Spring is in the air, and I’m back as an alumnus in Lang Run Garden, Peking University, interviewing MBA candidates for BiMBA. I have had this lovely honor for three years, and the excitement seems to keep growing by the year.

BiMBA is the international MBA program at Peking University and has been ranked the No.1 MBA program in China many times. It was founded by renowned and respected economist Justin Lin Yifu. When I took a part-time MBA here, from 2007 to 2010, the school was called China Center for Economic Research (CCER). Around three years ago, it was changed to National School of Development. The name change represents a discernible re-positioning of the school – from a research institute to a think tank for the central government.

Feeling good by pairing up with Ms. Daisy Wang.

 This year I team up with Ms. Daisy Wang, associate dean of BiMBA, to interview two candidates. It’s the normal lineup – one BiMBA staffer and an alumnus. Each interview lasts one hour, and comprises mainly two parts: Q&A and PowerPoint presentation.The Q&A part is to evaluate the candidate’s motivation for MBA study and management potential, while the PowerPoint presentation requires using Porter’s Five Forces framework and is to offer a glimpse into the candidate’s logical thinking and presentation skills.

I always wonder why I have this big honor coming back to BiMBA in the role of interviewer. The school has one of the most extensive alumni network in China and so many of them have made amazing accomplishments as entrepreneurs, senior executives or government officials. Maybe they are too busy. Anyway, if the school believes that I’m good for the job, why shy away from it?

And I truly enjoy doing the interviews. The most fascinating part: getting to hear the thoughts of aspiring, smart young people who truly want to change the trajectory of their career and life for the better. What sweetens up the experience is that the candidates bring in years of insights from all kinds of industries – of the two candidates this time one is from biomedical and the other from chemical.

I still remember the first course we had was managerial accounting by a professor from the US. His lecturing was impeccable, and the load of assignments was almost unbearable. For one whole month it’s normal to work until midnight. My mother-in-law advised that I shouldn’t feel embarrassed to quit as it disrupted my life upside down.

So why take such a rigorous MBA program like BiMBA? Classical answers will point to the learning of skill sets, change of mindset, and access to a great network. There’s no shortage of MBA programs, and a top one is definitely more rewarding in these aspects. One might think that an MBA degree will automatically lead to a successful career. It’s just not like that. But it does make people more confident for new challenges. And how much is confidence worth?  

One of the candidates asked about the prospect for BiMBA graduates to get a job with top management consulting firms, i.e. BCG and McKinsey. Daisy was straightforward in saying that the ratio has been going downward over the last couple of years,as these consulting firms are simply not looking for graduates from Chinese MBA programs. She said that more graduates are reaping rewards from investment jobs or starting up their own businesses, and advised the candidate to keep abreast with the trends and open up to new possibilities. The benefits of BiMBA start to flow even before one’s officially admitted.

How beneficial has taking BiMBA been for me? Besides the possibilities that it has opened up for my career and the many friends that I have made, I can point to the doubling up in tuition fee from my time to this year and say with a smile: my investment is up by 200% in value in less than 10 years! The same can be said of my confidence level for the future.

（本文来源：威廉汇报，为陈伟贤的个人订阅号）