Meet the Recruitment and Admissions Team at WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management

Located in Düsseldorf, Germany, WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management offers a one-year full-time MBA program – which proves to be popular among students – with specializations in General Management, Leadership and Entrepreneurship.

Sabine Noe, Recruiting Manager of the MBA Program speaks with TopMBA.com about the candidates the team is looking for and what makes WHU so special.

What characteristics make a good business school applicant?

We look for team players that really want to make a difference. You should be keen to develop your leadership skills and to find your own leadership style. With students coming from all over the globe and from all academic and professional backgrounds, we appreciate applicants that are open minded and like to work in highly diverse class settings. With lots of real-life cases, experimental learning and interactive teaching methods going on in class, you shouldn’t be afraid of facing challenges and trying out new ways of thinking, learning and applying.

What is the one characteristic you believe makes admissions candidates stand out?

Being authentic is key!

How do you run your admissions committee and how do you decide who is admitted?

After checking the submitted application documents, we invite the applicant to a personal interview with two members of the admissions committee, either via Skype or, if feasible, on campus. The committee consists of the Program Director, the Recruiting Director as well as the Admissions Managers and the Career Center. The admissions committee decide on applications based on the application documents as well as the interview.

How do you involve current students or alumni in the admissions process?

Current students and alumni are included in the entire quality assurance cycle by means of surveys and feedback rounds.

Where is your favorite place to travel to recruit business students?

I don’t have a favorite place to travel but enjoy being in many different places and meeting different people. As I’m used to working in such a diverse and international environment here at WHU, I especially enjoy places where I can meet people from many different cultures, countries and backgrounds.

What one thing do you love about your city or campus?

Düsseldorf is easy to live in and it’s a very multinational city that’s big enough to provide many cultural events and activities, and small enough not to feel completely lost. For me, this is the perfect mixture. Moreover, you can travel to all major destinations in Germany and Europe in a short amount of time. The campus is well located near the city center and very modern. The students love to sit on the terrace in the summer, where we also host BBQ get-togethers from time to time.

What is the one piece of insider advice you’d give applicants?

Be yourself! Embrace both your strengths and weaknesses but don’t try to be anyone or anything else.

What do you think is the biggest myth about applying to business school?

It’s not all about the best grades and highest scores! To us, getting to know the applicant better during the interview is extremely important as we select our batches by means of personalities. In doing so, we prefer quality over quantity. Our small, carefully selected diverse batches at WHU ensure a truly inspiring learning environment and MBA experience.