INSEAD ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS Admissions Criteria We are looking for intellectual curiosity, coupled with a desire to learn and stretch yourself in a rigorous academic programme, as well as personal qualities to contribute to the many activities of the School. We welcome applications from around the world regardless of race, religion, gender, colour or financial status. Our aim is to build an exciting, dynamic and diverse student body. Academic Capacity Leadership Potential and Professional Experience International Outlook Ability to Contribute to the INSEAD Experience
Application Checklist: Job Description Essays Letters of Recommendation
RESUME
JOB ESSAYS Job Essay 1. Please give a detailed description of your job, including nature of work, major responsibilities; and, where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget, number of clients/products and results achieved. (250 words)
My job with The Company is to develop new steel products: from business case to a successful trial lot. There are three aspects of my job that I thrive on. First, the high degree of uncertainty makes it a challenge. For example, in order to start producing high-strength construction steel I had to plunge into market forecasts, equipment analysis and cost modeling in order to propose relevant changes to our manufacturing process. Uncertainty at each phase improves my general vision and result-oriented planning skills. Second, I manage two direct reports and functionally coordinate technical experts at 5 production sites. We have the qualifications to transfer market opportunities into operations and thus realize our company’s potential. I take delight in managing a team that makes such a difference. Finally, different cases require unique approaches from me. For instance, in our rod mill upgrade I convinced a technically advanced customer that helping us would be a win-win solution. The customer gave us a relevant advice, which we used to improve our mill performance; in return we provided improved product quality. Each opportunity teaches me to find creative ways of doing business. The initiatives I launched in 2009 generated $1 million of profits; the equipment upgrade program, which we designed and defended, is expected to provide $4 million in 2011 and $10 million annually thereafter. Aside from the figures, my job has been a series of startups within The Company, each stretching my leadership skills and raising my confidence in going from analysis to implementation.
Job Essay 2. Please give us a full description of your career since graduating from university. If you were to remain with your present employer, what would be your next step in terms of position? (250 words)
Since graduation from CEU in Hungary I have worked with a consulting boutique established by McKinsey alumni in Russia and then with The Company Holding, the largest industrial group in Ukraine. Management consulting was my first career choice since I sought to apply my analytical acumen to business situations. During the 15 months in consulting I was thrilled to try myself in research, business valuation and strategy development. In 2007 I consulted The Company in establishing the sales function. My contribution was to introduce the contracting business process and map out corresponding documentary flows, internally and externally. The new The Company sales director considered my involvement useful and invited me to stay and launch a number of other business procedures. At the time I was precisely looking for more ‘field’ work, so I accepted the job offer. Throughout the next 12 months at The Company, besides my involvement in business processes design, I took an opportunity to lead a niche product development that required cooperation of two steel plants. This experience led me to propose divisional executives establish a systematic framework for new products development; and my insight and innovative approach allowed me to take the charge of it. In August 2010 the executives suggested that with my experience I lead the implementation of technical strategy within the ‘long’ products group, which accounts for $2.5 billion revenue. At the moment we are discussing specific goals and conditions; so far I plan to take the new position at the end of 2010.
ESSAYS Essay 1. Give a candid description of yourself, stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors, which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary. (400 words)
I view each experience as a chance to validate my principles and develop personally and professionally. So far I found my values in commitment, appreciation of dialogue, and persistence. Their importance to me would be best described by an example. In order to design and put into effect a customer base management system for plate products at The_Company I had to use all of me to achieve the result. When I arrived at the steel plant, I faced the workers’ reluctance to cooperate with a white collar worker. To gain their attention I introduced myself as a technical trainee. I asked them to lead me thru the machinery at their own pace; to keep up I had to spend all of my free time in research on plate rolling. I established the contact and with my commitment convinced the workers to share their invaluable insights on how to make the CBM workable. The second phase of the project was equally challenging and fulfilling. I led the redesign of our key efficiency parameter for steel plates to portray the whole production process from a new profitable angle. Central to this achievement was my ability to integrate ideas from production experts into a dialogue with finance and operations planning managers and motivate their creative thinking. Each participant’s point in the discussion was the next trophy leading to the ultimate victory. My final trial, however, was totally unexpected and meant to test my perseverance. After months of work I was impatient to implement the new CBM model and was shocked when the COO rejected my proposal – a deep blow to my morale. I had assumed that my aggressive manner in trying to push the project was appropriate; I was forced to sit back to reflect and grow. I prepared a 20-page report called “Why the new CBM should work” and had a subsequent 4-hour conversation with the COO. After a phased implementation, the new Customer Base Management process allowed The_Company to boost EBIT by an additional $4m in NovemberDecember 2008. This experience proved to me that individual bridges and commitment to my colleagues are essential for collective success. I noted that persistence is sometimes necessary to overcome unexpected barriers or situations. Most importantly, however, I became more aware of my need to manage my temperament to communicate effectively in unfamiliar environments. I plan to reinforce this side of my soft skills at INSEAD.
Essay 2. Describe what you believe to be your two most substantial accomplishments to date, explaining why you view them as such. (400 words) Academic Grant An academic grant from the U.S. Department of State – to spend an undergraduate year in America – was a critical accomplishment; it required me to recognize my weakness and work on it hard to happen. English fluency was one of the application requirements. In fact most applicants have lived or studied abroad. Then my English was weak but I decided to improve whatever it took. I spent the summer break over grammar textbooks and audiotapes borrowed from the local library. Additionally, I joined a camp started by American volunteers for those unable to afford opportunities elsewhere. For 3 weeks I took classes in the mornings and cleaned the campus in the afternoons; that was the cost for study rooms and dormitory. In October I went through a number of admissions stages, including TOEFL and an interview in English and earned one of 5 grants among 400 applicants across Northwestern Russia. The mind-opening experience in the U.S.A. bleached the geographical boarders which had previously limited my choices. Thus I pursued a graduate degree in Hungary, relocated from Russia to Ukraine to grasp more of the business perspective with a global company and earned the trust of management to lead a number of international business partnerships on behalf of The_Company. My cross-cultural awareness makes the grant a historic accomplishment of my life. Deadline In 2007 I was one of five consultants driving the sales restructuring project for The_Company. We were approaching a scheduled supervisory meeting that required a comprehensive presentation, so we all expected fewer sleep hours. Suddenly, my 2 teammates, including the engagement manager, left the company. The stress and pressure would build, so I decided to take the charge of the document as a junior EM. My 2 teammates worked 120 hours each and I did 145 hours in 7 days to produce a 250-page document; I hope to never break the record. The board meeting passed well, just as my 2-day sleep afterwards. The challenge is dear to me as it tested the boundaries of my stamina. It tells me I could give 100% of myself and the extra bit to achieve the goal I set. Since then I have tried to be an extremely careful planner and risk manager. This attitude has been key to my career success ever since, that is why I consider meeting a deadline such an important milestone.
Essay 3. Describe a situation taken from school, business, civil or military life, where you did not meet your personal objectives, and discuss briefly the effect. (250 words) Early 2009, when I was appointed head of new products development, my first task was hiring and training a project manager to carry out a successful business development project by the end of the year. I filled the position with a friend whose remarkable experience selling The Company plate together with his focus to find new applications for the products he knew so well seemed ideally matched with the work at hand. I delegated to Igor one of the most important projects – the development of steel supplies to European wind turbine manufacturers. Despite my view to succeed, the progress was blocked by Igor’s inability to separate his approach to our business goals from his attitude to our activities outside work. He began to openly question my authority and judgment. Matters came to an impasse when we disagreed on implications of interviews with clients. To encourage objectivity, I asked him to prepare his view and my view and present both to my boss for consideration. My boss agreed with my position but it did not have the results I had hoped for. Igor refused to accept the outcome. The life of the project was in danger. We wasted so much time managing the conflict that I had to put the project on hold and find a replacement for Igor. I grew professionally and learned the hard way about combining business and personal relations. Several months later, fortunately, Igor and I would find the courage to learn to appreciate each other again.
Essay 4. Discuss your career goals. What skills do you expect to gain from studying at INSEAD and how will they contribute to your professional career. (500 words) My short-term professional goal is to recalibrate my business knowledge from the large scale of a nation-wide corporate organization to a more human scale. This change will prepare me for my longer-term goal of establishing my own business, where I would use my communication skills and strategic thinking I have gained internationally. This might sound naive but I intend to launch ecological and event tourism as a new business niche in Russia. I pursue an MBA program pertinent for retooling the entrepreneurial applications from my international awareness and business development expertise. I take several factors into account; I need exposure to the entrepreneurial spirit, diverse backgrounds and an international community. I realized that I need such exposure when my product development skills would not grant me entrepreneurial success in 2009. Today I conclude that while my business idea to produce quality eyeglass lenses was well thought through and evaluated, I lacked basic knowledge on psychology of governmental agencies and business partnerships. At INSEAD I will address this gap from two angles. On one hand, I will pick the entrepreneurship-focused electives that will provide me with definite guidance on how to perform best at each phase of a new business. On the other hand, I will use the opportunities INSEAD offers outside the classroom. That includes the Maag Cenre, BootCamp and brainstorming sessions with business experts and experienced entrepreneurs. These will provide a foundation for my successful startup after graduation. INSEAD also matches my experience-based habits in learning judgment and acquiring management skills. It attracts me by the opportunity to not only complete my theoretical knowledge but to also put newly acquired insights to live business situations through role-plays and simulations. I also believe that the study group, to which I am assigned, will be imperative to my soft skills. At INSEAD I will work on projects together with peers of various backgrounds, including professionals from the public and NGO sectors. Learning from them will wrap up the entrepreneurial sides of my character. Within the study group, it would be great to consider a small business case from my lens production experience and improve my insights by my teammates’ outlooks and feedback. Why ecological and event tourism? I have hosted a number of foreign friends in Vologda, my hometown in Northwestern Russia and I have seen their appreciation for the local atmosphere. For instance, Jim, a friend of mine from Maryland, had his best overseas experience living in a tent close to a desolate manor house in the Vologda countryside. He still keeps the funny pictures of him shaving waist-deep in the lake. My experience, as well as market research, reveals that there is unmet demand for quality tour services in Russia. A welcoming service to an international customer base could be a spot where my skills and my desire to contribute to my homeland come together. In this regard, the INSEAD community will help me fine-tune the best service design that the international minds are capable of.
Essay 5. Have you ever experienced culture shock? What did it mean to you? (250 words)
Boarding on a Lufthansa wide-body jet in Moscow to cross the Atlantic in August 2002 was the most exciting moment in the lifetime for a Russian exchange undergrad leaving his home country for the first time ever. As a white minority student at Alabama A&M University, a historically African-American land grant college, I faced an unimaginable challenge in connecting with peers. My first roommate never even spoke to me, because my appearance and origins were so foreign to him. One of 20 non-black students in the 6.5-thousand campus community, I earned the nickname ‘Harry Potter’ for being the only white guy in the cafeteria line. A naturally outgoing person, I had never had problems making friends before, so I continued to reach out and eventually turned the hurdle into my best cultural experience ever. I met my second roommate across the chessboard. He became such a good friend that his dad, a local pastor, invited me to his church as the first ever white visitor. Having one friend encouraged me and I made more on the basketball court. I began to feel like I was a friend to the whole world; even ordinary activities took on a fresh character, which I really appreciated. Nicknamed ‘Steve Nash’, after the famous white NBA player, I was thankful for the friendships that still endure. Today I realize that back then I had developed not only the friendships but also better listening skills and a more patient attitude to race and cultural issues.
RECOMMENDATION LETTER How long have you known the applicant and in what context? Have you served as the applicant's supervisor? If so, please provide approximate dates. Please comment upon the frequency and nature of your interactions with the applicant. (300 words or fewer)
I met Konstantin in 2007, when he was working for Princeton Partners Group. As a part of the PPG team Konstantin provided consulting and analysis services for our company and revealed himself as an expert in what he was doing. His exemplary performance led us to invite him as a business analyst in our sales organization. At the beginning of 2009 I invited him to help establish the new products development function and eventually take charge of it. From that time he reported directly to me and I have had a chance to observe his professional and personal growth. We cooperate closely and have regular meetings discussing product development projects and a number of other initiatives in which Konstantin has been involved. What are the applicant's three principal strengths? Please provide an example of each. (300 words or fewer) Konstantin is creative; I consider this one of the most important qualities in project management. An example of his creativity would be the visual planning board that he developed in order to plan and track product development projects. It is a wide whiteboard in the office. On one hand, it is an efficient tool of communication. When I or anyone else in the company wants to check the status of any project, all information is there and you can see what stage the project is at, what meetings took place, next steps, and the results expected. On the other hand, it’s simple and fun and personally I like the style. When the divisional CEO saw it, he advised to transfer this planning model to other departments. Another strength of Konstantin’s is that he quickly understands new information and incorporates it in a relevant way to his work. For example, in 2009 he analyzed the market for a certain type of steel plate for pipelines. He quickly figured out that we could produce the plate but the problem was that it would take us a prohibitive 4 months to receive a quality certificate from an independent laboratory. None of the clients would wait for that long! So Konstantin proposed building our own lab, which, I am glad to report, will be launched this October! The third strongest feature would be his energy and initiative. Konstantin has been involved in working with consultants on some management issues. After that, using the best practices he learned from them, Konstantin proposed a concept for a centralized technical function. Later I discussed the concept with top management and we decided to incorporate it in the forthcoming restructuring. Konstantin went beyond his direct responsibilities and this attribute makes him a desired member of my team.
In which three areas can the applicant improve? Please provide an example of each. How has the applicant worked to address these areas? (300 words or fewer) Konstantin’s creative nature sometimes makes him bored with repetitive or ‘mechanical’ tasks. I saw that he felt uncomfortable when he was working on the products manual. The work included collecting a lot of information and structuring it on paper. Despite the discomfort in such tasks Konstantin attempted to keep the quality of his performance up. He viewed this as a must and as grounds for other more creative opportunities. Another place for improvement is his stamina. For example, when Konstantin receives unsatisfactory input from an older or more experienced project mate, he is sometimes reluctant to provide negative feedback accordingly. The other day in such situation he chose to redo the other person’s poor work and fell behind the deadline. Lately, however, Konstantin has been more direct with people on bigger projects he has undertaken. As more people are being involved, the more management vs. performance, the situation demands from Konstantin. In difficult interpersonal situations he approaches me for advice; I note how insistently but at the same time tactfully he behaves in managing his team. To me it is a good start! The third place that could be improved concerns more the company and working environment than Konstantin directly. For example, as he grasps the meaning of data really quickly, he sometimes does not pay enough attention to sharing the necessary information with others in a timely manner: instead, he tries to resolve the problem using only his skills and experience. It definitely is a positive moment for his independence and maturity, yet when he is involved in a group project and his result is somehow related to other members’ results, it is important to communicate ideas before taking serious steps. I believe that cooperation with people with different rich experiences would demonstrate to him sharing from another angle.
Comment on the candidate’s potential for senior management. Do you see him/her as a future leader?(300 words or fewer) Konstantin has the potential for senior management; and his potential is empowered by his hard work, persistence and ability to achieve results. Having come to an unfamiliar industry, he managed to take a leading role by the age of 26 and established a new department from scratch. At the moment the Strategy function, which I run, is taking in additional duties on the side of centralized implementation of strategic initiatives. I project Konstantin will take one of the key roles in this framework, which is again new for the company. Konstantin also possesses large soft leadership potential. I see how the younger employees gravitate towards Konstantin. He is the first one they approach with questions since they know they will be taken seriously and given thoughtful advice. I believe and MBA will be a logical step for Konstantin to round out as a leader.
Describe the candidate as a person. Comment on his/her ability to establish and maintain relationships, sensitivity to others, self-confidence, attitude, etc. Specifically comment on the candidate's behavior or skills in a group setting/team environment. (300 words or fewer) If talking about interpersonal skills, I would like to stress Konstantin’s openness and willingness to help others and his integrity in communication with any member of our team. He always supports his colleagues and in time of overload he manages to take the stress away. The situation is that Konstantin volunteers to organize our team activities outside work. For example, the other night he rented a small movie theater and invited everyone to watch “Office Space”, it was a light comedy in times when we were spending long hours in the office and all colleagues enjoyed the movie and just had fun. Another important event that Konstantin organized was a departmental retreat and teambuilding in a forest, with volleyball, barbeque and a generally pleasant atmosphere. Everyone had a chance to take his/her family along and enjoy one day away from regular routine. I personally appreciate Konstantin’s spirit and team-building input. It should also be mentioned that Konstantin is always helpful in times when we have international guests, e.g. partners, colleagues etc. Owing to his communication skills and international background, Konstantin often is the best person to assist in the reception of important guests. I keep receiving good feedback on Konstantin from our foreign partners and customers. Giving a general recommendation I would say that Konstantin would definitely be a good asset to the competitive environment of INSEAD. The energy and innovative spirit that he brought to our company could also be interesting for his colleague-students. At the same time I believe he clearly sees his goals and will receive a broader view of business by means of your renowned business school. If you have any further inquiries regarding Konstantin’s candidacy, I can with pleasure provide you with additional comments. Sincerely, Recommender’s Name