The MBA Interview
So you have done your undergraduate degree, you have written the GMAT and now you have an appointment for your MBA Interview. What do you do next? That is the problem you are hoping to have. How do you prepare for it? How do you even get to that stage? Relax. You have been preparing for it your whole life. Now you can learn to put the finishing touches on those preparations. It can be done. Luckily for you, help is available. So here are the basics.
Right off the bat you need to do a little self-evaluation and determine your strengths and weaknesses. Who are you? Have you ever clearly expressed who you believe you are and who you want to be? If you haven’t, it is time to do so. If you can’t answer those questions for yourself, you will never convince an admissions officer that you want to attend their school. They hold MBA Interviews all day long. They are experts at picking up little tell-tale signs of discomfort. Body language that says you really don’t believe in yourself. They see you looking at the ground and they guess that you are trying to fabricate a story. They are faced with utter silence when you can’t come up with an answer and they may think you just weren’t motivated enough to prepare for the work ahead.
When you get a somewhat clear image of the road ahead, you are ready to get on with it. The MBA Interview is just one of the steps of the application process but it is an important one. The interview verifies what the admissions officers have seen in your essays, grades, test scores and resume. It gives them a chance to judge whether the person sitting in front of them matches the picture those written documents painted and to explore the person behind those pages. It is your time to shine, to show them the unique individual that you are, the one that can add another dimension to their student body.
Be very meticulous when you draw up your written application documents . Make certain you can match the expectations you created during your MBA Interview. Talk about your job experiences with confidence. Turn everything you did or learned into a valuable tool you now possess. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Practicing this would be very beneficial. Get some coworkers to practice with you. Set up mock interviews. Tell them that you want them to ask you the tough questions. What are your weaknesses? Not only is that a common interview question, you will want to ask the people who practice with you.
Body language is also very important. When you do your practice run, do a check list with your mock interviewer. Did they notice that you tap with your fingers constantly? Did you stutter? Did you look them in the eyes? Were you so anxious you sounded like an auctioneer, speeding your way through the answers? These are the things you need to find out now. Let the people who agreed to practice know that you are looking for this kind of feedback so they pay attention to it. You want to work on eliminating bad habits before your MBA Interview. If you find you perform well when practicing with friends try to set up a practice interview with someone you don’t know. There are college alumni who are happy to help with this.
