Interview Season

By now, you should receive an email or call for Admission interview, if you have submitted your MBA application. What should you do next?

Review. Reread your application forms (I hope you have printed or PDFed a copy before you click the "Submit" button, application essays and resume(s). It is important you know what you have written to each school. Typically, each candidate would submit 2-3 applications to his/her "favorite" business schools and receive calls/emails for personal interview around the same time. When that happens, you don't want to be caught off guard saying things that were meant for School A to School B.

Rehearse. Now, talk to your mentor or recommender and ask him/her to do a mock interview with you. It is good that you have someone experienced in conducting interviews or have attended business school to ask you some of the typical questions. Each school has their unique set of questions but most of them should cover the followings:

a. Tell me/us about yourself.
b. Tell me/us about your career progression.
c. What did you choose our school and/or our MBA instead of doing in your own country?
d. Why Country X?
e. Why do you need an International MBA?
f. Share with me/us your international working experiences.
g. Why did you choose to do your undergraduate in this school and/or country?
h. If you are not admitted, what would you do?

The above list is not exhaustive. I am sure my fellow GMATers and readers can share more. For some schools, you are thrown more challenging questions or even do a 5- or 10-minute presentation.

Receptive. As a potential business graduate, you must be aware of the events around you - in your country and more so, around the world. Thus, you must read well and able to articulate your opinions/ideas. What are the common themes these days? Global warming, corporate social responsibility and sustainability, financial crisis, corporate ethics, etc. Some schools are strong in a particular area; so, expect some questions that are aligned with the school's current focus.

Now, the final question in most applicants' mind is: Should I do a telephone/video conferencing interview or visit the school? Depends on your budget and your confidence. If you really want to get into that school and have confidence of getting in (after all, you have been called for interview; those not necessary the interview means a likely acceptance), please make that small "investment". Show your sincerity and eagerness. Demonstrate to the Admissions Committee that you have what it takes and a worthy candidate. It is hard to sell yourself to the Admissions Committee over the phone. Body language and your voice play a part in projecting your enthusiasm. It's easier to convince the other party when you meet face-to-face. The same goes for interview with a local alumni.

I wish you all the best in your MBA admission.


Jimmy Low

Interviews!!

Q. What comes after GMAT and application essays?
A. Interviews!!

Some schools interview all applicants who apply while others screen through the application packages and invite applicants for an interview. All good schools interview admitted students though so if you are aiming for the top 100 schools you will probably have to face the ad com.

Getting an interview invite indicates that the school is interested enough in you for the ad com to invest time and money to interview you. That's great news!

An interview though isn't a make or break deal. Often times, a good interview isn't a guarantee that an admit will be forthcoming. Likewise, if your nerves were all over the place during the interview, don't lose hope! Most of the time, schools look at the entire application package and the competitiveness of the next intake before making a decision.

An MBA admissions interview is like any other job interview. You need to prepare for it and thankfully, the internet is a tome of information for those who are interested in big US and European schools. One very useful resource is ClearAdmit's blog. You can also surf through forums (PagalGuy and GMATClub are very supportive and active communities) and plow through every Google result.

Besides the online resources above, here are some of my observations and strategies:-

• Prepare yourself for the interview by selecting a few 'experiences' that you have and weave a theme around those experience (e.g. led new team, leadership; restructured IT policies, conflict resolution; etc.)
  
• Understand the school's culture. If the school is big on leadership, expect to have some questions. If it's internationalism or diversity, highlight any 'cross cultural' work you've done.
  
• Read the school brochure, talk to their marketing people, hit every link on the school's website. The worse thing that you can do is to turn up for the interview and know zilch about the school.
• Be clear on your goals and why you want to do the MBA now.
• Prepare a short informal introduction of yourself
• Be prepared to address any gaps in your application (low undergrad scores, frequent career change etc.)
• Lastly, stay calm and tell yourself it's a conversation where both parties are mutually engaged.

Oh and if you do want to practice your interviews, you can approach any one of us. That's what GMAT Malaysia is for!

Happy holidays :)