The Touch MBA Admissions Podcast

Adam Putterman, author of 'MBA Coffee Chats', shares tips on maximizing your MBA experience. He discusses the importance of coffee chats, finding mentors, time management, and seeking peer feedback. Learn how to make the most of your business school journey!

Back by popular demand, Graciela Brewer returns to reflect on her Harvard Business School experience. We discuss what she found easier and more difficult than expected, how she has made the most of her HBS MBA, and her thoughts on how applicants can best prepare for business school. Questions Introducing Graciela Brewer (0:00) Graciela's Harvard Business School experience: expectations vs. reality (4:00) What Graciela found most valuable about her HBS experience (17:30) HBS during the pandemic (23:10) Graciela's involvement in the Latino Student Organization and Socioeconomic Inclusion Task Force (28:00) Graciela's thoughts on prioritizing mental health, well-being and family at HBS (34:00) How Graciela landed her internship - and post-MBA job - at Toast (38:00) Taking advantage of "time off" at business school (47:00) Graciela's advice for MBA applicants: talk to students and work on your stories! (51:30) How Graciela would re-design the HBS MBA (55:30) Last thoughts for applicants, including her formula for student involvement (1:00:00) About Graciela (Grace) Graciela Brewer is a second year MBA at Harvard Business School. After she graduates, she will help Toast, which makes software for the restaurant industry, with design operations. Before attending Harvard Business School, Grace got her B.S in Information Science from Missouri University of Science & Technology and worked as a Senior UX Designer at Netsmart. 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/inside-the-hbs-mba-graciela-brewer Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com  

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