Meet Ross Yesikov, Ross has been working with ARINGO for 6 years. He talks to us about advice, mistakes and…um…Mars.
Ross Yesikov – Kellogg MBA
Q: What’s a little known fact about you?
A: I used to run a successful dating website, it was later sold to a strategic partner in Israel.
Q: Best thing about your MBA program what set it apart from other MBA programs? What is the city life like around that school?
A: Kellogg MMM is a dual degree focused on innovation, design and product management, which really sets itself apart by providing an MSc from McCormick school of engineering on tip of a Kellogg MBA. Another great thing about Kellogg is its proximity to Chicago (20-30min), so you have a nice suburban environment when you need to study, and a bubbly big city for networking and recreation.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to an MBA applicant, what would it be?
A: Make as many friends during the MBA as possible. It’s less about the studies and much more about building relationships with your future partners, employers and co-founders.
Q: What is your favorite part about working with ARINGO?
A: The best part is guiding people through a deep introspective journey, helping them truly understand their strengths and goals in life. Turning that into essays is the easy part. Seeing them being accepted to the school of their dreams and keeping in touch later is amazingly satisfying.
Q: Favorite ARINGO client story?
A: A client was very unconfident when originally started, aiming at lower tier schools because of a seemingly lack of focus and lower than required GPA. Together, we were able to identify events in his life he didn’t realize where incredibly powerful. After a few brainstorming sessions, we could really distill his passion towards a wine industry and suddenly all the pieces from the past fell together like a perfect puzzle. The client was accepted to Booth and several other top tier schools.
Q: Can you share some details regarding job opportunities and summer internships for students in your school? How strong is the career office? Did the school name/brand give you any advantage when looking for a job?
A: Kellogg has a fantastic career office with mock interview preparation and of course tons of recruiters hiring on campus. Specifically, the MMM program opens up even more opportunities because of its collaboration with other schools inside Northwestern. For example, my own internship was with Herman Miller (the designer furniture firm), which I landed entirely because of my design professor’s relationship with a HM executive. The internship consisted of a trip to London and Moscow, with the goal of identifying the best strategy to expand in UK and the Eastern Europe region. It was mind blowing.
Q: What’s the biggest mistake you could make on your application?
A: Being too pretentious and boasting too much. There’s a fine line between that and being able to talk about your achievements in a humble way. It takes maturity and social awareness, which is part of what the adcomm (admissions committee) is looking for in an application.
Q: And finally, if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
A: Currently, the notion of “world” is expanding. Therefore, I’d save a bit more money and go on a trip to Mars whenever those become available.
Thank you Ross!
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