Application submitted – check. Wait, wait, and wait some more, and then… Yay, they’ve invited me to interview! They like me! But wait, how do I prepare for an MBA interview? Is it the same as a job interview? Will they have read my entire application? Who will interview me? If they know my GMAT score, will that influence their impression of me? What do they really want to know about me that they haven’t learned from my essays or resume? Do I need to come up with new stories that I didn’t write about? What do they want now?
Don’t worry, we have these answers for you and tips to prepare for the big day so that you appear poised, confident, knowledgeable, and relaxed. And remember, if you have been invited to interview, you’ve already passed the biggest hurdle. They like you! So it is up to you to convince them that they are right in choosing you.
The MBA interview versus a job interview
The MBA interview is similar to a professional job interview, but your interviewer will not be focusing on your technical skills. Instead, they want to know about your fit with their program, your interest in their program, your reasons for pursuing an MBA, and the feasibility of your career goals. They will assess your work experience to see whether you have the skills to make you a knowledgeable team member and also whether your work history makes sense with your proposed career goals.
Who will interview me?
Who your interviewer will be differs from school to school. It might be someone on the admissions staff – in which case, they will generally have read your entire application first. If it is a student or an alumnus/alumna instead, they will only have information from your resume, nothing else, so you can feel free to repeat stories you used in your essays.
What will the interviewer already know about me?
Most schools prefer “blind” interviews, for which all the interviewer has is the applicant’s resume. This eliminates any unintentional bias toward candidates with high GMAT scores or really strong letters of recommendation or the like. The interviewer knows only what you’ve done in your career thus far, which is why your resume is your best tool to sell yourself! However, if an admissions officer interviews you, they will likely have read your entire application, so they could ask you questions about anything in it.
What are some typical questions?
Most admissions interview questions are designed to discover more about who you are. They want to find out whether you’ve shown initiative, whether you have leadership experience, whether you’d be a good teammate, and what your skills and areas for improvement are. These are some of the most likely questions you’ll encounter:
- Walk me through your resume.
- Why did you apply to our MBA program?
- What are your weaknesses?
- Why do you need an MBA?
- What are your short-term goals after the MBA?
- How will you contribute to our program?
- Tell me about a time you had to deal with conflict on your team. What did you do, and what did you learn?
- What questions do you have for me?
So, let’s talk about how you might answer these questions.
1. Walk me through your resume.
This is typically the first question asked in an admissions interview. You do not have to go through your resume line by line and give a long description of everything you’ve ever done. I’ve had candidates who started their story back in elementary school and worked their way up to present day, taking up all the time allotted for the interview and preventing me from asking the other ten questions I wanted to ask! This behavior does tell me something, however: first, the candidate cannot read body language and see that my eyes are glazing over from the tediousness of their stories, and second, they have their own agenda and want to tell me what they want to say and not what I am asking about. That’s two strikes against them. Don’t let this be you!
The best way to answer this question is to simply give your reasons for your choice of undergraduate school or major, what you’ve learned in your professional experience that has led you to your current goals, or what motivated you to move from one role to the next one. In other words, answer the “why,” and explain the impact you’ve made, rather than focusing on the “what.”
Do not use more than two or three minutes for this or any other answer, because you only have 30-40 minutes for the interview, and there are generally about ten questions they will ask you. Plus, you need to leave time to have your questions answered, too. Highlight your most important accomplishments and move on. Do not spend time talking about “why an MBA” or “why this school” now – that is not what they are asking!
If the question is “Tell me about yourself,” then it is appropriate to include some personal details, such as where you are from, what your hobbies are, or how you became interested in a particular industry.
Practice your answer several times to get the right timing and the right content. It might help to record yourself so you can hear how you actually sound.
2. Why did you apply to our MBA program?
They now know more about you, and they want to find out what you know about them. Don’t generalize and say something that would apply to any MBA program, such as “Your reputation or ranking,” “The alumni network,” “The great location,” “Your cutting-edge faculty,” or even “Your job placement record.” You need to delve deeply into every program you are applying to and catalog the different characteristics and benefits of each one. Just as the school wants to know what makes you special, you should know what stands out to you about the school. Good examples are specific courses that will help you fill in the gaps of your knowledge, faculty research that excites you (and why), clubs or organizations you want to join, study abroad or global consulting projects, and special research centers, especially if they relate to your goals.
The best way to learn about a school is to visit, of course. However, that is not always an option. If not, reach out to the school’s MBA student ambassadors. These students have volunteered for this role, and they can give you “insider” information about professors, clubs, living in the city, and anything else. Attend virtual admissions sessions or meet the admissions staff at MBA expositions in your town, if possible. Also, watch videos of student and alumni stories on the website. There really is no excuse for not getting to know the school! So, if your answer to “Why our school?” is banal, vague, or simplistic, that will raise a very big red flag – especially if you are interviewing with a student. They want to know that you understand the school’s culture and values and whether you’d be someone they’d want on their team.
3. What are your weaknesses?
Your answer to this question reveals your self-awareness, level of humility, and potential for growth. Think about your work at a high level. What information do you wish you’d had when working on a challenging project? What have your performance reviews indicated as areas of improvement?
When answering this question, state the weakness, and then discuss how you are working on the issue and what you’ve learned thus far. Did you have to step out of your comfort zone? How will the MBA program improve this weakness (if that is applicable)? Turn a negative into a positive by giving examples of how you have improved or how you are working to mitigate a shortcoming.
4. Why do you need an MBA?
This appears to be a simple question, and many candidates just respond without thinking, saying that they want a broader network, they want to hone their business skills, or they are switching careers and don’t know enough about their chosen area, or worse – “It’s a good time now before I get too much experience and have other obligations to deal with.”
It is perfectly reasonable to say that you have depth of experience in one area, but you know that to move up, you need to understand how all functional areas of a company work together. That is exactly what the MBA teaches, but it is not a magic wand. You will not start as the CEO of a company when you graduate or be hired into a role for which you have no background experience, even with an MBA. Be prepared to discuss how you are willing to make a lateral move to get into the industry or functional area you desire. And if possible, mention any discussions you’ve had with alumni with similar profiles to yours and what you learned about how they were able to pivot to a new position. Likewise, if you’ve have any interaction with employees at your dream company, mention that, too. This initiative shows the interviewer that your expectations for the MBA are reasonable and that you’ve taken the initiative to understand what you need to do to get to where you want to be.
5. What are your short-term goals after the MBA?
This is your chance to show that you’ve researched your target industry, that you’ve identified a few companies you’d like to work for and determined what position you think you’d be qualified for. Yes, you do have to do this! The school will help you with job preparation, but they will not just hand you a job. My personal pet peeve is the answer “I want to do management or strategy consulting with an MBB firm.” That tells me that the applicant has no real idea what they want to do. What skills do you have to make a consulting company want to hire you out of the 100,000 other MBAs applying at their company? It is critical that you indicate your seriousness about your career goals and that you are aware of exactly what your dream company is looking for. Do you really understand the difference between management and strategic consulting? Do you know which firms specialize in what?
Investigate the positions your dream company is hiring for by looking at their website and job openings. How do you measure up? What are some trends in the industry where your experience would be a plus? Do you read industry reports, such as marketing news and financial updates, to keep up with trends in your desired industry? Add to this your current skill set and what you need from the MBA, and your answer is done!
6. How will you contribute to the program?
Imagine being in a classroom where everyone is an IT engineer, or a Wall Street banker, or a data analyst, or a healthcare practitioner. There would be very little diversity of thought or out-of-the-ordinary perspectives. That would lead to an incredibly boring class discussion! Each school tries to compose a class of diverse backgrounds, which can relate to education, nationality, work experience, life experience, community service, and so on. This type of diversity promulgates innovative ideas and the “What if we did this?” thinking that leads to creative solutions.
So what if you belong to an overrepresented group? How do you distinguish yourself from the others in that group? Simple. You are you! You’ve had different experiences, different life histories, different interests outside of your job. You are not just your job.
Again, look at the MBA curriculum, see where you have expertise that others might not have, and show how you would add value to your classmates. Perhaps you participate in a particular sport or hobby and want to start a club for others who are interested in that.
To summarize, imagine that the admissions committee must choose between you and someone else with a similar demographic profile and work experience. What will make them choose you?
7. Tell me about a time you had to deal with conflict on your team. What did you do, and what did you learn?
This question might be worded slightly differently, such as “Tell me about working with someone on your team who didn’t contribute” or “Have you worked with people who are not like you?” What the interviewer is looking to learn about is your team skills. In 99% of MBA programs, you’ll be assigned to a team in your first few classes (versus choosing a team yourself), and you might end up with someone on your team who is too shy to participate, is afraid to speak English, or dominates the team and won’t let others speak. This is where you demonstrate your empathy and persuasive skills. Discuss a real example of when you’ve had to deal with an uncomfortable team experience. First, explain the conflict, then describe how you helped defuse the conflict, managed to get a shy team member to speak up, or subdued an overenthusiastic individual in the group who was talking too much. If you were able to persuade other team members to help you manage the issue, that’s even better. Then, simply state what the result was and what you learned about dealing with conflict. Be sure that you share something that actually happened, not a hypothetical story.
8. What questions do you have for me?
This isn’t just a polite way of ending the interview. Your interviewer wants to confirm that you have thoroughly researched their program and have thoughtful questions that will add to your knowledge. Prepare your answer to this question (i.e., your own questions) before you prepare for any of the others in our list. Even if you have memorized the school’s website, visited campus, and feel as though you have already asked all the questions you could possibly ever have, you need to come up with two or three new, non-procedural questions to ask. Responding with a blank stare or saying, “I have no other questions” just looks bad.
This will most likely be your last opportunity to ask questions about the program before you find out the admissions committee’s decision, so make sure your questions count. The best questions will prompt the interviewer to dig deep into their knowledge of the program. They might even need to do a bit of research and get back to you with the answer, providing you with one final opportunity to connect with someone critical to your admissions decision.
There are a few other questions that might be thrown at you, some of which are intended to test your maturity and your ability to think on your feet:
- What is the most useful thing you’ve learned from your past jobs?
- Why is now a good time to earn your MBA?
- What are your expectations from the MBA?
- Tell me about a time when you failed at something. What did you learn?
- What is your definition of leadership? Do you have these qualities?
- Why should we admit you to our program?
- How would your co-workers describe you?
- What is an activity that you are involved in, and why is it important to you?
- What will you do if you are not accepted to any school this year?
- Describe an ethical dilemma you faced at work. What did you do?
These questions are not designed to exclude you or make you appear inept. But your interviewer does want to know how you react to a surprise question. This also happens in job interviews, as you will discover. Do you fall apart? Break out in a nervous sweat? Do you forget your vocabulary or stumble over your words?
As I tell all my clients, the school has invited you to interview because they are interested in you. So put your best foot forward, and prepare to show them what you’ve got and why they should select you. It is perfectly okay to respond to a surprise question by saying, “That is an interesting question. May I have a moment to think about the best example?” They will appreciate your thoughtfulness – just don’t take too long to come up with an answer!
Final tips for the interview
Here is some additional advice for when you are preparing for your MBA interview:
- If you are doing a video interview, be sure to maintain eye contact with the camera. Smile and be friendly, but not overly so.
- Have good lighting in front of you, not behind you, or your face will be in shadow, and they won’t be able to read your facial expressions.
- Pay attention to your background – no clutter or mirrors. A blank wall or curtain is best.
- Lock the door, or find a private spot so no one can interrupt you.
- Check the audio and video before you start the interview. You might need to use a headset to avoid an echo.
- Ensure that you have a stable internet connection. Turn off any devices that might be streaming (e.g., television, iPad) as well as all browsers and applications on your computer so your internet feed is directed only to Zoom (or Skype).
- A key to help you remember what you want to say is to organize your examples by three – have three main points for each example, when possible. If your answer is short, one or two points is okay.
- Use the STAR technique – Situation, Task, Action, and Result – to tell your story in a logical and concise manner.
- Dress as you would for a business interview – no tee-shirts or hoodies, please!
- Finally, be brief, and respond only to the question asked!
We hope that this information is helpful and will set you on the path to a fabulous interview. For further help, sign up for a free consultation with one of our consultants. We will guide you toward the best answers and steer you away from pitfalls.
Dr. Christie St-John has more than 25 years of higher ed and admissions experience, including ten years in admissions at Dartmouth Tuck. She was formerly the director of MBA recruiting and admissions, director of international relations, and an adjunct faculty member at Vanderbilt University. Having also served on the board of directors of the MBA Career Services & Employer Alliance and the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Management, Christie has a deep knowledge of MBA and other graduate admissions. Want Christie to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!
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