Meet the IESE MBA Class of 2018

Jolyon Sayer

IESE Business School

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Young, ambitious, occasionally hirsute business student

Hometown: London, United Kingdom

Fun Fact About Yourself: I was briefly an amateur music journalist.

Undergraduate School and Major: Newcastle University, Modern Languages

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

PwC – Tax (Transfer Pricing)

PwC – Consulting (Risk)

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Being promoted to manager after less than 4 years at PwC

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants? In the first instance, dedicate time to working out which school you most want to go to. This process should involve thinking about what you really want to get out of the MBA. Once you have that decided, the application process, especially the admissions essays, comes a lot more naturally. In terms of the steps you need to go through, I would recommend the following:

GMAT: Be quick to do a first mock so you can better understand the task ahead of you. Don’t be intimidated by an initial low score – classmates of mine have gone from sub-500 to plus-700. Once you’ve got your bearings, focus on the areas you need to improve on most – don’t spend hours crunching numbers if you’re a quant wizard. Consistent performance across all aspects of the test is key.

Admissions essays: For the essays, try and speak to current students of the school to which you’re applying before writing them. The insights they share are really helpful for shaping your answer. Don’t be bashful when it comes to writing about your achievements. The essays are all about selling yourself and understanding what the school values in its applicants.

Interviews: Do your research before the interview. There’s a lot of information available on the format of each school’s interview format online. Each school has a different interview style. In general, the interviews are much more relaxed than job interviews, so be sure to stay calm and try to enjoy them. Most people I know who went through the process (myself included) came out of the interview feeling more connected to the school and less like they’d been grilled on their competencies.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? First and foremost, from the initial research I did, I felt like I had the most affinity with IESE. From everything I read, the school had a clear identity which fitted with my goals and values.

Secondly, from a more practical perspective, there were several factors which influenced my decision. Firstly, I wanted to join a school that used the case method of teaching. Secondly, I wanted to do my MBA abroad and not in the US. Finally, the MBA is a huge investment in terms of both money and time so you need to be sure that you’re confident your association with the school is going to help with your future career plans.

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life? The reason why I wanted to do an MBA was to be at the heart of solving high impact business problems, such as determining how to enter a new market, whether to acquire a business, or how to ensure sales growth. My post-MBA dream job (aside from playing cricket for England) is therefore working in strategy consulting. The opportunity to advise on these core business issues across a number of industries, working with top talent and across the globe makes this my dream job.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program? IESE’s MBA program has a huge emphasis on teamwork. I’d therefore most like for my peers to describe me as a team player who was always willing to help and make a contribution to the success of the team.