Can you tell us more about yourself?
My name is Daniel and I am Italian though my family has been in Belgium for a very long time. I completed my Master of Engineering in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the Universite libre de Bruxelles with a one-year exchange program at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. After completion of my studies there I joined Voxbone as an Interconnect Manager and I worked there for three years before deciding to go for an MBA. I am also fluent in five languages, English, Italian, Dutch, French and Spanish.
What prompted you to apply for an MBA?
I am a telecommunication engineer and worked for a telecom company for three years after getting my Masters in Engineering. I knew that if I were to stay in the telecom sector my career evolution would be very slow as engineers today are no longer considered among the decision-makers. Companies let them focus on technical and operational issues where they find little professional rewards. So I wanted to change my sector and my position while also internationalize my career.
IESE came quite logically to me. I wanted to learn Spanish and be in a two-year program that would allow me the chance to have a summer internship to help me make the career change I wanted. Also, I love Barcelona and the idea of spending two years in Barcelona versus London or Fontainebleau was definitely very appealing to me.
What did you find the most difficult in the application process?
The first difficulty I faced was time management. As someone who already knew Italian and having an intermediate level of knowledge in English and also being good at Math, I thought that completing the admission process would be a very long process. In reality, I needed to put in six months or real hard work spending all my weekends preparing for my TOEFL, GMAT, and applications. These six months were very revelatory and I realized how much importance the MBA really held for me. However, finding the time for my preparations and my work simultaneously was a very difficult task.
The second difficulty was the selection of a school for the MBA. There is a lot of information published by various institutions, comparing the various MBAs. It is very difficult to understand the various parameters that lead to the rankings as they were. Through my application process, I came to understand rapidly that rankings were one thing but that it was important to make your own analysis of the school you wanted to be a part of. I was lucky to get the help of someone like Dr. Hubert Silly, an expert in the MBA world and the creator of the World MBA Tour, who could tell me what was behind each brand and what each brand could bring to me, something I really appreciated.
What is life like at IESE?
Great classes, great curriculum, and wonderful faculty! Getting to be a part of the IESE culture was a wonderful way of acknowledging the diverse nature of the school and I consider myself truly lucky to be a part of it. The student body is very active in organising events and programs to help each student integrate well with the school as well as enjoy life in the city.
What would be your advice to someone applying for an MBA program?
Be patient. Top MBAs are selective and they ask for candidates with a strong application and a good GMAT score. That is the way of assessing the motivation of the students. So it is not a short process. It might take months for you to write up great applications. MBAs mean a great deal of sacrifice both in terms of time and money and if you are not prepared to spend time to write a very convincing application, you may as well not take it up in the first place.
Assess your finances carefully. An MBA is here to help you, not to drain your savings. Many people make the mistake of spending all their savings on the project. Avoid this to the greatest extent possible. The best way to do that would be to involve your employer, your family who can help contribute to and support the project. Unfortunately, I did it on my own and created a big dent on my personal finances. Looking back, I believe that I should have involved my employer and worked more on my financing. Dr. Hubert Silly had informed me of the necessity of getting a sponsor but I was more interested in getting the MBA and ignored his advice in the beginning. So my advice is to start looking for finances while preparing for the GMAT. MBA Center does organize regular sessions on financing the MBA but I never paid heed to those sessions as I did not believe it was the right time yet. And when the time came, it was too late and I had to bear heavy loads.
Finally, utilize the vast industry experience that MBA Center possesses. I have many friends from Brussels who have worked with Dr. Hubert Silly and have been accepted to NYU, LBS, INSEAD, IE, etc., and no one doubts the quality of MBA Center services. MBA Center also has these sessions on financing which many applicants ignore, instead of focusing more on their expertise in GMAT, TOEFL and admission consulting and not on financial aid. My advice is, do not ignore this service that they provide. It could prove very helpful to you in the long run.