Darren talks with N'doli Jean-Hugues "Cherif," a French and Ivorian candidate who gained admission to both INSEAD and London Business School's MBA programs. Cherif, an older full-time MBA candidate with diverse experience across five roles - including audit, management consulting, investment banking and infrastructure project finance in the public and private sector - shares his five key success factors for MBA admissions.

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Cherif's Background & Pre-MBA Plan & Goals (3:10)
• How Cherif Found Career Mentors & Built Future Opportunities (10:40)
• Cherif's 5 Key Success Factors
• • Unwavering Focus (17:20)
  • Strategic Peer Review (27:15)
  • Work with a Consultant (34:30)
  • Self-awareness (43:15)
  • Narrative Coherence (52:30)
• How Cherif Assessed his Competitiveness (1:00:00)
• Cherif's Interview Tips for Insead & London Business School (1:07:10)

• Cherif's Final Tips (1:24:00)

About Our Guest

N'doli Jean-Hugues Cherif graduated from Cranfield University with a Masters in Management and Concordia University with a Bachelors in Political Science. He will be attending the Insead MBA program in Fontainebleau, France, focused on a post-MBA career in infrastructure-focused private equity.

After getting his Masters, Cherif worked as an auditor for PwC, management consultant for Square Management, and then in Financial Advisory and Project Finance for the government of Côte d'Ivoire and then as an investment banker for Obara Capital. He then returned to Paris with his family to do Financial Advisory and Project Finance for Egis.

Show Notes

• Follow N'doli Jean-Hugues Cherif on LinkedIn
• How I Got Into Insead & London Business School: 5 Game-Changing Success Factors by N'doli Jean-Hugues Cherif (My Admissions Journey Series)
• Insead MBA
• Infravenir: Young Infrastructure Professionals in France
• The Glocap Guide To Getting A Job In Private Equity: Behind the Scenes Insight Into How PE Funds Hire by Brian Korb
• London L. - MBA Admissions Consultant

More Resources

• Get free school selection help at Touch MBA
• Get pre-assessed by top international MBA programs
• Get the Admissions Edge Course: Proven Techniques for Admission to Top Business Schools
• Our favorite MBA application tools (after advising 4,000 applicants)

Darren confronts his own "AI anxiety" with Sabine King, Director of the Career Accelerator at the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) at University of New South Wales (UNSW). Together, they explore the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the demand for MBA graduates, the evolving strategies of career services, and how leading business schools are equipping their students to thrive in an AI-world.

• Introduction (0:00)
• AI's impact on demand for MBAs (5:50)
• How AGSM embeds AI into its curriculum & career services (8:30)
• AI tools for resume optimization (11:30)
• The importance of authenticity & one's mindset in using AI (13:30)
• What AI skills do employers expect from MBAs? (17:00)
• Using AI for psychometric testing, initial assessments & interview preparation (26:00)
• Using AI for career exploration (30:00)
• AGSM's AI courses & resources (36:00)
• Ethical use of AI (38:40)

About Our Guest

Sabine King is the Director of the Career Accelerator at 
Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia. Previously, she worked for Education First as a Program Manager and Cox Purtell as a Recruiting Specialist. She graduated with a degree in Business Management from the International School of Management in Germany.

• AGSM MBA
• UNSW AI Institute
• ChatGPT
• Microsoft CoPilot
• Crystal - The Personality Data Platform
• VMoc - Career Acceleration Platform
• Case Coach - Case Interview Prep Platform
• Graduate First - Job Assessments Expert
• Still need help? Get a free profile review, including best-fit MBA programs & ways to strengthen your profile

• Get free school selection help at Touch MBA
• Get pre-assessed by top international MBA programs
• Get the Admissions Edge Course: Proven Techniques for Admission to Top Business Schools
• Our favorite MBA application tools (after advising 4,000 applicants)
• The Best MBA Programs in Australia

Darren shares 3 design thinking exercises from Bill Burnett and Dave Evan's Designing Your Life that will help you build a joyful life - and find MBA programs you are excited about.

• Introduction (0:00)
• Make Odyssey Plans - Imagining Life 1, 2 and 3 (3:45)
• Prototype - "Building is Thinking" (8:20)
• Wayfind - Following Energy and Engagement (13:30)

• Designing Your Life - How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life
• The Fail-Safe Solopreneur - 6 Essential Practices to Manage Your Well-Being Working for Yourself
• #46 Steve Dalton’s The 2 Hour Job Search: The 80/20 Formula to Target Employers & Secure First Interviews
• #188 Steve Dalton’s The Job Closer – Giving Job Seekers Straightforward Frameworks that Work Fast and Work Well
• #192 MBA Coffee Chats: Thoughtful Advice on How to Get the Most Out of Your MBA with Adam Putterman, Kellogg MMM ’19
• #194 Building a Professional MBA Network with Nicolle Lee, Wharton MBA ’22
• #156 Three Questions to Ask Before You Make a Career Move with Gary Lo

• Get free school selection help at Touch MBA
• Get pre-assessed by top international MBA programs
• Get the Admissions Edge Course: Proven Techniques for Admission to Top Business Schools
• Our favorite MBA application tools (after advising 4,000 applicants)

Ann-Marie Stephenson and Colleen McLister, Senior Recruitment Manager and Admissions Manager of MBA Programmes at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, discuss the Frankfurt School MBA's admissions criteria, admissions process, scholarships and more. After listening to this episode, you will have a thorough and nuanced understanding of how to submit your strongest application to the Frankfurt School.

• Introducing Ann-Marie Stephenson & Colleen McLister (0:00)
• What about the Frankfurt School MBA Surprises International Students? (4:00)
• How much German do Frankfurt MBA students need to thrive? (8:45)
• Frankfurt School MBA's Admissions Criteria & Process (11:30)
• Scholarships - How to Improve Your Chances? (24:30)
• Advice on Recommendations, Case-Study Essays, Career Goals (35:00)
• Final Tips for Applicants (46:15)

• Frankfurt School of Finance & Management Full-time MBA Programme
• Contact the MBA Team at the Frankfurt School
• #227 Inside the Frankfurt School Full-Time MBA: Admissions & Recruitment Insights with Ann-Marie Stephenson & Colleen McLister
• #215 Frankfurt School of Finance & Management MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Prof. Adrian Buss

• Get free school selection help at Touch MBA
• Get pre-assessed by top international MBA programs
• Get the Admissions Edge Course: Proven Techniques for Admission to Top Business Schools
• Our favorite MBA application tools (after advising 4,000 applicants)

Sara Vanos, Executive Director of Marketing & Admissions for MBA Programs at HEC Paris, discusses what makes the HEC Paris MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more.

• Introduction to HEC Paris MBA and Sara Vanos (0:00)
• Program Highlights - What Makes the HEC Paris MBA Unique? (3:20)
• HEC Paris MBA Admissions & Scholarships - How to Improve Your Chances? (29:15)
• Career Opportunities after HEC Paris - What to Know & How to Prepare (52:50)

About Our Guest

Sara Vanos is Executive Director of Marketing & Admissions for MBA Programs at HEC Paris, where she has been for over 10 years. Previously, Sara worked in the careers office for the University of Toronto Rotman. Sara got her EMBA from HEC Paris and her undergraduate degree from Ryerson University.

• HEC Paris Full-time MBA
• HEC Paris MBA GMAT/GRE Requirements
• Touch MBA's Writeup & Highlights of HEC Paris MBA

• Get free school selection help at Touch MBA
• Get pre-assessed by top international MBA programs
• Get the Admissions Edge Course: Proven Techniques for Admission to Top Business Schools
• Our favorite MBA application tools (after advising 4,000 applicants)

Steven DeKrey, Senior Advisor and Professor Emeritus at HKUST Business School, has over 40 years of experience in building and running top-ranked MBA programs worldwide, including at Northwestern Kellogg, the University of Florida, Asian Institute of Management and HKUST, where he was Founding Director of the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program.

Darren asks Professor DeKrey about the value of top MBA programs in Asia, how applicants can stand out in the admissions process, who should apply to Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA and Executive MBA (EMBA) programs, and whether leadership can be taught. Listen carefully to materially improve your chances of finding a great business school and getting in!

• Introduction (0:00)
• What makes top MBA programs in Asia and Hong Kong different? (4:06)
• The quality of top Asian MBA programs vs. top US programs (10:30)
• How important are local language skills for MBA graduates outside the US? (14:10)
• What questions applicants should ask when researching MBA programs? (18:35)
• MBA rankings and other signals of quality (24:30)
• Who should apply to Full-time MBAs, Part-time MBAs and Executive MBAs (EMBA) (28:30)
• Understanding EMBA Admissions (34:50)
• Can leadership be taught? The importance of learning agility (38:45)
• How can MBAs demonstrate leadership skills to employers? (46:40)

Steven DeKrey is Senior Advisor and Professor Emeritus at HKUST Business School. He has over 40 years of experience in building and running top-ranked MBA programs worldwide, including at Northwestern Kellogg, the University of Florida, Asian Institute of Management, and HKUST, where he was Founding Director of the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program. He served on the EQUIS accreditation board and AACSB's Asia-Pacific board, and today, teaches graduate students and executive training programs in leadership, corporate governance and board member development.

Steven has written over 15 cases for the Thompson Case Center, 9 of which have been published by Harvard Business School Publishing. Before starting his career in business education, Steven worked as a School & Sports Psychologist in Iowa. He got his PhD in School & Sports Psychology from the University of Iowa and his MBA from Northwestern Kellogg.

• Follow Professor Steven DeKrey on LinkedIn
• HKUST MBA
• Kellogg-HKUST EMBA
• Tiger, Peacock, Owl, Koala - Which Kind of Leader Are You?

• Get free school selection help at Touch MBA
• Get pre-assessed by top international MBA programs
• Get the Admissions Edge Course: Proven Techniques for Admission to Top Business Schools
• Our favorite MBA application tools (after advising 4,000 applicants)

Melody Jones, Co-Founder of Vantage Point MBA Admissions Consulting, has been helping applicants get into top 10 MBA programs for over a decade. How does Vantage Point help applicants triple their chances compared to other applicants? Melody shares key learnings, examples and questions you can use right away to craft a compelling application.

• Introduction (0:00)
• Melody's MBA Story, Career & Co-Founding of Vantage Point (2:45)
• Vantage Point's Philosophy for Serving Applicants (11:00)
• Vantage Point's 3x Success Factors (13:00)
• Factor 1: Who Are You? (17:00)
• Factors 2 & 3: What Do You Want? Why? (23:00)
• Rejected Application Analyses for Columbia, MIT, Harvard, Stanford (34:00)
• What if you have the same career goals as everyone else? (41:00)
• Melody's Last Two Tips for Applicants (43:00)

Melody Jones is Co-Founder of Vantage Point MBA Admissions Consulting. Previously, Melody worked as a Marketing Manager for L'Oreal in New York City and prior to her MBA, Melody worked in finance at Wachovia and Wells Fargo.

Melody got her MBA from the Columbia Business School and her Bachelors in Marketing & International Business from the University of Virginia.

• Vantage Point MBA Admissions Consulting
• #221 Excellent Advice for Living (and MBA Applications!)

• Get free school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com
• Learn effective strategies to secure admission to top-ranked MBA programs with Touch MBA's Admissions Edge Course. Gain insights from successful resumes, essays, and case studies of admitted MBAs. Save thousands on consulting fees while optimizing every aspect of your application: https://go.touchmba.com/edge
• Our favorite MBA application tools (after advising 4,000 applicants): https://touchmba.com/favorite-mba-application-tools/