About me
My name is Chenxuan Ye and I was a 2018/19 ESSEC MSc in Marketing Management and Digital (MMD) postgraduate candidate. I pursued an undergraduate degree in Accounting and Finance at the London School of Economics and Political Science. I did an internship at Superunion Singapore between July and November 2019, and joined Sanofi Singapore as a Consumer Healthcare, Cross-border Ecommerce Project Manager in February 2020.
Why MMD
I am a very pragmatic person. In consideration of applying for a master degree, I have always been thinking to choose a programme that can expose myself to many professional opportunities beyond textbook. The greatest value that you can derive from ESSEC’s MMD course is its ‘practicality’. Unlike many other master degrees that have an overarching focus on theories and textbook case studies, MMD provides invaluable opportunities for students to get in direct contact with MNCs and industry-leaders, providing real business solutions for these companies. For me, theories are important but it is even more important to understand their application in real-life cases. ESSEC MMD is definitely one of the few master courses that encourage students to truly ‘get their hands dirty’.
Application
Concluding my own experience, I would say the admission officer at ESSEC MMD will pay particular attention to students’ potential in becoming a future business leader – which is in line with ESSEC’S motto ‘pioneering spirit’. Before preparing for your application documents, you should take a close look at the course content and see if the course matches with your future ambition. Having an in-depth understanding about the programme is essential. Treat your CV and motivation letter like real documents for job-seeking purpose and show your business potential – be it hard & soft skills (e.g. data analytics, research, people skills) – through talking about your previous internship and work experience, or field projects.
The professor selects students by looking at their overall profile, and he will treat this procedure as a pre-screening for the future employers. This is because once you embark on the programme in August, you will need to start your internship / full time application asap.
During the programme
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The programme is rather short and fast-paced, but it will be an intensive and fulfilling experience that benefits your long-term career. As I mentioned before, ESSEC MMD simulates a real-life professional environment for students to participate in marketing and brand consulting projects for companies such as Société Générale, JCDecaux, Johnson & Johnson and Richemont. Students will be talking to the clients directly to understand their pain points and providing solutions accordingly through a lot of teamwork discussions, research, focus group interview, evaluation and completion of business report & presentation deck. No one dares to be a free-rider because every practice will be useful during the future career (which is proven to be true for myself, and many others).
Career development
ESSEC provides students with excellent career development opportunities and I would like to summarize my experience from three aspects. The career service centre here is amazing. Firstly, there will be monthly or bi-monthly company visits, for students to get a grasp of MNC’s day-to-day business operations and industry outlook, as well as to network with the industry experts. Secondly, the career service centre will organize internship and career fairs 2-3 times per academic year, inviting recruiters to promote their internship /graduate programmes on-campus. This is a great chance for students to understand the qualities that employers are looking for. Thirdly, ESSEC has close relationships with many reputable French enterprises and Fortune 500 companies, so the school could provide direct student referrals to company’s internal HR team, greatly increasing students’ chance of getting hired.
Apart from the above-mentioned benefits, students can always come to the career office and revise CV/Cover letter & practice face-to-face interviews with experienced ESSEC career advisors. The annual international study trip is another great occasion for students to interact with the professionals and understand the business in the local market (be it Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Mainland China etc), and on-site interviews might be provided to potential candidates.
My insight
Looking back the past year spent with ESSEC, I will definitely say I have made huge personal and professional progress. I would like to particularly thank Professor Tuck Siong Chung and Career Advisor Iskandar Saaf, who have supported me both academically and professionally throughout the programme. Without them, I can never go beyond this far.
All in all, I am proud of being part of ESSEC & would sincerely wish every future success with our ESSEC Alumni!