IMD Switzerland MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 1
IMD Switzerland Essay 1: Tell us your story. (Make sure you include specific examples that would be relevant to the application process). Minimum length 300 words and maximum 400.
I am an engineer with 7 years of experience in Consulting for manufacturing and operations. Unfortunately, my career had a rough beginning. I always wanted to pursue a master’s degree and got an amazing opportunity to join a prestigious institute in India. However, my father’s Parkinson’s disease had progressed to an advanced stage, and I had to leave my education in just 3 months to come back and support my family.
However, I was lucky to get a great start to my career at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories in the Life sciences manufacturing domain. Here, one of the most significant achievements of my career is leading the digitalization project for a 30-year-old manufacturing plant that had low efficiency and labor output. Our team was brought in to help make the plant more efficient using Industry 4.0 standards. The biggest challenge my team and I faced was the unionized labor force, which feared their jobs would disappear. However, I negotiated with the union that no job loss would happen if they got on board the digitalization plan. After 2 years, we saw a twofold increase in People’s productivity and a 76% reduction in quality errors with any job losses.
This success propelled me into the international arena to get international working and consulting exposure. In Ireland, my career journey has been marked by significant achievements in leading global consulting projects. Now, in the short term, I want to expand my horizons outside of manufacturing consulting to strategy consulting across the industry.
However, I’ve recognized a need for further growth and skills enhancement. The tough negotiations with the union as mentioned above underscored the importance of honing negotiation, and communication skills and strengthening leadership abilities. This realization, coupled with my exposure of working alongside management consultants at Accenture, finally motivated my pursuit of an MBA. In a landscape where clients increasingly prefer candidates with an MBA, I aim to equip myself with the necessary tools to navigate complex negotiations and lead more impactful client engagements.
In pursuing an MBA, IMD’s focused MBA program for senior candidates, a smaller batch size, and a one-year duration align perfectly with my career goals. The emphasis on senior professionals at IMD resonates with my current career stage, offering a tailored experience that caters to my specific needs and aspirations. I am confident I can upskill myself to achieve my career goals.
IMD Switzerland Essay 2: Describe a situation in which you failed as a leader. What did you learn from it? (Word limit 300)
Working for India’s largest steel plant (JSW Steel Ltd), I have always made efforts to contribute to the wellbeing of my fellow workers and community. Our plant has 12000+ blue-collar workers who sometimes work under hazard potential activities in the suboptimal working environment. These workers form the backbone of the steel industry and India’s growing GDP.
One such activity at the plant involves manually cleaning the area beneath the hot steel making furnace. While cleaning, workers have to drive wheel loaders just under the furnace, which is always at a very high temperature and involves a safety risk from hot materials.
Observing this condition, I took the initiative to redesign loaders so that they can be controlled through a wireless controller. This would remove the requirement of the operator going beneath the furnace. However, as none of the steel plants in Asia uses such technology, it was quite a challenge for me to find a supplier for the technology. Initially, I approached suppliers from the USA and Australia and arranged site visits, but the discussions with the international suppliers failed because quotations were exceeding the allocated budget. I was disappointed to see back to back setbacks.
Eventually, I engaged one of the domestic suppliers, who were initially hesitant due to the high risk of failure. I managed to convince the supplier by negotiating to bear 50% of the remote cost, in case the project fails. With successful trials of the machine, this technology proved to produce the desired output. Finally, my efforts paid off when JSW became the first steel plant in Asia to operate a remote loader.
The most significant challenge I faced was restarting the troubled LPG Project. When I joined the project, the construction was put on hold because of protests from the local community concerned about the potential safety issues.
My senior leadership asked me to take the police force and start the project work stealthily to avoid timeline delays and financial losses. After leading the stealth operation and restarting work at midnight, we saw some violent protests and social unrest by locals the following morning.
My biggest challenge that day was dealing with this potentially violent crowd without endangering the lives of my fellow contract workers’ lives and not allowing the local protestors to get beaten up by the police force. I decided to diffuse the situation by talking to the local protestors under police protection. I negotiated a deal to stop the violent protest and open talks via safe channels where I could address all the community’s concerns.
After a series of discussions, they finally agreed to postpone the protest when I committed them to show the safety and environmental aspects of the equivalent plant and the enhancements we are implementing in our plant.
The real estate market was hit hard by COVID-19 lockdowns, and we were struggling to keep up with expenses in the face of an income halt. As the business leader of my family business, I had to make a few difficult decisions during this challenging time.
First, to reduce costs, I closed down a branch of our office, making sure to retain staff and relocating them to our main office. Second, I cut down on performance-linked bonuses and incentives.
The second decision was a bit controversial and our employees were not happy. I approached the top executives privately first to get their thoughts because they would be the most negatively impacted. I explained to them that this step was necessary until we cleared our debt and got back on our feet. They understood and appreciated that I had supported them during the lockdown by continuing to pay salaries and helping with medical bills. They also helped the decision get traction with the rest of the employees.
However, one executive had a job offer from Saudi Arabia where he would receive a higher fixed salary. While I couldn’t make an exception for him, we mutually agreed that it was best for him to pursue the opportunity if he thought it was the right choice for him.
I lost a great team member because of this decision. But overall, I believe these decisions were not only challenging but also the need of the hour as I had to balance the long term needs of the business against the short term needs of our employees. Most of our employees supported these decisions and stuck with us. I believe that these decisions and our employees’ support of them together ensured the company’s continued survival during a difficult time.
IMD Switzerland Essay 3: How much of your total budget do you estimate you will be able to provide without loans or scholarships? (Word limit 50)
I believe an IMD MBA would cost me approximately CHF 135,000. I would be able to fund CHF 35,000 from my savings. For the rest, I plan to take an education loan and a paid internship to further help me cover my living expenses
IMD Switzerland Essay 4: What other programs are you applying to? Of the programs you are applying to, what can IMD bring to you as a differentiator? (Word limit 100)
Apart from IMD, I am applying to the following MBA programs:
ESMT, Berlin
UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, Dublin
TCD Trinity Business School, Dublin
IMD Switzerland Essay 5: What specific companies do you want to target? What kind of responsibilities you are looking for? Do you already have a network in place? (Word limit 50)
Accenture
PWC
KPMG
IMD Switzerland Essay 6: What skills and experience do you think you already possess that will help you with your post MBA career plans and will make you stand out in front of potential employers? (Word limit 100)
In the last 7 years, as a PMP-certified manufacturing consultant, I have proven expertise in leading client engagements, global digital transformation initiatives, optimizing manufacturing operations, and excelling in change management projects across 10+ countries in the Life sciences industry.
Standout experience in spearheading Industry 4.0 initiatives and achieving recognition in the World Economic Forum Global Lighthouse Network. These accomplishments showcase a unique blend of strategic vision, technical proficiency, and leadership, positioning me as a valuable asset for post-MBA roles in driving organizational innovation and efficiency.
IMD Switzerland MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients - 2
IMD MBA Essay 1: Tell us your story. (Make sure you include specific examples that would be relevant to the application process). Minimum length 300 words and maximum 400.
I am a passionate & adaptable individual with over 9.5 years of working experience. From a domain perspective, I have been in product management for the past 5 years, and before that, I had stints in project management and consulting.
My post-MBA goal is to continue working in the product management domain withl technology companies like Facebook, Google, or Netflix. My long-term goal is to become a chief product officer and build impactful technology products globally.
My education and work experience have helped me understand how B2B business works in the Indian, Southeast Asian, and Middle Eastern markets. I have been fortunate to have worked in MNCs like Aon, and Series A+ start-ups like Harappa Education and Disprz where I have solved problems for over 100 customers and scaled up to become a product leader. I ventured into product leadership roles 2 years back and have worked with VPs and CXOs ever since.
One specific example that made me realize the need to pursue an MBA was when in 2022, the leadership team at Harappa Education was discussing about how to solve the increasing operational cost that was building up as our product grew exponentially. Our cost of onboarding every client was growing in parallel with product growth. This was when the CPO came up with an exciting insight of passing on the operational work to the client itself by building a client-side app that would enable them to ideate on & implement such work themselves while giving them freedom on their user experience. This would reduce the operational effort on our end and help build a self-serve product that could pave the way to a subscription-based business model.
His strategic thinking, knowledge of the global business context and varied types of business models amazed me. I realised that to become a better product leader, I need to understand the global context better, develop a strategic bent of mind, and gain a more exhaustive understanding of how varied types of businesses work. This is why I am considering a global MBA from a prestigious school like IMD.
IMD’s focus on providing a global context, experiential learning and leadership will help me take a step in that direction. I am confident that an MBA from IMD will equip me to build a broader perspective and become a better product leader who can see more than what meets the eye.
IMD MBA Essay 2: How much of your total budget do you estimate you will be able to provide without loans or scholarships? (Word limit 50)
As per my research, the IMD MBA program will cost CHF 133500. I can finance up to 50% of the amount from personal savings and will take an education loan to support the rest.
IMD MBA Essay 3: What other programs are you applying to? (Word limit 100)
In addition to IMD, I am applying to INSEAD, HEC Paris, and SDA Bocconi MBA programs.
All these institutes offer a 1 year MBA program, which I believe would be more suitable for me given my 9.5 years of professional experience and desire to work in Europe after earning my MBA.
IMD MBA Essay 4: Do you already have a network in place? (Word limit 50)
Yes, I have friends and ex-colleagues working in companies like Bolt, Amazon, Booking.com, and Microsoft across Europe & North America. Once I come to Europe, I plan to activate this network and leverage it to get suitable career opportunities.
IMD MBA Essay 5: Which skills & experiences will aid your post-MBA career goals? What are the challenges and road blockers that you may experience and how will you overcome them? (Word limit 200 - 300)
Having worked in technology companies for nine and a half years in project and product management, I have gained know-how of various functions and levels. In the process, I have grown from an individual contributor undertaking specific tasks to managing 2 product lines, contributing to 80% of the organization’s revenue, & leading a product team of 30+ professionals.
My experience has equipped me with skills like stakeholder management, team management, leadership, data-led decision-making, product solutioning, & road mapping. I am confident these skills gained over the years will enable me to take up strategic positions in Product management or any other role.
The challenges and roadblockers I foresee and how I plan to overcome them:
- My high work experience might be a roadblock for some opportunities I come across post-MBA, but I am open to good roles, even if they entail a fall in salary or designation. As long as the opportunity allows me to do impactful work that helps me meet my goals, it wouldn’t be a problem.
- I might not know the primary user/consumer of my employer organisation’s product/service that well because they might be from a different geography and culture, but I’ll put in more effort to understand them, their preferences and their thought process by talking to them, people around me who have worked with them or served them, the available data among other things.
- My experience is more on the B2B side, which might make consumer technology companies feel unsure about selecting me for the role in their organisation, but I’ll make sure my research & knowledge make up for that gap.
IMD MBA Essay 6: Is there any additional information that is critical for the Admissions Committee which has not been covered elsewhere in this application? (i.e. re-application, health, grades, etc.) (Word limit 100)
I would like to highlight that my wife is also planning to pursue an MBA and applying to IMD. Her name is Vedika Hansaria, and we both will be happy to start our MBA journey together.
Also, I have taken the GMAT focus edition and scored 685 on it. This equates to roughly around 740 in Classic GMAT as per conversion tables on the GMAC website.
IMD Switzerland MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 3
IMD Switzerland Essay 1: Describe a situation in which you failed as a leader. What did you learn from it? (Word limit 300)
I believe one of the biggest failures of my professional career happened when COVID-19 forced the world into lockdowns and I as a founder and leader of “Waste No More” failed to effectively steer through the challenges of COVID-19.
Waste No More is a volunteer-driven organization that collects surplus food from restaurants, grocery chains and re-distributes it to the less privileged homeless people. We currently distribute more than 1500 meals every week across Jakarta and Bali. During COVID-19, when Jakarta first went into lockdown, our donors like caterers, and restaurants closed down and simultaneously, our volunteers’ were not able to step out to collect and distribute. I spent months building an initiative and everything came crashing down in a few days. All the homeless people and underprivileged communities that came to depend on our meals distribution were once again left supportless fending for themselves.
It took me 2 months to restart our operations, but In hindsight, there was no reason why I could not have pivoted our operating model faster and better.
With deep introspection, I gained two key learnings: First was the importance of anticipating risks and being agile. Most organizations who came out strong of this global crisis were the ones who adapted at a rapid pace. Second, I learnt the value of building a diversified supplier and distributor base in the supply chain to reduce risk. We should have expanded our partnerships out of restaurants and cafes to grocery chains which are critical business and will always remain open. AT the same time we should have expanded the volunteer base outside of college students to more self dependent working class individuals.
These experiences helped me evolve as I better understand my responsibilities as a leader in times of growth and in times of crisis.
IMD Switzerland Essay 2: How much of your total budget do you estimate you will be able to provide without loans or scholarships? (Word limit 50)
I believe an IMD MBA would cost me approximately CHF 130,000. I would be able to fund CHF 60,000 my savings. For the rest, I plan to take an education loan, support from my family and a paid internship to further help me cover my living expenses.
IMD Switzerland Essay 3: What other programs are you applying to? Of the programs you are applying to, what can IMD bring to you as a differentiator? (Word limit 100)
I am applying to the following full-time MBA programs:
HEC, Paris
NUS, Singapore
Saïd Business School, Oxford
After due research, I believe, IMD’s key differentiator for me would be the ‘elea Center for Social Innovation’ and ‘Entrepreneurship Stream’, both of which can help me develop skills to achieve my long term goal of starting a social enterprise. Second, given IMD’s 7 years of average experience and a small class size of 90 would allow me to be in a peer group of my age and experience while ensuring tailored support from the program office and career services.
IMD Switzerland Essay 4: What specific companies do you want to target? What kind of responsibilities you are looking for? Do you already have a network in place? (Word limit 50)
With more than 6 years of experience in the social impact domain, post MBA, I aspire to leverage my existing network and the business knowledge to join as a program manager with social foundations like Gates foundation or corporate social responsibility foundations like Shell Foundation or Michelin foundation.
IMD Switzerland Essay 5: What skills and experience do you think you already possess that will help you with your post MBA career plans and will make you stand out in front of potential employers? (Word limit 100)
In the last 6 years, I have used my technical skills to launch a Remote Accelerator Program to help more than 400 NPOs scale and increase the reach of their respective social causes. I have founded “Waste No More”, an NPO working to solve the hunger problem in indonesia.
These experiences have also helped me to sharpen my problem-solving skills and grow as an empathic leader. I am confident that by leveraging my network and hands-on experience at grass root levels, I will be able to stand out in front of potential employers.
IMD Switzerland Essay 6: Is there any additional information that is critical for the Admissions Committee which has not been covered elsewhere in this application? (i.e. re-application, health, grades, etc.) (Word limit 50)
Waste No More is a purely volunteer-driven movement. We do not take any monetary donations, and we do not have official employees. Hence, I have not taken any salary in the last 1.5 years and simply focused on giving back to the community.
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IMD Switzerland MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 4
IMD Switzerland Essay 1: Describe a situation in which you failed as a leader. What did you learn from it? (Word limit 300)
In 2018, I was recognized as an Economic Times young leaders by Economic times (largest business new paper in India). I was also nominated for emerging leader program at my organization to groom next generation of leaders.
It was in the midst of these recognitions, I also embraced one of the biggest failure of my professional career. In 2018, I was given the responsibility to lead sales of commercial vehicles for the entire state of Gujrat (largest market for commercial vehicles in India). Within a few months of assuming my responsibility, Government of India raised a request for proposal to buy more than 2000 mini garbage trucks worth a total order value of $13 million.
It would have been a great opportunity for me to make a big splash in my new role if I won the order request. I led the entire exercise right from product demos to bid submissions. My team member and I worked day and night to organize product demos and bid submission. Post a thorough analysis of the competitors and initial feedback on product quality I was confident that our product was superior and we should win. However, when the results came out, we couldn’t even manage to win a single order. We lost all $13 million to our largest competitor.
This was a soul crushing failure and post thorough situation analysis, I realized I should have prioritized lobbying and stakeholder influencing in a sales role rather than relying only on technical product superiority. I also realized I should have researched and asked for guidance on my first big project in a new state to better understand the lay of the land. Going forward, during my MBA, I aspire to learn how to build networks and relationship while seeking mentoring from the great alumni network.
IMD Switzerland Essay 2: Is there any additional information that is critical for the Admissions Committee which has not been covered elsewhere in this application? (i.e. re-application, health, grades, etc.) (Word limit 50)
Due to the current situation in lieu of COVID 19 my GMAT plans have been affected. In line with the steps, which IMD is also taking in the scenario, I will be submitting my GMAT scores later on.
IMD Switzerland Essay 3: What specific companies do you want to target? What kind of responsibilities you are looking for? Do you already have a network in place? (Word limit 50)
I have more than 8 years of experience in manufacturing industry and post MBA I plan to continue in manufacturing Industry. I would like to target companies like Honeywell/Hilti for a role in business development or product management. I look forward to leverage the IMD Alumni network to help me achieve my goals.
IMD Switzerland Essay 4: What skills and experience do you think you already possess that will help you with your post MBA career plans and will make you stand out in front of potential employers? (Word limit 100)
I believe, one of my strengths which have helped me succeed in my career has been my capability to adapt to different cultures. I have worked and led teams in 5 roles/locations in 7 years in of my career. I have been able to appreciate cultural difference and capitalize cross cultural diversity to deliver results while leading big team.
As a experience sale professional, I believe that I also have strong presentation and communication skills which have been honed by working in different customer facing roles in sales which makes me standout in my peers group and helped me win the young leader award by economic times.
IMD Switzerland Essay 5: What other programs are you applying to? Of the programs you are applying to, what can IMD bring to you as a differentiator? (Word limit 100)
Apart from IMD, I am applying to HEC Paris and Cornell Johnson’s 1-year MBA program. My primary criteria for selecting B-schools were short duration of MBA and the average experience of the class.
I think the factors where IMD is a clear differentiator for me are first the small and highly diverse class where the average experience is similar to mine. Second, I am attracted by IMD’s leadership stream that runs with the program. IMD’s focus on Innovation and digital separates it from any other B school along with the unique ICP which would give a different tangent to my learning.
IMD Switzerland Essay 6: What is your plan B if you are not able to secure your ideal job post MBA? (Word limit 50)
My plan B is to explore senior strategy roles in the Automotive Industry itself back in India. Since I have a strong network in India along with a good leadership career trajectory, the roles will either be with my current organization or with other leading OEMs in similar space.
