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Round 1 / Adcom / On-campus / Accepted! (Published Dec 8th, 2009)
Written on 10/22 in Kellogg cafeteria, 20 mins after interview.
Interview on campus with Adcom; 45 minutes. Small office, seated facing each other in padded midback chairs with armrests, no table in between. Interviewer has a copy of your resume, you don’t… be ready for that.
Interviewer was a very nice woman from the admissions committee in her late 40s/early 50s. Introduced herself and went over interview format. And opened off with “tell me about yourself”.
Asked very open-ended questions and prodded with some subtle follow up questions in a few cases when I was a little over-broad. Gave me a lot of verbal and nonverbal feedback (nodding, taking notes) when I hit points she liked. This let me adjust what I was talking about to drill down deeper on areas of interest.
Be ready to talk for 80-90% of the time, the questions are very open ended and are there more just to prod you into some direction. The interview is really pretty undirected and you are basically expected to pitch yourself.
Kellogg questions –
Tell me about yourself? A: I'm married, I'm from X. I'm a manager at a software company with a background in consulting.
I see that your job is X, what does that really mean, what do you do? A: I do XY and Z. I report to Q. Here are some typical things that I do.
So your job involves a lot of leadership. Tell me about some of your other leadership experiences. A: Highschool leadership in academic competitions, Military leadership, student leadership, community leadership. Touching about 90 seconds on each. This was a stronger area for me but I made an effort to be concise, get everything in, but not let it take up too much time.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of in your career. A: Told a story about when I helped redevelop a failing product. Impact to the company, impact on myself.
Your community involvement involves working with a lot of different organizations. Tell me about one specific project you’ve worked on. A: Picked the highest profile one, for which I won an award. Before and after story involving vision and leadership.
Tell me about your time at your undergraduate university. A: Focused on why I picked my little known program. Talked about mentoring as a part of my university’s mentor program. Talked about the radio show I used to host. Talked about intramural sports.
How would you contribute to Kellogg? A: My background is very deep and multifaceted in technology. I bring that along with the ability to actually communicate that and pass along that knowledge. I would contribute in the consulting and net impact clubs, as these best fit my background and future plans.
What else do you want Kellogg to know about you. A: My upbringing – Blue collar, self made, motivated. How deeply I have researched the program. Passion for Kellogg education model with specific examples like GIM trips, case studies, experiential model etc. That I flew to Kellogg for my interview because I wanted to show my commitment and passion directly to the Adcom face to face, rather than an alumnus (which was true).
Do you have any questions for me. A: I said no, and that I think that I have answered them all already through my own research and through alumni and current student contact. Interviewer agreed. I then use the question I always ask at the end when I am the interviewer “What should I have asked you that I didn’t”. This was NOT a hit. Interviewer was a little caught off guard and said something about teamwork and hands on learning. Clearly flailing…. Kinda had to step in and save her. This is the one part of the interview I would take back if I could…. But it was more undesirable awkwardness than a faux pas, not really a dealbreaker.
Post mortem – This interview went very well. My criteria - If I could have a “do-over” I wouldn’t take it, because I couldn’t imagine doing it differently (with one minor noted exception). Thinking on my feet and filling up a lot of meeting time by talking is something that I do alot in my job, and that made this format right up my alley. If that is you, do your homework on the program, know your story, show up ready, and you will be fine. Either way, pick a storyline, get a mock interview partner and practice practice practice telling it from memory. You can largely script this one if you want to, so tell your story over and over again verbally until you become really comfortable with it. Have your partner tell you what works and what doesn’t. Make a “best of breed” storyline and do your best to mold it into the interview when you get on the spot.
Decision – Accepted!!! Got a call from the Adcom on 12/7/2009. |
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