Maria: Masters in Management

Maria Antohe has always been a global thinker. By her early twenties, she’d learned seven languages. And although she loved her career teaching them to children in her native Bucharest, she saw business as her ticket to more opportunities. When Maria joined London Business School’s (LBS) Masters in Management (MiM) programme in 2022, it was the start of a new journey.

I’ve always had a global mindset. Even as a child, I wanted to learn as many foreign languages as possible. At 10, it was Chinese. By the end of school, a few more. Now it’s seven – French, English, Chinese, Spanish, Korean, a little bit of Swedish, and of course my native Romanian. At university, in Bucharest, I studied Chinese and Korean philology. I dreamed of a career in teaching and loved tutoring children. But gradually, something began to change. Although teaching is enormously fulfilling on a personal level, I thought that business would offer me more opportunities.

I started researching Masters degrees that would open up doors for me. In business, there are barely any boundaries, and I wanted to travel, expand my network and meet people from around the world. The LBS MiM caught my attention immediately; the programme content was similar to an MBA, with core courses in marketing, finance, organisational behaviour, and even data analytics. But unlike the MBA, the MiM is designed for people with 0-2 years of professional experience, which was perfect for me. I knew this was the type of education which would allow me to transition from teaching to a career in business.

It’s the global perspective of the School that convinced me to apply. I started browsing the website and engaging with student ambassadors, which meant I could ask questions about the programme and what to expect. That’s when I found out about a social impact consulting project, Project Aasha, which allows Graduate Masters students to collaborate with social entrepreneurs in India through consulting projects focused on impact. From then on, I knew LBS was the right choice for me. I applied in 2022 and was thrilled to secure a place on the programme. I was even granted the LBS Women's Merit Scholarship, which helped me fund the Masters.

London is truly an incredible place to live. Despite the financial challenge of living in London, there are also so many benefits. It’s easy to catch a flight to other destinations (I was able to go home every other month to visit my family), you’re able to see your closest friends every day, and there’s a huge Romanian community in the city. I joined LBS’s Dance club and we put on some brilliant classes and social dance nights at salsa bars, especially the legendary Salsa Temple near Covent Garden. I'm still involved today and can’t wait to come back to London to host some Zumba classes.

I chose modules that would upskill me and help me start a business career. I really liked the more creative courses like Marketing, which featured case studies I still refer back to today when making business decisions. Crisis Leadership and Human Behaviour was excellent; we referenced true crises that have happened in the world, such as the Fukushima disaster in 2011, and debated the actions that were taken at the time by the people directly involved. We even took part in a simulation with actors when debating another crisis, which was an unforgettable experience. The Organisational Behaviour classes were another favourite of mine; they encompass Negotiation and Bargaining, Crisis Leadership and Human Behaviour, Wisdom and Happiness and Inter-personal Dynamics, key concepts that help you become not only a better leader, but also a better team member. I particularly enjoyed learning about the concept of psychological safety – this has given me the self-assurance I need to raise issues with senior managers in my role, which at a Fortune 100 company isn’t something all 24-year-olds can do.

The Global Experience course and other international projects have allowed me to experience different cultures and to grow my mindset considerably. Through these, I was able to travel to Colombia to develop a market entry plan for a social impact B Corp; I also went to India for a social impact consulting project. Combining the London Business School classroom learnings with these outside-the-classroom experiences has prepared me well for a career working in international teams; in my current role, I have colleagues working here in Bucharest, but also in the US and China. Besides the time zone differences, I have had to navigate cultural differences when working with team members from across the world. The global mindset I’ve gained from these experiences is so valuable in situations like these.

Today I’m an Account Manager at Honeywell, and so much of what I learned at London Business School helps me in my job. For example, I deal with the Global Licensing of our brand, so when it’s time to renegotiate the agreements we have with our licensees, I know the right techniques to use. When working on brand compliance, I can refer back to some of the marketing classes I took at LBS. I’ve learnt so much about negotiation, including building a rationale when evaluating business decisions. Networking is something I am comfortable with today; on elective modules, I studied alongside more senior students in the same lectures and study groups. It meant I networked with – and learnt from – an incredibly diverse, ambitious group of people, which prepared me for working in a very similar environment today and being comfortable with how I interact with people.

The help I received from the Career Centre was essential in securing my current role at Honeywell. The one-to-one coaching sessions were instrumental in helping me hone skills like CV and cover letter writing. I was able to practise interview skills and attend sector-specific career fairs to meet recruiters, which not only allowed me to practise networking skills but also allowed me to connect with contacts from various companies and sectors. Although widely underused by students, I have found the resources available through the Career Centre to be invaluable; I have gathered so much knowledge and I now find myself helping my friends prepare for interviews and refining their CVs.

One of the things I loved most about London Business School was the diversity. Your study group is designed to be diverse, to ensure you are exposed to as many perspectives as possible during your time on the programme. You get to work with more seasoned professionals who have a wealth of experience, which has been key in learning to work with people with different mindsets. Students came from all around the world and I remember going on my first business trip to Hong Kong last year and meeting up with a friend from LBS. I love being involved in the alumni community, which is why I wanted to give something back to the School and signed up to be an interviewer.

Now that I’ve graduated, I’ve volunteered to work alongside the Recruitment & Admissions team at London Business School to interview prospective students. Interviews are a big part of the admissions process, shaping the journey for prospective students. I vividly recall feeling nervous before my own interview, yet my interviewer's approach put me at ease. What was supposed to be an hour-long chat turned into a two-hour deep dive. I wanted to pass on that sense of ease to future students, creating a space where they feel comfortable and confident. It's about encouraging them to showcase their true selves without feeling pressured to conform to any expectations – because every interview should feel like a conversation, not an interrogation.

It’s hard to put into words how much I’ve grown as a person. I now feel far more resilient, independent and confident. And after years of being a bit of a people pleaser, I know my worth. I lived in a huge global city and suddenly went from being a big fish in a small pond to joining the ocean. The people I was on the programme with were highly intelligent. It was intimidating at first, but then I realised how much I could learn from them. I’d thoroughly recommend London Business School – taking a Masters there was one of the best decisions I ever made and it’s unlocked a great career for me.