INSEAD - 07-28-2025 | Clear Admit ApplyWire

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July 28, 2025 9:56am ET

Applying: Harvard Business School, INSEAD, Oxford / Saïd, Stanford GSB, Yale SOM

Intake Year: 2026

Pre-MBA Career: FMCG/CPG large multinational. Rotational leadership programme in HR. Various local and global scope roles. Promoted to Manager and now working in IT function.

Post-MBA Target Industry: Non Profit/SI

GMAT: 655

GPA: 79%

Years of Work Experience: 7

Location: South Africa

Post MBA Location: South Africa

Notes:

Career history: Studied Business & IT for transferability. Always been interested in and passionate about understanding change and people. Passion for people and volunteer work in youth development during Uni, took me to HR. Local HR roles included talent, youth employability (social impact role), then factory HR. Then moved into global transformation team working on change management and org design. Culminating in work on well-documented restructure, working alongside MBB. Also separate to my role, lead volunteer team on sustainability pilot project focusing on plastic reduction. Promoted to manager and now supporting establishment of global IT systems for business unit being separated. New function but same transformation project management skill-set.

Volunteer work: Heavily involved in local church, on leadership team and 10+ years of with youth development work. Also started a grass-roots fundraiser, which I have recently since formalised as a registered NPO (very small scale).

Testing: Studying to retake GMAT (Believe 695+ possible)

B-School: Focus on developing skillset to build and scale social impact (Financial and policy skillset, as well as network and leveraging summer internship). Applied to Stanford last year, with rushed application - no interview (Have since been promoted and jumped to IT). Yale and Oxford of interest for social impact focus. Harvard for Homelessness research through Chan School.

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Show Comments (4) Last: August 8, 2025

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1839 Elevating the GMAT will help. Are you planning to apply in the first rounds?

Showing impact and growth at work will be very important, supported by strong recommendations. This would appear to be evident. The same with activities outside of work.

Might want to look at 1-2 more M7/top 10 programs in the US. Top programs will generally have a specific focus on social impact.

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intrepidhedgehog Likes Earned: 3 **Don't seem to be able to apply paragraph spacing - sorry to anyone reading** Finalising materials now for Stanford R1 with a Leland coach. Rewrite GMAT on the 27th Aug (enough time for 6-day rewrite window if needed). Depending on work and GMAT, if I have time, I will write Harvard essays for R1. Have prepped recommenders that I may apply to both. Alternatively, will apply to other schools R2. Stanford the priority for R1. Would have applied to more R1, but now navigating a job change as soon as 1 September, as current project scope has changed/mostly already been delivered. Have 2 options (both aware of BSchool Ambitions for next year): 1) Tech Strategy & Portfolio Manager role 3 levels removed from CTIO of separated Business Group OR 2) HR chief of staff type role reporting to CHRO of one of our business groups. I am leaning towards the CoS role to further develop transferable skills in executive team efficiency and working more closely with regional HR directors across many markets. IT role more interesting and more learning opportunity, but only if I saw tech as the longer-term route (which I don't currently). HR role feels more incremental to previous experience, and transferable despite not pursuing HR longer term. Also feel if I don't go to Business school, there is a past CoS who has been able to pivot into Bussiness Facing Strategy role within the company. RE - APP: Recommenders currently the biggest question. 1 work, 1 external. Work: Few Options. Main challenge is that I have not had a consistent direct supervisor for more than 10-12 months ever. Rec Option 1: Indirect supervisor, who replaced my manager back in 2023, but I continued to report directly to director. We continued to work in indirect supervision capacity for more than a year, and therefore I feel they have the best long-term view of my projects across multiple roles. 2 drawbacks: We haven't worked directly together since last Oct/Nov and they are a senior manager rather than a more senior exec, however I feel they will know me best and be most enthusiastic about my candidacy. They are still technically more senior than me, but by Job Title may appear closer to a peer now after my progression. Option 2: The CHRO who is offering me CoS: I have partnered her before through restructure, but not direct supervision. She believes in me enough to want me on her team, but won't be able to speak in as much detail as option 1. My concern is the feedback question, which I can't think of from her. Option 3: A local HR director would provide seniority and longer-term view of my career, but never really directly supervised - only mentored. External: Senior Pastor at my church best placed to give insight to my contribution to the leadership team in a volunteer capacity and can also reenforce my passion for Homelessness support. (edited) (edited) (0)

intrepidhedgehog Likes Earned: 3 Additional on School selection: Will definitely explore other M7/T10 programmes and have some knowledge around interesting Social impact aspects at Wharton, Kellog, etc. Just Prioritising application costs - fees and time. Will further explore post R1 decisions. EU schools of interest due to 1 year time-frame, lower cost and existing networks in EU through work. (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1839 I am sure your Leland coach is providing great guidance. Based on the above, I’d lean to the first career option, and the first recommender option, who appears to have worked with you most closely. (0)