Kellogg MBA Admissions Interviews

This post has been updated for admission to the Kellogg MBA Class of 2014. 

Just as with essays, interviews for the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management MBA applicant interviews are all about fit.

My comments below are based on reviewing reports from my clients as well as those found at accepted.com and clearadmit.com (As I have mentioned previously, both companies should be praised for collecting these reports for all to see. I should state as a matter of disclosure that I am a member of AIGAC, a professional organization, with consultants from both organizations). These reports reveal that there are five key things to consider when preparing for Kellogg interviews:

1. You need to know your resume completely as you will most likely be asked about content in it. Review it carefully and consider what your interviewer might ask you to explain more thoroughly. If it is on your resume, it is fair game. Kellogg interviews are conducted blind, so your interview will not have read your application. The only thing they will have is your resume. Most interview reports indicate extensive questions about the contents of the resume. As such it serves form main functions:

A First Impression: Most interviewers will have your resume even before they meet you. For resume-only interviews, it really is their first impression of you.  Make sure your resume is really designed for ease of use by the interviewer.  One of my objectives when helping a client with a resume is always to focus on how effective the resume is for this purpose.

Agenda Setting Device: To a greater or lesser extent, a resume has an agenda setting function in many interviews.  While schools will provide interviewers with varying levels of guidance about what questions to ask, the resume may very well form the basis for some of the questions that you receive. 

Booby Trap:  The resume can blow-up in your face if you are not careful.  Failure to review your own resume closely prior to interviewing can put you in an awkward position if you are not fully prepared to discuss everything on it.

Your Main Depository of Past Experience Answers: Since you have presumably highlighted many of the key things you would actually want to discuss on your resume, it is in essence, a primary source for your answers to past experience questions. Especially when I working with a client with limited English ability, I will tell them to practice explaining “Who What Why How When” questions related to their resume.

In addition, since you might get asked to “Tell me something about yourself that is not covered on your resume,” you can use the resume to figure out what that would be.

2. You need to be prepared to answer routine MBA questions. Most reported interviews simply consist of them. See my previous post on MBA Application Interview Strategy as well the list of questions below. You should expect to have to answer questions regarding teamwork (Examples where you demonstrated it, how you handled problems on teams, and how you would handle a low-performing team member in group work at Kellogg are common examples).  Be absolutely comfortable explaining core questions regarding fit (Why Kellogg? Why the Kellogg community is right for you?  Contributions?) as these always come up.   Be ready to ask questions and obviously make those questions fit to the person you are talking (admissions officer, student, or alumni).

3. Kellogg interviewers do not really ask any unexpected hypothetical and/or critical thinking questions,instead, as previously stated, you can expect more standard questions. My colleague, Steve Green, has collected the following common questions:

RESUME: Career

• Tell me about yourself. / Walk me through your resume. PROBE ANSWERS
• Tell me about [particular accomplishment]
• Tell me about [particular promotion or change]
• What is missing from your resume that you’d like to tell me about?
• What led you to your first job?
• What made you change careers? (+ Follow-up)
• Why did you decide to switch into the field that you chose?
• How have you grown over the years?
• Tell me about what's challenging in your current role. (+ Follow-up)
• Why did you choose ________________ for your career?
• What are your current responsibilities?
• What do you clients say about you?
• What do you outside of work?

RESUME: Education

• Why did you choose your undergraduate school?
• Why did you choose your major?
• Tell me something about your undergraduate experience?
• What was your legacy at your undergrad school?
• Why did you choose ________________ for your career?
• What are your current responsibilities?
• What do you clients say about you?
• What do you outside of work?

TEAMWORK 

• Tell me about your teamwork experience.
• Describe a difficult team situation you have had to deal with in the past?
• Tell me about another teamwork experience.
• What would you do when a team member wasn’t pulling his own weight?
• What would your teammates say about you?
• Discuss a team failure you were part of.

LEADERSHIP

• Who do you admire as a leader?
• Have you held leadership positions at work?
• Tell me something about your leadership experience?
• Have you faced any challenges as a leader? How did you deal with them?
• How has your leadership style evolved since college?
• What kind of leader are you?

WHY MBA / WHY KELLOGG

• Why do you want an MBA?  
• Why now?
• Why Kellogg?
• Are you good with numbers?
• What are your goals?
• How will Kellogg help you achieve those goals?
• How do you envision yourself being involved in the Kellogg community?
• What clubs will you participate in?
• How will you enhance the diversity of the Kellogg class?
• What unique contribution do you bring to Kellogg?
• What other schools did you apply to?
• If you got into all of them, which would you attend?

STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES

• If you could hit the reset button, what would you do differently?
• Anything that may be considered a weakness in your application you would like to explain or expand on?
• How have you grown over the years?
• What are your two main strengths?
• What are your two main weaknesses?
• If time and money were not an issue, what would you do?
• What three words would you use to describe yourself?
• Who is a good negotiator?
• Have you ever been in a negotiation where it wasn't win - win, rather, win-lose or lose-lose.
• What do people misperceive about you in first meeting?
• If I asked your colleagues about you, what would they say? What feedback have you used to do better?

CONCLUSION

• What questions do you have for me? / Do you have any questions for me?

4. Interviewers (adcom, students, or alumni) usually try to create a very relaxed interview atmosphere. As some adcom interviewers are 2nd year students, be aware that a campus interview might not be with an admissions officer. I know of a few instances when student interviewers were not necessarily that friendly to the applicant. In any case, this is an interview about fit (just like Kellogg Essay 3), so make sure you can explain in depth why you want to become a part of the Kellogg community and how you will contribute to it. Previous contact with alum, visits to campus, and/or intensive school research are all great ways to prepare. If you have not previously read my Kellogg essay analysis, I suggest doing so as it contains my analysis of Kellogg's culture.

5. Reported interview length could be from 30 to 60 minutes, with most reported interviews taking 30-45 minutes.

Best of luck with admission to Kellogg for Fall 2012!

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

How to Prepare for Wharton MBA Behavioral Interviews

 NOVEMBER 2011 UPDATE: A NEW VERSION OF THIS POST CAN BE FOUND HERE. You should read that version as the version below was written before any Wharton interviews in November 2011 had taken place.
-Adam


Until after some interview reports come out, we will not likely know exactly what Wharton MBA interviewers (adcom and  2nd year students, no alumni interviews this time) will be asking.  Based on the October 26th chat (See my report.), unlike last year, interviews for Fall 2012 admission will not be limited to the small group of questions that was asked.  Fortunately, in terms of having a list of behavioral questions, we have the six behavioral questions from last year and MIT interview reports to draw on.  Here is my initial stab at advising applicants how to prepare.
During the October 26th chat, admissions emphasized knowing your resume and application well.  That said, keep in mind that the Wharton interview is totally blind.  The only thing the interviewer will have your is resume.  Additionally, based on the comments that admissions made, it is probably the case that you will not be asked questions like "walk me through your resume," but only behavioral questions and some "informal chat before and after the behavioral questions."

The role of the resume in Wharton interviews

Since they are asking you to bring your resume, unless this purely for symbolic reasons, I think it is worth remembering the kind of roles a resume is likely to play in your interview:
A First Impression:   Make sure your resume is really designed for ease of use by the interviewer.  One of my objectives when helping a client with a resume is always to focus on how effective the resume is for this purpose.
Agenda Setting Device: To a greater or lesser extent, a resume has an agenda setting function in many interviews.  While Wharton is seemingly providing interviewers with a very high level of guidance about what questions to ask, the resume may very well impact which questions the interviewer focuses on.  Or it may not have any such effect at all. We simply don't know yet.
Bobby Trap:  The resume can blow-up in your face if you are not careful.  Failure to review your own resume closely prior to interviewing can put you in an awkward position if you are not fully prepared to discuss everything on it. Since adcom repeatedly emphasized during the October 26th chat that you should know your resume well, this point is worth keeping in mind.
Your Main Depository of Past Experience Answers: Since you have presumably highlighted many of the key things you would actually want to discuss on your resume, it is in essence, a primary source for your answers to past experience questions aka Behavioral Questions. Especially when I working with a client with limited English ability, I will tell them to practice explaining “Who What Why How When” questions related to their resume.
In addition, since you might get asked to “Tell me something about yourself that is not covered on your resume,” you can use the resume to figure out what that would be.

STAR

Before reading the rest of this post, I strongly suggest downloading a copy of MIT's  guide to behavioral interviews, The MIT Sloan Interview Guide, because reading it first will maximize the value of my comments below. Also, since the meanies at Wharton Adcom don't put anything like this MIT guide together and can't give better advice than "I would encourage you to do some google research...behavioral interviews are based on situations and reactions," I suggest you look at MIT guide. In addition to the MIT SLOAN Guide, I suggest also taking a look at the slightly different guide to the Star Technique that MIT Career Services provides.

The STAR technique is really the core method you need to use for answering behavioral questions. It is simply this:

• Situation: define the situation or “set the stage.”

• Task: identify the task/project performed.

• Action: describe the action you took.

• Result: summarize the outcome

The behavioral interview method is not old (if you are me and born in 1968):

“Bill Byham, CEO and founder of Development Dimensions International, originated the behavioral interviewing method in 1970.” The STAR technique was developed by Byham as THE WAY to answer behavioral questions:

Byham calls an example of past behavior a STAR, because a complete example consists of a situation or task, the specific action you took and the result of your action. The result you describe doesn't have to be positive; it could be that you learned a valuable lesson from doing something the wrong way.
In his book "Landing the Job You Want: How to Have the Best Job Interview of Your Life" (Three Rivers Press, 1997), Byham tells candidates how to identify the skills for a job; explore their own "behavioral dimensions" (the behaviors they use every day to get things done); and recognize and present a STAR with positive impact in an interview.

When you are using STAR, just keep in mind that you need to be introspective as well, so in an interview say what you thought as well as what you did. Don’t just present “the facts” but actively interpret your actions. There is really nothing overly complicated about this as long as you understand that you need to tell a DETAILED story. Pure abstractions disconnected from a concrete set of action steps are highly likely to result in a weak answer. Similarly, grand actions not told in any depth are also likely to be weak. Identify specific actions that contributed to the result so as to establish a clear link between cause and effect.

As when answering any kind of question, another important consideration is to think very critically about what your story selection, understanding of the task, actions taken, and results say about you. Keep in mind that the whole point of asking behavioral questions is to determine how someone acts and thinks as a basis for selecting or rejecting that person. It is obviously critical to be aware of your own message. Specifically think of examples you can use to highlight your intelligence, creativity, leadership skills, interpersonal communication skills, and conflict resolution skills.

Last year, Wharton only used 6 questions divided into three categories.  According to the chat, they will be using many questions and it will not be just limited to a few.  I think it is worth keeping these six in mind (Taken from Poets and Quants):

The questions on “team building” are:

“Describe a time when you have been working toward the completion of an important task, when it has been necessary to consider the opinions and feelings of others.”

“Describe a time when you have worked as part of a team working towards an important goal, when you have addressed conflict between two or more team members.”

The questions on “facilitative leadership” are:

“Describe a time when you have worked with others to complete an important task, when there was no formally appointed group leader.”

“Describe a time when you have ensured an important task has been completed, when you felt others were less focused than you on completing the important task.”

The questions on “persuasive communication” are:

“Describe a time when you have had to persuade others to your way of thinking, when at first they did not buy into your idea.”

“Describe a time when your ideas have been challenged by others, requiring you to defend your opinions.”

Beyond these six,  I have modified this list of MIT Sloan questions that my colleague, Steve Green,  put together.  The behavioral interview questions on this list should prove helpful to those preparing for Wharton interviews, but to what extent I don't know yet.  I will not know until I read some interview reports from R1.

• Tell me about something at work you have been proud of in the last year
• Tell me about a time when you set a goal and moved towards achieving it.
• How did you manage to resolve a conflict situation and move the team forward?
• Tell me of a time when you took a risk. What was the outcome and what did you learn from it?
• Tell me about a time when you had to persuade/convince others.
• Tell me about a time when you had to present something to someone who you did not like.
• Tell me about a time you had a challenging interaction with someone
• Tell me about a time you had to convince others to see your perspective
• Tell me about a time you had to ask for help
• Tell me about a time when your expectations were not met
• Tell me a time when you thought outside of the box
• Tell me about a time when someone needed your help.
• Tell me about a time when you had to step out from your comfort zone.
• Tell me about something that you've encountered, at work or outside of work, that made you feel uncomfortable
• Tell me about something you've done that you're proud of.
• Tell me about a time you failed.
• Tell me about a time you convinced others to follow your plan. 
• Tell me a time when something unexpected happened to you
• Tell me when you did something innovative
• Tell me a time when you influenced someone
• Tell me about a time you led a team to a solution.
• Tell me about a time you had to sell an idea.
• Tell me about a time your idea was rejected.
• Tell me about a time when you mentored someone
• Tell me about a time when you butted heads with a co-worker/client/employee
• Tell me about a time when you were part of a team that had poor dynamics/didn't get along well.
• Tell me about a time when you had to deal with someone who wasn't pulling his/her weight
• Tell me about a time when you had to decide multiple options.

How To Prepare Outlines for Practicing Behavioral Questions

I would suggest making some simple STAR (Situation Task Action Result) outlines.  For example:

Team Story 1: Project X
S:  Harry was not cooperating with the rest of the team on Project X.
T: My job was get the team to work together because Project X really required everyone to participate. Harry was important because of his technical skills.
A: In order to get Harry to cooperate I..  (ACTION 1) first talked with him privately to better understand his perspective.  Next, (ACTION 2) I talked with the rest of team to try and make an adjustment so that Harry would feel more comfortable. Finally (ACTION 3) Established information sharing sessions so that everyone understood what needed to be done and how our work fit together.
R: Project X succeeded.

The above outline could be used to answer such questions as "Tell me about a time when you were part of a team that had poor dynamics/didn't get along well," "Tell me about a time when you had to deal with someone who wasn't pulling his/her weight," and “Describe a time when you have worked as part of a team working towards an important goal, when you have addressed conflict between two or more team members.”

Now, when you actually practice the above for a behavioral interview, you would need to flesh out the story and provide more details.  If you have outlined a STAR story, you  have not practiced it yet.   The only reason to outline STAR stories is if you cannot systematically turn any spoken story into STAR automatically.  Actually once you start using STAR, chances are that you will not need any outlines.  STAR is actually a highly intuitive way to tell stories and useful for telling stories in any situation. 

THE MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY
Clients often want me to read their interview preparation notes. I usually refuse because I think it is a total waste of their money to have me do that.  I believe such outlines are useful for the person doing the preparation, but all I can really evaluate is their performance.  If I have a client with a TOEFL under 100, I might review their scripts because given that they may lack basic English vocabulary for effectively telling their stories. This is not case with the vast majority of my clients, even those with TOEFL scores at the 100 level.
An outline is a map, but in the case of an interview it is really lousy map because an interview is all about performance, the territory. You can have the best stories in the world, but if you can't deliver them effectively, you are dead.

ACTUAL PRACTICE
Depending on your communication skills, available time, and comfort with interviews you may need days or weeks or months to be at your best. Whatever amount of practice you think you need, try to actually do more than that.  One of my clients who had already been admitted to two top schools, did 50 hours of practice on his own to get ready for HBS.  He was successful because he put in enough time actually speaking the answers  to many common questions that he could feel comfortable and confident.  He did just a couple of hours of interview practice with me and one of my colleagues. He was admitted to HBS. I wish all my clients followed this example of extensive self-practice.  While the exact ratio of counseling hours (strategy sessions focused on developing good answers and mock interviews) to self-study will vary, I think somewhere between a 1:5 and 1:20 ratio is ideal.  I am always depressed when a client only does interview practice during sessions with me and then does no practice by themselves because I know they are not maximizing their performance. Like a great musician or actor, you need to internalize your script/notes/outline to perform it effectively. I can best help a client by judging that performance.  Something could look great or horrible on paper, but very much the reverse when actually performed.

How to practice:
1. Speak.  Doing it in your head is not enough.  Actually perform to the hardest audience you will ever encounter: yourself.
2. Record yourself and listen and/or view the results. Note problems and practice more.
3. Speak in front of other people who can give you feedback.  Even if you are using a consultant try to practice in front of other people. This will help make you comfortable having an audience.
4. Have school specific mock sessions, either with a admissions consultant or someone who can at least ask you the questions.

(For additional suggestions on interview strategy, see here, here, and here. Some of the content in those posts repeats what is here.)

I know that what I am suggesting might be burdensome and time consuming, but so what?  The whole application process is like that.  And at least with interview practice, you might actually become better at telling stories (Good for making friends!) and interviewing for jobs. Best of luck with your Wharton Class of 2014 interview!

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

Wharton MBA Interview Chat 10/26/2011

I just participated in Wharton's Chat on MBA Interviews held between 6pm and 7pm EST on October, 26, 2011.  
It was very useful.  As I indicated in an earlier post this week, Wharton will be using behavioral questions.  However, unlike last year, the questions will likely be wide like MIT asks and not narrow the way Wharton did last year.  In addition, interviews will no longer be conducted by conducted by alumni, but only admissions officers and trained second year students. UPDATE: My preparation guide to Wharton interviews is here.




Here is what I learned:
(Note: Typos in quotes are not mine.)


Interviews will not be limited to small number of behavioral questions, but based on a larger list than last year's 3 categories/6 questions:
Question: "Will interviewers be asking set questions like last year?"
Answer: "We will be asking behavioral questions...we don't have a set, we have many questions to choose from."


Question: "Will the style be more open ended than last year? That is, we should prepare for a very wide range of behavioral questions?"
Answer: "yes"


Wharton Adcom's  Advice for Preparing for the Interview:
"Come professionally dressed and with a good understanding of what to expect in a behavioral interview"

"I would encourage you to do some google research...behavioral interviews are based on situations and reactions" "try become familiar with what behavioral questions are like so you have an idea what to expect..." "Just consider how to best answer the questions we ask, relating your own exp"

"review your resume, think about your past experiences that have impacted you. practice behavioral interview questions

"	To prepare for the interview, know your experiences and learn more about behaviroal interviews - the style adn what to expect"

"We don't release questions ahead of time...i recomend you look up basic behavioral questions to get a sense" "We do not disclose questions ahead of time" "review your past experiences, practice behavioral questions with a friend or colleague." "Just know your application and your experiences - that is good preparation!" "The interview is behavioral, though I'm sure your interviewer will chat with you informally before and after..." "Try relax and enjoy the interview experience as a chance to meet us and share your experiences and strengths!" ALL Interviews Conducted by Admissions Officers and Trained Second Year Students, No Alumni Interviews this year! (BIG CHANGE) "There is no difference between interviews conducted by Admissions Staff vs. current students" "this year we are not using alumni interviewers in an effort to keep our interview style more consistent" "There are many ways alums can engage with prospective students and other events are usually more effective." "we wanted to keep interview results a little more consistent, which is easier to do with a smaller group of interviewers" " All interviews will be run by AdCom in HUB cities and all interviews are blind" Off-Campus versus Campus Interviews: No Difference. "The interview location is weighted equally - on campus or in one of our HUB city." "Wherever is convenient to you. Although, we do recommend campus if you have not have the opportunity to visit."

Wharton will be interviewing 30%-40% of All Applicants Question: Of all the application rounds aprox. what percentage are invited for interviews ? Answer: 30% - 40 % -Adam Markus アダム　マーカス I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you are interested in my interview preparation services, please see here. For those looking for overall counseling services, if you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form, which is publicly available on google docs here, and then send your completed form to adammarkus@gmail.com.  You can also send me your resume if it is convenient for you.  Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. See here for why. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant. ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング MBA留学 インタビュー 面接

Oh Joy! UC Berkeley Haas MBA Essays for Fall 2012

"Oh Joy!" alludes to the subject of the most interesting of UC Berkeley Haas MBA essay questions for Fall 2012 admission. You can find my joyful take on that essay question along with the rest in this post. 

The  University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business is one of the hardest MBA programs to get into. The program is small and attracts a very diverse group of students. The objective of Haas admissions is to find the best applicants in order to put together a diverse group of students who will thrive in a program that values innovation, collaboration, and a high level of participation both in and out of the classroom. Last year, Haas made much of its changes to its curriculum. The key component of this change is the Berkeley Innovative Leader Development (BILD):

"BILD is the connective theme that runs through the entire Berkeley MBA curriculum to ensure that every student develops the skills required of innovative leaders.

Infused with BILD's innovative leadership perspective, the Berkeley MBA's rigorous general management curriculum teaches you to become a leader who can harness new ideas to create value for your firm. You acquire skills and qualities that enable you to drive growth to ensure your organization thrives."

For more about BILD, including an interactive of the concept, see here. The interactive map actually provides a complete overview, so I suggest reviewing it closely.

My Interactions with the Haas Community:

You can also read testimonials from my clients admitted to Hass in 2010 and 2011. I experienced the energy of Haas students when I attended the end of the Japan Trek Party (For English, see http://groups.haas.berkeley.edu/japan/Haasweek0904p1.pdf) in April 2009. I saw great diversity and real sense of enthusiasm amongst the participants. You can find my Q&As with Haas students here (MBA) and here (MBA/MPH).  I also visited Haas in the summer of 2011 when no students were there. It was a really useless visit as part of a conference I attended. Visiting schools when they are not in session is not particularly effective unless you have great face time with the admissions staff. I had face time, but that wasn't so useful either. My student sources are much more useful to me.

Haas has done some significant changes to their essay set this year.  I have taken the questions from the website.  Please pay special attention to the paragraph that is included with the questions:

"At Berkeley-Haas, our distinctive culture is defined by four key principles — question the status quo; confidence without attitude; students always; and beyond yourself. We seek candidates from a broad range of cultures, backgrounds, and industries who demonstrate a strong cultural fit with our program and defining principles. Please use the following essays as an opportunity to reflect on and share with us the values, experiences, and accomplishments that have helped shape who you are.(Learn more about Berkeley-Haas' Defining Principles)."


Understanding the above will greatly enhance your ability to establish fit with Haas.

REALLY ANSWER THEIR QUESTIONS!

I can say that my clients who have been admitted there, all had one thing in common: They took time to craft answers specific to Berkeley's questions. There is a natural human tendency towards laziness that results in many applicants not taking the time to do that if they have already written several other applications. If your objective is to get into Berkeley, take the extra time required to craft truly excellent school-specific answers to their questions. For my rant on problems with the way Berkeley's online application essay word counter works, formatting, and word count issues, see here.

1. What brings you the greatest joy? How does this make you distinctive? (250 word maximum)

This question was actually discussed in the Wall Street Journal:
For the class entering in the fall of 2012, the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business began asking prospective students what gives them the greatest joy, a change from its prior "What are you most passionate about?" query. The school is hoping to tap into issues that excite applicants—the pleasure of a certain hobby, for example—rather than a self-impressed treatise on solving world hunger.
 "There are many [applicants] who still think there is a formula to get into business school, who think there's a certain type of response the admission people want to see," said Stephanie Fujii, executive director of full-time M.B.A. admissions at Haas. According to Ms. Fujii, there isn't.


Of course, bores will put some dull answer together about how their work brings them the greatest joy, but guess what? That answer is highly like to suck. If Haas wanted to  know about your goals or work here, they would ask about it.

Joy is about emotion. It is not primarily rational and hence is in contrast to the very rational questions that make up the rest of the Haas application. In past years, when Columbia asked similar questions (and they did for many many years), I have seen successful essays on this topic on a variety of subjects, but the only common thing was that no one wrote about work or their career goals. Given, the 1000 words you have for the Haas goals essay, writing about your career goals here would be highly redundant. 


The objective is to provide Haas with some insight into who you are as a person through this essay. Whatever it is that you do write about, joy has to be there. Also, since it is the very first essay, you certainly want to get them engaged and interested in you as an applicant.


A FOUR PART BRAINSTORMING EXERCISE FOR ANSWERING THIS QUESTION
PART 1. Start by thinking about what actually brings you joy:
1. What really does make you happy, puts a smile on your face, makes you want to get out of bed, and/or make you feel good? 
2.  When were you the most joyful? Why?
Now after you have a list, edit out all those things you would either be embarrassed to discuss or think are inappropriate (e.g., sex and drugs). When you look at your list is anything that actually stands out to you as particularly distinctive?  If so, you might have just found your topic and you can skip PART 2 and go to PART 3, at least for the moment.
PART 2.  Take your list of things that are joyful to you and ask the following questions:
1.  Are there any obvious patterns connecting all or some these things that make you joyful together?  (If you are into mind mapping, this would be a good chance to use it).  Note any patterns.
2.  Do these pattens constitute themselves as informed by a single idea or personal characteristic? If so, you have found a potential topic.
PART 3. For something that gives you joy to actually fit the question, it must make you distinctive. 
1. How does this thing that brings you joy make you distinctive? 
2. What form does this distinction take? Is it about your values, personality, strengths, actions, and/or background?
At this point, you will hopefully have one or more things that passed the distinction test.  If not, go back to Parts 1 and/or 2.
PART 4. At this point, you hopefully have one or more possible topics to write about it.  Select the topic that does the following:
1. Highlights a very attractive part of who you are that would serve as an effective first impression.
2. Is an answer that is attention getting.
3. Would be viewed as a positive attribute at Haas.
Conclusion: For creative types (artists, musicians, poets, and writers) and athletic types this will likely be a relatively easy question.  For wage slaves who have no life, this essay will be hard to deal with.

2.  What is your most significant accomplishment? (250 word maximum)

Please see my analysis of the similar HBS question. Given that you can only write on one topic, for most applicants, I suggest making it your most significant professional accomplishment. Of course, significance is really the issue and it is important that you explain why it is significant. If you truly believe you have a personal or educational accomplishment that is your most significant, just make sure that admissions will not only understand why you believe that to be the case, but be able to view your accomplishment as a basis for admitting you.

3. Describe a time when you questioned an established practice or thought within an organization. How did your actions create positive change? (250 word maximum)

This question relates to one of Haas' Defining Principles:

Question the Status Quo

"We lead by championing bold ideas, taking intelligent risks and accepting sensible failures. This means speaking our minds even when it challenges convention. We thrive at the world's epicenter of innovation."

Please see my analysis of  Stanford Essay 3 Option D and MIT Essay 1 as my analysis of those two questions would apply here.


4. Describe a time when you were a student of your own failure. What specific insight from this experience has shaped your development? (250 word maximum)

While this is pretty much a standard failure question, the odd phrasing is due to its relationship to another Key Principle:

Students Always

"We are a community designed for curiosity and lifelong pursuit of personal and intellectual growth. This is not a place for those who feel they have learned all they need to learn."
You want to focus on failure that you were responsible for and learned from. It is critical that you learned something meaningful about yourself. 
The basic components of an answer:
1. Clearly state what the failure was.
2. Clearly state your role.
3. Clearly state the result.
4. Explain what you learned.
5. Explain the connection between that learning and subsequent experiences. Explain how you applied what you learned to a new situation or situations.


5. Describe a time when you led by inspiring or motivating others toward a shared goal. (250 word maximum)
This question also relates to another Key Principle: Confidence Without Attitude 
"We make decisions based on evidence and analysis, giving us the confidence to act without arrogance. We lead through trust and collaboration."

This is the perfect place to highlight your skills as team member and team leader and/or as a leader who makes decisions based on reason and evidence.  Please see my analysis of MIT Essay 2, Tuck Essay 2, and Stanford Essay 3 Option A and C as any of these might apply here.

6. a. What are your post-MBA short-term and long-term career goals? How have your professional experiences prepared you to achieve these goals?
   b. How will an MBA from Haas help you achieve these goals? (1000 word maximum for 6a. and 6b.)

Regarding 6a., I should point out that there is a difference between this version of the question and questions like Kellogg's that ask for a career summary. Berkeley does not ask for such a summary and its inclusion especially at the beginning of your essay will be a sign that you did not customize your answer for Berkeley. Berkeley instead asks for you to explain how your professional experiences relate to your goals. Therefore discussion of your past experience should be made as a part of an explanation of your goals. For those who have already written Kellogg 1 (or essays like it), if your essay begins with a career development section, I suggest beginning with goals instead. Take your career development section and use parts of it to support your reasons for your goals and why you need an MBA now. For many applicants this will not be so much about writing new content as editing it to better answer Berkeley's version of the question.

Regarding 6b., keep your Berkeley specific content focused on explaining how Haas will help you with your goals. Haas provides online resources to help you, but in addition, if possible I suggest you visit, meet alums, and/or communicate with current students to become informed about the program. While it is important to show what steps you have taken, it is equally important to make a clear case for why Haas is the right school for you. See the Berkeley MBA Student Blogs.  Also take a look at the various institutes and centers connected to Haas. Those who read Japanese should most certainly visit the Haas Japanese website and Haas Japanese students/alumni blogs.

BEFORE YOU WRITE
Before writing this essay, if you have not done a similar essay for another school, I suggest going through a formal process of goals analysis because it will really help you determine the most important things you need to tell Haas. You can use my GAP, SWOT, AND ROI TABLE FOR FORMULATING GRADUATE DEGREE GOALS for this purpose (see below). I think Gap, SWOT, and ROI analysis are great ways for understanding what your goals are, why you want a degree, and how you will use it. (Click here for a GMAC report on MBA ROI. )
To best view the following table, click on it.

How to use this table:

Step 1. Begin by analyzing your "Present Situation." What job(s) have you held? What was/is your functional role(s)? What was/are your responsibilities?

Next, analyze your present strengths and weaknesses for succeeding in your present career. REMEMBER: WHEN YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS DON'T ONLY THINK ABOUT WORK, THINK ABOUT OTHER ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE. In particular, some of your greatest strengths may have been demonstrated outside of work, so make sure you are accounting for them.
Strengths: What are you good at? Where do you add value? What are you praised for? What are you proud of?
Weakness: What are you bad at? What are you criticized for? What do you try to avoid due to your own limitations? What do you fear?

Next, analyze the environment you work in right now. What opportunities exist for your growth and success? What threats could limit your career growth?

Step 2. Now, do the same thing in Step 1 for your "Post-Degree" future after you have earned your graduate degree. IF YOU CANNOT COMPLETE STEP 2, YOU HAVE NOT SUFFICIENTLY PLANNED FOR YOUR FUTURE and therefore you need to do more research and need to think more about it.

Step 3. If you could complete step 2, than you should see the "Gap" between your present and your future. What skills, knowledge, and other resources do you need to close the gap between your present and future responsibilities, strengths, and opportunities?

Step 4. After completing Step 3, you now need to determine how an MBA will add value to you. It is possible that an increased salary as a result of job change will be sufficient "ROI" for the degree to justify itself, but you should show how a degree will allow you to reach your career goals. How will the degree enhance your skills and opportunities and help you overcome your weaknesses and external threats? If you can complete Step 4 than you should be ready to explain what your goals are, why you want a degree, and the relationship between your past and future career, as well as your strengths and weaknesses.

The above table will also help you answer such common interview questions as: Where do you want to work after you finish your degree? Why do you want an MBA (or other degree)? What are you strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are your goals? Thinking about these issues now will help you to develop a fully worked-out strategy for how you will best present yourself both in the application and in an interview.

WHY HAAS?
See my comments above.

GOALS
You need to make admissions excited about your future. To do so, you should think about whether your goals are compelling. Admissions committees ask applicants to write about their goals after graduate school, but can applicants actually know what will be on the cutting-edge in two or three years? While many applicants will be able to successfully apply with relatively standard goals ("I want to be a consultant because..."), try to go beyond the typical answer to make your goals compelling.
Be informed. Haas needs to believe you know what you are talking about. If you are changing careers, no one expects you to be an expert, but you should come across as having a clear plan based on real research into your future. If you are planning on staying in your present industry, you should be well informed not only about the companies you have worked for, but about the industry as a whole. If you are not already doing so, read industry related publications and network.
Those who are changing fields should most certainly read industry related publications in their intended field. Think about conducting informational interviews with at least one peer-level and one senior level person in that field.Conduct a peer-level interview to get a good idea of what it would be like to actually work in that industry. Conduct a senior-level interview to get the perspective of someone who can see the big picture and all the little details as well. 
Don't know anyone in your intended field? Network! One great way to start is through LinkedIn. Another is by making use of your undergraduate alumni network and/or career center.

LEARN WHAT IS HOT. No matter whether you are changing fields or not, learn what is hot now and try to figure out what will be hot by the time you graduate. Now, of course, this is just a plan and chances are that what is hot in your industry or field now may very well be cold in the future. The point is to come across to Haas as someone who is not only well informed, but who has CUTTING-EDGE knowledge related to their goals. Some great general sources for learning what is hot:
From the Business Schools: Feed your brain with cutting-edge ideas from the best business schools in the world. Start with California Management Review.Other great sources of information include Stanford Social Innovation Review,Harvard Working Knowledge, Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business School Publishing,Knowledge @ Wharton, University of Chicago GSB's Working Papers,The University of Chicago's Capital Ideas, and MIT Sloan Management Review.

You may also want to do a search on iTunes for podcasts: My favorites are Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders (from the Stanford School of Engineering, but totally relevant to the GSB), Chicago GSB Podcast, Net Impact, and Harvard Business IdeaCast. INSEAD, IMD, LBS, and, of course, Haas also have podcasts.
LinkedIn Answers: I would suggest that everyone join LinkedIn and make use of LinkedIn Answers. LinkedIn Answers is a great way to tap into cutting edge expertise (including my admissions advice!) Follow LinkedIn's rules and you will often be able to obtain excellent information.
Hoovers: For information about specific companies, Hoovers is just a great way to learn about key facts including competitors (a very useful way of knowing who else you might want to work for and to learn about an industry). While primarily focused on the US, Hoovers does have listings for companies worldwide.
Vault: For scope of coverage, this site is a must. Vault includes both career and admissions information. It includes both company specific and industry-wide information.
Other sources: Read magazines, websites, and books that relate to your intended field.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: YOUR STORY

When you initially write this essay, you might find that it does not seem to be coming together as a single essay. If that is the case, you might simply not be telling your story in the right way. The way you tell your story will depend on your situation. Applicants with extensive experience whose goals connect directly to their past experience will be telling a story based on continuity, while applicants looking to change careers will be telling a story based on discontinuity. A story based on continuity is often easiest to tell in a fairly linear way because the future is based directly on what happened in the past. By contrast, a story based on a discontinuity should be told to emphasize the need for career change. In either case, it is critical to explain why you want an MBA from Haas.

Optional Essay 1.  Please feel free to provide a statement concerning any information you would like to add to your application that you haven’t addressed elsewhere. (500 word maximum)

This is a completely open question. While you might very well need to tell Haas something negative, such as an explanation for a low GPA, I would suggest using at least part of it to tell them something positive about you. Feel free to write on any topic that will add another dimension to admissions' perception of who you are. I would not treat it as optional unless you truly think that the rest of your essays have fully expressed everything you want Haas to know about you. I don't suggest writing about something that would be obvious from reviewing your application, instead tell Haas that one story that will give them another reason to admit you. And whatever you do, please make sure that you write on a topic that is not obviously from another school's essay set.

Optional Essay 2. If not clearly evident, please discuss ways in which you have demonstrated strong quantitative abilities, or plan to strengthen quantitative abilities. You do not need to list courses that appear on your transcript. (250 word maximum)
If you have clearly demonstrated strong quantitative abilities, you need not worry about this question.  If you have not done anything about this issue, you should put together a plan for how you will prepare yourself for Haas. If you have improved your quantitative abilities through short courses, your work, exam preparation(CFA), or otherwise, you should enumerate it.  This is a just the facts/what is your plan essay, so keep it simple and very clear.


Finally, if you interview with Haas, please see my earlier post.

-Adam Markus

アダム　マーカス
I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. For those looking for overall counseling services, if you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form, which is publicly available on google docs here, and then send your completed form to adammarkus@gmail.com. You can also send me your resume if it is convenient for you.  Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment.  
The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. See here for why.  
Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

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