The Touch MBA Admissions Podcast

Dr. Gleb Tsipursky has dedicated his professional life to helping others overcome cognitive biases and make better decisions. In this episode, Darren and Dr. Gleb discuss ways MBA applicants can make better decisions when it comes to business school and their careers. Questions Why Dr. Gleb has dedicated two decades of his life to overcoming cognitive biases with decision making (3:00) Autopilot vs. Intentional decision making (7:45) When our gut serves us in career decisions (14:30) Best practices for overcoming our cognitive biases (20:48) Common biases when making career decisions (27:17) How important are rankings? (33:33) Five questions to avoid decision disasters (37:07) Navigating emotions and decision making (43:48) About Our Guest Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is on a mission to protect leaders from dangerous judgment errors known as cognitive biases by developing the most effective decision making strategies. He has over two decades of consulting, coaching, and training experience as CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts, and over 15 years of experience in academia as a cognitive neuroscientist and behavioral economist. Dr. Tsipursky has been featured in Inc. Magazine, Time, Scientific American, Fast Company, and Psychology Today. His new book is called Never Go with Your Gut: How How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Business Disasters. Dr. Gleb earned his PhD in the History of Behavioral Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2011. Episode summary, show notes and more at: https://touchmba.com/dont-trust-your-gut-career-decisions-dr-gleb-tsipursky/‎

Do you have to quit your job to get your MBA? Darren invites Chris Healy from Alliance Manchester Business school to share how the part-time / professional MBA has evolved with new technology and student and employer demands. If you're unsure about getting an online, blended, part-time or Executive MBA, you'll get key insights from this episode. Questions How the part-time / professional MBA has evolved over the past 15 years (2:30) How employers view part-time / professional MBAs (15:50) Networking at b-school as a part-time / professional MBA (21:35) The quality of online courses (27:20) How do business schools with multiple campuses maintain quality of faculty? (33:25) The advantages of dual-MBAs (37:00) Grades, format, and commitment required of a typical Manchester MBA part-time course held over 6 months (40:35) The future of part-time / professional MBAs (47:20) About Our Guest Chris Healy is Head of MBA Marketing & Recruitment for Alliance Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester. Chris has been in the business education industry for nearly 15 years and got his Bachelors in Consumer Marketing from Manchester Metropolitan University. Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/the-evolving-professional-mba-chris-healy

Inspired by the Harvard Business Review article Experience Doesn’t Predict a New Hire’s Success, Darren shares how you can demonstrate you're a great fit for your target MBA programs - or your next employer - even if you're short on experience. If you feel like you lack relevant work experience for the MBA, this episode is for you. Show Notes Experience Doesn’t Predict a New Hire’s Success (Harvard Business Review) Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/experience-does-not-equal-performance/

Sachin Tipnis, Senior Executive Director of HKU's MBA, EMBA & 6 specialized Masters programs discusses the Hong Kong protests, curriculum changes, admissions, and picking the right Masters program for your career goals. The Hong Kong Protests - How Has this Affected Students? (2:45) Curriculum, Admissions and Career Services Updates with the HKU MBA (17:30) Full-time MBA vs. Specialized Masters vs. EMBA - Which Should You Choose (45:15) HKU MBA Highlights (last updated Jan 2020) 12-months, Fall intake, 55-60 students/year Typical Class: 5-6 years work exp / ~15 nationalities / 640 GMAT Has 3 tracks: the London track, the New York track, and the Hong Kong/China track. After finishing 9 months of core courses at HKU, students can study at Columbia University in New York, London Business School in London, or Fudan University in Shanghai for one semester HKU has 2 rounds of interviews. The first is similar to a job interview; those that pass the first round may be required to give a presentation in the second round Graduates get a 1-year visa to stay in Hong Kong and find a job post-graduation Placement, Class of 2018: 83% w/job offers w/in 3 months, $82,551 USD avg post MBA salary (Economist MBA Ranking 2019) Top Destinations, Class of 2017 & 2018: 47% Hong Kong / 21% Other Regions of Asia / 13% Mainland China / 9% Americas / 7% India / 3% Europe Top Industries, Class of 2018: 36% Financial Services, Insurance / 12% Consumer Goods, Retail / 6% IT, Telecommunications Top Functions, Class of 2017 & 2018: 29% Finance, Audit, Accounting / 27% Consulting, Strategy / 21% Marketing, Branding, Business Development / 10% General Management Ranked #1 Asian Business School by Economist for 9 straight years About Our Guest Sachin Tipnis is the Senior Executive Director of MBA, EMBA Global Asia (joint Executive MBA Degree with Columbia and London Business School), and six specialized Master Programmes at the University of Hong Kong. Sachin was part of HKU's first graduating MBA class and has worked for over a decade developing the HKU MBA. Sachin worked in branding and marketing communications for 7 years before working in higher education. Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/hku-mba-whats-up-in-2020  

Gregory Wool, Cornell Johnson MBA '21, shares how he overcame a low quantitative GMAT score to win a prestigious scholarship at Cornell. He discusses his journey surviving the first semester, leading the student consulting club, and recruiting into strategy consulting. Topics include application strategies, overcoming low quant scores, surviving first semester FOMO, consulting club leadership, and social life at Cornell Johnson.

Around half of Insead MBA graduates end up working in consulting each year. Darren invites Massine Bouzerar, Insead MBA '19J, to share how he landed a job with Bain & Company AND made the most of his ten months at Insead's Fontainebleau campus. Questions Massine’s overview of management consulting recruiting at Insead (4:35) Differentiating yourself from thousands of other MBA students applying to consulting firms (7:55) How Massine's career plans evolved at Insead (10:30) Work visas in Europe for non-Europeans (12:35) How Massine explored consulting offices worldwide (14:46) What helped Massine prepare for recruiting in management consulting (18:00) The culture of recruiting at Insead (20:55) Student clubs and recruiting (24:10) Recruiting for non-consulting jobs (26:00) Dealing with FOMO in a 1-year program (29:20) Making connections at Insead (31:40) Academics at Insead (32:55) Massine's takeaways from his MBA experience (40:23) Outsead, Insead's LGBTQ+ student club (44:20) Dating at Insead (47:56) Massine's final thoughts (51:00) About Massine Massine Bouzerar worked as a product manager and e-commerce strategist in Canada before attending the Insead MBA. Massine served as President of Outsead, Insead's LGBT+ student club, and as the academic representative for his section. He currently is an Associate for Bain & Company in Brussels. Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/management-consulting-student-life-insead-massine-bouzerar  

Gary Lo, Managing Director of Glo Consulting and former Head of Admissions for the HKUST MBA, shares three questions to ask before you make a career move - MBA included. Aside from working for 10 different companies in 7 industries, Gary has counseled hundreds of MBAs and professionals as a career coach, so don't miss this episode if you're thinking about making a career move. Questions Gary's three questions to ask before you make a career move (3:10) Is following your passion practical? (13:50) Why Gary believes 10-15 years a good long-term planning period (23:04) The power song exercise (26:55) Applying Gary's framework to the MBA: what should more MBA applicants consider before applying? (30:08) How MBA recruiting has changed (39:25) Gary's questions to help MBA students breakthrough career planning paralysis (42:20) Building your personal brand (46:20) About Gary Gary Lo is a seasoned trainer with extensive corporate experience. He spent most of his career working at Fortune 500 companies including LVMH, Apple, Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline and Nestle, with a scope covering the Greater China & APAC region. He was the former Head of Marketing & Admissions for the HKUST MBA Programs, and now serves as a Guest Lecturer for the HKU SPACE Institute for China Business and Nielsen University. He is also an appointed career coach for top Universities in the region, where he has trained hundreds of MBA and Masters students, professionals and corporate executives from all around the world. Gary holds an MBA degree from the HKUST Business School. Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/three-questions-to-ask-before-you-make-a-career-move-gary-lo  

Darren recently attended a panel "Preparing Your Application: Advice from MBA Admissions Directors” at the MBA Tour in Ho Chi Minh. In this episode, he unpacks the application advice given by five admissions directors. Why should you get an MBA? (3:16) What type of experience are top business schools looking for? (7:20) How can you assess school fit? (10:12) What are your top essay tips? (13:00) What are your top interview tips? (16:37) Admissions Directors on MBA Tour Panel (August 2019) John-Derek (J.D.) Clarke, Ivey Business School Kylie Stewart, Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Business Gulnura Rakhyshova, Asia School of Business Jessica Morgan, Schulich School of Business John Lee, UCLA Anderson School of Management Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/five-takeaways-mba-tour-panel-ho-chi-minh-preparing-your-application-advice-from-admissions-directors

Cristian Molina Cornejo, Tuck MBA '21, shares how MBA applicants can take advantage of two programs that champion diversity and inclusion: Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) and the Consortium. Cristian also gives his best application tips after getting into four out of five top 20 US MBA programs. Questions Cristian's background (3:20) What you need to know about MLT (14:25) What you need to know about Consortium (26:00) MLT's Professional Development program and its network (30:55) How to make the most out of MLT and Consortium (40:50) Cristian's best application tips after getting into four top schools (45:10) Cristian's thoughts on Tuck (52:50) About Cristian Cristian is a first year MBA at the Tuck School of Business. Prior to starting his MBA, Cristian graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Economics, and worked for Energeia, a research and advisory firm in energy technology and electronics. Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/management-leadership-for-tomorrow-consortium-what-you-need-to-know

Hailing from Nigeria and having never visited the US, how did Ikechukwu Edeagu shortlist and apply to MBA programs? And what was his process for navigating internships and the job search as an international student? Listen to get a real-time, inside look into one international student's MBA experience at UNC Kenan Flagler. Questions Ike's background (3:53) How Ike shortlisted business schools  (8:02) Ike's application tips for international students (14:20) Ike's thoughts on financing your MBA (22:20) How Ike secured his internship and job with Microsoft (25:08) Ike's recommended resources and research process for your MBA job search (44:30) The importance of soft skills in building relationships and careers in the US (53:55) Ike thoughts on the UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA experience and culture (1:00:00) Ike's final recommendations to applicants (1:11:30) About our Guest Ikechukwu Edeagu graduated from the UNC MBA with a double concentration in Capital Markets and Investments and Corporate Finance. Prior to starting his MBA, Ike worked in KPMG's Risk Consulting practice in Lagos, Nigeria. Ikechukwu is currently working as a Finance Manager, Cloud and Artificial Intelligence for Microsoft in Seattle.  Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/the-us-mba-experience-as-an-international-student-ikechukwu-edeagu-unc-mba