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Interview

How to Prep For Your MBA Interview

 

It’s crunch time.

Yes, it’s all come down to this moment. You’ve spent five years in the wilderness, climbing the ladder and gaining all the right experience (with the right people). Heck, you may have crushed a 720 on your GMAT too. But you’re no shoo-in, not yet. You still need to impress in the interview.

It isn’t easy landing an interview with adcoms. Even when you do, only half of those candidates are ultimately accepted according to Fortuna Admissions. In other words, plenty can go wrong. Chances are, the seeds of your destruction were planted long before your interview anyway.

In a recent column sponsored by The Economist, Fortuna Admissions, a consortium of former admissions directors who now coach business school applicants, shared their strategies for standing out in a job interview. Here is some of their advice for increasing your chances of being accepted.

  • Rehearse: “You need to be well prepared and have well-thought out and strong answers to questions about yourself: your strengths and weaknesses, why you want an MBA from this school, what you can contribute to the school, and what your future career goals are. You also need to practice giving natural, well-structured, and confident answers. Particularly with alumni interviews, the person in front of you may not have reviewed your entire application, so your job is to capture the essence of what your experience and accomplishments say about you.” 
  • Connect: “If you can find a common ground, or show a genuine interest in them, they’ll be more likely to feel favorably disposed towards you. In advance, you could research the background of your interviewer, perhaps on LinkedIn or by searching their name in search engines to see what comes up…. Remember that any subject you bring up could lead to a follow-up question, so if you’re going to bring up a shared passion for vintage wine or scuba diving make sure you can intelligently pursue the discussion.”
  • Prepare Talking Points: “We suggest that you prepare four or five pieces of information that you want to share. Although it’s important to focus on the question you’re being asked, maintain a proactive rather than passive approach to ensure that you represent yourself well. Be consistent with how you pitched yourself in your written application, and have answers for some of the tougher questions that may probe a career decision you made, how you react to feedback, why you need an MBA, or what makes you stand out among other candidates…Be ready for confrontation. Some schools want to see if you can think on your feet, and want to see how you react when you are directly challenged.”

For additional advice, click on the Beat the GMAT link below.

Don’t Miss:Prepping for Your MBA Adcom Interview

Source: Beat the GMAT

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