INSEAD Blog by Zanat0s the INSEAD(er) @ Tokyo ! The Biggest among INSEAD MBA blogs. Insead is over, blogging not.

insead carrer fair 2008

just left insead. had to meet a prfessor. so nice to see old classmates....

anyway will blog about from tokyo. they did a great job at the career fair. congratulations....

insead lives.

Insead came to Japan this Friday

Happy Easter to everybody! I hope you celberate Easter because in Japan we don't. TOday is not though a working day for me since my mom is visiting me(I took a day off).Last friday like i had informed you, my readers, INSEAD came to Japan for an information session.

Zanat0s of course couldn't be away, Through the power of facebook and my blog i brought with me 2 alumnis and 8 people at the event. For me as an alumni the  event was a bit boring(why? because i have been already to insead and i know what Karla will talk about).

But on the other hand talking to people about insead and inspiring them to follow a better future is what drives me. I like looking into shining eyes, eyes full with the desire to succeed(and maybe go to INSEAD).

Basically the session starts with the firm hosting us, in this case AT kearney. Then Karla takes over taking about the INSEAD program. The class structure, the program structure, the application process, the financing capabilities, the career options and above all the life there. The students can jump in with their own questions and entertain the hosts.  A lot of time is spent thought on the application process; GMAT, essays and internview with the alumnis(yeap that includes me).

It is very interesting to hear what official INSEAD employees tell to the prospective candidates. I never attended this kind of session as an applicant so i didn't get any of the marketing pushs. I can say honestly whatever you hear in the presentation is true. Insead is by far a life changing experience and ti comes in 1 year package.

Now, where do i come in? As an alumni i can know the students questions, their anxieties, their strategies and their targets. I have been there and now i am on the other bank looking back at them/ A person like me can give them the answer they are looking for and help them understand better the situation at hand. There were 6 of us there most recent alumnis(Eris jsut graduated in December) so we could give them the insider tricks.

OOPS i forgot. before us, Jake Cohen gave a class about Accounting and Mergers and aquisitions. That was a strange deja vu as i had already done the case he was teaching.....

In the end i was bombarded with questions about INSEAD by different students. lets see how many of them will become alumnis. I am off now to go shopping once again.

My next blog post will be a brief description of the iNSEAD program and the second post will be another to do list before INSEAD!

Insead coming to Japan- Chance to have a chat with Zanat0s

INSEAD MBA Information Session & Masterclass in Tokyo For all who would like to know more about Insead and they are situated in Tokyo. Read the following letter. Zanat0s will be there(come on did you expect otherwise?) See you there! Dear Alumni, I am writing to inform you of an upcoming INSEAD MBA Information Session in Tokyo , for prospective MBA candidates and to request your kind participation. INSEAD MBA Information Session & Masterclass (led by Professor Jake Cohen) Friday, March 21st – 6:30pm to 9:30pm A.T Kearney ARK Mori Building , East 32F 12-32, Akasaka 1-chome Minato-ku Tokyo 107-6032 Japan Event Hosted by A.T Kearney This event will include a Q/A discussion with alumni and a cocktail party following.  Strong alumni presence is an essential element in a candidate's appreciation of the quality and attractiveness of the school, and is therefore extremely important to us as we remain very much committed to strengthening our position in Japan .  Thank you in advance for your time and support.  We look forward to meeting you. Yours sincerely, Karla Waller Assistant Director, MBA & EMBA Programme INSEAD

Job applications, P4 @ INSEAD list by zanat0s

Original at http://zanat0s.typepad.com

So the time is here! P4 has started, Get set! Ready! Go!

 

Time to get a job, time to improve your future, will you make it? It is up to the applicant. Do not try to go after every kind of job, do not try to try to send millions of applications. Concentrate, focus, win.

I have compiled a list with detailed instructions giving an idea of what to do and what not during P4. Every person has a different agenda and different methods. Bring up the winner in you and succeed in your endeavors.

Dos: Things one should do

1.      There will be a lot of companies coming to Insead to present, especially in Fonty. One should try in advance and schedule the presentations he/she would like to attend.

My advice? Try to attend as many as possible. Why? Different companies use different techniques to attract candidates, also sometimes listening ot a presentation can give you more information about potential employment at the company in question. Most presentations last only 45 minutes to 1 hour (there was one exception when the presentation lasted more than 90 minutes…). The benefits are huge so one should try and learn through presentations.

If you do not find the presentation interesting do not stay after it finishes, let the ones interested in the job bomb the presenters/recruiters with questions.

2.      Apply before the deadline. I know it can be difficult to do this since humans try to do everything in the last moment. I know also how long it takes to write a custom cover letter and prepare the application

My advice? Try to finish all applications at least 2 days in advance. Do not rush but also do not procrastinate. It feels much better finishing an application on time. On the other hand if there are a lot of job deadlines on the same day applicants may be overstretched

3.      Limit the social activities. I know that weekends are supposed to be time to relax and go out, but students should use their weekends to prepare and study. P4 should be the period where everybody gets serious.

My advice? Get your job and then time to roll out the red carpet

4.      Check Careerlink daily. There will be job postings every day and If one doesn’t pay attention he may lose good opportunities.

My advice? Create custom alerts on careerlink and keep uptodate

5.      Do have a story and something to say. The story should be consistent.

6.      Do take it easy with classes. One shouldn’t get a lot of credits in P4. There is p5 and p3 for it.

7.      Do send emails to alumnis and ask for advice. Use the alumni network for your benefit.

8.      Do send emails to the presenters before they come to insead. Also I recommend all students to contact the contact persons in advance and ask any questions they may have.

9.      Check for opportunities also outside INSEAD.

10.   Customize your CV according to the job requirements. DO not use one general CV, it would be nice to have 3 for different reasons

DON’Ts

1.      Do not apply to all jobs. It is counterproductive, time-consuming and a losing strategy. Remember one needs only one yes. Use your resources to get a good job. Increase your chances by getting more focus.

2.      Do not send the same general cover letter to different applications. Recruiters are not stupid they can sniff  out generalized Cover letter and they will just ignore them(they must be getting hundreds per day.

If one does at least PLEASE do not send the wrong Cover to the wrong company. It will be bad enough do not make a fool out of yourself. Or even if you do. Do not send it to a competitor.

3.      Do not bomb recruiters with questions at presentations or at the after drinks. Do not monopolize the conversation, you will come off as arrogant and egoist.

4.      Do not go unprepared to interviews. One should always practice before the interview. Use your classmates or talk with the career services.

5.      Do not go at the presentations dressed irrelevant. You should respect the school and your classmates

6.      Do not in any case, apply for a job you are not interested and then go back on your word.

Zanat0s out

How to apply for Jobs @ INSEAD? What approach should one follow?

3 Approaches to Job applications(read original at http://zanat0s.typepad.com)

Whoa, my last posts about Wharton(Permalink) and P4(Permalink) attracted a lot of eyeball and quite some responses. I guess all of you want to know what is good to do during P4.

Moreover I would to point towards the blogging platform I use, typepad. It seems that there is no format continuity between MS word(where I type my articles) and typepad(where I publish them). Therefore I would like to apologize fi sometimes my articles seem unordered.

This post will try to address most of your fear, anxieties and dreams. Like all of you know(admits, alumni and students) P4 is your chance to take off. INSEAD thought is all about a delicate balance that has to be found in everything.

P4 probably is the period with the least parties and social activities and it makes sense. So I will try to now to give a list of DO and DON’T’S to be followed in P4. I will also give the 3 approaches to sending applications and I will also let you know which one I followed.

Before I start I will introduce careerlink and MBA-exchange the 2 sites which are for INSEAD alumnis to search for job postings and opening.  The first one is a site run by insead career services and only students(along with alumni) can find opportunities. The second site is only for European based MBA schools( IMD, IESE and INSEAD, maybe also LBS).

First Approach: Send applications according to Job Function

This is probably the best approach on a returns point of view. I knew people who would send applications only to finance or marketing related functions. This consistency is maybe the safest way to follow since employers will pay for a candidate’s skills.

If these skills are relevant to the job posting or if the candidate has built up these skills, he/she stands a good chance to get the job. The Job functions/skill based approach is the way to go.

A lot of you will find out that what you have done in your past will influence in a way your next job(yeap! Even if an MBA is a clean break).

If  you are open to any industry/geography and you have the skills for a function where you can add value go for it! A classmate of mine had a background in oil exploration and used his acquired skills to get the best job overall in relation to his background.

Second approach: Apply only to specific industries.

This approach has also its merits but also some drawbacks. I will start with the negative; When one plans a change in industry form example form pharma to FMCG, one question will keep popping up: “Why? Why now?”. Be prepared, be really prepared.

Applicants in this approach have the benefit of being able to apply in their home country where they can have an advantage over other applicants. On top of that changing industry and function become a bit complex(unless it is consulting).

Basically one witness this approach with the following industries(prestigious, high salaries and high demand): Fashion, Luxury, Banking companies and other famous brands(Apple, adidas etc).

Third approach: Apply only to specific geography

Here the situation is a bit tough, especially when one doesn’t speak the language. 3 questions will keep getting repeated: “why this country?”, “Are you fluent?” “Why should we prefer you over a local?”

For the ones going for the 3^rd approach get ready for a rough ride. It is true one must add more value over a local in order to be selected and it is not going to be easy. For Anglo Saxons there is no issue since they can move around a lot of countries where the language remains the same.

For Europeans working in Europe this is not difficult either since latin based languages are easy to learn and because Europe is One market(think of the euro and the grumpy islanders). Asians may find it more difficult but still they can manage although they will be sent back to Asia to grow the business there after 2 or 3 years.

Europeans or N.Americans wanting to work in Asia(that is the fashion now) face the most hurdles from culture to language(believe me I know). They are the ones who have a hill to climb.

The Holy Grail! The 3IC

So can it be done? Can the holy grail be attained? 3 changes? 3 impossible changes, industry, function and Geography? Improbable but not impossible. I am living proof of that. Let me gloat for a minute.

Of course one has to make some sacrifices in their quest for the holy grail. So it worth it? Maybe yes maybe no. You have to experience it first and then make a claim. But one thing is certain. The more a person tries to go out of their comfort zone, the more they need to challenge assumptions.

So if you want to change either industry, job or geography it can be done. But the combination of the above will surely be not easy.

Insead & Wharton, Exchange US?

The Wharton Exchange, INSEAD & WHARTON read original at http://zanat0s.typepad.com

A lot of people(mostly from the states) come to insead because of their alliance. Of course this alliance is a bit lopsided and unfair towards the INSEAD crowd and here I can explain why insead get the worse half of the deal. INSEAD is one year program instead of Wharton(2 years). INSEAD has 5 periods lasting 2 months each while Wharton has semesters.  INSEAD students go to Wharton in P4(whether January or September intake). Wharton come to INSEAD mostly in June. So what is wrong here?

First of all Wharton students come mostly after they have graduated or have finished their first year so they do not end up losing anything from their Wharton experience. Moreover their period at insead has nothing to do with Wharton’s hiring season, on the other hand INSEADers find their majority of jobs during P4. Yes students can still access careerlink and apply but I cannot know how successful this course of action is. Wharton has longer periods and the students who go there have no access to nice classes since they cannot take whole courses. There is no evidence that Inseaders going to Wharton benefit from Wharton’s biggest advantage, it is amazing relationships IN THE STATES with recruiters and companies.

Here is a story I heard from a friend who was in Wharton for 2 months. One of the classes they could choose was related to international politics. The professor started the lecture with these words: According to this sheet today we have with us 18 nationalities in the classroom. 11(or 10?) come from INSEAD.” I also heard from the same person and it was confirmed by others that Wharton people have a different culture on that overemphasizes the importance of numbers and not of empathy.

So to students and admits asking me if the Wharton Exchange is worth it, my resounding answer is “only if you are sponsored”. The insead experience is too precious to spend 20% of it at Wharton during a time where most probably most whartonites will ignore the International students. Instead try to meet the whartonites coming to Insead I P5.

Cheers,

INSEAD P4, past present and now

INSEAD Career Fair

P4  once again

Read original at http://zanat0s.typepad.com Having been busy the last week with some personal stuff of mine I was surprised to learn that P4 is now on and underway. It has been 1 year but still it feels like yesterday. Thought right now I am in Okinawa, Japan for work. On top of that by reading other insead mba blogs I have seen that a lot of them have started using my brand technique. They change their titles to appear higher at google rankings( a category) this insead blog is doing well at. I do not care about rankings(ok truth said I do), but I am happy to see happy insead bloggers. One of them seems to be a carbon copy and his articles are extremely well detailed.

Now back to P4! How is P4 different than all the other 4 periods? Here are some characteristics that define P4!

l  This is the first period where there are no compulsory lessons. Any student will have only electives. In P1,P2 and P3 core courses were the bread and butter of the academics.

l  In p4 the administration witness the biggest student switch at the 2 campuses. That is true for both intakes. In P3 students may go to Singapore for one period and back to P4 for job searching and enjoying the last months at INSEAD. Singaporeans tend to stay in Singa for P3 and then move permantly to fonty for P4. The class structure changes amazingly in P4. Singapore get more or less people(depending on the intake) and fonty become livelier.

l  P4 is probably the defining period. Why? Come on! All of you must be interested in a good career, otherwise you wouldn’t have applied to INSEAD. P4 is the officially recruiting season. All the big names come to school to recruit. Consulting companies(all of them), IB (mostly in September) and other big MNCs.

l  Career fair is taking place. A good networking session with various regional and non companies

l  Insead experience is towards its end. 60% is done. One won’t realize when there only weeks left at school. It goes faster before you realize it.

l  More integration with the P2 or P1(depends on the intake).

l  The Wharton exchange happens

So here is a description of how our P4 was(Insead MBA July 07). I stayed  in Singapore with around another 110 students, most of which were original singies. The classes to select in P4 were really interesting but not all may happen due to low demand. One class I really wanted to do: Strategic Cost Management, was canceled(I was the only one interested in it). Wharton guy came in and were very interesting to work with, one may say too much finance focused. The class size had considerably decreased which was good and bad.

The classes I chose had to do with Marketing and general logistics. I am at hear a retail strategist so even if at INSEAD I wanted to do something new I ended up in my old industry At the beginning of march thought we started attending company presentations. First all of the consulting companies came and they were trying to impress us either with fancy presentations or personal contact. Of course MCK having a soft spot for insead took us to a nice dinner, which I had to cancel short in order to fly to Japan for some interviews.

All of my classmates were busy preparing the Consulting applications and resumes.

The atmosphere was quite charged. There were at least 2 job application deadlines per day. On one hand that was positive since people wouldn’t end up applying at all companies since they were forced to choose where to focus their efforts. Companies were presenting almost daily and one student(one who was interested in applying was hosting the company and its executives). I personally hosted AT Kearney and that got me the opportunity to have a meeting with the partner who runs the Tokyo office(he has been quoted a lot of times on the economist).

Professors, truth be said were more relaxed when it came to essays or class skipping. Some people would be flown out of Fonty or Singa for the final rounds which made team essays a thorny subject. I made 6 trips in these 2 months, mostly for job applications. The interview rooms at insead were always booked(sometimes by the same person 4 times in a day) and students would be seen changing non stop in a suit and their casual outfit.

Anxiety was creeping, disappointment was hanging over us, fear was closing by. If one got dinged the effect were infectious. On the other hand when a contract was signed popping bottles of champagne would accommodate the celebrations.

Students were building their future lives, while others were struggling to find out what they wanted to do. Job searching is not easy. One has to keep in mind that rejections are at play and only one proposal is enough. Some were complaining that fonty was better than singa to get a job(regardless of geography). Others were fretting about companies like AmeX who came to campus boasting they need MANY people and in the end they only gave 1 offer…. Of course there are many positive stories, like my good friend X. She was in such a demand that she was having interviews during the break in order to catch up.

By the end of P4 most people had gotten their dream job and they were ready to relish in the final 2 months to come. The next article will be a compendium of what to do at

INSEAD MBA blog: Insead classics : Insdead group!

I just received from my groupmate this photo.

This is the second time I met with my group. INSEAD took us to outward bound in Singapore. They divided in teams and we had to accomplish some tasks. All the tasks had to completed in teams working together.

Here I was with 4 other m

Incredible guys. I didn’t know them well, They didn’t know me either. We just knew that we would be working with each other for the next  4 months. We would be a group but could we turn into a team? Could we learn to become something greater than the sum of our personalities?

One thing was certain; we were not the same, we were different and we would have to use this to our advantage. I was unsure about my contribution to the group since I were the younger. Our group was mostly European with a Western touch, while our Indian friend brought to us some

Asia

taste.

My biggest and strongest fear was the “leadership” issue. Would our group be consumed by internal quarrelling? 2 strong personalities battling for leadership? Would we try to become the best group academically? These were questions I didn’t have the answer to!

My approach was to be good at academics but excel at inter-personal relationships. Would my groupmates have the same goals? It was an interesting gamble. Outbound played a major role in the following months.

There I realized that I liked those people and most importantly I liked working with them. Even if we didn’t know each other we worked as a team. And even if we failed we didn’t try to appropriate the blame.

The first challenge could illustrate our mentality during P1 and P2. it was a time-based challenge and we had to do an action ASAP. We had 3 tries. Our first was mediocre. We saw what we didn’t do well enough and what we could improve. Our second was fantastic. Then another team did even better than us. We didn’t try to overcome the other team but just improve ourselves. Our last try was so fast that we kicked ass.

We worked like this in P1 and P2. We became more efficient as time went by! The team learned how to leverage on everybody’s strength. Our meetings were pleasant and the chemistry was fantastic.

The clarity moment for me was during an event during outbound we had to climb a large wall. It was safe but I am generally not in love with heights. Unfortunately/fortunately everybody has to do this exercise one time. I was dead afraid of heights. I knew it was safe but you know some times it is a mind matter. When it was my turn I managed very quickly to reach almost the top, then I froze. I looked down and I got dizzy. I stopped, I didn’t want to give up but at the same moment the fear was increasing. I didn’t know what I was going to do. Then I heard my groupmates supporting me. They were saying I would do ok if I wanted I could get back down. They started applauding and giving me courage. Guess what? I made it to the top.

We had great fun that day. Later we had to create a star with a rope while blindfolded. Once again synchronization and teamwork would have to prevail. That time our Austrian consultant took the lead and helped us to have a great performance. We created a perfect star. A star with five edges, fives individuals becoming one.

The next challenge was to create a weapon that would be used in order to fire a “weapon”. We had a list of materials we could use for our bow. The Swede engineer now was in the steering wheel. Our design was different and simpler than the rest of the teams. The competition for the best long-range weapon was up.

We had 3 rounds. The first round one was devastating. We came 3^rd and with a very mediocre result. We couldn’t adjust our weapon a lot now so only incremental changes were  available. 2^nd try we overcome the obstacles. We came first this time but competition was heating up. 3^rd try we set up a record by launching the ammo the longest distance.

The team prevailed, teamwork reigned. That was my group, my team A1 G12. 4 amazing guys I won’t forget. They were there for me and vice versa. That’s what INSEAD is all about at INSEAD. People, People and People: Great people with great skills and most importantly with an ability to be humans at the same time.

Insead topic: Pre Reading List for INSEAD admits & perspectives

I guess some of you must be wondering where the prveious post went... let me tell you, it got deleted. I just needed a small outbust to feel better. Do i feel better now? no idea but duty calls:

A great thing about the pre-INSEAD period is that one gets more free time to enjoy some activities like travelling and reading. Since most people(the non sponsored) will be quitting/finishing their job they do not have a inceptive to work more, instead they can have more “me” time, time to rediscover their selves or follow some of their hobbies.

I believe this blog can serve as a service to new INSEAD students. I have seen on the MBA July 2009 Insead class a call for me to create a list for pre-reading. INSEAD gives you a list of books of to read before INSEAD: Economics by Mankiw, Finance for executives and an accounting book. Ok if you are an economics, business or finance student you shouldn’t read them (why do I feel I shouldn’t say that?).

There are tons of books one can read and help during their trip to INSEAD. I have compiled a list of what I think one should read. There are not entirely business books. On the contrary the cover different issues and the knowledge they can impart can be transferred to business. I will explain how I have made the selection. I am a big fan of military strategy. I know a lot of people at INSEAD want to become Strategy consultants (the major reason to go to INSEAD).  One can learn more about strategy by studying battles, military campaigns, than 5 forces and 4Ps and 3cs and whatever. At war lives are lost, empires created and cities destroyed. The stakes are higher.  More about leadership in another post, our main issue are the books here.

My background is also in retail and design, the list contains some books which one has to read related to the industry or they are great just for understanding how to work and have a career in retail. Other books in this list have come for my other favorite subject; game theory and balance of power. Last but not least I have included some books who are basically novels but a great business reading, most of you will have heard them somewhere before. If you think there is something missing from the list you will probably be right, but that is not the case since this is a subjective list which I have complied since it was asked by somebody.

Business Novels:

Liars Poker By Michael Lewis: A great book to understand how the IB banks grew and failed during the 1980’s. Only one who lives through the period can understand whether it is true or not. A must read to get a glance of an IB career(according to some friends of mine what the book describes especially for the training class is 100% true).

Barbarians at the gate: A must read, a book so well written that is a pleasure to read. It is over done but it describes what was once the biggest  LBO(records are made to be broken). A good idea to read about KKR the world’s biggest PE fund( I heard from an insider that even in the turmoil they made amazing returns).

Confessions of an economic hitman: I bought this book on the airport on my way to INSEAD and read all of it in the flight(Frankfurt to Singapore). One can really get into the book. It reads like a spy novel. Gives you the jitter if one thinks that the book may be real.; Corruption and global domination strategies.

Den of thieves:  Another book about scandals in NY. You sure you want to become an investment analyst? Think again. Not as good as the previous ones

Military Strategy books:

On War by Clausewitz: The mother of all military books(I prefer to Art of war). Clausewitz saw Napoleon’s rise and fall and understood better how war had changed. IT is great to understand how to plan, craft and crash test a proposed strategy.

The 33 Strategies of War (Joost Elffers Books) by Robert Greene: you think you know about war and how to wage it? Think again(unlike Bush). A must have in my opinion.  By the way War has many forms… Not only military.

Alexander Killer of Men:  One of the best books about Alexander. What distinguishes a leader from a loser. How a young guy at the age of 20 conquered the whole then world. The trip from Athens to India. A great read to understand logistics, refueling and intercultural issues. The World’s first true emperor. The destroyer of the Persian empire.

50 Battles That Changed the World: The Conflicts That Most Influenced the Course of History:  How would the world be different if just one of those battles went the other way. What if the Americans had lost the Midway naval battle? Would all of us now be a part of a global nation? What if Hastings never happened, what if Napoleon didn’t lose?

Napoleon's Glance: The Secret of Strategy: Remember history is written by the winners. Napoleon lost but his ideas went on. Napoleon was a great strategist(Like Alexander). He had the ability to look at the battlefield and understand what needed to be done with just a glance.

The Swordless Samurai: Leadership Wisdom of Japan's Sixteenth-Century Legend---Toyotomi Hideyoshi: My favorite Japanese warlord. His saying was if the bird didn’t want to sing change his mind but without force

Hannibal's War: A Military History of the Second Punic War: The guy who dared the mighty roman Empire, The leader who took elephants form Africa to Rome. Beat that…

Miscellaneous Business Books

Free Lunch: There is no free lunch in the world if you do not get the concept read this book.

Retailization: If you want to have a career in the retail business this will be your little sidekick

Trading up: The death of the middle market? The squeeze in the edge. How are consumers in the world changing the trading partners? Aspirations or the need to differentiate?

Treasure Hunt: if everybody is trading up then how do companies like wal mart and cosco making a killing? Easy people love bargains. They trade up in some categories while in others they become cheapos

The Mall: a new social phenomenon in Europe and Asia. How these entrainment hubs change the social network and infrastructure

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim: No comment a bible at INSEAD

The Little Book of Business Wisdom: Rules of Success from More than 50 Business Legends by Peter Krass: nice short examples. You can never go wrong with experience

The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Success by Achieving More with Less by Richard Koch: Read this book and understand why the is so much waste in the world.

The Marketing Playbook: Five Battle-Tested Plays for Capturing and Keeping the Lead in Any Market: not so great but it makes good points

The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce, Culture, and Consciousness: I have always argued that sometimes style overshadows substance but nobody listens to me.

Competitive Intelligence and Global Business: Another edited volume by these 2 Canadian authors. More mixed in quality than their prior efforts, although several excellent chapters (1, 3, 6 and 19)stand out

I hope this list covers most of your concerns. Sorry I did not post any finance books. You will read a lot of them during INSEAD so do not worry.

Laptops @ INSEAD

There was a discussion online concerning laptops. People were asking for advice what kind of laptop will they need to purchase if they don’t have one. Or whether one should upgrade their machine.

All of you must understand that your laptop during your insead year, especially if you are in Singapore is going ot be your most important helper and device. The laptop will accompany you everywhere, especially during weekend trips in SE Asia.

So how are most people going to use their laptop so one can make a good assessment of what characteristics are important and make a correct decision. Here we go. First of all the students will use laptops during class(which I do not recommend for taking notes, but this is me), laptops in the library or in the cafeteria and generally at school. Other than that laptops will be used at home or by the pool(assuming that in Singapore all condos offer one). It has to be light so it won’t be difficult to carry with, Singapore has wi fi all over the place so a strong signal is welcome. Battery life needs to be able to go the distance and surprise everybody. All the laptops now come with processing power that can satisfy any computer student. Durability and customer service support is something no one should forget to value.

I would like to start talking about customer support. According to a classmate of mine avoid HP laptops since my friend’s saga is discouraging. HP support(I do not know if they changed) is at best appalling. Dell laptop have a better customer support on-site but unfortunately their laptops appear to break down more than the average pc. Hm let me change the format to this one

HP: All right laptops but the customer support in Singapore is to be avoided. Affordable

Dell: Cheaper, worse quality, known for breaking down more than ever. Cheap alternative

Vaio: Best design(windows based PC category), amazing customer support, but pricey! In my opinion the best screens.

Samsung: A good value for money but personally I wouldn’t get a Samsung PC! It just doesn’t feel right. I have bought their UMPC Ultra Q1 and it s below par.

Toshiba: Their qosmio line up is great but not what a student needs.

Fujitsu-siemens: Incredible built quality!

Acer: Due to my bad experience I would never recommend them, cheap though

Asus: A rising company. They manufacture also Vaios therefore it gets my vote

Apples: amazing machines but I am a windows fan(my whole life runs around windows, although I have an itouch)

Now let me make a simple point! At insead the people who use Mac is steadily increasing and you will be amazed by their market share(individually right now they are the second biggest laptop seller). Having said that the only reason I do not use Apple is that I do not like the way apple is creating their ecosystem(only open to apple). Let me add that apples are not good for games either. I would gladly though buy an imac though.

A student if he decides to buy a new laptop should go for either a Dell( as a cheap choice) and fujitsu Siemens as something that can hold its own against the hardships on the way. Students though should delay any purchases until they go to Singapore. First of all they will get better newer models at cheaper prices and secondly you will receive local/international warranty.

I hope this helped. I bought my own Vaio at Sony Gallery and it hasn’t let me down till now. I love the screen, but the battery sucks bigtime!

Cheers!