INSEAD MBA 2014-2015 Application Essays
Job Description Essays
In the job description section, please discuss primarily your role and responsibilities as well as your career path. Additionally, you will need to comment on your company’s activities, its size and other useful information.
The job description 1 and 2 are compulsory for all applicants. Section 3 is an additional part if you are currently unemployed.
Essay 1: Briefly summarise your current (or most recent) job, including the nature of work, major responsibilities, and where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget,clients/products and results achieved. What would be your next step in terms of position if you were to remain in the same company? (350 words max.)
Essay 2: Please give a full description of your career since graduating from university. It should be written as if you were talking to someone at a social gathering detailing your career path with the rationale behind your choices. Discuss your short and long term career aspirations. (350 words max.)
Essay 3: (Optional) If you are currently not working or if you plan to leave your current employer more than 2 months before the programme starts, please explain your activities and occupations between leaving your job and the start of the programme.
Motivation Essays
We would like to get to know you and to find out what motivates you. The essays are not meant to be academic articles or business memos, but rather your personal stories.
Please answer essay 1 to 4 as they are all compulsory. Essay 5 is optional.
Essay 1: Give a candid description of yourself (who are you as a person), 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. (600 words max.)
Essay 2: Describe the achievement of which you are most proud and explain why. In addition, describe a situation where you failed. How did these experiences impact your relationships with others? Comment on what you learned. (400 words max.)
Essay 3: Tell us about an experience where you were significantly impacted by cultural diversity, in a positive or negative way. (300 words max.)
Essay 4: Describe all types of extra-professional activities in which you have been or are still involved for a significant amount of time (clubs, sports, music, arts, politics, etc). How are you enriched by these activities? (300 words max.)
Essay 5: (Optional) Is there anything else that was not covered in your application that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee? (300 words max.)
Recommendation Questions:
- How long have you known the candidate? Define your relationship with the candidate and the circumstances whereby you met.
- Comment on the candidate’s career progress to date and his/her career focus.
- What do you consider to be the candidate’s major strengths? Comment on the factors that distinguish the candidate from other individuals at his/her level.
- What do you consider to be the candidate’s major weaknesses?
- Comment on the candidate’s potential for senior management. Do you see him/her as a future 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 behaviour or skills in a group setting/team environment.
