Admissions is looking for intellectual ability, strong professional track record and leadership potential as well as a bent towards innovation and collaboration Students can specialize in Analytics, Entrepreneurship or Finance The Imperial College Union runs over 340 clubs, societies and projects, the largest range of student-led activities of any university in the UK Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/imperial-mba-program-admissions-interview-amy-duckworth Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Sabine Noe, Director of Recruitment & Admissions for WHU's MBA Programs, shares what makes the WHU MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (1:50) | Admissions (14:45) | Financing & Scholarships (27:00) | Careers (32:00) About Our Guest Sabine Noe leads the Recruitment & Admissions Teams for MBA Programs at WHU's Otto Beisheim School of Management, where she has worked for over 5 years. Sabine graduated from FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg with a Masters in Political Science & Sociology. What is unique about the WHU MBA? What are its key advantages? Ranked #1 in Germany and #14 in Europe by the Financial Times (2021) Ranked #6 for Entrepreneurship worldwide by Financial Times (2018); WHU alumni have founded 13 unicorns (companies valued over $1 billion USD before IPO) Located in Dusseldorf (population 600,000), a creative and start-up hub in Germany. More than 400 advertising agencies call Dusseldorf home, as well as hundreds more startups The program’s leadership module offers intensive training – both in and out of the classroom – aimed at helping students develop critical soft skills necessary to be effective managers MBA candidates are required to participate in short-term study periods in the U.S., India and China. Partner universities include Kellogg, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, and CEIBS/Fudan The program offers two potential start dates – March or September – and an intensive, four-week German language course that candidates can participate in before starting the MBA Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/whu-mba-program-admissions-interview-sabine-noe  Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Emily Brierley, Head of Cambridge MBA Recruitment and Admissions at Cambridge Judge Business School, discusses what makes the Cambridge MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (2:30) | Admissions (17:30) | Financing & Scholarships (28:30) | Careers (36:45) About Our Guest Emily Brierley is Head of Cambridge MBA Recruitment and Admissions at Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, where she has worked for over 5 years. Emily graduated from the University of Portsmouth with a Bachelors in American Studies. What is unique about the Cambridge MBA? What are its key advantages? The University of Cambridge is one of the world’s most prestigious institutions, ranked 5th globally by Times Higher Education (2022) Each Cambridge MBA belongs to 1 of 31 colleges affiliated with the University, which could include undergraduates and masters/PhD students studying different disciplines Requires 3 team projects over the year that emphasize real world, experiential learning Admissions is looking for academic achievement, clear career progression and ambition, international experience and global outlook, and strong interpersonal and collaborative skills Interviews are conducted by Cambridge Judge Business School faculty members Students can specialize in 10 concentrations The area surrounding Cambridge is known as ‘Silicon Fen;’ 900 high tech firms operate within 50 miles of the city Cambridge attracts the largest investment per capita in Europe, five times that of London. The total amount of capital (including VC) invested in Cambridge startups is £600 million. International MBA graduates can remain in UK for employment for 2 years under new post-study work visa Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/cambridge-mba-program-admissions-interview-emily-brierley/ Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Imran Kanga, Director of Recruitment & Admissions for Rotman School of Management's Full-time MBA at the University of Toronto, discusses what makes the Rotman MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (2:30) | Admissions (19:00) | Financing & Scholarships (35:30) | Careers (39:50) About Our Guest Imran Kanga is Director of Recruitment & Admissions for the Rotman School of Management's Full-time MBA Program at the University of Toronto. Previously, Imran worked in a similar capacity for the Schulich School of Business, where he got his MBA in 2010. What is unique about the Toronto Rotman MBA? What are its key advantages? The University of Toronto was ranked 18th globally by Times Higher Education, and #1 in Canada (2022) Rotman, located in the heart of downtown Toronto, was ranked #1 Canadian MBA program by Financial Times (2021) 250-300 students/intake with 40 nationalities Rotman’s office of student engagement curates over 1,000 experiential learning opportunities for students with its Creative Destruction Lab, Self-Development Lab, Business Design Institute, etc Rotman requires a one semester, 4-month internship for all students Admissions is looking for intellectual horsepower, experience and impact, communication and presence, and spike factor i.e. doing interesting things with your personal and professional lives that demonstrate passion, grit, resilience, innovation, drive and ambition Students can specialize in 15 majors Toronto was ranked one of the world's most livable cities by the Economist, with a lower cost of living and higher quality of life than many major cities in the US; over half of Toronto's population was born outside of Canada Rotman's 2-year MBA allows international Full-Time MBA graduates to be eligible for a 3-year Canadian work permit Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/toronto-rotman-mba-program-admissions-interview-imran-kanga Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com  

Francesca Roveda, a member of the recruiting and admissions team for SDA Bocconi’s MBA program, discusses what makes the SDA Bocconi MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (5:30) | Admissions (28:26) | Financing & Scholarships (48:00) | Careers (55:30) About Our Guest Francesca Roveda recruits candidates for the MBA, Executive MBA and Specialized Masters program for Bocconi University’s School of Management. Francesca has been with Bocconi for nearly 30 years, starting in the marketing office and then moving over to recruiting and admissions in 2008. What is unique about the SDA Bocconi MBA? What are its key advantages? Located in downtown Milan, which has the third largest economy among EU cities after Paris and Madrid and is recognized as one of the world’s finance and fashion capitals; Paris, London and Barcelona are a one-hour flight away SDA Bocconi MBA starts in September and lasts 12 months 100 students per class from 30 countries; 75% of students are from outside Italy Admissions is looking for applicants who truly listen and respect diversity and have strong interpersonal skills to work in groups  Students can specialize in Finance, Marketing & Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Luxury Business Management SDA Bocconi is celebrating its 50th birthday in 2021  Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/sda-bocconi-mba-program-admissions-interview-francesca-roveda Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Safira Djati shares her journey from private equity analyst in Indonesia to the NUS MBA, where she is President of the NUS MBA Student Council. How has Covid affected the program and what has most surprised her about the NUS MBA so far? Safira shares the importance of student clubs and her takeaways from leading the 38th NUS MBA Student Council as its first female and Indonesian president. Finally, Safira touches on being a mother and making the most of her MBA. Questions Safira's background, pre-MBA goals, and reasons for applying to NUS (3:20) Safira's NUS MBA experience vs. expectations (8:30) MBA recruiting during Covid (14:00) What Safira has learned from the MBA (17:00) Singapore job-seeking as an international student (20:05) Building connections in VC/PE (24:20) Safira's experience running for President and leading the 38th NUS MBA Student Council (30:10) Safira's advice for mom MBAs (46:20) Safira's last thoughts on making the most of your MBA (52:00) About Safira Safira Djati currently attends the NUS MBA. Prior to NUS, she worked as a Manager and Investment Analyst for PT PPA Capital in Jakarta, Indonesia. Safira graduated from Universitas Prasetiya Mulya with a Bachelors in Economics. Safira is President of the NUS MBA Student Council, runs her own jewelry business, XAVIA Jewelry, and is looking to pursue a private equity, venture capital or impact investing role after graduation. Show Notes Connect with Safira on LinkedIn Get your profile assessed by NUS MBA Admissions Team Chat with NUS MBA Student Ambassadors NUS MBA Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/inside-the-nus-mba-student-council-president-safira-djati-nus-mba Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com  

Most applicants get an MBA to step out of their comfort zones. But, what about pursuing your MBA and subsequent five-year marketing career in Hong Kong as an American? Tony DeGennaro, who majored in Political Science and Philosophy at Rutgers, shares his winding journey to the CUHK MBA, one of the top-ranked business schools in Asia, to running a boutique marketing agency targeting Chinese consumers, to now working as a Digital Strategist for First Page Digital, an online marketing agency with offices in 9 countries. What has Tony learned from studying and working in Hong Kong? Questions Tony’s background, pre-MBA goals, and reasons for applying to CUHK (3:45) Tony’s biggest challenge during the MBA (13:40) The two things Tony took away from his MBA experience (17:10) Can entrepreneurship be taught? (21:20) How Tony ended up running his own boutique marketing agency (22:10) Tony’s current role at First Page Digital (27:50) Tony’s thoughts on the future of digital marketing and the marketing industry in Hong Kong (29:50) Tony’s tips for landing a post-MBA job in a foreign country (33:30) Leading the Marketing Club at CUHK (37:00) What Tony would have done differently (43:20) How Hong Kong has changed over the past 5 years (45:20) Tony’s last tips to applicants (50:00) About Tony DeGennaro Tony DeGennaro is an Enterprise Digital Strategist at First Page Digital. Previously, he was Director of Marketing and Business Development for Dragon Social, a boutique marketing agency in Hong Kong. Tony graduated from Rutgers with a Bachelors in Political Science and Philosophy, and worked in sales and as an English teacher before attending the CUHK MBA. Show Notes Connect with Tony on LinkedIn Meet Tony at CUHK MBA’s Information Session & Alumni Sharing Webinar on August 25, 2021 Get your profile assessed by CUHK MBA Admissions Team CUHK MBA Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/taking-the-road-less-traveled-tony-degennaro-cuhk-mba/ Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Samuel Adeoye, UBC Sauder MBA '22, has an amazing story to tell about applying to 18 business schools over two years, and getting full-scholarship awards at 8 of them. How was he able to do this? And what has he learned from his application journey from Abuja, Nigeria to Vancouver, Canada? Questions Samuel's background (4:18) Samuel's 2-year journey applying to over 15 business schools (8:00) Samuel's advice to low income applicants on applying to business schools and winning scholarships (20:52) Why Samuel started City of Lane and LanePod (30:40) Samuel's Sauder MBA experience so far and landing an internship at Microsoft (41:54) About Samuel After getting his Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, Samuel Adeoye interned as a Highway and Transportation Engineer while launching a podcast tech startup, and then worked as an Implementation & Design Engineer for Arup, a global architecture and civil engineering consulting firm. He then worked as a consultant for The Bluepen Company, a boutique consulting company serving small and medium sized enterprises in Nigeria. In March 2020, Samuel founded City of Lane, a community of MBA Alumni, students and applicants looking to leverage their MBA experience for an economically and politically inclusive Africa. Samuel is currently a Mastercard Scholar pursuing his MBA at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business, in Vancouver, Canada. Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/fully-funded-mba-samuel-adeoye-ubc-sauder-mba Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com  

Justin Taines, RSM MBA ’21, shares his journey from developing kids and family entertainment shows in Los Angeles to the RSM MBA, based in the Netherlands. Why did Justin pursue an MBA (instead of an EMBA) despite having over 10 years of work experience? What was his experience at the RSM MBA as an older student and during Covid? Questions Justin's background (2:15) Justin's shortlist of schools (4:30) Why Justin took the GRE instead of the GMAT (12:36) Justin's positioning and application tips (16:40) Justin's RSM MBA experience (27:10) Justin's thoughts on his (forced) hybrid MBA experience (35:33) Justin's recruiting experience and lessons (45:45) What Justin wished he knew before starting his MBA; how to best prepare for your MBA (1:05:45) About Justin After getting his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Experimental Animation from the California Institute of Arts, Justin Taines worked in creative development, developing kids and family entertainment shows. He then worked in business development, building animation studios and helping the city of Jerusalem build up its animation industry. He also started and sold a retail cannabis cultivation venture before heading to the Rotterdam School of Management for his MBA. Justin is currently freelance consulting while exploring new roles post-MBA. Episode write-up: https://touchmba.com/rsm-mba-justin-taines Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Milan Mecklenberg, Insead MBA '18D, shares his journey from studying theoretical physics at Cambridge to McKinsey Berlin to Insead and then back to McKinsey, this time in Vietnam. What has he learned from the journey? Questions Milan's background (2:20) Applying to Insead and getting sponsored by McKinsey (4:20) Preparing for the GMAT (8:55) Interviewing with McKinsey as an MBA student (11:20) Milan's McKinsey experience (18:28) Milan's Insead experience (22:42) Making the most of 1-year and building your network at Insead (33:40) Building self-awareness at Insead & McKinsey (39:45) Picking classes & professors at Insead (44:55) About Milan After getting his Masters and Bachelors in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics from Cambridge University, Milan Mecklenburg worked for McKinsey in Berlin, who then sponsored his Insead MBA in 2018. He then joined McKinsey Vietnam's office for two years. Milan is currently working as a freelance consultant and pursuing entrepreneurial projects Episode write-up: https://touchmba.com/mckinsey-insead-experience-milan-mecklenburg/ Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Hunter Dong shares his best application tips for getting into the Wharton MBA / MA Lauder Joint Degree in International Studies program. How did Hunter pull together his diverse work experience working for the Hinrich Foundation in the Philippines, his family business in pharmaceutical packaging and IBM as a Data Scientist to make an ultimately winning case to Wharton and Columbia? Hunter walks us through his entire preparation process, from initial school research to the final team-based discussion interview. Don't miss this episode packed with clear, practical advice from a just admitted applicant. Questions Hunter's work experience and reasons for pursuing an MBA/MA in International Studies (2:25) Hunter's positioning strategy (9:10) How Hunter focused on students and professors as sources of information to craft his application (15:00) Hunter's advice for Wharton's team-based discussion (TBD) interview (19:25) Hunter's essay timeline and editing process (29:45) Lauder application tips (35:40) Preparing a "briefing guide" to recommenders (42:23) How Hunter demonstrated leadership qualities to adcoms (45:20) Why Hunter chose to attend the Wharton / Lauder program (47:30) About Hunter Hunter Dong will be starting his joint MBA/MA degree at Wharton and Lauder this Summer. He previously worked as a Senior Consultant and Data Scientist at IBM. Hunter got his B.S in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University. Episode write-up: https://touchmba.com/how-i-got-into-the-wharton-mba-lauder-hunter-dong Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com  

After helping four MBA applicants with their resume and essays, Darren realized he was repeating similar advice. In this episode, Darren shares how you can use the five senses - sight, sound, smell, taste and touch - to make your application more three dimensional. Topics Introduction (0:00) Sight - paint the scene (2:23) Touch - make the reader feel something (8:00) Sound - have a point of view (12:54) Taste - be focused and break stereotypes (18:10) Smell - make sure your entire application matches (23:54) Episode write-up: https://touchmba.com/five-senses  Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com