The Touch MBA Admissions Podcast

Your resume is often what MBA admissions officers first see, and frames how they view the rest of your profile. Follow this checklist of CV 'do's and don'ts' to make make a strong first impression and set the stage for a successful application. This is a re-run of Episode #6 Seven Deadly Sins of MBA Resumes and Rotman MBA's Leigh Gauthier's answer to the question we asked in  Episode #100 Wha...

Rob O'Reilly performed stand up comedy for 16 years. Then he decided to get an MBA. We discuss his journey to USC Marshall. Questions Rob's background (3:25) MBA career goals and positioning (8:00) The GMAT and showing "quant skills" (18:13) Shortlisting business schools (23:06) Communicating your interest to business schools (32:30) Interviews (39:55) The future of entertainment content (45:32) L...

Alex Tuininga, HBS MBA '18, discusses his transition from a navy intelligence officer to Harvard MBA to BCG management consultant. Alex also shares his thoughts on MBA recruiting and social life as a married, older student. Questions Alex's background (3:48) Alex's advice to military applicants (12:40) Where Alex applied and why he chose HBS (21:00) The HBS experience (24:28) Social life as an old...

Guest Host Sabaina Kamara, Michigan Ross MBA '19, invites her friend and classmate Kashay Sanders to share her experience as a first year MBA student at the Ross School of Business. Listen to get a real-time, inside look into the "MBA1" experience at a top b-school like Ross. Questions Kashay's background (3:32) First year internships and student activities (4:59) Reflections on the "MBA1" year an...

Guest Host and London Business School (LBS) MBA Mathias Keller invites Dr. Randall S Peterson, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and the Academic Director of the Leadership Institute at LBS, to share his thoughts on successful MBA students, how to develop leadership skills, and how to build high performing teams. Don't miss this episode to sample leadership lessons you'd learn at one of the wo...

What do you need to know about MBA recruiting for top media and entertainment companies? Darren invites his good friend Mark Zee, UCLA Anderson MBA '14, to share his experience interviewing and working for companies like 20th Century Fox and the Walt Disney Company, where he is currently Director for Pay TV & Digital Sales. Mark also shares his thoughts on building relationships during and after t...

How can MBA applicants show evidence of quantitative skills outside of their university GPA and GMAT? Do top b-schools accept online courses like Coursera? Darren invites Admissions Directors from 3 top business schools - Cornell Johnson (USA), IMD (Switzerland) and CEIBS (China) - to share their thoughts. Eddie Asbie from Cornell Johnson MBA (4:20) Paola Eicher from IMD MBA (10:18) Chri...

  Could this be the only book you need to prepare for your MBA interviews? Inspired by Dale Carnegie's classic book, The Quick & Easy Way to Effective Speaking , Darren shares a simple 3-part framework to help you choose your best 'material' for your MBA interviews. Checklist  Have you earned the right to talk about topic through experience or study? Are you excited about your subject? A...

What do you need to know about MBA recruiting for top Consumer Package Goods (CPG) companies? Darren invites Ana Archbold, Michigan Ross MBA '07, to share her experience working for companies like Kraft Foods, Unilever, and Johnson & Johnson, where she is currently a Senior Marketing Director for Neutrogena. Darren and Ana pay special attention to the recruiting process and what applicants can do...

What do MBA applicants need to know about MBA careers in brand management? Darren invites Michael Schwartz, NYU Stern MBA '16, to share his experience working as a marketing and brand manager at companies like Philips, Unilever and Heineken. Michael has worked in marketing and brand management for 10 years – don’t miss his hard-earned insights into the industry! This is Part 5 of our MBA Career Se...

Massine Bouzerar, a 25-year old Canadian, was backpacking through Myanmar in July when he realized he wanted to start his MBA asap. First round deadlines were looming in September. Within 3 months he wrote the GMAT and submitted a successful application to Insead. What should you do when your back is against the wall? Massine shares his experience and what he did to get accepted to one of the worl...

Sachin Tipnis from the University of Hong Kong discusses what makes the HKU MBA unique, the school's admissions process and career opportunities for HKU MBAs. Program Highlights (5:15) | Admissions (26:00) | Scholarships (38:36) | Careers (44:27) HKU MBA Highlights (last updated Jan 2018) 14-months, Fall intake, ~60 students/year Typical Class: 5 years work exp / 15 nationalities / 660 GMAT H...

Eddie Asbie from Cornell University's Johnson School of Management discusses what makes the Cornell MBA unique, the school's admissions process and career opportunities for Cornell MBAs. Program Highlights (7:14) | Admissions (29:50) | Scholarships (52:07) | Careers (58:38) Cornell MBA Highlights (last updated Dec 2017) 1-Year Cornell Tech MBA (New York City), May intake, ~50 students/ye...

When should you use an MBA admissions consultant? How can you get the most value? What should you look for when hiring one? As a former MBA Admissions Director and Admissions Consultant, Darren shares his thoughts. Questions  Why are MBA Admissions Consultants so expensive? Are they worth the fees? (6:25) Should you hire an MBA Admissions Consultant? Which service should you get? How can you...

Katie Lloyd from Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business joins the show to discuss what makes the Georgia Tech MBA unique, the school's admissions process and career opportunities for Georgia Tech MBA students. Program Highlights (4:19) | Admissions (21:03) | Scholarships (37:00) | Careers (41:18) Georgia Tech Scheller MBA Highlights  Fall intake, 22 months, 80 students/year Cla...

Vivien Koh from Essec Business School joins the show to discuss what makes the Essec Global MBA unique, the school's admissions process and career opportunities for Essec Global MBA students. Program Highlights (3:28) | Admissions (21:28) | Scholarships (28:22) | Careers (31:02) Essec MBA Highlights  September intake, 12 months, 100 students/year Students can study on French and/or...

Roughly one third of the top 100 business schools have started Masters in Business or Data Analytics programs, in response to the growing need for workers who can leverage data assets for competitive advantage. What do MBA applicants need to know about MBA careers in the growing industry of data and business analytics? Darren invites Shane Rai, Co-Founder of TenPoint7, a machine learning-as-a-serv...

7 senior MBA Admissions Directors from Berkeley Haas, Cornell Johnson, Virginia Darden, Duke Fuqua, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, and Yale School of Management came to Vietnam this Fall for an MBA admissions panel. Darren shares the questions asked and lessons learned from the event. Questions GMAT or GRE - does it matter? (5:08) How do schools evaluate undergrad transcripts? (5:39) Should only busine...

What do MBA applicants need to know about MBA careers in venture capital? Darren invites his friend Garrett to share his experience, both as an MBA student looking to break into venture capital and as an interviewer for Hewlett Packard Ventures. Garret has worked in venture capital and related jobs in San Francisco for 7 years – don’t miss his hard-earned insights into the industry! This is Part 3...

What do MBA applicants need to know about MBA careers in investment banking? Darren invites his friend Scott to share his experience, both as an MBA student looking to break into investment banking and as an MBA recruiter for Wells Fargo Securities. Scott has worked in investment banking for 7 years after his MBA – don’t miss his hard-earned insights into the industry! This is Part 2 of our MBA Ca...

What is the difference between Full-time, Part-time, Online and EMBA degrees? Which one makes most sense for you? A number of you coming to Touch MBA for school selection help are considering multiple MBA program formats so I thought it would be good to dedicate one short episode to covering key differences from an admissions, curriculum, career and reputation perspective. Dirk is involved in...

What do MBA applicants need to know about MBA careers in management consulting? Darren invites his friend Sandra to share her experience, both as an MBA student looking to break into consulting and as an MBA recruiter for McKinsey & Company. Sandra worked in management consulting for 5 years after her MBA - don't miss her hard-earned insights into the industry! This is Part 1 of our MBA Career Ser...

How can you make a memorable impression on MBA Admissions Officers at MBA recruiting events? Drawing on his experience recruiting at MBA Tours and information sessions, Darren shares 3 tips for how you can stand out. Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/interacting-with-mba-admissions-officers Episode Sponsor Ranked among the top public universities in the US, The Ohio...

Why did an American Ivy League graduate decide to pursue an MBA in China? In 2015 Jesse Miller decided to pursue his MBA at CEIBS, ranked #11 worldwide by the Financial Times in 2017 and China's top-ranked program. Jesse discusses the pros and cons of pursuing a top-ranked MBA in Asia, his experience as a minority American student at CEIBS (Shanghai) and ISB (Hyderabad) where he studied one semest...

Stephen Huber discusses his MBA experience at USC Marshall, from what he did to get off the waitlist, to preparing his wife for an intense first year, to leading the High Tech and Interactive Gaming Associations, to landing internships and jobs in tech and the hard-to-break into entertainment industry. After listening to this talk, you'll have a good idea of what it takes to make the most of...