insead

Question 1

Why MBA now?

Answer 1

• 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.

Question 2

What is the toughest decision you had to make in your professional life?

Answer 2

• 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

Question 3

Describe the achievement of which you are most proud of

Answer 3

the interview to SPVB

Question 4

Why INSEAD

Answer 4

9-month

• save time for other important intention
• multicultural studying environment
• Career Development Centre & extra activities

Question 5

What are you expecting to learn at INSEAD

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

What you can contribute to INSEAD community

Answer 6

¬ 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

Question 7

What types of activities you’re interested in pursuing outside of class

Answer 7

¬ INDEVOR club to continue my commitment with social activities in a new eye-opening context
¬ internship at a foreign company to enhance my MBAjourney

Question 8

Tell me what you like most about INSEAD

Answer 8

qualified 9-month

Question 9

How your colleagues would describe you leadership style? Give an example

Answer 9

¬ 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.

Question 10

How would you fight stereotypes in a work environment?

Answer 10

¬ 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

Question 11

You are starting a new project with team members coming from different cultures and educational background. How would you make them meet?

Answer 11

¬ 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.

Question 12

What do you do when someone comes to you with a problem?

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

What was the most interesting project you have worked on? Why was it interesting to you?

Answer 13

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

Question 14

How do you keep track of your vision? Or that of your company?

Answer 14

write down & reflect

Question 15

How would you establish the foundations of your company?
What is your management style?

Answer 15

vision inspire & objective driven, everyone is a factor to win the battle

Question 16

Describe one situation where you faced ethical dilemma? How did you resolve it? What factors did you consider while resolving it?

Answer 16

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

Question 17

What according to you is required to start a successful business and than to run it?

Answer 17

a vision @ persistence

Question 18

If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be and why?

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Give me an example of how you convinced your other team members

Answer 19

understand their arguments
walk them through my thinking process & collect testimonials/ 3rd party feedbacks
ask for their input to strengthen my point

Question 20

Give me an example of how you were attracted by culture from other countries

Answer 20

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

Question 21

What are 3 key successful factors to be an entrepreneur

Answer 21

vision
leadership
persistent

Question 22

If you had an extra hour every day, what would you do with it

Answer 22

learn piano - my interest but save space for other priorities

Question 23

What word describes you best and why

Answer 23

planner - i love planning everything though i am open to new changes
it gives the feeling of ownership & confidence

Question 24

Tell us about the first job you ever had

Answer 24

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

Question 25

What’s the best book you have ever read and why?

Answer 25

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

Question 26

When you have a problem, whom do you approach for advice and why?

Answer 26

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

Question 27

What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Answer 27

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.

Question 28

If you could witness any event: past present or future-what would it be

Answer 28

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.

Question 29

Tell us about an organization or activity in which you have dedicated significant time. Why was it meaningful to you?

Answer 29

young marketers initiative

Question 30

Tell us about the most interesting place you’ve traveled to. What did you enjoy most about it.

Answer 30

rural - find happiness right at their place

Question 31

What invention during your lifetime has had the biggest impact on you and why?

Answer 31

iphone - simplicity & how mkt/ entrepreneur can change the world perception

Question 32

If money was not a concern, what would you do?

Answer 32

start my social prjs


Question 33

What is the most meaningful thing anyone has done for you in your life

Answer 33

mom - raise me


Question 34

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why

Answer 34

Right at where I am now, vietnam

Question 35

What food do you like? Will you be able to eat that food everyday?

Answer 35

rice, yes because it fits everything else


Question 36

What is your favorite motto or quote, and why

Answer 36

dont settle less than who you are


Question 37

What risk have you taken and what did you learn

Answer 37

travel alone

Question 38

What impact do you have on your co-workers

Answer 38

trust

Question 39

How did you build your international experience?

Answer 39

travel, digital, friends

Question 40

What is diversity according to you?

Answer 40

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

Question 41

Who inspires you to how you handle ethical dilemmas

Answer 41

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.