Archive for July/2011

Julian Trigo, director of admissions at IE, was recently interviewed by Spanish business magazine America Economía for an article titled “Tips for getting good MBA recommendation letters.”

Trigo says that recommendations play a more important role in the admission process than you might think. While the letters are just one component of the admission process, hearing someone who has worked with you closely rave about your strengths can put your application over-the-top.  While the article is in Spanish,  here is a recap of the answers to some key questions answered in the article.

Who should you select as a recommender?

Trigo said it should be someone who knows you really well, who can describe your strengths and weaknesses, how you work in a team, and what entrepreneurial skills you may have.  A strong letter from a direct supervisor is much more valuable than a letter from the CEO that lacks depth.

What if my recommender asks you to write the letter?

You should be careful of this situation. Trigo says it can “often lead to the opposite of what you might expect.”  These letters often lack the personality and authenticity of a true letter of recommendation.  

Plus, “a recommendation letter that only points out the positives, without highlighting any points of improvement could cause suspicion,” he said.  At IE, it´s also customary for the admissions department to contact recommenders, and if they cannot confirm and expand on the information in the letter, the candidate would be out of the process.

Instead, have a face-to-face meeting with the recommender to remind them of your strengths, and be clear about what should be included in the final letter, per the requirements of IE. Also be sure to  give the recommender plenty of advance notice so they can write a fabulous letter on their own.

What  should the letter include?

 Here are some recommendations from  Stephen Buchanan of Educonsul, an MBA consulting firm, who was also interviewed in the article:

*The letter should clearly establish how your recommender knows you and in what context you worked together

*The recommender should use descriptive anecdotes as evidence to point out three or four of your skills or qualities.

*If you are applying to an English language program and English is not your native language, your recommender should point out any knowledge he has of your professional experience using English

*For the most descriptive letter, it could be beneficial for the recommender to write in his native language.  Then, have the letter professionally translated and submit both versions of the letter to the school.

For more information for what IE looks for in candidates, watch the above video from Julián Trigo (in Spanish), or the below podcast(in English):

Alumni of several European business schools, including IE, network in Geneva.

They came from far and wide, from Texas, Vevey, Lausanne, Rolle, Nyon, Geneva, and back to the Metropôle Hotel in Geneva for the second “Summer and the city” IE / SAMBA cocktail. In excess of 60 Alumni dined on finger food and had access to the bar on the rooftop, a famous location for its superb views of the lake and jet d’eau, of the very old hotel built in 1854 and situated in the heart of Geneva and right on the lakeshore.

During this networking event, alumni from INSEAD, IMD, HEC Paris, Wharton, Columbia, Stanford, Stern School of Business, IESE Business School, SDA Bocconi and IE Business School laughed, exchanged lastest business trends, told stories and made more connections.

Among the alumni in attendance was Enrique Melero, IE Executive MBA class of 2005, an entrepreneur, who spent more than 10 years developing the famous www.bebe.ch.
We would like to thank IE alumni Antoine Caffin, MBA class of 2009 and Servane Claudel, MBA class of 2008 and SDA Bocconi alumnus Marc Perut, for organizing the event.

SAMBA the Swiss association of MBA looks at ways to build bridges between alumni from top business school and supported the event.

Join fellow alumni to swap stories and share photos! Please go to SAMBA www.swissamba.ch to get more information or to register.

Professor Ignacio de la Torre, Academic Director of the Masters in Finance at IE, Financial Times´Professor of the Week (June 2011) gave the Master Class: Five Financial Predictions of 2011 in Moscow last month. The event was attended by 45 IE alumni, prospective students and candidates who were interested in the programs  of IE Business School. During the session Ignacio explained why emerging markets were the next bubble, why year 2011 will be one of the most active ones in the area of M&A’s and why he doesn’t own a house (he rents an apartment in Madrid!)

Interview with Prof. David Bach from businessbecause on Vimeo.

Giovanni Lo Faro

In this regular series, we talk with alumni from the Europe and CIS region about their experiences after IE. In this installment, we speak to Giovanni Lo Faro of Italy.  

What have you been doing since completing your degree at IE?

After completing IE’s 2005 MBA class, I joined Modo’s headquarters in New York as Director of Marketing and Business Development, with the objective of developing the company’s brand portfolio and international presence. In 2008 I founded the European subsidiary of Modo in Milan, which I currently lead as Managing Director. Modo is a niche eyewear company serving leading fashion and optical retailers across 50 countries.

How has your IE education influenced your career?

IE’s approach to entrepreneurship helped me to acquire the skills required not only to start a new company, but also to successfully run it across an ever-increasing range of challenges. The opportunity to apply what I learnt arises every day. I also believe Entrepreneurship is a mindset. It does not only mean to start something from scratch – it’s getting more and more common for big enterprises to look for candidates that face business challenges with the eyes of an entrepreneur.

What would be your advice be to current and future IE students?

Every day it’s more important not only to acquire new skills, but above all to create a strong network with current students and alumni that will help you during the job search. This network is closely tied to the “real world”, so keeping a good relationship also with them can help quite a lot. To future students: we live in challenging times, so the choice of the school will play a pivotal role. My advice? Besides looking at the “official” rankings, come up with your own ranking, based on your values and the ones of the school. The cultural fit is paramount. At IE those values are Innovation, Diversity, Corporate Social Responsibility and Entrepreneurship. Other schools offer a different approach. Not worse nor better, just different.