INSEAD is looking for experienced executives (average of 13 years work experience and at least 3 years in a management role) who can demonstrate their potential as leaders. When assessing EMBA candidates, our MBA coaches will mostly look at their CVs to carefully review their professional experience and past performance. In other words, other aspects of a typical MBA application such as your extracurricular activities and past academic performance, albeit not irrelevant, are less important. For instance, having an undergraduate degree is preferred and you will need to take an entry test (the GMAC Executive Assessment (EA), GMAT or the INSEAD Assessment).
Another important aspect of your application is your international outlook. INSEAD is best known as “the business school for the world” and prides itself as the world’s most international business school. As a result, they look for applicants with cross-cultural sensitivity and an international outlook. Have lived, worked, or studied abroad or working on an international level with clients, suppliers or other stakeholders is a crucial aspect of one’s application. Similarly, because of the nature of an MBA program, it would be important to display your ability to contribute. The claim of elite business schools, that you learn more from your classmates than from faculty is not a stereotypic marketing vocabular. This works because participants proactively contribute and share the insights they have gained throughout their professional and personal experience.