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Four MBA Admissions Interview Must-Knows

by , Nov 14, 2009

Its MBA interview season, which doesnt mean you get a free pass to stress out. In fact, if you keep the four must-knows in mind during your interview prep and during the big event itself, youll find that acing the MBA admissions interview doesnt need to drive you crazy.

In fact once you sort out the following five key elements, youll feel more relaxed and more confidenttwo must-haves for interview success!

So, what are these secret ingredients?

Interview Must-Know #1: Your Interview Goal

Your interview goal is two-fold: First, its your goal to show that youre a good fit. Your interviewer is sizing you upacademically, professionally, and personallyto see if youll be compatible with the schools methodology, strengths, and career opportunities. Second, you need to prove to your dream schools adcom that youve got strong communication and interpersonal skills and that you know how to use them. This is particularly important if English is not your first language.

Interview Must-Know #2: Yourself

It should come as no surprise that your interviewer is going to ask you questions about yourself. Here are some questions to guide you in some interview prep introspection: What do you want to do after your MBA? Why do you want to attend this program? Why do you want an MBA at all? Consider jotting down a few key qualities to highlight during your interview as well as experiences where you demonstrated those attributes.

Interview Must-Know #3: The School

You may find yourself in quite a pickle when your interviewer asks how youll contribute to the schools mission and you dont know what the school stands for. Research the ins and outs of the school in question and its programs: Are there cohorts? Learning teams? Projects, lectures, cases? Plan to answer questions in a way that demonstrates your knowledge of the program and prepare a few questions that show you have done your homework.

Interview Must-Know #4: The Interview Type

MBA interviews are conducted either blind, where the interviewer know only whats on your resume and what you tell him or her, or informed, where the interviewer has gone thoroughly through your file and has seen your entire application. For blind interviews youll be able to pull the best of the best from your unseen application and present that to your interviewer. If, however, your interviewer has already seen your application, you should come prepared to address weaknesses and gaps and also be ready to bring something new to the interviewers understanding of you. Go deeper into the stories you have told and tell additional anecdotes. With both types, you can also use the interview to inform the interviewer and the school of accomplishments and events of interest that occurred since you submitted your application.

Interview Nice-to-Know: Your Interviewer

If you can uncover this nice-to-know information, then youll be even closer to acing the MBA interview. Knowing in advance whom youll be speaking with will help you determine topics that will interest your interviewer. If you know the interviewers name, google him or her and try to glean a little information about this person so you can connect better on an interpersonal level. What if this person is invisible on the Internet? Dont worry; its not essential.

Learn more about acing the MBA admissions interview by signing up for a free MBA Interview Email Prep Course.

Here are additional resources to help you prepare for your MBA admissions interview:

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