What does ISB look for in candidates? What does it take to create a successful ISB application?
Many have tried to find out the answer, and most of what you find online tends to be mostly guesswork. The only folks who know how the ISB admissions office reviews applications, is [wait for the drum-roll] people working in the admissions office!
Jeff Jose found himself fortunate to contribute to the ISB admissions committee as one of the few selected students entrusted with the task of reviewing hundreds of ISB applications. Little did he realize that this experience would later prove invaluable as he competed on a global platform for his second MBA.
Knowing what ISB looks for helped me get into INSEAD
by Jeff Jose
I grew up in India when the solution to all problems was doing well in academics. Cricket was the only legitimate break that parents allowed into the lives of their children.
But that was not enough for me. And so, I found what could be pedalled as academics but was basically deepening my curiosity of world events.
I would steal a history book from my dad’s library, which still houses over 5000 books and read it cover to cover, but covertly. This habit fuelled a longing to visit the places I had only read about, from Stalingrad to Gettysburg and from Normandy to Robben Island.
Deep into my twenties, I would end up visiting all these places. But only with a resigned air of a mere tourist who couldn’t connect with these places on a deeper level. Despite having a varied set of interests, I found myself trudging down the not-so-involuntary path to the ‘good life’ of middle-class Indians — of prep schools, MCQs, and the disingenuous pretense of ‘liking’ engineering over any other career path. It felt clichéd, and a tad bit distasteful.
After my undergrad in Engineering at NIT Calicut, I joined a large automotive firm. I was in dealer development and sales and had the pleasure of living in various cities across India.
Getting a managerial role in the very first year of my career was overwhelming. Suddenly, solving a math question or cracking a case was not the sort of skill that earned me any brownie points from the colleagues, who had more years of experience than my age.
It was there that I learned the value of interpersonal skills; of humility and willingness to show vulnerability.
As I navigated the early stages of my career, I decided to do graduate education with an intention to further my career. I took the familiar route of hard work and practice and scored a 730 on the GMAT.
Applying exclusively to ISB, my intention was to stay in India.
I realized the importance of insights gathered from conversations with current students and alumni, as opposed to relying solely on online resources.
The interview process was conducted by the alumni at the campus. And they stuck to questions related to my work experience and goals.
How ISB admissions office reviews applications
While at ISB, I could also become part of the admissions committee, allowing me to review essays and gain valuable insights into the selection process. The assessment turned out to be much more structured and unbiased than I had anticipated.
It involved us reviewing essays (with personally identifiable information, GMAT scores, and academics redacted) and assigning points on various aspects of the essay in an assessment form.
These evaluations were then considered alongside other aspects of the candidate’s profile to make final interview decisions. It struck me how straightforward it was for an application reviewer to sift through various essays and distinguish the wheat from the chaff.
The distinction became apparent when reading essays from different applicants one by one. There is a clear difference between an applicant who wrote the essays with a lot of introspection and one who wrote without.
I was placed in a large FMCG company after my PGP. I worked across Africa and the Middle East, and it required me to travel from Ghana to Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.
It was a homecoming of sorts. Africa and India with their similarities in food (think spicy fish in coconut curry), tropical climate, colonial past, were more alike than I had imagined before – my apprehensions about taking a position here soon withered away.
But most importantly – the history buff in me stirred up. When visiting the now-tourist destination, ‘The Door of No Return,’ standing on the beach in Benin as a memorial to enslaved Africans taken from the port of Ouidah to America, the historian in me wanted to remember, wanted to chronicle, wanted to attribute meaning – and that was the restart of the journey of looking at things critically.
On the work front here, it was a fulfilling experience. I witnessed the transformation of consumer habits in real time, contributing to the expansion projects undertaken by the company across Africa, and managing the company’s $50m business in Ghana.
Data is where the world is headed, and I heeded to it. I pursued a full-time executive master’s in Data Science from the National University of Singapore (NUS), and as rightly expected, I learned a great deal on machine learning and data analytics. And the wonders never cease – I coded for the first time too. But the mathematician in me was the one who was the most pleased.
Why second MBA after ISB
Having worked in multiple countries and sectors, a strong ambition drove me to pursue an MBA from a university with an international reputation.
It was a desire for a global experience and an urge not to be handicapped by the absence of a world-renowned university on my CV. Hence, I took my ambitions to a place where ambition was commonplace.
INSEAD was filled with MBB consultants, wealthy scions, unicorn founders, valedictorians, student-body presidents, and debate champions—individuals who had grown up with a justifiable belief that they were meant for impactful lives.
Applying only to INSEAD, what somewhat helped my standing in such a high-achieving cohort were my essays; and here, what came in handy was my stint as an application reviewer.
I had learned from the mistakes of others, and I knew what I had to convey my story to invoke curiosity. The program valued international experience but did not deem it mandatory, with several Indian classmates lacking such exposure.
The INSEAD MBA was a transformative experience and more than an academic pursuit; it became a journey of self-discovery.
From extensive travel across Europe to learning from professors whose books I had read before; the joys of the experience were myriad.
INSEAD played a significant role in crafting my personal pitch, enhancing my ability to network, and elevating my confidence.
Contrary to my tempered expectations (being the Indian male engineer), I ended up getting 3 on campus offers.
The post-MBA phase saw me working for a global QSR firm in Singapore for 2 years before returning to India to start my own venture – a fintech startup based in Bangalore.
The INSEAD networks played a pivotal role in the journey, connecting me with clients, providing guidance, and contributing to the success of my startup. It is being acquired by a large financial services firm as I write this.
The life after MBA exceeded my expectations, offering not only elevated career opportunities but also a profound rediscovery of self. Travel remained a constant in my personal time, with visits to 50 countries and a newfound passion for tasting coffee globally.
My advice to Indian MBA applicants is to invest time in introspection before writing their essays and understand that this a process of self-discovery.
At MBA Crystal Ball, we have designed our application review process based on the insights we have received from admissions officers of the elite business schools.
We also have extensive experience helping second MBA applicants. Read some of the second MBA blogs.
Reach out if you’d like us to work with you in your journey into a top MBA program. EMail us: info@mbacrystalball.com
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