Can you tell us more about yourself?
My name is Carmine. I am an engineer and graduated from the Università Degli Studi di Roma ‘La Sapienza’ with a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering. I joined Eni after my graduation in chemical engineering. I received complete training in petroleum engineering and I started a rotational program in Italy, Tunisia, Libya, and Congo Brazzaville. I worked there for over six years moving from the rank of a Production Engineer to that of a Plant Supervisor responsible for the development of an oil field.
Since 2001 I have also been a Volunteer for the Community of Sant’Egidio which is a global association assisting homeless people, arranging charity events in Italy, France, Congo, Albania, UK.
What prompted you to apply for an MBA?
As an engineer, I was spending a lot of time abroad as I was on the field most of the time. Though this job gave me great opportunities in leadership and management development it wasn’t very interesting otherwise as it was a very operational process. After six long years, I no longer wanted to work in emerging countries and so I decided to make a career switch and access more strategic and decision making roles in a company. As an engineer on the field, you never realize time goes by and you end up having spent over 20-30 years on the field. And even though it is a well-paying job, there is very little personal development that can happen there in the long run. I applied to several schools, INSEAD, IMD, LBS, IESE, HEC and got accepted to all these schools thanks to the support and professionalism of Dr. Hubert Silly and the MBA Center.
I chose IMD for three reasons. First was the maturity of the candidates. I was already over 30 years old when I decided to go for the program and these candidates who were roughly my age and had similar expectations out of the program as I did. Second, I wanted to be in a program that is based on business cases and real business situations and that is something that IMD offers with an opportunity to run consulting missions, etc.
Finally, I wanted a program that offers a very good career service because I knew that after six years that I spent in the oil and gas industry in the emerging countries it would not be easy for me to make a career switch and I feel that I will get this from IMD.
What did you find the most difficult in the application process?
The first problem I faced was the GMAT. Even though English was the language we used on a daily basis as an engineer working in foreign lands, it was nowhere close to the level of English required by the GMAT. My command over English grammar was also not strong which affected my GMAT scores. It took me some time to get my score up and thanks to the perseverance, support, and guidance of Dr. Hubert Silly I was able to improve fast and get the 700 that I needed.
The second difficulty was explaining to the admissions committee why I believed that I could have a successful career outside the oil and gas industry. Again digging back into my extra-curricular activities and voluntary activities with the help of Dr. Hubert Silly, we were able to identify key episodes in my life that could help us build an application that IMD would accept.
What is life like at IMD?
The name IMD brings to mind exclusivity. I say this because the MBA program at IMD is pretty selective and the acceptance there is quite prestigious. So getting to be a part of the student body was an experience in itself. I was astounded by the quality of the program. The location of IMD is another plus point. Finally, the networks that you get to create in IMD are quite unique and would be a great value addition for your future endeavors.
What would be your advice to someone applying for an MBA program?
Identify the right program for yourself. By ‘right program’ I mean a program that will allow you to develop and reach your personal and professional goals. Well ranked programs such as LBS or INSEAD might not give you what you are expecting. Rankings are based on some parameters set by the one conducting the survey and might not take into account your particular perimeter for doing an MBA as the main factor. Investigate on your own as an MBA is a huge investment in terms of time and money and you need to be sure of where you are spending both of these.
Understand that an MBA is going to cost you a lot of money. Most people fail to realize this or to take into account factors other than the course fee such as your living situation, cost of living and other miscellaneous expenses over the course of the period and this could prove to be too much for one person to bear if you’re not prepared for it. Also, when you start an MBA you would perhaps stop your job two or three months before starting the MBA and there is a distinct possibility that you may not have a job right when you finish the program. SO you need to be prepared for the fact that there is going to be along the stretch of time perhaps 18 months or more when you will be without steady pay. Be prepared for such eventualities.
Finally, I got accepted to all the schools I applied to IMD, LBS, HEC, INSEAD, IESE and I believe that the support and collaboration with Dr. Hubert Silly were key in this respect. I recommended the services of the MBA Center to two of my friends and they have been accepted by Yale and INSEAD. So I would recommend the MBA Center services to all prospective MBA applicants as their services are unparalleled.