Discuss your career goals. What are your alternatives to INSEAD? (500 words approx.)
My early goals of pursuing a professional tennis career laid not only my path from Brazil to the United States, but also from high school to college. However, it was my affinity to development, self improvement and creativity which gave direction to my professional business career. During my college years, the internet became a powerful marketing tool.
One of my first professional projects was to lead a team to redesign a Web site. This experience solidified my interest in marketing and exposed me to the enormous potential of this area. In addition, having an inside out exposure to my father’s successful business, gave me an overall appreciation and understanding to every area of business administration. The opportunity to see how his company evolved through time and established itself as a leader in Brazil heightened my interest in management. Marketing and management fascinates me not only because it gives companies their identity and direction, but also it stimulates creativity.
So far, my professional experiences have allowed me to develop insight into various industries and have improved my interpersonal skills. My positions at PubliCARD, have given me the opportunity to interact with businessmen from all over the world, thereby expanding my international perspective. Because of my outstanding work performance, I was chosen to attend various meetings and tradeshows with international companies such as Sony, Microsoft and Scientific Atlantic. It was highly unusual for a young person to represent the company at such events, so my self confidence, as well as my management skills, has been greatly enhanced through these experiences. Despite my experience, I still feel I can further improve my knowledge and management skills, whether in finance, marketing, and entrepreneurship.
Personal satisfaction also plays a key role in my career decision. While monetary rewards are of practical importance, true job satisfaction springs from the opportunity to grow and learn within an industry. I enjoy acquiring new skills and information, which help me to adapt to the fast-changing world, as well as pique my interest in innovation. In addition, a career with international exposure would give me constant incentive to improve myself and to gain more knowledge.
Given the confluence of my personal and professional interests, my goal is to obtain a MBA and then to work as a CEO or general manager, either in the consulting or industry sectors. Becoming part of an elite business school will smooth the path to these goals. A MBA program will deepen my expertise and broaden my perspectives. Moreover, being in a multicultural environment will increase my practical knowledge of entrepreneurship by interacting with my classmates. In addition to this, I plan to use my private time to attend foreign language courses in order to broad my reach to international markets. When I have gathered enough experience and skills, I plan to restart a consulting company of my own. I spent the last eight and a half years in the United States and I believe it will be beneficial for me to acquire additional experience in Europe before starting a MBA program. Therefore, I am currently relocating to Paris. Even tough, I am still involved with the company in the United States; I am going to work with another company in Europe. As far as options to the MBA Progamme at Insead are the MBA programs from HEC and IESE.