MBA Applicant Voice: Renewable Energy Broker Goes Back To School

 

 

He is about to begin an MBA in London, in September. In this interview, he talks to BusinessBecause about his career so far, the MBA application process, and the importance of applying to business schools early. 

 

 

I have a degree in history from the University of Portsmouth.

 

I was recruited onto the Marsh Graduate Training scheme in the energy division, working on both upstream and downstream accounts in a risk advisory and insurance broking role.  

 

I developed an interest in the new offshore wind market that was being established in the early 2000s, and began to concentrate on the risks and challenges faced by developers in this sector. By 2005, I was working exclusively with renewable energy clients with a specific focus on offshore wind. In 2008, I joined Aon to help establish their renewable energy team. 

 

 

 

 

I used a variety of sources, but mainly the internet; reading articles; looking at the rankings; and researching the MBA courses.

 

 

Cass was always my preferred destination based on several factors – I wanted to study in London, I wanted a full-time MBA [program], I have friends who have studied there, and their open evening was impressive. 

 

 

Having attended an evening information session at Cass, I became very excited about the school. I immediately signed up to their 'MBA in a day' event a few weeks later. I looked at other London-based business schools and started the application process at Imperial, too.  

 

The application process at both involved detailed questionnaires addressing my career to date, motivations, skills and areas of development. I was also asked to write two short papers about me. Both Cass and Imperial asked for two references, and I was a little surprised at the depth of the questions that were asked of the referees. 

 

I continued down a traditional application route at Cass which meant I had to sit the GMAT and a formal interview at the school. 

 

Imperial was a little different as I applied for their fast-track admissions day. This was on a Saturday and involved group discussions, a presentation and some interviews. The attraction was the chance of an offer within a few days. The event was very charged as the 30 candidates were, in effect, competing for places.  

 

In the end I was offered a place at both Cass and Imperial, so whilst the process was very time consuming and challenging, it was worth the investment.

 

 

I was a little concerned as I had only given myself about two months to focus on the GMAT. Evenings and weekends were spent in a blend of learning the syllabus and reminding myself of math lessons from my school days. 

 

I had a strong bias towards the verbal, so most of my time was spent on the math. About ten days before the test, I started to use the free online practise tests. 

 

 

I would strongly recommend that you start as quickly as possible. I only really committed to the process in about March, for a September start date. The business schools wanted to give out offers around June. 

 

Even if someone is unsure whether an MBA is the right choice, the earlier the process is started the easier it will be. It is possible to progress the application quite a long way before actually committing to the process, so it is easy to get a great sense of what is needed before making what is a very big decision.  

 

Both business schools I visited gave us access to a large number of current students – it was really helpful to discuss schools, the course and the application process with people who were living what I was hoping to obtain.