By Ellen Highstone Cohan

I'm the manager of marketing and communications for Vacheron Constantin, a 251-year-old Swiss manufacturer of complicated, luxury timepieces (see BusinessWeek.com, 3/28/06, "High Times for Luxury Watchmakers"). Based in New York, I'm responsible for all marketing and communications for the U.S. and Canada, which includes advertising, press relations, events, merchandising, display, sales promotions, B2B and B2C (business-to-consumer) relationships, strategic partnerships, and training.

I'm also responsible for monthly reporting to our headquarters in Geneva, writing the annual marketing plan, and organizing our participation in the famous Geneva watch fair that takes place every April (see BusinessWeek.com, 3/6/06, "Rich Times for the Luxury Sector").

Looking back on my B-school experience, I think that school you choose is more important than your courses. I would enroll in the most diverse, international program you're accepted to. Generally, courses are fairly standard between MBA programs; what varies is the composition of the school's student body.

At INSEAD, no one nationality makes up more than 10% of the student population. That has a huge impact on every class, even standard first-semester courses such as Marketing or Accounting. Bring students from 40 different countries to contribute and debate, and the course takes on a new dimension.

So far, I've worked in three countries (the U.S., France, and Japan), but because of what I learned from my peers atINSEAD, I have a more international perspective and understanding of conducting business in many markets around the world.

If I could go back to school, I would definitely take another Decision Analysis course. I took a popular course called Negotiation at INSEAD, which taught me how to identify different types of negotiating situations, different things that can go wrong in them, and why. It gave me a more concrete idea of what to look for and how to prepare. Sometimes I feel like it taught me 50% of what I need to know for this job, or any job.

Here's a typical day on the job:

6:30 a.m.—Wake up and head to the gym, or to Central Park for a run. Running is a great way to get warmed up for the day.

7:30 a.m.—Back at home, check BlackBerry and scan e-mails before showering. I requested a conference call with the worldwide director of marketing and he suggests 4:00 p.m. today his time. I confirm.

8:30 a.m.—Arrive at the office, page through Women's Wear Daily, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times for industry-related news and advertising.

8:45 a.m.—Read through e-mails. Quickly reply to some and make a note of others. Then I prioritize my day. First, I want to finalize planning a major event. We are in negotiations with a strategic partner, and coordinating our interests with our worldwide headquarters is complicated.

9:20 a.m.—Call Geneva to review scheduling and logistical issues before 11 o'clock meeting. Have the PR director organize a factory visit for an American journalist. We discuss a watch of ours that's featured in upcoming Universal Studios release Miami Vice. We discuss the strategy for local and worldwide promotion to the press.

9:45 a.m.—My colleague Liz from our external PR agency calls: GQ wants to borrow an Overseas Chronograph for a shoot but needs it tomorrow by 10 a.m. Do we have one available? I speak with my co-worker Ashley in product logistics to check.

10:00 a.m.—Conference call with the international marketing director. My boss, the president, joins the call and we are briefed on what research headquarters is conducting for a new ad campaign. After the call, my boss and I share thoughts and discuss the impact on next year's plan.

11:00 a.m.—Cab to meeting with our potential partners at their worldwide headquarters. We look at their event space and discuss timing. They mention limitations. I describe the proposed exhibition again in detail, reviewing the benefits that collaboration will bring. By the end of the meeting we've agreed to partner. I head back to the office relieved.

11:45 a.m.—Stop by our retailer Tourneau on 57th Street to check on a new display that went in yesterday. It looks good!

Noon—Check on the product for GQ. It's currently sold out and on back order. It's a popular model! Call Seth in Los Angeles office to see if they have one.

12:05 p.m.—Keep L.A. on the phone and conference in my PR colleague, Liz, to discuss national press for Miami Vice. We've run into some obstacles. We go over the objectives again, brainstorm around the problems, and clarify next steps.

12:15 p.m.—I continue to talk with Seth about a product launch event we are organizing in Los Angeles for later in the year involving a local charity.

12:45 p.m.—Hunger hits. I rarely go to lunch, unless it's for business. I improvise one with fruit, yogurt, a granola bar, and another cup of coffee.

1:00 p.m.—Still need to resolve this GQ request. I get Julien to lend me his own Overseas. He's amenable; I ask Ashley to do up the memo.

2:00 p.m.—Spend two solid hours planning a retailer-staff training. This is key to the business; we put effort into making it informative, interactive, and fun. We will hold two two-day trainings next month, one for East Coast and one for West Coast retailers.

4:00 p.m.—Time to meet with Chloe, our intern, to review her project. She's made good progress since our last meeting. I make corrections and ask her to expand in a few directions.

4:30 p.m.—Discuss a relocating retailer with Julien. This is an opportunity to improve our visibility within the store, and deserves careful consideration. We look at a floor plan and discuss our options for maximizing visibility, taking the competition's likely demands into consideration. We identify our top choices, then call the retailer.

5:15 p.m.—Put aside trade and consumer magazines to take home and read. It's hard to find time to read these at the office.

5:30 p.m.—The monthly sales commentary is due by the end of the week; I work on it for the next hour. I'm interrupted by a few phone calls, so progress is slow, I'll probably end up staying late tomorrow night.

6:25 p.m.—Review my to-do list. Highlight key items for tomorrow morning. Wrap up early today.

6:30 p.m.—Leave for band practice. There is enough work to keep me here until 9 p.m. any day of the week. But it's helpful to focus on things like creating a bass line and finding a great harmony. Then, when it's time to check the BlackBerry again, I feel ready for it, and excited about what's to come.

You don't really need an MBA to get my job, but the degree and my ability to speak French factored in favorably. More and more people are bringing MBAs to the job, so the bar is being raised.

The MBA got me to a higher level of responsibility. It signaled my seriousness, ambition, and drive, and my commitment to working hard. Vacheron Constantin is a growing business in North America, and my boss needed someone who would take on more than the average marketing manager and who would thrive on challenges and responsibility.

As far as getting into my position, I know a lot of MBAs who would never accept jobs like "trainee" or "assistant" after B-school. They want to go straight to the top. But that doesn't happen very often in our field; it takes time.

If you don't already have a luxury or retail industry background, you might have to take an entry-level position, then show what you can do. People who are productive and dedicated move up quickly.

I landed my job based on experience, language skills, recommendations, and the MBA. After graduating from INSEAD, I spent a year working in Tokyo in marketing at Dunhill, the British luxury mens' wear retailer. Back in New York, I got hired as a project manager at luxury goods group Richemont, and then came to Vacheron Constantin.

I wasn't a shoo-in. There was a lot of competition for the position. But I think that my language skills, my experiences, and the INSEAD MBA all contributed to me landing the job.