INSEAD: January 2010 Archives

As an INSEAD alumnus in Singapore, I tend to receive a fair number of requests for help from current and incoming students, alumni/classmates and partners.

Specifically, when it comes to requests for getting a job in my workplace or with local companies I’m connected to, I’ve decided I can help with certain things.

The baseline is that I will help you get your foot through the door. I will forward your CV to the relevant decision makers and mention that you are a fellow INSEADer. If I’ve worked with you before, I’d be happy to add a few good words. I’ve already done so for two classmates I’ve worked with.

If time permits, I can also share with applicants (those interested in joining my organisation) some of my insights on the working culture and career prospects, and the wider context of the health and public sectors. So far I’ve done this with at least 3 people (a current student and 2 partners).

On the other hand, I also have to balance my desire to help INSEADers with the needs of my organisation and the public sector. Remember that I’m wearing two hats now - that of a fellow INSEADer and a prospective employer. So I need to know how you can contribute to our cause, not just how you hope to benefit from getting a job with us. I need to believe you’re serious about contributing and aren’t using us as a short-term stepping stone.

I say this partly because of recent experience shared by an alumnus who has experienced this attitude with other INSEAD grads. It saddens me, because our reputation deserves better than that. Even if we have MBAs, it doesn’t mean we’re automatically entitled to a cushy job - we have to prove our worth through our actions.

So I too will be more discerning in who I refer, and how much I will stick my neck out. In any case, our hiring process is fair, so if you’re the best fit, you will get the offer on your own merit. And that’s probably the best outcome for all of us.

At work today, I listened to two colleagues relating how they spent the past week doing a crash course. It involved situational analysis, defining and categorising the issues, writing and then presenting a proposal. They told me of how they worked past midnight every day. I learned that some of their groupmates came from other parts of the region, and one was even a Belgian who resided in Singapore.

I looked at both of them, and wasn’t greatly impressed. It was not that I was merciless or wanted to put them down - I respect my colleagues. It’s just because this sort of intense work is commonplace at INSEAD. Especially in the first two periods (P1 and P2) - that’s four months, not just 5 working days. And to top it off, we have exams!

It’s just as gruelling if you took the optional INSEAD Business Foundations course prior to P1. In fact I suspect Business Foundations doesn’t just give you a grounding in the basics (for those of us with no business backgrounds) but jolts you into realising, “What have I got myself into??” as you plough through your notes into the wee hours of the night, trying to complete your assignments with your groupmates. It’s not an experience for the faint-hearted.

With crash courses, you don’t just gain vast quantities of insights in a short space of time. Because of the brutal pace of learning, you also bond with your groupmates quickly. One of my colleagues befriended a foreign participant in her group and is meeting up with him tomorrow. And so classmates become friends, across different continents and cultures.

If such international friendships can develop in the space of a working week, with just 18 people, imagine what can happen at an accelerated full-time MBA at INSEAD over a period of 10 months or more, between 450+ students around the world.

Afternote: I have to write a paper involving bilateral relationships (i.e. international relations between countries) within the next day, present and get it approved by senior management by this week, submit it to my Ministry for approval, after which it will be will proposed to the WHO. Is it daunting?? Not quite, because we’ve done this kind of work at INSEAD already.

I look at such challenges through a very difference lens now. And after INSEAD, you will, too.