insead Flashcards
interview
Why MBA now?
- the time is now but the decision was made quite long ago: because i love learning, i always thought about studying higher now & then but the moment of truth - the milestone that make me choose to pursue MBA instead of other majors was when i started working in marketing industry –> want to start up company
- after 6 years, confident in MKT –> biz ventures are no comfort zone –> learn more about finance & running a biz in a developed country.
What is the toughest decision you had to make in your professional life?
- this. MBA experience: leaving family, career, month salary to finance our household expenses and first time get a loan at that huge amount
- -> have to fulfil myself first before trying to make others happy
Describe the achievement of which you are most proud of
the interview to SPVB
Why INSEAD
9-month
- save time for other important intention
- multicultural studying environment
- Career Development Centre & extra activities
What are you expecting to learn at INSEAD
Learn from professors, from friends and from the experience. Academically, I want to systematize my professional experience of 6 years, fill the knowledge gap and build my own business model reflecting what I learnt and my local understanding. But most important thing the INSEAD will give me is the powerful community of more than 50k alumni. It opens the opportunities everywhere for me.
What you can contribute to INSEAD community
¬ Active part that can engage wholeheartedly, to trigger lively discussion, team-working spirit
¬ broad & deep understanding about FMCG in VN – an emerging marketing landscape
¬ be an influencer in my circle. FTU students are looking for MBA program like INSEAD to save time
¬ an outstanding alumnae in the future
What types of activities you’re interested in pursuing outside of class
¬ INDEVOR club to continue my commitment with social activities in a new eye-opening context
¬ internship at a foreign company to enhance my MBAjourney
Tell me what you like most about INSEAD
qualified 9-month
How your colleagues would describe you leadership style? Give an example
¬ respect everyone’s idea
¬ objective-driven
¬ inspire team with an end in mind & ensure everyone make our shared objectives as their own battle to win. ownership brings satisfaction & proactiveness.
How would you fight stereotypes in a work environment?
¬ typical stereotype is they prefer doing the same way as in the past. for ex, when i propose a new idea, they will justify if it was proven success by any brand or by us before. but if we keep doing the same as we were how we expect to achieve sth other than mediocre
¬ in my team, I keep empower them to propose new, even crazy idea as long as it serves our ibjectives & try the best to rotect the idea we believe by giving out supporting points like expert forecast, pov of expert, pros and cons of doing this vs the old way
You are starting a new project with team members coming from different cultures and educational background. How would you make them meet?
¬ Set shared objs. we may differ in backgrounds which enable us to have different, outoffhebox ideas . the same objs lead out attitude towards the prj members - win win spirit. Also, it leads our way out of conflicts.
What do you do when someone comes to you with a problem?
listen. if its sth under my expertise, i can share my idea to trigger them thinking the solution. but i believe that the most suitable answer for so problems should come from them & when you are articulating ur problems in words, you are halfway to the solution.
What was the most interesting project you have worked on? Why was it interesting to you?
blood donation prj - make me think back about what can be a social prj. we dont execute any real blood donating day, we organize a contest to raise the awareness. many ways to contribute levering our own strengths
How do you keep track of your vision? Or that of your company?
write down & reflect
How would you establish the foundations of your company? What is your management style?
vision inspire & objective driven, everyone is a factor to win the battle
Describe one situation where you faced ethical dilemma? How did you resolve it? What factors did you consider while resolving it?
working at my company, aware the fact that soft drink overuse can lead to obesity.
learning a lot at big company when i was at the stage of collecting knowledge.
when share my concern with my mentor, look at it from the other side
What according to you is required to start a successful business and than to run it?
a vision @ persistence
If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be and why?
How to travel like a local resident
instead of visiting tourist spots, i think it would be more interesting to truly be immersed in another culture
Give me an example of how you convinced your other team members
understand their arguments
walk them through my thinking process & collect testimonials/ 3rd party feedbacks
ask for their input to strengthen my point
Give me an example of how you were attracted by culture from other countries
to see the similarity and difference with my nations
humanitarian is a key but way to express is different.
their interest, entertainment, trend
nhuong ghe cho nguoi gia in japan
What are 3 key successful factors to be an entrepreneur
vision
leadership
persistent
If you had an extra hour every day, what would you do with it
learn piano - my interest but save space for other priorities
What word describes you best and why
planner - i love planning everything though i am open to new changes
it gives the feeling of ownership & confidence
Tell us about the first job you ever had
in redder, manage clients & other party. difficult because each party has their own priority & objective. align & set common obj for all & think win-win
professional world
What’s the best book you have ever read and why?
fountain head by ayn rand about true egotism. i have to be me before i am anything else, like moms daughter, spvb employee, school students. totally conflict with my country tradition? put everyone else interest on first. make me decide easier & less struggling
When you have a problem, whom do you approach for advice and why?
i first internalize my problem, think on my feet first. if the issue is very complicated & neef expert input, i will write down my own proposal for the problem & ask my mentor to igve feedback on
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?
It really takes time to choose one right now because I’ve learned a lot from everyone, from books, movies and other media channels as well. So I have to go with my top-of-mind lesson lately I’ve learnt via a TEDtalk. The topic was about teamworking and the speaker quoted a saying of Abraham Lincoln: “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” If I heard this quote 5 years ago, I would feel indifferent and irrelevant. But now with all the conflicts and encounters at work with all types of people, I could not agree more with Lincoln. All the things we call “incooperate” & “unsupportive” attitudes from other cross-functions were actually conflicts of interest. I don’t know their difficulties and they don’t know how this matters to us either. Lincoln reminds me that if there’s someone you don’t like, it’s because you don’t understand him enough. Try harder.
If you could witness any event: past present or future-what would it be
I love the unexpected so of course it wouldn’t be my future.
I consider between the past and the present. There’s an idea in mediation that you should “get out” of your current shell to see the present with an outsider’s eyes. Because with your limited vision at the time, you are missing thing, sometimes important.
But my heart would tell me to choose the past as it is something I would never have a chance to see it again – my father.
Tell us about an organization or activity in which you have dedicated significant time. Why was it meaningful to you?
young marketers initiative
Tell us about the most interesting place you’ve traveled to. What did you enjoy most about it.
rural - find happiness right at their place
What invention during your lifetime has had the biggest impact on you and why?
iphone - simplicity & how mkt/ entrepreneur can change the world perception
If money was not a concern, what would you do?
start my social prjs
What is the most meaningful thing anyone has done for you in your life
mom - raise me
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why
Right at where I am now, vietnam
What food do you like? Will you be able to eat that food everyday?
rice, yes because it fits everything else
What is your favorite motto or quote, and why
dont settle less than who you are
What risk have you taken and what did you learn
travel alone
What impact do you have on your co-workers
trust
How did you build your international experience?
travel, digital, friends
What is diversity according to you?
Though there are many types of diversity, I believe whatever results in different points of view on the same question called diversity.
Diversity helps our critical thinking when being challenged by the others who did not think like we were so they expected another results rather than what were shown.
Diversity brings out many angles of the same matter so that we can completely discuss and understand them
Who inspires you to how you handle ethical dilemmas
It’s my mother. She became a widow with 2 children when she was only 20s. She raised my sister and me in poverty. It was easier for her to do something unethical or illegal to make a better fortune but she always preferred hard-working. She said that of course, she would do anything to raise us, she wants her children to be proud of her, not feel ashamed about her guilt.
Since I heard her story, whenever I have to make a decision between an appealing unethical offer and the right one, it becomes an easy question.
