MBA Interview

Part 3: MBA Admissions Interview

rashraf

Part 3 How To Crush It

  • Wear a suit. I mean it. You have to wear a suit. I have argued endlessly with my clients about the need to look professional for this interview. And maybe you can wear a tie dyed t-shirt, cut offs and your uncombed hair to your job, but you can’t to that in an MBA interview. So put on a suit that you buy, rent or borrow. Why? Because the admission office needs to know that you are capable of presenting yourself to recruiters and that you are not going to make your school and/or self look bad. And that you understand formal business etiquette even if you are going to run your own business MBA where the dress code is flannel.
  • Bring a copy of your resume. Bring 2. Even if it has not changed from when you submitted your application– just do it. I know a lot of people who were caught off guard when their interviewer asked for a copy.
  • Make a normal amount of eye contact. Wondering if the amount of eye contact you make is abnormal? Ask your coworkers.
  • Be nice to everyone. EVERYONE you meet the day of your interview can give feedback about you to the adcom. Receptionist, mail guy, students. And when the feedback was about how nice/funny/polite you were that goes a long way in your favor. And if it is about how rude you were–you are basically guaranteeing you will not be admitted. There was someone who didn’t realize that the person they were being incredibly condescending to was a member of the adcom team who was covering for the receptionist for 5 minutes. Well done.
  • Be self-aware. If your interviewer is asking the same question over and over it means you aren’t being specific on what happened or what your role was in the story you are telling. If they are cutting you off- it is because you are being long winded and not letting them get to all their questions. So be self -aware and adjust. But don’t freak out. I had a lot of interviewees who started out shaky but got it together mid-way through for an overall good interview.

Don’t forget that the interview means they are looking for more reasons to admit you. Go in knowing that the adcom liked what they learned about you in your application. If you ramble a little bit, or struggle with a question about your greatest failure don’t let that unravel you. Be the best version of yourself and good luck!

Part 1: MBA Admissions Interview

rashraf

Bancroft_weblogo_FA-05  So, you have hit the submit button and had one peaceful night of sleep knowing you don’t have to cram all your hopes and dreams into another 250 word essay. Now what you get to look forward to is that sweat inducing anxiety of whether you will get an interview or not.

Now, most schools that have an ounce of compassion will say you can expect to be contacted b/w X and Y date. And every round of admissions, we extended invites up till the last minute on that LAST day. This doesn’t happen because you aren’t an awesome candidate. It happens because no one got to your application till that last day. You have no control over when an admission officer reads your application and pushes you to interview. Read that last sentence again. And believe it. What this means is that the person who got an interview 8 seconds before the deadline is no less compelling to adcom than the first person who got invited. So relax and DO NOT contact the admissions office to repeatedly ask when you can expect to be invited. That is really annoying and a great way to ensure that their response to you is “Never. Never is when you can expect an invite”.

So what can you do while you wait?

  • Make sure you have checked your spam filter so school interview invites will come through.
  • Let the admissions office know if you have any travel coming up that will mean you won’t be able to have an interview where you listed you live. This doesn’t mean you can’t travel it just means you have to let them know ASAP of your travel.
  • Email the admissions office with any noteworthy updates to your application- e.g. a promotion, raise, award. But don’t email them ALL the time. And remember just continuing to do your job and not getting fired is not something you need to update them on.