During my time as director of admissions marketing and financial aid at the Lauder Institute’s MA program with Wharton’s MBA, I was lucky enough to get to interview applicants for both programs, including running Wharton’s Team Based Discussion. Wharton is somewhat unique with respect to the team-based interview format, but working as part of a team is certainly something all b-school applicants will be familiar with, from either their personal life or their professional life, if not both. Wharton wanted an interview tool that would reflect how important team-based collaboration is in its MBA program. Thus, the Team Based Discussion (TBD) was born.
Whether you’re interviewing for Wharton or another program for which team or group interviews are the norm, read on for some helpful insights.
How Individual and Team-Based Interviews Differ
While personality, passion, and concise – yet interesting – stories will pique the admissions committee’s interest in any kind of interview, individual interviews and team interviews differ in some key ways. Group interviews and activities reflect the skills you will learn in an MBA program for which learning teams or cohorts are the foundation of the class and group projects are the norm. You will be asked to work with your teammates to achieve the group’s success.
In a team-based interview, an applicant needs to use a different set of skills than they would use in a traditional, individual interview. An individual interview requires one-on-one presentation, interpersonal skills, listening skills, and self-awareness, and a team interview requires all these, plus critical thinking, persuasion, teamwork, and leadership.
Tips for TBD Success
Here are nine tips for preparing for a team-based interview:
1. Review school material.
This includes the specific materials that the school provides prior to the interview, as well as all other basic material about the program. As you do for an individual interview, you need to know the school well – its mission, curriculum, teaching style, and so on. Review the program’s website and social media, and speak with students and recent grads to get a clear picture.
2. Read Case in Point.
Case in Point: Complete Case Interview Preparation is an excellent book by Marc Cosentino that will teach you how to state your position during team-based interviews and then clearly and succinctly support your position.
3. Role-play.
Ask your family members, friends, and colleagues to role-play team-based interviews with you. You can also sign up for an Accepted mock team-based discussion. The more in-the-know your mock interviewer and peers are, the better idea you’ll get of how the interview will go on the big day.
4. Take pre-interview notes.
You are allowed to bring notes to your interview, and while you don’t want to read off a piece of paper or even refer to it frequently, knowing that you have some key points written down in case you need them might help you feel more confident. You never know whether performance anxiety might set in, and if your brain freezes and you completely forget your plan, you’ll be glad you jotted some ideas down beforehand. However, keep your notes brief; just a few bullet points on one page should be sufficient.
5. Keep note-taking to a minimum during the interview.
Just as a treatise of pre-interview notes will distract you from the interview action (as covered in point #4), so will scribbling notes furiously during the interview. You definitely want to have a pen and clipboard or a tablet available so you can quickly jot something down, if needed, but remember that the interview is meant to be a group discussion. You want to keep the conversation flowing naturally. Taking copious notes and then reading a monologue would certainly disrupt that flow.
6. Don’t be confrontational.
Your interview is not a debate in which you’re trying to score points. It’s not a verbal battle. It’s a simulation of what you might encounter in a business school classroom or on a group project, so you want to emulate that vibe and model. Interviewees should build on one another’s points, contributing to the conversation; they shouldn’t cut each other down with rude or judgmental remarks. Of course, you’re allowed to disagree, and you should be persuasive and enthusiastic about your positions, but do so with respect and grace. Be on your best behavior. Politeness matters!
7. Focus on quality, not quantity, when speaking.
Participants are judged on the quality – not the quantity – of their comments. You want to add to the conversation but certainly not dominate it. Refrain from speaking just for the sake of being heard. Thoughtful and succinct comments are appreciated; chatter is not. But don’t let this tip backfire on you! You must offer qualitative comments, so don’t hold back from speaking because you’re worried that your contributions might not hit the mark. You need to find a balance – don’t blab on incessantly, but don’t be so shy you don’t open your mouth, either. You’re there to contribute, so make sure you do! Take the middle ground here, and participate the way you would in a regular polite conversation.
8. Keep it real.
Although many of the topics or prompts you’ll encounter in a team interview could lead you down the path of theoretical thought, you need to push through the theory to arrive at concrete points you can then support with evidence from your firsthand experiences. Business schools are interested in candidates who are able to draw understanding and practical conclusions from their life experiences. Don’t overcomplicate things. The admissions team will give you clear instructions about the team interview process, so follow directions, be prepared, and keep your contributions straightforward.
9. Dress appropriately.
Last but not least, dress the part. The discussion format of the interview is meant to replicate the feeling of a casual conversation, but you do not want to be too casual! Save your board shorts and Hawaiian shirt for your next luau, and stick with business attire for your interview.
Entering the TBD Arena Prepared
Team-based interviews are totally different from your typical interview experience, which means you must prepare for them in a completely different way.
You’re so close to being accepted to Wharton (or to the school that’s invited you to participate in its team-based discussion/interview), so don’t blow your chances now by blowing your interview! The best way to prep for your team exercise is with a dress rehearsal. Participate in a mock TBD and receive feedback on your effectiveness before the real interview day. This will allow you to correct any mistakes before they can hurt your candidacy and to identify actions and stories you want to repeat during your actual TBD. Schedule a free 30-minute consultation to help prep for your group interview.
Kara Keenan Sweeney has more than 15 years of experience in MBA admissions, having worked for some of the world’s top business school programs, including Columbia Business School, INSEAD, and The Lauder Institute’s joint degree MA/MBA program with The Wharton School and the MA/JD program with Penn Law at the University of Pennsylvania. Kara has guided, coached, and counseled thousands of MBA and EMBA applicants, reviewed innumerable applications, sat on admissions committees, and interviewed countless applicants, including while running Wharton’s Team Based Discussions both virtually and in person. Want Kara to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!
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