How to Write INSEAD MBA Admissions Essays the Right Way

INSEAD’s 12-month MBA program has students from 75+ nationalities, making it a truly international business school. However, admissions are highly competitive; one reason for this is that the median base salary of an INSEAD MBA graduate is $103,800. Apart from grades, professional experience, letters of recommendation, and other application components, you must submit seven admissions essays for your MBA application. They include: 

• Four Job Description Essays
• Three Motivational Essays
• One Optional Essay

What four Pillars of INSEAD should your application essay reflect?

Admissions officers use the seven MBA admissions essays to assess your fit for the institution. Therefore, while narrating your unique experiences, each essay must reflect INSEAD’s vision, which includes the following: 

1) Academic rigor:

The admissions committee evaluates your academic capabilities based on your degree, grades, and GMAT score. These elements are crucial since they predict your success in the school’s rigorous program. International students should aim for an average GMAT score of around 706. Use your MBA admissions essays to build on your academic strengths. You can demonstrate this by highlighting academic achievements, discussing relevant coursework, emphasizing your research or thesis, showcasing intellectual curiosity in various facets of your life, using quantitative data and concrete examples to support your statements, and connecting academic strengths to your goals. 

2) Ability to contribute

INSEAD believes in bringing together people who can contribute meaningfully to the world. So, in your admissions essays, showcase how you have supported your community or company. Write about your involvement in social or community-driven projects and how you have impacted others. 

3) International motivation

Given INSEAD’s diverse student body with individuals from various backgrounds, the admissions team assesses candidates based on their open-mindedness and cultural sensitivity. Experiences such as studying and working abroad or working for a multinational company are important to highlight. The institution emphasizes fostering a “global mindset” rather than solely focusing on global exposure. Our seasoned  MBA consultants recommend using your admissions essays to emphasize your team spirit, cultural sensitivity, and open-mindedness to demonstrate a global mindset. For example, you could write about a project or a product used in multiple countries or a time you led a team to solve a complex challenge that had global implications. You may also write about your work at a non-profit organization where you provided relief to people in need or a time you taught English to children in a foreign country.

4) Leadership potential

INSEAD assesses your leadership potential by analyzing your job description and the positions you’ve held. It considers factors such as your progression within the organization, promotions received, and your level of responsibility in managing teams or mentoring junior members. Your extracurricular activities serve as valuable indicators of your leadership potential. Use your application essays to showcase your leadership style and impact. For example, mention training a junior member or organizing team-building activities and workshops after a promotion.  

What are ‘job description essays’ for INSEAD MBA applications?

Job description essays differ from traditional essay questions as they highlight your work experience and expertise. Being specific and adhering to the prompt is crucial since these essays typically require concise answers. As leading MBA admissions consultants who have supported several INSEAD applicants, we recommend you make optimal use of the narrative space, be clear and concise, and avoid generic responses. To better understand how to approach these essays, refer to MBA application essay samples that highlight successful job descriptions. Ensure that every aspect of your personal and professional story connects with your goals and reasons for pursuing an MBA at INSEAD. These application essays should present the story behind your resume. In the designated questions, discuss the motivations driving your decisions and the accomplishments you have achieved in each role.

Here are the prompts for INSEAD’s job description essays and tips to write them: 

Job description essay 1

Briefly summarise your current (or most recent) job, including the nature of work, major responsibilities, and where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of the budget, clients/products and results achieved. (200 words maximum)

This prompt enables you to showcase your present or most recent job position. It is essential to provide relevant information about your role and elaborate on your daily tasks. If you are not in a supervisory or senior management role, emphasize the specifics of your primary responsibilities, your leadership abilities in cross-departmental endeavors, and the achievements or outcomes you accomplished while spearheading those initiatives.

Tips for writing this admissions essay: 

• Don’t regurgitate your resume: Only share details that showcase your skills, experience, and professional aptitude.
• Be strategic about describing your company: Provide your company’s/firm’s/start-up’s background in a maximum of two lines, only if it isn’t well-known. 
• Avoid jargon and industry-specific acronyms: Keep the language simple so that an admissions officer from outside your industry can understand you and the impact you seek to convey. For example, using terms such as ‘implementing BKM (Best Known Methods)’ can confuse the reader. 
• Use a professional tone of voice: While simplicity is good, don’t break down the language to a point where your writing seems like it is for a high-school audience.
• Highlight your achievements: Mention examples of teamwork, team management skills, and leadership experiences. 

Job description Essay 2

What would be your next step in terms of position if you were to remain in the same company? (200 words maximum)

Answering this question becomes easier if you explicitly discuss your promotion with your boss during performance appraisals. However, if you still need to have that discussion at work, focus on a future role you aspire to and explain its motivations.

As experienced MBA consultants for INSEAD admissions, we’ve noticed applicants deviating from the prompt. Many delve into non-essential details, such as hitting a career plateau and hoping an MBA will miraculously alleviate their problems. We recommend that you focus on the prompt and paint a picture of what your career path would look like within your organization over the next 3-5 years. Should you find yourself with a sentence to spare, you could discuss how the next step within your current organization doesn’t align with your long-term goals and explain how pursuing an MBA at this juncture would aid your progress. However, don’t turn your application essay into a sob story by complaining about your company. 

Tips for writing this essay:

• Describe your career path realistically: When discussing your career path, focus on your experiences, accomplishments, and growth without relying heavily on the MBA degree. Highlight the skills, knowledge, and achievements you have gained throughout your journey.
• Avoid using the MBA as a gimmick: While mentioning it is acceptable if relevant, refrain from using it solely to stand out. Instead, emphasize the value you bring to your intended career path through your work experiences, expertise, and dedication.
• Discuss new responsibilities and challenges: Provide insights into the potential responsibilities and challenges you would encounter if you remained in the same company. Highlight the growth opportunities and projects you anticipate being assigned to, showcasing your ability to handle complex tasks.
• Reflect on immediate work projects: Answering this question offers an opportunity to showcase your understanding of your current role. Discuss how your work projects or opportunities will evolve, indicating your commitment to continuous improvement and professional development.
• Mention skill sets for career growth: Outline the skills you plan to learn to advance your career. Discuss how acquiring these skills will contribute.

Job description essay 3

Give a full description of your career since graduating from university. Describe your career path with the rationale behind your choices. (300 words maximum)

This application essay lets you distinguish yourself by delving into your initial career choices, professional aspirations, and personal characteristics. It encourages you to contemplate the lessons you’ve learned throughout your journey and how your interests have transformed. If you have consistently pursued your passion, you should furnish compelling examples that bolster your decision.

Tips for writing this essay:

• Emphasize acquired skill sets: Cover the skills you have developed and how they have helped you professionally.
• Describe the evolution of your professional journey: Share your professional journey from your university days to the present. Comment on valuable learnings and experiences that have shaped you and how you evaluate your choices. 
• Demonstrate determination and passion: Instead of just stating your interest in the field, focus on illustrating your determination and passion. For example, instead of saying, “I am passionate about data science,” provide concrete examples of your experiences in the field. Highlight the initiatives you have taken and the projects you have led, allowing the reader to infer your passion from your accomplishments.
• Lead with experience, not emotions: Share specific instances where you’ve applied your skills and made a significant impact. Discuss your involvement in challenging projects, innovative approaches you have taken, and successful outcomes you have achieved.
• Craft a unique professional narrative: To make your admissions essay stand out, highlight specific reasons for certain professional decisions and explain how they have contributed to your overall growth and development. Showcase your motivations, goals, and aspirations for the future, giving the reader a clear understanding of your trajectory.

Job description essay 4

Discuss your short and long-term career aspirations with an MBA from INSEAD. (100 words maximum)

Compared to admissions essays for other schools, the tight word limit for this admissions essay does not allow you to wax eloquent on school resources and how they will aid your short and long-term goals. The school expects you to focus on concisely describing your aspirations and intended journey. It is essential to demonstrate your understanding of the school’s value in much deeper terms than merely mentioning the well-designed curriculum, experienced professors, extensive network, and the companionship of intelligent, ambitious peers.

Tips for writing this essay:

• Establish a cohesive narrative: Use logical reasons for selecting your goals. Connect the dots between your past experiences and current aspirations, and share your vision about how they align with your desired future goals.
• Be precise when outlining your goals: Avoid general or abstract statements. Clearly articulate what you aim to achieve in the next 3-5 years post-MBA and what your 10-year vision is. 
• Demonstrate your research on the INSEAD MBA program: Ask yourself what doors the program will open for you toward achieving your intended ambition. Weave these insights into your story without making it sound like you’re listing resources. 
• Tackling ‘Why INSEAD’: Remember that the prompt does not ask you ‘Why INSEAD.’ If you want to mention program or school resources that will make a difference to your goals, seed them in other application essays where you discuss your ambitions or future.  

What are ‘motivation essays’ for INSEAD MBA applications?

INSEAD uses motivation essays to gain insight into your ability to understand different perspectives, collaborate effectively, and manage conflicts. These application essays evaluate aspects of your character, including self-awareness, cultural sensitivity, authenticity, and leadership potential. We recommend highlighting strengths, weaknesses, and experiences. Motivation Essays should not be a catalogue of diverse activities but should elaborate on how crucial life experiences have shaped your character. Reviewing MBA essay examples can help you understand how to communicate your motivations and aspirations effectively.

Here are the prompts for INSEAD’s  motivation essays and tips to write them: 

Motivation essay 1

Give a candid description of yourself (who you are as a person), stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary. (500 words max.)

This application essay prompt serves as a means to evaluate your self-awareness, maturity, and capacity for reflection. It requires you to focus on two distinct strengths and weaknesses, supported by captivating stories. The objective is to demonstrate how these qualities are crucial for your current or future career success. The application essay should furnish relevant information that enables the admissions team to comprehend your personal and professional environments, core values, and experiences that have shaped you. While addressing your weaknesses, highlight the steps you have taken to overcome them and endeavor to connect them with your strengths. Maintain a formal tone throughout, avoiding excessive self-deprecation or boastful language.

Tips for writing this essay:

• Illustrate your achievements: Don’t just tell the admissions committee what you’ve done; show them. For example, if you’re talking about your leadership, mention a time when you led a team that made an impact. 
• Be authentic: The admissions committee wants to get to know the real you, so don’t be afraid to share your personal stories and experiences that highlight your goals and that you’re committed to them.
• Proofread carefully: Typos and grammatical errors will make you look careless, so ensure that your essay has no mistakes. 
• Get feedback: Ask friends, family, or mentors to read your essay and give you feedback. They can help you identify areas that need improvement and offer suggestions for strengthening your essay.
• Use the STAR method: STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. By using this method, you’ll be able to structure your essay better. 
• Space Allocation: Ensure that your weakness does not seem like a postscript, while your description of personal strength/s dominates the essay

Motivation essay 2

Describe the achievement of which you are most proud and explain why. In addition, describe a situation where you failed. How did these experiences impact your relationships with others? Comment on what you learned. (maximum 400 words)

This essay is an excellent opportunity for you to present one of your significant accomplishments. While the first part of the prompt lets you emphasize the value of your achievements, the second part requires you to reflect upon a weakness by asking you to highlight a failure that had an emotional impact. While discussing the failure, it is essential to illustrate how you grew and evolved due to the experience. 

The third part of the prompt requires you to focus on how your experiences influenced your relationships and helped you develop empathy. Remember to choose examples that contribute to your narrative and the lessons you learned through a failure in your professional life.

Tips for writing this application essay:

• Brainstorm your accomplishments: Think about both professional and personal achievements. They can include starting your own business, winning an award, giving a speech that had an impact, or helping someone in need.  
• Choose one achievement that fills you with pride: Ensure you choose something you are passionate about and see if you can connect with one of the four pillars of INSEAD.
• Demonstrate resilience: Select a failure or weakness that showcases your strength and determination. For example, if you’re writing about failing on a project, emphasize what you learned from the experience and how you evolved from that point forward. How did you implement those learnings to succeed in a subsequent project, and how did you then extrapolate those learnings to other areas of your life? 

Motivation essay 3

Describe all types of extra-professional activities in which you have been or are still involved for a significant amount of time (clubs, sports, music, arts, politics, etc). How are you enriched by these activities? (maximum 300 words)

Top MBA schools prioritize diversity in their incoming class, seeking a wide range of strengths and experiences that can enrich the overall program. Inquiring about your free time activities allows admissions committees to gain insight into your personality beyond your professional life. Therefore, it is essential to discuss your hobbies and interests, explain their significance, and showcase how they can contribute to the INSEAD community and the student body.

Tips for writing this essay:

• Select life-enriching interests: Tell the reader why they are important to you and how they became an intrinsic part of your life. 
• Reflect on the impact: Mention how each activity changed you as a person and helped you grow. 

What is the ‘optional essay’ for INSEAD MBA applications?

The optional essay allows applicants to address any aspect of their profile or experiences that have yet to be covered adequately in the rest of their application. The purpose of the optional essay is to give applicants the flexibility to supplement their application with relevant information that enhances their candidacy. It allows candidates to showcase additional dimensions of their personality, achievements, or challenges they have faced, which could contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of their profile.

It is important to note that this admissions essay is not mandatory. If your application covers everything, then as your MBA admissions consultants, we recommend skipping this essay to avoid redundancy.  

Here is the prompt for INSEAD’s optional essay: 

Is there anything else that was not covered in your application that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee? (max. 300 words)

This prompt allows applicants to explain any blips in their academic or professional background. For example, you may use this prompt to clarify a low GPA or failing in college. It is important to approach such topics with honesty, humility, and a focus on personal growth. Instead of making excuses or blaming external factors, the emphasis should be on how you rectified the problem and what you learned from the experience. The aim is to demonstrate resilience, self-awareness, and a proactive approach to overcoming challenges.

The key is to ensure that the information shared in this essay adds value and provides the admissions committee with a more comprehensive understanding of the applicant’s profile.

Tips for writing this application essay:

• Avoid flowery language: MBA essays value clarity and conciseness over ornate or verbose writing. Keep your language straightforward, avoiding unnecessary jargon or overly complex sentence structures.
• Don’t add other schools’ essays: Avoid recycling essays or parts of essays from other schools to answer this question just because your other school essays are well-written.
• Write this essay only if you have something to explain: Attempt this essay only if you have something to explain in the process of your application, like your reason for choosing a recommender, gaps in academic scores, etc.

While it can be overwhelming to write all the essays, aim to be authentic and original. At The Red Pen, we help you strike the right balance between personal and professional details. You can also check out suggestions by INSEAD to write this essay. If you are exploring other essays for other institutions, read our blogs on Writing the Harvard Business School (HBS) Essay and How to Write the Standford GSB Essays. For further guidance with your MBA application essays, please get in touch. Our essay specialists look forward to helping you.