Thursday, January 8, 2009

MBA Admissions Interviews - What to Expect

At this time of year we tend to get a lot of questions about the MBA admissions interview process. If you have been invited to interview with one of your target business schools (congratulations!), then here are the main types of questions you can expect to hear:

  • High-level questions about you

  • Just like in a typical job interview, your interviewer will often start things off with "Walk me through your resume" or "Tell me about yourself." This is your chance to take control of the admissions interview and explicitly state the two or three core messages that you want to get across. Practice is critical here -- you will want to develop and rehearse an two-three minute "elevator pitch" that describes your background, highlights your strengths, and provides a story beyond the plain facts stated on your resume.


  • Questions about why you want to go to business school and your career goals

  • A good elevator pitch will likely cover these questions some, but expect the interviewer to probe more deeply here. These questions also give you the chance to answer why you want to specifically go to the school in question, and the research that you do on the school will pay off here. You don't want to go overboard, but citing a few specifics about the program will show the interviewer that you've done your research and are sincerely interested in the school. The interviewer may also ask, "Where else are you applying?" Our advice is to be honest here -- just make sure you have a good reason for applying to each of your target schools.


  • Questions about specific experiences in your background

  • Some schools will spend a majority of the interview in this area in order to better understand your background. These are the questions that famously start with, "Tell me about a time when..." These questions can cover all of the four applicant dimensions that we discuss in Your MBA Game Plan -- maturity, leadership, innovation, and teamwork. Your job here is to call on specific examples from your past, not to talk in hypothetical generalities. Use the "SAR" method: Situation (what the challenge or opportunity was), Action (what YOU specifically did), and Result (what you achieved through your action).

Good luck in your interview! If you want more hands-on help, take a look at Veritas Prep's MBA interview preparation services. Also, Your MBA Game Plan contains dozens of sample MBA interview questions to help you get ready.