MBA interview 面试大全--How to get into the top MBA programs

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1. 本资料来源于英文版《How to get into the top MBA programs》,作者为Richard Montauk.
2. 文件内容包括对面试的准备，问题列表，面试后的跟踪等。


INTERVIEWS
EXECUTWE SUMMARY

1.        Establish your objectives: conveying a good impression, imparting your strengths, demonstrating your knowledge, gaining information.
2.        Prepare yourself by:
—        Learning the most likely questions
—        Knowing yourself and your qualifications vis-a-vis those of others
—        Knowing the school
—        Readying your own questions.
3.        Practice via mock interviews, videotaping them if possible.
4.        Familiarize yourself with the do’s and don’ts of interviewing.

INTRODUCTION

More and more schools are interviewing most or all of the applicants they are seriously considering admitting. There are several reasons for this. One is that the greater emphasis upon “soft skills” in MBA programs means that an applicant’s personality and social skills are more important than they were in the past second reason is that a person’s interviewing ability is a very good indicator of how attractive he or she will be to employers at the end of the MBA course. An applicant with good “paper” credential will be unattractive to a school to the extent that he or she is likely to be regarded as a loser by employers later on. A third reason for interviewing is that schools can market themselves better by meeting individually with applicants. This is particularly relevant for the elite schools, which tend to feel that they are all chasing the same few thousand absolutely outstanding candidates. These schools welcome the chance to get a jump on their rivals by better assessing candidates and by promoting themselves to their top choices.

Interviews offer schools the chance to learn much more about applicants. Some things are not readily determinable without a face-to-face meeting. These include your appearance, charm, persuasiveness, presence, and business mien. Interviews also provide an opportunity to probe areas insufficiently explained in the application.

Nevertheless, the interviewing policy of schools is not uniform. Kellogg and Michigan, for example, interview nearly all of their applicants, whereas Stanford and Texas interview none of theirs. Numerous other schools interview only those candidates who have passed their initial checks, whereas others interview only those who are borderline candidates—strong enough to warrant a close look, but not so strong that they will be admitted without an interview.

Some schools use only admissions officers to conduct their interviews, whereas others use alumni extensively, and still others use second-year students. The schools that rely on admissions officers alone are obviously unable to do in-person interviews with all applicants1 due to the time and logistical constraints. For example, there is the problem of interviewing the candidate who is immersed in a round-the-clock project at a remote site on the north shore of Sumatra. Some get round this by doing telephone interviews; others simply evaluate the candidate on the basis of the file alone.

The need to do so many interviews results in (admissions office) concerns about the confidentiality of information revealed in the application. This is particularly true for those schools that use second-year students to conduct interviews. Many schools resolve these concerns by giving interviewers nothing more than an applicant’s résumé (and thus none of the essays or recommendations) prior to an interview. Others have students and alums sign confidentiality agreements concerning the content of applications.

SHOULD YOU INTERVIEW IF YOU ARE GIVEN THE CHOICE?

Most people feel that they interview quite well, but the reality is vastly different. To become a good interviewee, you need to understand in advance what points you want to put across, what questions you are likely to be asked, and how to maximize your presentation to satisfy your needs and those of your interviewer. The keys to doing all this are to analyze what you will confront and then to practice performing under realistic conditions. Doing this will help you to avoid going blank, letting slip things you intended to avoid, forgetting to mention important points, or being unable to keep the interview flowing in a comfortable fashion.
If a school requests that you interview with them, it is ordinarily a mistake not to do so. Failing to interview may be taken as an indication of a lack of interest in the school or a tacit admission that you do poorly in one-on-one situations due to shyness or nervousness (or worse). There are often logistical considerations, of course, and schools are aware that it may not be realistic to expect you to travel 5,000 miles for a Wednesday morning interview, since it might necessitate your missing several days of work. The logistical barrier is not as great as it once was, however, now that schools have their representatives travel to most major cities and regions on a regular basis, or use alumni representatives to interview on their behalf.

Although it is generally appropriate to interview, if you are sure to make a poor impression, either improve your interviewing abilities or maneuver to avoid an interview. The people who should avoid an interview are those who are pathologically shy, whose language abilities will crack under the strain, or who are so contentious that they will inevitably get into a verbal battle with their interviewers. (Unfortunately, nearly everyone thinks that he or she interviews well. Very few people will eliminate themselves on the basis of poor interviewing abilities.)

INTERVIEW THEORY

Interview theory, seen from the school’s perspective, can help you to understand how you will be evaluated and why. The underlying tenet of selection theory is that past behavior and success are the most trustworthy factors for predicting future behavior and success. Schools will attempt to determine how you acted in the past, and with what degree of success, in order to predict how you will act— and succeed—in the future.

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BEFORE THE INTERVIEW

ESTABLISHING YOUR OBJECTIVES FOR THE INTERVIEW

The interview is important for all-too-obvious reasons. The fact that the school emphasizes the interview means that you have the opportunity to market yourself in a format in which most people do very little good for themselves. Some candidates are afraid of the interview and set themselves hopelessly limited objectives for it. They hope to get through it without embarrassing themselves. Or they hope that the interviewer likes them. You have the chance to make a very positive impression that will further your marketing efforts, so it is up to you to seize it. Do not simply hope to survive the interview; be determined to achieve positive results. Use it to reinforce all of your other positioning efforts.
You already have a marketing strategy in place, so go back to it when you are considering what you hope to accomplish in the interview. If you have positioned yourself as a true entrepreneur with great understanding of emerging technologies, for example, this positioning strategy will help you think through the interview and how to prepare for it.

Ask yourself the following questions at the start of your preparations:

1. How do you want the interviewer to think of you? What specific impressions, and information, do you want her to carry away from the interview?
2. How can you reinforce your strengths and address your key weakness(es)?
3. How can you show that you know a great deal about the school—that you are well prepared for the interview?
How can you learn whatever you need to know to decide which school to attend?

PREPARING FOR THE INTERVIEW

You should be mentally prepared to deal with four aspects of any interview. The first is understanding the format of a typical meeting as well as the special types of interviews that you may confront. You also must know what your objectives are, what the school offers, and what questions they are likely to ask.

1.        TYPICAL FORMAT

No matter what type of interview is involved the format is likely to include:
        Welcome
        A few easy questions, perhaps about how you are, was it easy to find the location, and so forth
        Some comments about the school
        Detailed questions, perhaps tracking your educational and then work history, or your responses on the school’s application form
        The chance to ask questions
        Conclusion

The first minutes of an interview may not involve substantive discussion, but they are likely to be important in forming the interviewer’s impression of you. Therefore do your best to appear confident and pleasant even before you get to the heart of the interview.
The typical interview will last thirty to sixty minutes, although if it is with an alum it may be longer. In fact, alumni tend to differ from other interviewers insofar as they are generally chattier, more interested in selling the school, and less interested in “grilling” applicants than either admissions officers or students are. Admissions officers, in contrast, tend to run a smooth interview and are likely to be extremely focused and to keep interviews very short (typically thirty minutes). Students are typically less smooth, ask very tough questions, and tend to assess applicants in terms of whether they would be an asset to the student’s study group.

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2.        YOU AND YOUR OBJECTIVES

The University of Chicago uses the following interview evaluation form. It lays out very clearly the areas that are of interest to the school and thus the qualities you will want to show.

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INTERVIEW EVALUATION FORM

Clear Communication Skills
Conveys thoughts and information in a clear organized way
Succinct; to the point
Good, active listener
Appropriate depth in answers
Persuasive; “sells” ideas well
Provides clear explanations
Appropriate expressiveness         Weak Communication Skills
Unclear; hard to follow
Goes off on tangents
Rambles, verbose
Too brief; information has to be drawn out
Overly factual; monotonous
Makes too many assumptions; not sensitive to needs of audience
Shows little or no emotion
Intellectually Curious
Asks probing questions
Exhibits an eagerness to learn
Open-minded
Seeks out new challenges and opportunities
Looks for unique ways to solve problems
Exhibits a broad interest pattern
Applies self fully; well disciplined
Curious about and understands key aspects of our program         Lacks Curiosity
Appears apathetic
Tends not to question or probe
Appears to be a “know it all”
Narrow in outlook
Intellectually lazy; may be bright but doesn’t push self
Too often goes the “tried-and-true” way Naive about our program or MBA
programs in general
Strong Social Skills
Personable
Seems friendly and at ease with others
Appropriately assertive; states opinions tactfully
Qgoiig; enjoys being with others
Cooperates within a team environment
Strives for leadership positions
Appropriate dominance in group environments
Good sense of humor
Appreciates humor of others
Shows enthusiasm and positive emotions         Poor Social Skills
Sarcastic, biting humor
Overly serious; formal
Loner; overly shy and quiet
Overbearing; domineering
Overly self-oriented
Distant; cold
Lacks tact; blunt
Avoids conflict
Overly critical or negative
Self-Confident
Projects a positive, professional image and attitude
Speaks with conviction
Handles self well in interpersonal confrontation
Confident of intellectual skills
Looks forward to intellectual challenges and new learning opportunities
Takes pride in accomplishments         Lacks Self-Confidence
Arrogant or cocky
Overly tentative; hesitant
Avoids eye contact
Easily threatened or intimidated
Overly concerned about academic challenges
Overly critical or negative
Stays nervous; anxious throughout interview
Committed to Building Relationships
Participates in groups
Seeks out relationships
Active in formal and informal organizations
Concerned about giving back to the organization or group
Thkes pride in past affiliations
Approaches new environments with vigor and passion
Gets involved in community service and extracurricular activities         Not Relationship-Oriented
Uninvolved with others
Not a social joiner
Just concerned about what he takes out of groups
Waits for others to organize groups and events
Lacks interest in outside activities
Hard-working
Persistent; goes the extra step
Exhibits drive and determination
Willing to sacrifice
‘lakes initiative; doesn’t wait for others’ direction
Enjoys and seeks out responsibility
High quality orientation
Views problems as challenges
High energy level
Goal-oriented
Ambitious         Lacks Persistence
Overly concerned with short-term pleasures
Complacent; coasts along
Thkes path of least resistance
Gets overly frustrated with obstacles
Low energy or overly hyper
Drifts; lacks ambition
Does not have well-defined career goals or direction
Independent
Enjoys autonomy
Likes to be in control of situations
Self-sufficient
Comfortable working within ambiguous situations
Able to develop own goals and focuses well        Dependent
Looks too much to others for direction or guidance
Seeks out structure
Poorly focused; easily distracted
Flexible
Responsive to changing priorities
Able to juggle several tasks at once
Deals well with the ups and downs of academic and corporate life
Takes setbacks in stride        Inflexible or Overly Flexible
Overly concerned about things being a certain way
Flusters easily with obstacles
Rigid in beliefs
Wishy-washy

Summary Evaluation

Based on your comments and what you know about our school and its students and graduates, do you:
Feel that this person has well-thought-out reasons for getting an MBA? (Yes No Unsure)
Agree that this individual is a good match with our program? (Yes No Unsure)
Agree that this individual has a good understanding of our program? (Yes No Unsure)
Feel that this individual would attend our program if admitted? (Yes No Unsure)
Want this person in your class or organization? (Yes No Unsure)
Vote to admit this person to the program? (Yes No Unsure)

Overall Comments:

Please document the substance of your conversation with the applicant and your evaluation of the candidate. Please add any additional thoughts, positive or negative, which would assist us in making an informed admission decision.
This evaluation form may not capture everything that could be relevant in a candidate, but certainly captures enough to show you the way in which a school will assess you. Other schools, of course, have their own approaches, but these, without exception, are similar to the one shown above. The primary differences are that some schools use much briefer evaluation forms, whereas others highlight something particularly important to their own programs. Some of the programs that feature heavy quantitative demands probe applicants’ experience using various quantitative techniques. One European school assesses candidates’ internationalism. It focuses on language skills, understanding of other cultures, experience working in different cultures, and interest in the program’s international dimensions.

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3. KNOWING THE SCHOOL

Chapter 5, “How to Choose the Right School for You,” examined many criteria relevant to that decision. It also detailed how to find the information necessary for making a well-informed decision. Let’s assume that you have read that chapter and followed its advice prior to applying. Now that you are preparing for school interviews it would be a good idea to review the information you put together on each school you plan to interview with. In particular, you should be extremely familiar with the information that the school publishes about itself. If you tell the interviewer that you plan to major in international business, but the school offers no such major, you will look foolish.

If you are going to interview at the school itself, try to spend several hours in advance exploring the school and its environs. Talk with people in the cafeteria or lounge, paying attention to the attitudes they evince. Are they generally pleased with the school? Do they respect most of their professors? Do they think that the placement office is doing its job? Are there any particular problems concerning the facility itself, such as crime or lack of late-night restaurants that might matter to you? It always impresses an interviewer to see that you have taken the time and effort to examine the school up close rather than just reading some materials on it. Knowing what type of housing is available, or which professors students maneuver to take classes from, is the sort of thing that shows you to be both determined and resourceful. It also helps you to develop good questions to ask the interviewer without sounding artificial. Even if you are not interviewing on campus, take advantage of any opportunities to visit schools for precisely these reasons. (Interviewers invariably spot the applicants who have done their homework by visiting the school and learning what its program is really like.)

One last point: if you find out which specific person will be interviewing you, ask people you know who interviewed with the same school to see how the interview was conducted. How formal or informal was it? How rapid-fire? How long? How much was the interviewee expected to initiate, rather than just respond to, questions? How friendly was the interviewer? If you know how this person likes to conduct interviews you will be able to prepare more specifically.

The advantages of knowing the school thoroughly include:

        You will know that you are prepared, enabling you to relax somewhat during the interview.
        You will be able to ask intelligent questions about the school, thereby impressing the interviewer.
        You will show yourself as being highly motivated, concerned about your career, and in possession of the right work ethic, which will impress your interviewer.

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4. ANTICIPATING THE QUESTIONS
The interviewer is likely to have two types of questions to ask you. One type is the set of questions she uses for everyone, such as, “Why do you want to attend school X?” The other type is a response to your résumé or file. If you have claimed to have had some marvelous successes, she may wish to probe to make sure that you have not exaggerated the results. Or she may wish to probe for gaps or weaknesses in your career to date. For example, one of the standard things to seek in a résumé is a period of unaccounted-for time. If such a time gap exists in your application, expect to be asked what you were doing then.

MOST LIKELY QUESTIONS

Tell me about yourself.
What are your career goals?
Why do you want an MBA?
Why do want to attend this school?
Why should we accept you?
What would you add to the program?
What are your greatest achievements?
What questions do you have?

The easiest question to prepare for is, “Do you have any questions?” Most interviewers will give you the opportunity to ask a few questions. You should be ready with three to five questions that reflect your concerns about the school. Keep these in your head rather than on paper, because having to look at your notes will slow the interview down and make it look as though you cannot remember even a few questions.
Another set of questions to expect is anything from the list of essay questions (which were analyzed exhaustively in a prior chapter). Prior to interviewing, review not only the questions you had to answer for this school—and, of course, your answers, since the interviewer may have read your essay answers shortly before interviewing you—but also those you answered for other schools and even those you did not have to answer for any program you applied to. Consider how you would have answered those too.

THE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

The Chicago interview evaluation form reprinted above suggests some of the questions you can expect. In general, two types of approaches are common. In the first, you are asked more or less directly about the trait or competence the interviewer is interested in. For example, when trying to get a handle on your degree of independence, the direct interviewer might ask simply,” How much supervision and direction do you prefer?” The second approach tries o elicit information that will also allow the interviewer to determine whether, for example, you “strive for leadership positions.”_but it does so much less directly. In this case, the interviewer is likely to focus on various aspects of your past and current experience—in terms of your education, career, and personal life—to see how much supervision and direction you have had in various projects and whether that amount suited you. The questions that generate this information are likely to be more general, along the lines of, “Regarding that cost analysis project, what sort of relationship did you have with your boss? What did you like and dislike about this relationship?”

These more open-ended questions, where the focus is not made so obvious, are by now standard interviewing procedure. The more experienced the interviewer, and the more time she has available, the more likely she is to use the indirect approach.

You can prepare for both approaches by examining the following list, which covers the most common questions asked on each major topic—education, career, management orientation, goals, and personal life. Of course other questions are possible, but if you are prepared to respond coherently and consistently to each of the following, you will be ready for just about anything else you will encounter as well. Preparing for the following will force you to think through the main issues that are of interest to business schools.

UNIVERSITY EDUCATION (REPEAT FOR GRADUATE PROGRAMS AS APPROPRIATE)

Which school did you attend?
Why did you choose that one?
(Regarding a lesser quality school) Don’t you worry that you will be overwhelmed by the quality of students attending our program?
Which factors most influenced your choice?
What was your major? Why?
In hindsight, are you glad you chose that school? What would you change now if you could? Why?
In hindsight, are you glad you chose that major? What would you choose instead if you could do it over again?
How many hours each week did you study?
Which courses did you do best in? Why?
Which courses did you do worst in? Why?
Do your grades reflect your abilities? If not, why did you not do better?
In what ways did your education prepare you, or fail to prepare you, for your career to date?
What did you most enjoy about college?
What did you least enjoy about college?
What extracurricular activities did you participate in? What was your role and contribution for each?
How did you pay for your education?
How would you describe yourself as a college student? Is this still true about you?


GENERAL TIPS REGARDING UNIVERSITY EDUCATION

1. Avoid portraying your university days as a social experience rather than an intellectual one if at all possible.
2. If your record is poor, show that you have since gotten serious.
3. Show that you were committed to learning, whether for its own sake or for the sake of your career.
4. If you have changed your goals or interests several times, show that you have been serious about at least one of them while pursuing it.
5. Portray both your academic interests and your extracurricular activities in terms of their contribution to your current (or then current) career interests.
6. Discuss your leadership experiences.
7. As to changes you might make if given the opportunity to do it all over again, a safe answer is one that would better prepare you for your eventual career, such as by providing further grounding in econometrics or multidimensional scaling if you are currently a marketing researcher.
8. If you are interviewing for admission to a part-time program, do not try to excuse a mediocre undergraduate performance by explaining that you were unable to focus well due to the need to work part-time as well as study. This combination of work and study will be your fate once again in the part- time program.

WORK EXPERIENCE (TO BE REPEATED AS APPROPRIATE FOR DIFFERENT COMPANIES AND JOBS HELD)

Why did you choose this profession?
Why did you choose this firm?
What is your job title? To whom do you report?
What are your key responsibilities?
What and whom do you manage directly?
Describe the financial aspects of your job: budget, revenues, costs, return on assets employed.
What are the key technical challenges of your job? Managerial challenges?
What do you do best/worst in your job? Why?
How could you improve your performance? What actions have you taken to make these improvements?
What have your major successes been? What financial or other impact have these had?
Did you achieve these on your own? Who else was involved? How? What have you done that best shows your willingness to work hard/take initiative/innovate/exceed expectations?
How many hours per week do you work?
What do you like most/least about your position? Why?
What are the biggest challenges your unit faces? What are you doing to meet these challenges?
Where is your industry headed in the next five years?
Describe your relationship with your boss. What is good and bad about it? (Repeat for prior bosses)
How well are you rated by your boss? What does he or she most/least like about your performance?
Describe a failure on the job.
What are you doing to address your failings?
What would you change about your job?
How does your performance compare with that of others at similar levels in the company?
Describe your salary progression to date. How does this compare with that of others at similar levels in the company?

GENERAL TIPS REGARDING WORK EXPERIENCE

1. When discussing your boss, your description of what was good and bad about him will probably make it clear what you need, and also what you cannot tolerate, in a boss. This also says a lot about your own strengths and weaknesses.

2. Even when describing the characteristics you do not like in your boss, try to be reasonably sympathetic; otherwise you risk sounding like a malcontent.

3. Any job change should have been motivated by a desire for more challenges, more responsibility, the chance to grow, and so on. In other words, emphasize the positive, forward-looking reasons for making the change. Avoid the negative, backward-looking reasons for the change, such as being unappreciated, underpaid, or disliked by your boss.

4. If you were fired, confess to this fact if necessary, but be sure to note what you learned from the experience.

5. Working less than eek may suggest that you are insufficiently motivated. A good answer will establish that you work as hard as necessary to achieve your objective

6. Portray yourself as one who tries to meet or exceed the objective with as little time and effort as possible. You consider different approaches and look to improve whatever systems are in place if such a change will make it possible to achieve such results with less effort in the future.

MANAGERIAL ORIENTATION

What is your management philosophy?
What is your managerial style? What aspects of it do you wish to change?
What have you done to develop those under you?
How much do you control those under you? How much freedom do you give them? How do you motivate them?
What do you do best/worst as a manager?
Are you a better leader or follower?
What would your subordinates say about you as a manager? Why?

GENERAL TIPS REGARDING MANAGERIAL ORIENTATION

1. Any response that chooses one managerial style over another is a mistake. Respond that this is situation-dependent.
2. When you are the person in a group who is most knowledgeable about a given situation, you take the lead, but you defer to others when appropriate.
3. You are very much output-oriented and not overly fussy about the rile you play in a team, although you generally end up taking on a great deal of responsibility since you seem to welcome it and its challenges more than most do.

GOALS

What do you want to be doing in five years’ time? Ten years? Twenty-five years?
What do you want to accomplish in life?
How have your goals changed in recent years?
Why do you want an MBA? What do you expect to get from it?
Which other schools are you applying to? Why? Why so many/few?
How did you choose these schools?
Which school is your first choice? Why?
What if you are not accepted at a top school?

GENERAL TIPS REGARDING GOALS

1. You want to show that you are committed to career success.
2. Showing that you have thought long and hard about your future career demonstrates your seriousness of purpose.
3. Regarding your long term goals, do not say that you want to lie on a beach somewhere. Saying this would show you to be overly stressed already, hardly an ideal attribute for someone trying to get into a challenging MBA program. Discuss instead how you arrived at your chosen goal in light of a consideration of your relative strengths and weakness, what you most enjoy, your background and desires, etc.

PERSONAL

Tell me about yourself.
What publications do you regularly read? Why?
What books have you read recently? What impressed you about that one? What have you done to keep yourself current, or to develop your skills, in your field?
How do you feel about:
— China’s advent upon the world stage?
— African internecine warfare?
— (Anything else on the front pages, especially if it relates to your home region or that of the school?)
How do you spend your time outside of work?
Is your current balance among career, family, friends, and interests the right one for you over the long term?
What activity do you enjoy the most? Why?
Who most influenced you when you were growing up? How?
Who are your heroes? Why?
What competitive sports have you participated in? Did you enjoy them? Are you competitive by nature?


GENERAL TIPS REGARDING PERSONAL QUESTIONS

1. When describing yourself, or what your long term goals are, be sure that a large part of your response focuses upon your career.
2. Take every opportunity to show that you are highly achievement oriented and do what you can to develop both personally and professionally.
3. At the same time, show yourself to be a sensible and well-balanced person with compelling outside interests, including but not limited to family and friends.
4. When talking about your interests, it does not much matter whether you read science fiction, monographs about the Napoleonic wars, or locked room mysteries, as long as you show that you are knowledgeable and enthusiastic regarding whatever you pursue.
5. These questions provide a natural opportunity to subtly strengthen your chosen positioning.

OTHER

Is there anything else you would like us to know about you?

GENERAL TIP REGARDING OTHER QUESTIONS

1.        Remember your pre-interview objectives. If you intended to put across several major points, ask yourself whether you have succeeded in doing so. If you have, do not feel compelled to add anything. On the other hand, if you have not, mention briefly but persuasively the points you wished to make along with the supporting examples or illustrations you intended to use.

PREPARING TO DESCRIBE KEY EVENTS

You should be ready to discuss major and minor milestones in your personal, educational, and professional life. Some interviewers prefer to ask very general, open-ended questions to learn how well you can develop an organized, intelligent response. Questions of this nature often revolve around major events interviewers glean from your résumé or application. Prepare yourself by reviewing the relevant aspects of each event you expect to discuss. In the case of a successful business project, for example, you would want to recall:

The project’s initial objective
Who originated it
Who was in charge
The resources available
The timetable
The activities undertaken

Your role

— What you did well and poorly, and why
— What skills you used
— What you would do differently in retrospect
Other people’s roles

The results

What went right and what did not, and why
Any conclusions this suggests about the department or company, whether of a strategic, operational, or organizational nature
It is a useful exercise to write down the half dozen (or dozen) most important incidents you expect to discuss on an index card, using this sort of approach for each. Carry these cards with you for reading when you are waiting or have a spare moment. Learn them well enough that you can produce a well-organized, apparently spontaneous summary of each of them at the drop of a hat, but do not memorize the stories by rote. Be prepared to be interrupted by the interviewer, and be ready to carry on with the story smoothly once you have answered his question.

WHAT DETERMINES THE LIKELIHOOD OF A GIVEN QUESTION BEING ASKED?

Questions are not generally asked without a reason. Some interviewers believe that certain questions should be asked of anyone, no matter what the person’s circumstances. In interviewing for MBA programs, the most likely questions concern why you want to get an MBA, why at this school, what other schools you are considering, what you think you will contribute while at school X, and what you intend to do professionally in the near and long terms.

The other determinant of questions is, of course, you. Your background invites questions that rnay be quite different from those that would be asked of someone else. If you are in a nonbusiness field that seldom produces MBA candidates, you can expect questions concerning why you want an MBA. If you have a history of career success, but just got fired from your job, you can expect questions about what happened. If one of your credentials is relatively weak, you can expect questions about it. If you are an anglophone trying to get into a bilingual program, you can expect to have your second language probed.

A good interviewer, and often even a bad interviewer, will try to use the interview to learn as much relevant information as possible about you. Given that most interviewers will not have read your application, you can expect them to ask many of the same basic questions that appear on the various applications. One way to influence the course of an interview with someone who knows little about you is to take a résumé along. Most interviewers will use it as the basis for their questions, so they will ask about the items you choose to list on your résumé. They will also probe for internal inconsistencies (“Why were you paid so little if you were really in charge of the internal audit function?”) as well as checking things that sound inherently unlikely (“How is it that you were in charge of conducting an audit of the internal controls in operation in the whole Swedish subsidiary when you had never done anything even vaguely related to such a field?”).

The other items an interviewer will probe are things you and she have in common, or about which she is simply curious. (“What is the cheapest luxury trip down the Nile currently available?”) The more that an interviewer takes this approach, the easier the interview is likely to be. Discussing interests you share is likely to provide an opportunity to share enthusiasms, which is generally easier to handle than responding to probing questions about why you left a good job after just fifteen months. Be sure, however, to keep to your own objectives. You can still make the impression you want by being articulate and well organized even when just discussing trips on the Nile.

PRACTICE

There are two ways that you can practice your interviewing skills and responses. The first is by doing mock interviews with others who are applying, or someone else who appreciates what is involved. This is a good first step to understanding what an interview will be like. The quality of the experience will depend in large part upon how prepared your interviewing partner is. If you can find someone who is willing to read your application carefully, and perhaps even read this chapter, then you are ready to get a good interview. The ideal person to team up with would be someone who is applying to the same schools, but has a very different background from yours, and who is willing to be tough when necessary in the interview. It can be difficult to find the right person, of course. (It is partly for this reason that Education U.S.A. regularly does mock interviews with clients, if necessary by phone, to give them a realistic view of what to expect.) It is not only fair, but also good for you, to switch roles with your partner. If you have to read her essays and data sheets with an eye to seeing what her strengths and weaknesses are, what she will contribute to the program, and the like, you will more readily understand how someone else will do this with you.

Your interview partner can tell you which responses were convincing and which were not (and why). Be persistent and force your interview partner to be specific in noting what worked and what did not. After all, the point is not what you say but what your interviewer hears that determines the success of your interview In fact, simply saying things out loud will often cause you to hear what is not right. Speaking out loud often makes it clear that you are wandering instead of being focused, trying too hard to excuse some prior mistake, or pleading rather than convincing. Tape recording your practice sessions will make this apparent.

If you can videotape your practice interviews, by all means do so. Seeing yourself in action will help you to eliminate extreme gestures and repetitive phrasings. Particularly annoying is the idiotic-sounding, inappropriate use of “like” and “you know.” Wear your interview outfit to make sure that it too passes muster.

The second means of practicing is to be sure that you interview first with the schools that matter least to you. If you are applying to three “likely” choices, make sure that your first two interviews are with schools in this category rather than the “possibles” or “stretches.” This allows you to develop and refine your pitch and get rid of your first interview nerves without too much at stake.

It is a good idea to use both of these approaches if you can. Maximize the potential benefits by debriefing your partner, or yourself when you interviewed with a school, to be sure that you understand what worked and what needed more thought, and why.

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PHYSICAL PREPARATIONS
PHYSICAL ENERGY

        Get plenty of sleep the two nights before the interview.

        Eat a solid breakfast or lunch on the day, so that you do not run out of energy

APPEARANCE

        Arrive at the actual site slightly before the allotted time so that you do not need to rush and get nervous as a result. Find the restroom and check your appearance. Make sure that your hair is combed, tie straight and completely covered in back by the collar of your shirt.

        Make sure that your lipstick is not smudged, or on your teeth.

        Men should consider carrying an extra tie and perhaps a shirt, in case something is spilled at lunch. Women, similarly, can carry extra stockings, in case of a run.

LOCATION

        Be sure that you know where the interview will take place and how to get there (and where to park).

OTHER

        Take your business cards, several copies of your résumé, and a copy of your application.

        Take a copy of the university’s brochure and other relevant information about the program to review if you get there early.

        Take the name and telephone number of your interviewer in case your car breaks down and you need to telephone her to notify her of your delay.

        Consider taking copies of the wonderful brochure you designed for your company, but do not take the two hundred pound, greasy widget that you manufacture.

STAYING RELAXED

A modest degree of nervousness is good because it gives you the energy to perform at your best. If you tend to be too nervous, try one of these techniques to keep yourself relaxed:

        Remind yourself that you have prepared thoroughly (assuming that this is the case) and that this preparation will see you through.

        Acting positive, by using the appropriate body language, will help you to feel the way you are acting. Positive body language involves keeping your head up, shoulders square, and eyes forward.

        A great friend of mine, before exams and cross country races, used to go off by himself and keep repeating, with concentration and intensity, “I am King Kong, I am King Kong.”

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DURING THE INTERVIEW

A considerable amount of the impact you have in an interview is achieved nonverbally; nonverbal messages may constitute over half of the message you deliver. As a result, it is highly appropriate to consider such factors as dress, physical comportment, and the like in order to maximize the chances of interview success.

DRESS

Business schools are inherently conservative places. The top graduates tend to go off into management consulting and investment banking, the professors con- suit to top multinational corporations, and the typical applicant is currently working in a corporate environment. This means that the style appropriate for a business school interview is a conservative one.

Rules for men:

        Wear clean, neatly pressed clothes and highly shined, black shoes. Socks should be black or navy blue and over the calf.

        Be sure that your clothes fit well. Be sure also that your clothes do not look as if you are wearing them for the first time, but they should not be so well worn that this is noticeable.

        Avoid wild colors or styles.

        Men will never go wrong wearing a conservative dark blue or gray suit with a white or blue shirt, or moderately striped shirt, and a conservative tie.

        Comb your hair and wear no cologne. It should go without saying that your shirt should be 100 percent cotton, long-sleeved, professionally cleaned and heavily starched. The tie should be pure silk and extend to the middle of your belt buckle.

Rules for women:

        Women should wear a suit or a dress, and no more than a modest amount of jewelry, makeup, and perfume.

        The length, color, and cut of your clothing are more fashion-dependent than is true for a man, but do not go wild.

        Try not to bring both a briefcase and purse because it is difficult to be graceful when carrying both.

        In the United States, wear pantyhose (no matter how hot the weather) and eschew bare arms.

Rules for men and women:

        Do not wear such ostentatiously expensive clothes that you might offend your interviewer. For example, leave the Hermes tie in the closet.

        Your briefcase should be of good leather, preferably brown or burgundy.

        Be sure that you have invested appropriately in mouthwash, deodorant, and other hygienic necessities.

        You want to be remembered for what you said, not for what you wore (or failed to wear).

BEHAVIOR
PHYSICAL BEHAVIOR

Your goal is to be considered self-confident and relaxed. You can show this by remaining poised and thoughtful throughout the interview.
The rules:

        Greet the interviewer with a smile, an extended hand, and a firm handshake (matching the interviewer’s pressure).

        Look the interviewer in the eye.

        Do not sit down until invited to do so.

        Do not put anything on the interviewer’s desk.

        Do not smoke, drink, or eat anything even if invited to do so—not even if the interviewer herself does. This can distract either you or the interviewer, perhaps showing you to be clumsy or worse, without any chance of improving her opinion of you. If the interviewer offers you a cigarette, decline politely but not judgmentally by saying, “No thank you.”

        Do not chew gum.

        Maintain a moderate amount of eye contact throughout the interview, perhaps 25 percent, but do not stare.

        Gesticulate moderately to make points, but do not go overboard.

        Remain physically stationary, without fidgeting. Interviewers often check your response to a tough question to see if you are exhibiting signs of nervousness ( or lying ).

        Maintain good rapport with the interviewer by being warm and smiling often. Do not, however, smile idiotically without stopping for the entire interview! Doing so will mark you as unbalanced or worse.

        Sit up straight, but not rigidly, and lean forward slightly. This will show that you are interested in what the interviewer has to say, and that you are businesslike.

        Listen carefully, and show that you are listening by nodding, grunting “uhhuh” occasionally, or saying, “I see” or “right.”

        Avoid crossing your arms, or folding your arms behind your head.

        Keep your voice well modulated, but alive. Speak at a normal speed; do not rush.

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ATTITUDES
The rules:

        Be upbeat. Be sure to emphasize your strengths. Do not discuss your weaknesses in any detail unless pushed to do so. And, never complain about anything that has befallen you. No complaint about a low GMAT score, or sickness during a math exam, or personality conflict with a boss or professor can improve an interviewer’s opinion of you.

        Ratter the interviewer, subtly. Although a good interviewer will have you do 75 percent to 80 percent of the talking, that does not mean that you will be excused for failing to listen to her.

Adopt an attitude similar to the interviewer’s. If your interviewer is deadly serious, avoid joking. If your interviewer is lighthearted and jocular, do not sit deadpan. In the first instance jocularity will make you seem frivolous, whereas in the latter instance seriousness will make you seem unintelligent.

Maintain more formality if your interviewer remains behind her desk throughout the interview, without even coming around to greet you initially.

        Treat the interviewer respectfully, but not too respectfully. Treat her as an equal, albeit one who temporarily is allowed to set the direction of the interview. Do not behave submissively.

Do not, however, use the interviewer’s first name unless and until told to do so.

        Relax and enjoy yourself. The relatively few people who enjoy interviews are those who view them as a chance to discuss important matters with an equal who happens to be interested in the same subjects. They view the interview as the time to learn more about the school as well as the chance to explain themselves.

A little nervousness is to be expected, but exhibiting substantial nervousness works against you insofar as a strong candidate is meant to believe himself well suited to interact at this level.

        Make sure that it is a conversation. A good interview resembles nothing so much as a conversation.
If there is a pause in the conversation, consider whether:

—        you have answered the question fully enough. If you suspect not, ask whether the interviewer would like you to add to the answer.
—        you should follow up with a question of your own related to the same subject.
—        you should simply sit quietly, without tension, with a pleasant smile.

Ask the interviewer questions to follow up on what she has said. This helps to build rapport and puts you on a more equal footing with her by getting you out of the role of interviewee answering questions. It is also the way normal conversations work, trading back and forth.

        Avoid sounding like a robot. If you follow this book’s suggestions and prepare thoroughly for your interviews, you run the risk of sounding preprogrammed rather than spontaneous. It is good to sound as though you have given thought to the relevant issues, but not as though you have memorized answers.

How can you avoid this problem? There are three keys. (1) Avoid a robotic monotone, or appearing to be reaching into your memory for what comes next in your rehearsed response. (2) Focus upon your interviewer. You should be able to remain relaxed, given that you know that you are well prepared, and this will allow you to stay focused upon how your interviewer is reacting to you. (3) Occasionally pause before you speak, seeming to get organized before starting.

        Look interested. Avoid looking at your watch.
Do not appear bored, no matter how long the interviewer is speaking.

        Do not ramble on. If your answer has gone on too long, cut your losses by briefly restating your main points.

HOW TO READ THE INTERVIEWER

The interviewer’s demeanor will help to reveal her reactions to the interview. Smiles and nods clearly suggest that she agrees with what you are saying, in which case, think about what you are doing right so you can do more of it. Perhaps your interviewer likes the fact that you are backing up your abstractions with solid examples. Maybe you are keeping your cool when being asked very tough questions.

Looking away from you, frowning, or constantly fiddling with papers or pens may reveal disagreement or a lack of interest. If you sense that you are losing the interviewer, try to get back on track by asking the interviewer a relevant question or making comments that are sure to be winners, such as some self-deprecating humor or mention of the incidents that you feel show you in your best light.

It is important to keep in mind whatever the interviewer says in her opening remarks, because they may give you good clues as to what she values.

If you are talking too much, your interviewer is likely to start looking away, looking at her watch, or asking such questions as “could you just summarize this part?”

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YOUR QUESTION TIME

A failure to ask questions if invited to do so risks leaving the impression that you either did not do your homework or do not particularly care whether the school admits you. Asking questions gives you the opportunity to show how knowledgeable you are about the process and the program as well as that you are taking a proactive approach to your career future.

If you are asked what questions you have, do not rush into asking them. If you have not yet had the opportunity to make one or two key points, ask if it would be acceptable to go back to the earlier question and then mention what you have just accomplished (or whatever). Even if these points are unrelated to any prior question, feel free to say, “I am glad to have the opportunity to ask you a couple of questions, but I hope you will forgive my wanting to mention two things that have come up since I applied. I think they might be relevant to the school’s decision making, after which I will continue with my questions.” Briefly mention the one or two points. Then go on to your questions.

Try to avoid questions that call for a yes or no response. To understand an area in depth, plan to ask several questions about it. One good way to do so is to ask your interviewer to compare, for example, her school and a major competitor (one that you are actively considering). She will probably mention several points, after which you can ask about one or more of them in greater detail, or ask her why she did not mention subject X.

If you think that the interviewer harbors major objections to you, try to get her to confess what it is she is concerned about, so that you can address her concerns, assuming that you have not yet had the opportunity to do so.

Some appropriate questions, in case you are stuck for something to ask, include:

        How do you expect the school to change in the near future?

        Has the character of the school changed in recent years? How? Why?

        Which top professors will be on sabbatical next year? Who will take their place?

If one reason for attending the school is that a certain professor teaches there, by all means ask whether the interviewer knows him or her, and if so, what he or she is like as a professor.

After asking several questions, if necessary you can fall back on the old
standby: “I had a number of questions when the interview started, but you have
covered them all.”

Do not try to baffle the interviewer with questions you know she won’t be able to answer. If she is an alum of the school, for example, she will not be privy to the school’s rationale for its recent decision not to offer tenure to assistant professor X.

Being asked if you have any questions signals that the interview is coming to an end, so do not take too much time.

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ENDING THE INTERVIEW

Be sure to smile at the interviewer, shake hands and thank her for seeing you, and leave with an energetic, confident demeanor.
Be careful not to be taken in by an old trick. Once you feel that the interview is over you may be asked a potentially revealing question as you are being shown out, on the assumption that you may have let down your guard at this point. Or the secretary may be instructed to ask a question such as, “How do you think you did?” in hopes of eliciting a telling comment. Assume that the interview is really over only once you have left the premises.

INTERVIEW WRECKERS

        Criticizing your boss or company

        Being too nervous to look the part of a successful, confident leader

        Appearing blasé about attending the school at hand

        Asking no questions

        Whining about past grades, low GMAT scores, and so on

        Blaming others for weakness in your profile
(Consult the interview evaluation form for more.)

GENERAL RULES FOR INTERVIEWS

The following advice is good no matter what type of interview or interviewer you encounter:

Do not criticize others. Do not criticize people you worked with or schools you attended. Otherwise you may be viewed as a chronic malcontent. Remain positive. You can still make it clear, for example, that a boss was limited in his ability to develop you, but without sounding critical. Simply state that he was expected to spend most of his time traveling to the regional offices, so he had no time left to worry about the development of his subordinates.

Assume that alumni interviewers do not have your file memorized. In fact, most interviewers will not even have seen your file. You can therefore expect to be able to make good use of the same incidents you discussed in your essays.

Be truthful. Do not lie in answering questions. Being honest, however, does not mean the same thing as being blunt, so do not volunteer negative information if it can be avoided.

Be yourself. Do not pretend to be someone other than yourself to impress your interviewer. Very few people are able to act well enough to carry it off successfully. Focus instead on presenting the best aspects of your own personality.

Never be less than highly courteous and friendly to the staff. The staff is generally in charge of all of the logistical elements of your candidacy, so do not alienate them. The admissions officers may also ask them to give their impression of you, so make sure that it is a positive one.

Do not try to take over the interview, but take advantage of opportunities to make your points. Interviewers want to feel that they are in charge of an interview, since they are likely to make decisions based upon the information they get about you. They need to feel confident that they will be able to get what they consider information relevant to their decision making, which may happen only if they are able to direct the interview. Taking over the interview may allow you to make the points you want to make, but the risk is far too great that your interviewer will react very negatively to this and resent your aggressiveness. Use of polite phrases in a confident tone of voice can keep your interviewer from fearing that you are trying to take over the interview: “Perhaps you wouldn’t mind”; “I would find it very helpful if you could.”

Do not ask the interviewer how you did in the interview. This will put him on the spot and will not do anything to improve your chances.
Stay relaxed. A good interviewer takes the following as possible indications that you are lying, being evasive, or hoping that he will not follow up a point:

        Fidgeting (such as twirling your hair, drumming your fingers, bouncing your leg up and down, or picking at a part of your body or clothing. Many people have a tic of which they are completely unaware. Use your mock interview partner or videotape to find yours, and then stop doing it.)

        Speaking much faster or more slowly.

        Pulling your collar away from your neck.

        Avoiding eye contact.

        Lengthy, convoluted response.

        Desperately looking for a drink of water.

        Coughing at length before starting a response.

Remain calm even in the face of provocation. An interviewer may be trying to annoy you to see how you respond. A senior manager, it should go without saying, is unlikely to be easily ruffled.

Answer questions concisely. Do not ramble. Do not take more than two or three minutes for any but the most involved, important question. In fact, two or three sentences is an appropriate length for the majority of answers. You can save time by quantifying whenever possible. (“I saved $275,000, which represented 13 percent of recurring costs.”)

Structure your responses. because you have prepared thoroughly (if you have taken this chapter to heart), you are in a position to respond with structured answers to most questions you will be asked. You do not need to start every response by saying “I did such and such for five reasons. Number one was . . .“, but doing so from time to time will be impressive.

When you give a general statement, illustrate it with an appropriate example. (“I am comfortable in a very international setting. I have been able to work with people of all different backgrounds, such as when I managed a restaurant in New York that had Albanian cooks, Mexican busboys, Portuguese waitresses, a Greek owner, and a yuppie clientele—and I happen to be French, as you know.”) Then go on to give an example in which nationality posed a substantial problem, and how you solved it.

Summarize any particularly lengthy answers you give.

Listen well. Be sure that you have understood what the interviewer is asking. If uncertain, ask for clarification of the question. Answering the question you thought was being asked, or the one you anticipated being asked, rather than the one she really did ask you, will annoy her and suggest that you are either dim or not paying attention. Listening well means more than paying attention to what is being said. It also requires that you encourage the interviewer by appearing interested. In addition, you should be able to sense the feelings behind the comments made.
Assume that anyone at the office may be an interviewer Sometimes a junior employee will chat with you while you wait for the real interview to start, trying to get you to give your real reactions to the school or your own qualifications as though a junior person should be on your side rather than the school’s. Expect any information you give away to be fed into your file immediately, maybe even given to your real interviewer prior to your upcoming interview.