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MBA Interview Prep:
How to Ace Your
Interviews
An Accepted.com Special Report
Copyright © 2010 Accepted.com
MBA Interview Prep:
How to Ace Your Interviews
Table of Contents
MBA Interview Must-Know #1: Your Interview Goal........................................... 3
MBA Interview Must-Know #2: You...................................................................... 4
MBA Interview Must-Know #3: The School.......................................................... 5
MBA Interview Must-Know #4: The Interview Type............................................. 6
MBA Interview Nice-To-Know #5: Your Interviewer............................................ 7
Epilogue.................................................................................................................. 8
-2Copyright © 2010 Accepted.com
MBA Interview Prep:
How to Ace Your Interviews
MBA Interview Must-Know #1: Your Interview Goal
Your Interview Goal. It’s three-fold:
Show fit. In the words of the Wharton Adcom Blog,1 “The interviewer is assessing your fit for the
Wharton2 MBA program.” Think of your professional and educational background and needs and the
school’s methodology, strengths, and career opportunities. Realize, however, that the interview is not
just about you as a professional: it is also about you as an individual and human being. You need to
connect the topics presented on Days 2 & 3.
Inform the school about recent accomplishment and achievements. Did you retake the GMAT? Earn
an A in calculus? Get a promotion? Take on a leadership role in a new project? Try to inform your
interviewer of any new attainments. Doing so will strengthen your profile overall and portray you as a
growing, dynamic individual.
Demonstrate your communications and interpersonal skills. The latter is important for all, but critical
if English is your second language and/or your transcript and test scores lead one to question your
communications skills.
MBA Interview Tip #1: Enter the interview with SID:
• Show you are a match with the program.
• Inform the interviewer of recent accomplishments.
• Demonstrate your interpersonal skills.
1 http://engage.wharton.upenn.edu/MBA/blogs/mbaadmissions_blog/default.aspx
2 http://www.accepted.com/zones/Wharton.aspx
-3Copyright © 2010 Accepted.com
MBA Interview Prep:
How to Ace Your Interviews
MBA Interview Must-Know #2: You
You. You are the first topic you need to know. After all, the interview will be about you. What do you
want to do after your MBA? Why do you want to attend this program? When have you demonstrated
the qualities this school appreciates, the qualities that will show you belong here? Much of this
information appears in your essays or was uncovered in the preparation and introspection that took
place before you drafted your essays. (Did you jot down notes? Keep a journal? Use them.)
In her recent BW interview, Dawna Clark,3 Director of Admissions at Tuck,4 gave the following very
concrete advice to applicants facing a “blind” interview, which at Tuck5 and many other programs
means the interviewer only sees your resume.
“I would recommend that people approach their interview with a strategy. When candidates are
applying to Tuck, so many of them are so bright and so impressive, and there are probably 50
things that they would love to talk to us about in their interview. But there’s limited time, and I
would recommend that they spend some time thinking about five of the top skills, experiences, or
accomplishments that they most want to emphasize.
“I would literally write a list of everything that you’re proud of before your interview and then cut it in
half, and cut it in half again and cut it in half again, until you say, ‘You know what? If I have limited
time, here are the five points I’m really hoping to get across in this interview.’ With each of those five
bullet points come up with some examples and substantiate them.”
Dawna provides excellent suggestions for an interview strategy where you will truly be prepared to
present yourself.
MBA Interview Tip #2:
Know the few most important things you are proud of and be prepared to discuss them.
3 http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/oct2006/bs20061031_517222.htm?chan=bschools_bschool+index+page
4 http://www.accepted.com/zones/DartmouthTuck.aspx
5 http://www.accepted.com/zones/DartmouthTuck.aspx
-4Copyright © 2010 Accepted.com
MBA Interview Prep:
How to Ace Your Interviews
MBA Interview Must-Know #3: The School
The School. What does the school value and emphasize? Innovation? Leadership?6 Teamwork? Yes,
I know all schools value all these qualities, but some emphasize one more than another. You need to
understand those differences. How do they define the qualities they value?
Note the effort that Haas7 devotes to clarifying what it values when it says Leadership through
Innovation.8 At its presentations, on its web site, and in the recent Accepted.com chat, Leadership
through Innovation9 has become a major focus. First understand what the school values and then
prepare to explain why and how you share those values.
How does the program work? Cohorts? Learning teams? Projects, lectures, cases? Plan to answer
questions in a way that demonstrates your knowledge of the program and prepare a few questions that
show you have done your homework. Let your questions and answers reveal that you have thought
deeply about the program and how it meets your educational needs and will help you achieve your
professional goals, while also recognizing opportunities for you to contribute and pursue your nonprofessional interests.
Again, drawing on BW’s interview with Dawna Clarke,10 Tuck’s11 Admissions Director, who advises:
“Another piece of advice is to do research on the school. A lot of schools will talk about the fact that
they’re looking for fit, and basically what that means is that they’re looking for people who’ve done
their research and are going about this decision using some insight and good judgment about what it
is that they’re looking for and what that school has to offer. There are so many good schools out there,
and what you want to do is convince your interviewer or your admissions committee that that school is
a good bridge between your past and your future plans.
“The best way to make a compelling case is to really show that you’ve done your research and that you
know what the school has to offer and what you have to offer the school.”
MBA Interview Tip #3:
Know what the school values and be ready to show that you share those values.
6 http://blog.accepted.com/acceptedcom_blog/2006/8/3/different-styles-of-leadership.html
7 http://www.accepted.com/zones/UCBerkeleyHaas.aspx
8 http://www.accepted.com/chat/transcripts/2006/mba10182006_haas.aspx
9 http://blog.accepted.com/acceptedcom_blog/2006/10/11/mba-admissions-podcasts-stanford-haas-and-mba-essays.html
10 http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/oct2006/bs20061031_517222.htm?chan=bschools_bschool+index+page
11 http://www.accepted.com/zones/DartmouthTuck.aspx
-5Copyright © 2010 Accepted.com
MBA Interview Prep:
How to Ace Your Interviews
MBA Interview Must-Know #4: The Interview Type
The Interview Type. Is it blind (where the interviewer knows only what’s on your resume and what
you tell him or her)? Or is it informed with an interviewer who has gone thoroughly through your file
(for example, HBS12 or MIT13). Is it a case presentation (LBS14 or IMD15)?
If blind, then you can use material from your application because that material presents your most
impressive experiences, and it will be new to your interviewer, but don’t limit yourself to that material.
If you are interviewed by someone who has gone through your file, prepare to address weaknesses and
gaps and also be ready to bring something new to the interviewer’s understanding of you. Know how to
go deeper into the stories you have told and prepare to tell additional anecdotes.
Whether blind or informed, make sure to tell your interviewer of important developments that have
occurred since you submitted your application - a better GMAT score, an A in a business-related course,
a promotion, leadership of a community service initiative... This last step is particularly important
if you are interviewing at schools like Harvard16 and Wharton,17 which in the past have discouraged
or not accepted new information from applicants after the application submission date -- even if the
information is highly relevant and/or the applicant has sat on the waitlist for months. (Please see
Submitting Additional Material to Wharton? Think Twice.18)
MBA Interview Tip #4:
Know the type of interview you will have and prepare accordingly.
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http://www.accepted.com/zones/HarvardHBS.aspx
http://www.accepted.com/zones/MITSloan.aspx
http://www.accepted.com/zones/LondonBusinessSchool.aspx
http://www.accepted.com/mba/IMDbschool.aspx
http://www.accepted.com/zones/HarvardHBS.aspx
http://www.accepted.com/zones/Wharton.aspx
http://blog.accepted.com/acceptedcom_blog/2006/3/3/submitting-additional-material-to-wharton-think-twice.html
-6Copyright © 2010 Accepted.com
MBA Interview Prep:
How to Ace Your Interviews
MBA Interview Nice-To-Know #5: Your Interviewer
In the words of a Columbia19 applicant who recently submitted a report to the MBA Interview Feedback
Database:20
Was there something you wish you had known ahead of time? Yes - I wish I had known more about the interviewer: what company she worked for, her
role in the organization, her seniority, etc. That would have helped me mentally prepare for
the kind of person I would be speaking to and be able to relate to her better.
If you have your interviewer’s name, Google him or her and try to glean a little information about this
person so you can connect better on an interpersonal level. If you don’t know your interviewer’s name
or simply can’t find it on the Internet, don’t sweat it. It isn’t a must.
In “MBA Interview Prep,21” last year I quoted Dr. Lois Frankel who advises job applicants before a job
interview to remember that, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” I am a firm believer in that adage. In
addition to the tips contained in this series of posts, here are additional resources to help you prepare
for your MBA admissions interview:
• MBA Interview Feedback Database:22 Interview reports, tips, and It’s a 10! Contest.
• MBA BlastOff: 45 Terrific Tips to Launch Your MBA Application to Acceptance,23 an ebook.
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http://www.accepted.com/zones/Columbia.aspx
http://www.accepted.com/mba/InterviewFeedback.aspx
http://blog.accepted.com/acceptedcom_blog/2006/1/12/mba-interview-prep.html
http://www.accepted.com/mba/InterviewFeedback.aspx
https://www.mcssl.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=50367&AdID=318076
-7Copyright © 2010 Accepted.com
Epilogue
Thank you for reading MBA Interview Prep: How to Ace Your Interviews. We are confident that
the tips in this special report will successfully guide you through the MBA interview process.
If you are still not confident about your ability to ace your interviews, or just want to save your
nerves, please contact Accepted.com. We can help you prepare with our mock interview and
interview coaching services. Check them out.
One of our clients had the following to say after using our Mock Interview Coaching services:
“I had my interview this evening. You were dead on when it came to the questions. It was
a map of the mock interview you conducted for me. Your inputs really helped me. Thanks
a lot for your support.”
We would love to help you too!
If you have any questions about this report, or have questions about MBA admissions in general,
please feel free to post them to our Facebook wall, or LinkedIn group. We look forward to
hearing from you!
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Copyright © 2010 Accepted.com