Webinar: Ace your finance application

Key Takeaways

so hello and welcome to a your finance application my name is claraa blacking polard and I'll be walking you through top tips uh if you're thinking about submitting an application to S business school for our finance programs so we'll be going through this today and on the next slide we'll go through what you should expect for the webinar so so today we'll be going through introductions for our finance program team we did talk about program suitability in our last webinar series but we will go through that again uh we will go through application checklists and top tips the interview process and what to expect program combinations or typical program combinations that we've seen and of course time for Q&A so um firstly we just want to also remind you that this webinar will be recorded so um if you could please make sure that your cameras are muted uh your cameras are off and your sound is muted and if you have any questions please put it in to the Q&A box where we'll be answering them um this webinar will also be sent out to you in the next two weeks so if you have missed the webinar today you will receive this in two weeks time so moving on to the next slide so first and foremost uh thank you for joining us and we'd like to start by introducing you to the team so I'd like to hand over to Carrie who's joining us today hi thank you so much Clara and thank you everyone for attending the the webinar it's great to see people joining and potentially interested in in applying uh so as Clara's mentioned my name is krie Reid I'm the program sales manager within Executive Education um and I look after the Oxford program on valuation of private assets um so help curate um Global cohorts and put on a great great program thank you Carrie thank you Carrie and Carrie will be answering your questions through the webinar as well so please do reach out to us um so my role I look after the Oxford real estate program and the Oxford private Equity program so these are the two specific programs you can reach out to me about but if you do have any questions or concerns or um do let me know and we can set set a consultation call with you whether that's by WhatsApp um uh by um electronically or we can actually call you by mobile so our team is here to support you with your questions and to help you with the application process so moving on to the next slide so if you joined our program last week we did go through program suitability and here are some of the common themes that we see for participants who are joining on to the program so um for valuation of private assets the focus is on buying and selling and getting the best price so focusing on strategies to help you do this for real estate maybe you're looking at doing the program because you're thinking of current and future Trends what are the risks and challenges and how to leverage your portfolio and private Equity you're looking at the whole asset class from raising funds to exits so you'll be looking at things such as Venture Capital leverage buyouts um secondary Market to name a couple of things so it's a great program in terms of covering the entire asset class and so if so these are the common sort of typical cohorts that we see so if you are thinking that's me great if you're thinking perhaps I need a couple of questions do reach out we are going on to the next slide okay so one of the things that we find a lot with the program is you you really cannot prepare enough for submitting your application um our programs are on the website and we do provide brochures for you to look at but sometimes they may not be very clear so that's where we ask you to get in touch with us for conversations and consultative calls but we're just going to go through sort of key things to look out for for pre-application application submission and interview preparation um so starting with preapplication I can't stress enough how important it is is to update your CV before you're joining the program so when you are replying we're looking for what your current role is and how it links to the program that you're applying to so if you are thinking about real estate or private Equity or valuation of private assets please make sure that that's very clear in your CV and in your LinkedIn so that we can make sure that it's the right program for you and also a great thing to think about is what exactly are your goals what exactly are your objectives and how do you think this program is going to really help you reach these um reach these Milestones that you're thinking about and once you start thinking about that it helps you to sort of identify the program a lot more clearer um and really when it comes to applying for the program funding is important so we would encourage you to think about how am I funding this program is it sponsored by my employer am I doing it self-funded these are the types of questions that we want you to be thinking about ahead of submitting your application and if you aren't sure that's when you can reach out to us and we can talk through this with you moving on to application submission um we are Oxford we love language and we love um grammar punctuation and we do look out for spelling mistakes we do understand that English isn't the first language for a lot of participants and we're very fortunate to have a very Global cohort that come to the program however when you're thinking about making application if you're applying for the greatest job in the world you want to make sure that everything is clear and the person really understands the intent of why you're applying so please do look over what the application says and if need to be get someone that you Mentor perhaps um to look through the application before you submit it and again we're looking for really clear examples of why you want to go to this program how we can help you and how how your responsibilities will change because of these programs we understand these programs are very big Investments for you and it's a really not so much an investment both financially and your time so we want to make sure that you're matched really well to something that will really Excel you for what you want to achieve in the next five or 10 years and I would stress so much that your contact information is so important so if you have the right email please put the email that you're the most comfortable for us to contact you so if you are sending a work email and you're out of office perhaps you thinking about actually sending your Gmail or your most personal email we want to be able to reach you so that we can make sure we find the best time to have your interview or if we have any other questions and that goes for contact telephone numbers as well so if you can put things like the dial code and full full numbers very clear whether it's mobile office please make sure that that's correct these tiny little things can set back your interview because we won't be able to contact you and it makes it very difficult for us to make sure that we are speaking to the right person so please be clear in these sections and I cannot stress enough LinkedIn and CV is very important to us we do have to verify who you say you are and which company that you work for so these are key things to put in your application so that we know exactly who we're speaking to and the types of questions we should be asking you in terms of interview preparation be completely prepared to go through your application and I know it can sound stressful but we may ask you to expand what you've been writing because we want a bit more clarity of what you've written and how it applies to the program so please do make that as clear as possible and be prepared to repeat what's in the application please don't think that perhaps because we read it we just have assumptions think of it as your first interview so present your best self and please do your research a lot of participants do download the brochure and it's really easy to sort of K pick the key highlights from the brochure and just repeat and regurgitate that information that's not what we're looking for we want to see what you've learned beyond the brochure and if that isn't clear we want to understand what your questions are and how we can help you and coming back back to questions we really really advise you to have some pre-prepared questions whether that's around funding what the contents going to look like the timetable who will be there whatever your questions are we're happy to answer them so please bring them prepared and we can fit that into your interview moving on to the next SL please okay so now you've submitted your application and you're in the interview process so these are kind of the top tips that I would advise for this section so for the interview it's very important that you're on time and that's because sometimes we do run into technical issues which can be our fault or yours so if you run on if you are running slightly delayed or something has happened please reach out to us either well in advance of the interview or ahead so that if we do need to reschedule fantastic if we have to shift the time on the day we can look at the availability of doing that but please time Beyond Time and let us know if you're experiencing maybe there's a power outage or maybe there's something going on with the Internet or or you have a very important meeting and you just can't do those times we're we're flexible so as long as you contact us we'll be there to help and key questions in the interview really focus on why this program why Oxford Oxford's a great institution but why did you pick Oxford rather than Harvard why did you pick Oxford um for this particular program and importantly why now is is this the right time for you to do the program what are the reasons that you've come to us right now we're really interested in exploring that because as program Consultants we actually curate the entire cohort and we're always thinking about who can bring value to the cohort so when we're putting it together knowing why now really helps us to sort of think about the cohort and how it will advance your career moving forward and think about who is responsible for the investment decisions within your organization so that's looking at your seniority so a lot of these programs where are participants are SE Suite minus one2 managing directors entrepreneurs lawyers people working in the investment area and they make key decisions within the organization or they are being prepared to make those key decisions so if that's you that's a great um thing to put into the interview but what are your challenges about that and how do you think this Pro this program is going to help you with that so at this point you have completed your application thank you we've been wonderful to have you and now we're moving to the application outcome application outcomes can be a little bit challenging if you are accepted to the pro program you will receive an acceptance letter it's sent electronically and it will outline the program the dates and terms and conditions of joining the program if you unfortunately have not been chosen for the program that doesn't mean to say that your time with Oxford isn't right now but it may be in the future so we'll always think about alternative um Learning Journey so alternative programs or thinking about next steps to get you to where you want to be that's what the key thing as consultants we're here to support you with and finally I really stress that when you do receive that acceptance letter congratulations but please do read the contract the acceptance letter has everything you need to prepare yourself to speak to your employer about getting your place in Oxford and what to do next so please pay attention to terms and conditions if you're thinking about cancelling there's advice there if you have to transfer things like that all of this is covered in your acceptance l so please do read it and think about it and if there's any questions please reach out to us excuse me so funding can be a really sensitive Co conversation because how does your organization deal with the fact that you got into Oxford hopefully like us they're excited that you're coming and they support your application but sometimes this conversation can be a little bit challenging so we would urge you to work with your organization if you're thinking about applying in your prea application stage actually talk to your organization and say this is the program I'm thinking of applying to this is what I'm going to apply to and I'm going to come back to you with the outcome and how can you support me and we can help you with these types of conversations because when you are accepted to Oxford the payment terms because they're such um competitive places the payment terms are immediate or within 30 days so understanding how your organization actually processes the payments and if they're timely could run risk of you having that place or giving it to someone else so please do encourage you to work with your organization to do that I will stress that we do not have Finance scholarships for these programs so that's something that we have to really um talk about now there are no scholarships for the finance programs however if you are thinking about sending three or more participants um from your organization we do have a corporate discount of 15% that we can talk to you about but again please do reach out to us if that's the situation you're in our point is to really facilitate this process as smooth as possible next slide please so we've talked about program combinations before so you might be thinking I just want to do real estate I just want to do valuation of private assets I just want to do private Equity they work really well as solo programs but these are the types of combinations that we've seen work really well so perhaps if you're thinking about them these are the other steps um after the program of thinking of taking afterwards and I think there is a lot of Merit in doing program combinations because once you do one program you do get a 15% discount once you're an alumni to go and do further learning for the other programs so if you're thinking okay I've got a gap in this section I've got a gap in that section these two programs can help me talk to us about program combinations we'd be happy to assist next slide please so we're going to move on to questions from the audience and um if you do have any questions please do reach out we will look in the chat so I'm hoping as we've been talking um we've had a couple of questions from Carrie and we can sort of explore what they are Carrie are there any questions there thanks Clara uh there's a question here um says if you're unsure about if the programs are right fit for me what can I do that's a great question and thanks for asking that if you're not sure that's so common a lot of people see a program and they go really want to do it but what about me um am I right get in touch that's the best thing you can do that's what we're here for reach out to me or Carrie depending on which program there is and also the great thing is with Carrie and I working the same team we both actually have a lot of program knowledge in both programs so we can answer for all programs as well reach out we'll set up a call or and just explore why you're feeling this way and what questions you have and how we can help you decide which program's right for you is there any other questions there there's one other that just says how long will the interview process be okay okay fantastic so when you send your application we do um send your notification of receiving the application within 24 to 48 hours we'll be contacting you with an interview link so luckily the interview links link directly to our calendar so you can see when we're available and pick something that's flexible in both yours and our diary and that will create a booking link and we'll invite you to an half an hour interview so during the half hour we'll ask you all about you explore your application explore who you are as a person and what you hope to achieve in the next 5 to 10 years what your personal objectives are as well as your organizational objectives so I would say 15 minutes are really focusing on you and your strategies and the next 15 minutes are exploring sort of the program and more detail questions you might have and any other sort of tiny bits that might be of concern so it's half an hour perfect thank you got another one here um I intend to apply for masters in law and finance what would be your advice on best on how best to put a successful application in is there not into process to that course application I will say that being Oxford there are many many courses and although I don't know about the masters of Law and finance congratulations on choosing that as a program I would encourage you to reach out to the program Consultants the great thing is there's many of us all supporting specific programs so reach out to that program consultant have the time with them ask the questions and see what they would advise and they will let you know what your next steps would be for your application process there were the main questions that came in but I know we've got some common questions which might be helpful as well yeah so next slide we'll go through some of our common questions so you would be surprised the common questions that we asked and if you're looking at these questions and thinking actually that's exactly how I feel you're not alone these are the most common questions we get asked is this program right for me we don't know yet that's what we're here to explore so please do reach out to us and we'll see exactly where you are and whether it is the right time or whether we need to build it out to find the right time for you to do the program will I fit in well that's a really common question as well because we do get imposter syndrome no matter how high you are in organization we still have CEOs entrepreneurs really really successful people and they think well I you know will I fit in and it's and yes that's exactly the great question and you will fit in because we are tasked with a great for great opportunity to create the cohort so we can see exactly where you fit in and we're all about diversity inclusion for example we feel really passionate about having more women in um Finance coming to these programs because we understand the challenges of getting funding so if that's a situation you're in please reach out to us about that but the cohort is very diverse I would say there's usually 40 people in our programs and we see um nationalities of 27 or more in the cohort so it's very very diverse um do we have the right experience is a great one you know not all um careers I would say are linear so you may have done this for a couple years this for a couple of years and then you want to put it together perhaps you are thinking you know I've been doing the entrepreneur route for a really long time and I want to come back and get the education that I didn't have before we have people doing that as well so really if now is the time and you're thinking about it yeah definitely get in touch we do get asked a lot is there an exam there are not exams at these programs you will get attendance certificate for joining and then you'll be able to join the alumni team but there is pre prereading for the program and the pre-reading is usually sent 6 weeks before the program begins and that's curated by the program director and that's just to prepare you for the program think and just get you ready to get your minds really inspired by the teaching um typical ages can range again education and learning is universal and it's lifelong so we really um Aspire for people who've been in all of these Finance um programs we can see participants who are 70 years old coming to the program and people who are under 30 coming to the program and it's just because their life experiences and the experiences that they've had doing the program is so rich that they are a great fit so age isn't really a concern it's your experience level and what you can bring to the program and we want to enhance that um another question is will there be other people from my country or Market well the great thing about the finance programs is they're designed to make you open your eyes and open your eyes to different markets so if you're thinking about investing in Africa or South America or places that are risk Anders this program helps you to identify those people because they come to the program because they want to speak to you they want to make you understand that these Investments are risky but actually there's a lot of growth and there's nothing more important than talking someone face to face face you can really talk to you about the challenges the opportunities and how you can invest and how you can really diversify your portfolio and really start thinking about how to engage with these Emerging Markets um and another one is Oxford is a large city how easy is it to get around well Oxford isn't the largest city Oxfordshire is massive but nicely enough Oxford is very small so you can walk around we're very sustainable so you can walk to everything the campus is 10 minutes from accommodation so and our program delivery team will on your first day will walk you to campus to make you familiar of the area we'll walk you to your dinners as well and you'll just get a feel for being in Oxford so if you like cycling walking and just seeing beautiful sites Oxford is the best place for you to be and a great question we always get asked is what should I wear I know it's silly question but you know temperatures in the UK can vary and also I think that might fit into the whole will I fit in um it's business casual but really come how you feel if you feel like you want to dress up because we have college dinners please do bring your most beautiful suits and dresses we encourage you to have a great time so bring what you feel is comfortable it's business casual it's really about the learning it's really about the networking it's really about engaging with everyone really trying to take that practical learning and start start thinking about how to apply it from the following week and mostly it's about having fun and that's what you need to remember about these programs is they're fun you're going to be with people who think like you or maybe think slightly differently from you but you all have passion for the same thing and they'll be sharing their challenges um the pitfalls the highs the lows in a really confidential space and you'll be making lifelong friends because we do put you in special WhatsApp groups where you can engage with each other these WhatsApp groups are fantastic I see participants who are going to Hong Kong and lots of other places and asking are you around let's Network so it's about building your network and enhancing that as well so I hope these questions do help you with your application and if you are thinking about them more if there's other questions that aren't on there please do reach out to me or carry and we'd be delighted to speak to you so next slide okay so if you have really enjoyed this uh webinar and you're thinking about submitting your application we really encourage you to do so there's a QR code here where you can start your application so if you're thinking about the Oxford program on valuation of private assets that's starting from the 14th to the 18th of October if if you are thinking about applying we would we would encourage you to apply now because because the cohort will be on boarding so that's means that they'll be getting their pre-reading ready for the program in the next couple of weeks so really would encourage you to apply within the next few days in terms of that specific program the Oxford real estate program will be running from the 18th to the 22nd of November and the oxa private Equity program will be running from the 10th to the 14th of February 2025 again I if you know this is the program is right for you and you're ready to apply we encourage you to apply sooner rather than later these programs do get filled up quite quickly and there may be an instance where we can squeeze you in but actually most of the time our waiting lists start three months before the program begins so early applications are really encouraged moving on to the next slide so just another reminder um if you do want to get in touch with us our contact information is for program EV Valu valuation of private assets please reach out to Carrie um email and contact numberers there and also for myself real estate private Equity please do get in touch but if these if you're actually just thinking about applying to side business school and you're not sure we also encourage you to just get in touch and we'll just start those conversations with you but I just want to say thank you for coming thank you for sharing your time with us and allowing us to sort of answer some of your questions and hopefully putting your mind at ease and we really look forward to your applications if there aren't any additional questions um Harry is there any other additional questions no other questions but just to Echo what you said thanks to everyone for joining and taking out some time today um and our contact details are there so so do get in touch yeah just a reminder this webinar will be sent to you in the next two weeks so you can go over some of the things that we've discussed and again we're just wishing you a wonderful morning afternoon and evening and thank you for joining this webinar in suppor of s business school and the finance programs at the Executive Education wishing you a wonderful rest of the day bye for now