Where to work to get into a TOP MBA Program?

Question

Hi

I'm working for a big telecommunication provider in Europe (https://bit.ly/2DuWb13) as a Banking software engineer and develop Software for big Banks. They company is very big and employs over 20k employees. But they are not operating international. I've studied at an average university of applied science. And got a bachelors degree in computer science. My gpa is 3.0. My ultimate goal is to get into the Insead MBA or LBS MBA Program. Now my questions:

- Is it bad for my career to switch to a smaller company (midsize or very small like 20 People)?
- I could get a job at UBS, Accenture, Credit Suisse with my experience. Would this be a better career move instead of staying in the telecommunications company to get into the MBA Program?

Thanks very much for your help!

Answer 1

Hi,

I agree here with Guennael - brand and career trajectory are important.

But what's even more important - What you were actually doing?

Did you have achievements in your career track?
Were your career moves spontaneous or you were following some mission / passion?
Do you have a lot of examples from this work experience that will help you answer the admission questions?
Can you pack it in a story that will be exciting and will explain why MBA is the logical continuation of it?

Best,

Answer 2

I don't know how to answer your question directly, and the people with MBA experience here are probably better suited to answer your question.

However, having visited some of the top schools and having met a lot of MBA grads at Bain, I can tell you that the top schools look for a real wide variety of experiences, and it isn't as biased towards consulting/finance as it perhaps used to be. Just take a look at the admissions stats of any top school. What is actually more important is your story, so I think picking the career path that best fits that is what is most important for you.

Answer 3

Things we look for:

- brand name companies

- career trajectory

- leadership positions

- entrepreneurial experiences