Prepping For Your MBA Adcom Interview

9 Key Ways To Ace Your MBA Interview

 

“It all comes down to this moment.”

That’s what athletes tell themselves with the score tied and the clock running low. Entrepreneurs dwell on that same thought before pitching an angel for a life line. Before you sit down with an adcom member, you’ll feel that same anxiety. We’ve all had these thoughts before that big moment: “It’s all led up to this. You only get one shot. Failing is not an option.”

Chances are, your b-school interview isn’t do-or-die. But it carries real weight. Your interviewer is listening for more than the “right answer.” They’re also measuring your ability to connect, persuade, improvise, and maintain poise…the same make-or-break skills you’ll need to launch a business or move up to the c-suite.

Last week, we looked at How To Be More Likable In An Interview and How To Ace A Harvard Admissions Interview. Now, we’ll examine some additional interview advice courtesy of eFinancial Careers:

1) The Interview Serves A Dual Purpose: Your adcom isn’t just screening whether you have the aptitude to master the curriculum or personality to fit the culture. Just as important, they want to know: Can he land a high-paying job after graduating? Roy Cohen, author of The Wall Street Professional’s Survival Guide, notes that “Schools may disqualify people who need too much work for repackaging and repurposing.” As a result, you’ll need to clearly show how you’ll integrate your existing experience with your MBA to achieve your goal according  your post-MBA goal according to Wendy Flynn, Founder of MBA Admissions Coach.

2) Be Realistic: If your goals are too ambitious, your adcom will be skeptical. If you just aspire to a comfortable living, your adcom won’t see you as anything special. Make sure your post-graduation dreams are both realistic and noteworthy.

3) Know the Difference Between Confidence and Cockiness: Sure, you graduated summa cum laude and earned a promotion into management for a Fortune 500. That doesn’t mean you’re a shoo-in. Nothing alienates an interviewer faster than entitlement. When you give off airs, your adcom will be looking even harder for holes or discrepancies.

4) Address Red Flags: Everyone makes mistakes. You may have struggled during your freshman year and your GPA reflects that. Perhaps you were terminated from your first job out of college. Or, maybe you’ve avoided developing technical or financial skills. Most likely, your interviewer won’t miss such gaps. You’re better off bringing them up, preferably after you’ve built a relationship with your adcom, to show how you turned those negatives into positives.

For additional advice, click on the link below:

Source: eFinancial Careers

Will You Need To Do An Application Video Next?

 

“Whatever happened to a handshake over dinner?”

That’s the lament of nearly every salesperson over 50. I can hear one of them now: ‘In the good old days, you ordered drinks, listened, and watched the other guy slowly drop his guard. You learned what made him tick and what truly mattered to him. Now, travel budgets have been slashed. Everyone conducts business over the phone and email. You can’t look anyone in the eye anymore. You don’t get to see the real person.’

Well, maybe that elusive face-to-face contact is coming back full circle, courtesy of technology. And it may just be used in your next b-school interview.

This week, Stacy Blackman, a business school author and consultant, explored an emerging trend in the screening process: Video interviews. In 2012, The University of Toronto’s Rothman School of Management added a required video component to its application. And Yale and Northwestern (Kellogg) already vet candidates through video interviews.

Why do they do this? According to Blackman, schools like Rothman use video to see how students respond “in real time without allowing for advance preparation, offering the admissions committee insight into the applicant’s passions, interests and personality.” Along with testing students’ ability to think on their feet, Blackman adds the format also illustrates students’ command of spoken English, which can be hidden in polished written applications.

So how do video interviews work? Blackman cites Yale, where “applicants respond to three short, prerecorded questions via webcam. Applicants have 20 seconds to think about their answer for each question and up to 90 seconds to provide a live response.” She adds that typical questions asked during video interviews include standards like biggest accomplishments and unique attributes, along with “professional  goals, leadership experiences, extracurricular activities or passions.”

To stand out in video interviews, Blackman encourages students to practice with the format. In particular, candidates may struggle with time limits and speaking conversationally to a blank screen where they can’t adjust to non-verbal cues.  She also advises students to record their responses to standard questions in 90 second intervals and review the video for eye contact, tone, pace, posture, and tics like twitching and using “um.” Likewise, Blackman points out that candidates should have third parties, such as friends, review the video to see if they come across authentic and precise instead of packaged and generic.

Source: US News and World Report