November 20, 2015

Yes, you really should write your own MBA admissions essays!

As an MBA admissions consultant, I help clients with their B-school applications. I advise on essays. I sometimes edit essays. I don’t write essays. I believe in helping applicants use their own own voice. I always thought this was the right thing to do and that ghostwritten essays were not only unethical, but highly risky to submit. The technology for detecting ghostwritten and plagiarized is getting better and better as a recent article, “Cheating MBA applicants: Trick shots,“ in The Economist discusses:

“But while the proportion of people trying to cheat the system may have stayed the same, the number of schools keen to avoid being hoodwinked has increased. Where Smeal was the first to use Turnitin to sift through admissions essays, now there are around 40 big business schools making use of anti-cheating software. This is good in itself. But it may also make economic sense. Investigating academic fraud once classes are underway can be difficult and expensive. Ms Marcinkevage estimates that, by rooting out potential cheats before it gets that far, the anti-plagiarism software has paid for itself. And most importantly of all, it allows harried admissions staff to concentrate on students' essays, rather than fear their work is falsified.”

So, yes. Write your own essays and beware of anyone who gives you completely set phrases and entire paragraphs to insert. Be yourself. Represent yourself. If you need help, get it from someone who will assist you, not do the writing for you.

-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.

November 15, 2015

Top of the Ecosystem: Why Top 10 MBA Applicants Should Apply to HBS

Every year I have clients who get rejected from HBS and get admitted to other top MBA programs. This year has been no different. One of those who was rejected in R1 and offered an interview at another Top 10 business school asked me if it had been a waste of time to apply to HBS. I responded:

“I think it was worth a shot for you to apply to HBS. The content you generated out of it helped you with your other essays for other schools. It was always a high risk/high return application. Not getting an invite does not mean it was not worth applying. The nature of this process for any applicant is that it involves rejection. Even those admitted to HBS and Stanford have often been rejected at one or more schools. ”

I wish I had added to my response that HBS is at the top of the US Business School Ecosystem because it consistently has the most applicants, is the biggest program in terms of headcount, has the biggest brand name (Regardless of ranking 1, 7, or whatever by the shifting standards of journalists elected by no one whose statistical survey expertise is at best doubtful), is the most important publisher of case studies, etc. It does not matter if Stanford is harder to get into, more applicants apply to HBS and more applicants who are admitted to HBS go there than any of the other top MBA programs. It is the market leader and is at the top of its ecosystem.

Applicants should assume that those who apply to other top US MBA programs have already or will apply to HBS. Regardless of what HBS’ essay topic is, more applicants will be writing on it than for any other school. And since, in recent years, HBS has given a broad topic that can go in an almost infinite number of directions, taking a broad perspective on the self is what will get reflected in many applicants’ essays.

Therefore my primary attitude about application to HBS is this. If you want to want to go there and have time to make an application, apply. Even if you think your chances are poor, if you view them as at all viable try it. I know getting rejected is no fun, but if you don’t give it a shot you will never know.

Surely some will say that “MBA Admissions Consultant analyzed my profile or someone just like me and said HBS was not possible.” One of the reasons I have long rejected doing applicant profile analysis on the fly is that it an act of extreme malpractice because it is based on a false assumption: A mere smattering of facts as the basis for a prognosis. Such analysis would have meant that my client admitted to HBS last year with a GMAT below 650 and just a so-so GPA from a not so impressive school should not have gotten in. Almost every year I have clients like that admitted to HBS and other top programs. What mattered were not the numbers or some basic facts but the whole person. Now it is the case that the particular client I mentioned had a very powerful story and experiences, but to get to those would require a relatively high level of knowledge about the applicant. That is why my intake form is a pain to fill out because I ask for a lot of inform ation. That is why I conduct initial consultations before working with clients on a comprehensive basis. And even then, when asked to make a prognosis about results, I am humble enough to know that I don’t own a crystal ball. It is understandable that applicants want to know the outcome prior to application, but the reality is that until the race is run, no one knows the outcome.

-Adam Markus

November 05, 2015

Preparing for Wharton Interviews for the Class of 2018

In this post, I discuss how to prepare for Wharton Interviews for fall 2016 entry. My post on Wharton’s essays for the Class of 2018, can be found here.

There are two parts to the Wharton interview, the team-based interview and one-to-one interview. Each part can be prepared for. I am assuming anyone who is reading this post has actually been invited for a Wharton interview and has reviewed the official information regarding it.

TEAM-BASED DISCUSSION

I will not disclose the contents of the specific team-based question that Wharton has asked interviewees to prepare. I do know the question and it has changed from last year, but the question itself is not really that different: Different topic, but requiring the group to reach consensus on a proposed topic. I do provide analysis of the TBD discussion question to my own clients, but will not do that here.

Here are some basic group interview strategies to keep in mind:

1. Be someone who makes clear and effective points in the conversation, but does not dominate the conversation.

2. Don’t be rude to others. Rude jerks are the easiest people to get rid of when evaluating participants in a team based discussion. Stanford Professor Bob Sutton’s No Asshole Rule surely applies here: CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT IF YOU ARE AN ASSHOLE.

3. Listen closely enough to others in order to say something that builds on or reacts against what other people are saying. Refer to what others are saying in order to build consensus. Those that did listen seemed to have a better outcome in previous years of the TBD.

4. Try to provide constructive communication that moves the discussion forward to a positive conclusion. Make an effort to include others in the conversation.

5. Don’t be afraid to make a less than perfect point. If you were about being perfect, you will never get enough speaking time and perceived as shy and ineffective in team situations. That will get you dinged.

6. Synthesize and summarize the team’s conversation in order to move the conversation forward.

7. Use hedging language and other forms of consensus building language. Try to avoid being dismissive of the views of others.

8. If you are having difficulty understanding someone because of their accent or because of your poor English listening skills, still engage in non-verbal demonstrations that you understand what they are saying. Non-verbal communication will surely be observed, so if you look confused or frustrated that could be used against you.

9. Smile and show eye contact with other people.

10. Make sure that you don’t slouch in your seat, but are sitting tall and look like a positive and engaged person.

11. Be willing to serve as the group in a functional role: timekeeper, notetaker, or facilitator. Making a contribution is of bottom line importance.

How I prepare my clients for the team discussion: The main thing I can do is go over the question and make sure my client’s prepared opening 1 minute statement is effective. The nice part of the Wharton team discussion is that you do have the question ahead of time. I assess the statement on the following basis:

1. Does the suggested answer address the topic directly?

2. Is the suggested answer one that other group members and the interviewer can easily understand?

3. Can the answer be communicated very briefly? Given time limits you will need to communicate it very briefly.

4. Is the answer interesting/original/creative?

5. Are there any negative aspects to the proposed answer?

I can’t effectively prepare someone for the actual dynamics of a group conversation on a one-to-one basis, but by at least making sure my client’s opening is solid, I know they will at least be well positioned to start strong.

SHORT INDIVIDUAL DISCUSSION (ONE-TO-ONE POST TEAM-BASED DISCUSSION INTERVIEW)

Based on what my clients reported to me and the public reports on Clear Admit, the 10 minute one-to-one interview is likely to consist of 4-6 questions, which I have divided into the following two categories.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TEAM BASED INTERVIEW

It appears that all applicants were asked both of the questions below. Be prepared to provide your feedback on the team-based interview. Assume that this is a test of your self-awareness of group dynamics, an opportunity to explain the role you took in the group, and a chance, hopefully to correct any misperceptions of yourself on the part of the interviewer.

1) How do you think the team-based interview went?

2) Was your behaviour typical of how you work in a team? / Was your behaviour in the Team-Based Discussion representative of the way you typically act in group settings?

How I prepare my clients for this part of the interview: I can’t really do that because it is based on what actually happened in the interview. The only thing I can do is make sure that my client realizes that they will be asked such questions and that they should be mindful of the role that they performed in the group. For example, if the interviewer perceives you, as say, overly reserved or overly aggressive, you need to be ready to discuss that issue.

TYPICAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (Assume 2-4 such questions)

For a more extensive list of Wharton 1-to-1 interview questions, see this post.

This is the standard part of the interview. If you are doing more standard interviews, it will be easy to prepare for this part. For advice on more standard interviews, please see my MBA Application Interview Strategy. I highly recommend reviewing your resume and Wharton essays as part of your preparation. You should surely be able to explain why Wharton in particular is the ideal place for you to study. You should have 1-2 questions available. If you are interviewing off-campus, you should have questions ready for an admissions officer. If you are interviewing on-campus, you had better be prepared to have questions ready for both an admissions offer and a 2nd year student.

Do you want to highlight anything in your application?

Introduce yourself

Discuss your career progress

Tell me about a time when you worked in a group in which everyone did not agree and how did your team resolve the situation?

What is your post-MBA goal?

Why MBA?

Why Wharton?

Do you have any questions for me?

Anything you want to add?

How I prepare my clients for the individual interview: I would typically ask my clients these questions in a mock interview. It would not be completely realistic because I would go over all the above questions just to make sure that my client was covered for all the above topics. If we were preparing for more standard interviews (Booth, Columbia, Kellogg, Haas, etc.), it might not really be necessary to go over this part of the interview for Wharton. For more about my interview services, please see http://www.adammarkus.com/services/.

-Adam Markus

October 06, 2015

If you get an HBS interview invite...

If you get an HBS interview invite…

The most important thing to do is quickly decide when and where you want to interview.

Spaces at all the hub interview sites tend to fill up early, so if you are not planing to come for a campus interview, reserve your space as soon as possible.

There is no inherent advantage to interviewing early. If you want more time to prep, select a later appointment.
Going to campus is great if you can do it and have not been before, but there is no inherent advantage from admissions results perspective in doing so.

For more about HBS interviews, see my recent blog post!

-Adam Markus

September 30, 2015

How to Prepare for MIT Sloan MBA Admissions Interviews

In this post, which is significantly updated, I discuss how to prepare for an MIT Sloan MBA admissions interview. If you have been invited to interview for the Class of 2018, this post is for you!

Beyond my 18 comprehensive service clients admitted to MIT Sloan since Fall 2008 entry (I began my own consulting service in September 2007), I have worked with additional clients only on interviews. and more still from 2001-2007 when I was working for a top test prep company’s consulting service. The advice below is thus based on working with clients on MIT interviews for almost fourteen years.

I do believe in the value of intensive preparation and doing mock interviews that are harder than the actual ones. As my client admitted in R1 for the Class of 2016 wrote in his testimonial, “Once I got the interview invitation, Adam gave me two comprehensive mock interviews that made my real interview looks like children’s game in comparison.” Whether you prep with me or otherwise, I hope this post helps you view the real interview in the same way!

YOU NEED TO BE A STAR!
Before reading the rest of this post, I strongly suggest reviewing MIT’s Preparing for Your MIT Sloan School Interview , because reading it first will maximize the value of my comments below.
The STAR technique is really the core method you need to use for answering Behavioral Event Interviews (BEI) 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 STAR technique was created by Bill Byham, who originated the behavioral interviewing method in 1970. 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.

How To Prepare Outlines for Practicing BEI 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.

A “typical” MIT Interview, which can last anything from 20-60 minutes (assume approximately 30 minutes), might consist of the following questions:
1. Any updates since you last applied?
2. 1-2 questions based on specific details from your application and/or resume related to a hobby, award, or work activity.
3. 3-6 of the above behavioral questions.
4. Perhaps a question about your goals or motivation for Sloan.
5. Questions for the interviewer.
DISCLAIMER: The above is just a general guide as the actual interview will vary greatly. If I do multiple MIT interview prep sessions with a client, I alter my style to account for the different interviewing styles an interviewee might encounter.

The Questions
Like he has done with many other schools, my colleague, Steve Green has compiled the following list of questions from from all the reports submitted to accepted.com and clearadmit.com. In addition to our client reports, we use lists of questions like these as part of our prep sessions with clients.

Two things that Steve encourages all applicants to remember:

1. Expect detailed follow up questions about the content of your answers.

2. Expect questions based on specific points in your essays. (Your essays may be quoted back at you.)

The questions in Italics were reported to Clear Admit and Accepted.com over the past year.

Resume and Background (Not usually BEI questions)

Do you have any recent accomplishments you want to share? / Are there any changes to your resume since you submitted it? / Tell me about a recent accomplishment that is not in your application.
Tell me more about
Walk me through your resume. (FOLLOW UP)
Why did you change jobs? / Why have you changed jobs frequently?
Tell me more about the leadership role you played in (NON-PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY ON RESUME.)
What do you do outside work?
How do you have time for all the things that you do (REFERENCING RESUME)
Tell me about your job, have your responsibilities changed since your promotion.
Tell me about yourself, what have you been doing in the last two years.
What exactly do you do? What have you been doing in your position recently?
Tell me about something at work you have been proud of in the last year.
What’s a personal goal that you’ve set for yourself recently?
Where do see your business heading?

Goals (Not BEI Questions: They did not ask about your goals in the essays, but they can certainly do so in the interview!)

Why an MBA?
Why now?
What do you think about MIT?
Why did you decide to apply to Sloan? Tell me your thought process.
What are your professional goals?
What are two professional goals you've set for yourself?
What are two personal goals you've set for yourself?

The BEI Questions

While public reports over the last year show a smaller range of questions, based on my own client reports, I do recommend preparing for questions beyond those that are italicized.

Teamwork and Relationships

Tell me about a time when a colleague had a different opinion or gave you feedback and how you incorporated that into your approach.
Tell me about a time when someone challenged your opinion.
Describe a time when your idea was rejected. How did you feel?
Tell me about a time when you had to work with people not at your intellectual level.
Describe a time when you had to manage a conflict. How did you resolve it?
Tell me about when you had a difficult time with your job.
How did you manage to resolve a conflict situation and move the team forward?
Tell me about a difficult conversation you had to have with someone.
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 a time when you influenced 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

Leadership

Tell me about a time when you mentored someone.
Tell me about a mentor or someone in your life who influenced you. Describe that influence.
Tell me about a time when you had to persuade your colleagues.
Tell me about a time when you set a goal and moved towards achieving it.
Tell me a time when you thought outside of the box.
Tell me when you did something innovative.
Tell me about a time when you were managing someone who did not meet your expectations.
Tell me about a time when you took the lead on something.
Tell me about a time you led a team to a solution.
Tell me about a time when you had to persuade/convince others.
Tell me about a time you convinced others to follow your plan.
Tell me about a time when you had to decide among multiple options.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Tell me about feedback you've received, and how you responded to it.
Describe a time when you took a big risk.
Tell me about a recent setback at your current position. What happened, how did you feel and what did you do?
Tell me about something you’ve done that you’re proud of.
Tell me about a recent disappointment where you believe you failed or did not do justice to your responsibilities.
What would recent team members say about what it was like to work with you?
How would a friend describe you? A client?
Tell me about a time when you had to step out from your comfort zone.
Tell me about a time you had to ask for help.
Tell me about a time you failed.
Tell me about a time your idea was rejected.
Tell me about a time when your expectations were not met.
Tell me about a time when someone needed your help.

Conclusion (Not BEI)

Any questions for me?
I’m meeting a lot of people today, what is going to make me remember you?
What do you wish I had asked you?

Further Advice on Practicing for MIT Interviews

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 limited 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.
5. Given that the MIT Interview will be either with an admissions officer (Always the case if the interview happens overseas. My International clients have had a much higher chance of interviewing with Rod Garcia than those who were based in the US!) or a contracted interviewer (Usually an MIT Sloan staffer, but not in adcom) who has read your file, you should closely review your own Sloan application. It is best not to repeat the stories you told in your essays, but feel free to discuss variations based on the same situation. You don’t want to make your interviewer feel like they hearing the same story they already read.

For additional suggestions on interview strategy, please see:

-MBA Application Interview Strategy
-Interview Practice is ABOUT SPEAKING!
-Further Comments on MBA Admissions Interviews
-General Characteristics of Admissions Officers, Students, and Alumni Interviewers
-Recovering from a bad answer during an MBA admissions interview
-10 Ways to Blow an MBA Admissions Interview
-When to start MBA interview practice? How to prepare?

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 MIT Sloan MBA interview!

-Adam Markus

September 29, 2015

Columbia Business School MBA Application Interviews

In this post I provide advice on how to prepare for a Columbia Business School MBA interview. You can find my post on Columbia Essays here.

Beyond my 29 comprehensive service clients admitted to Columbia since 2008 entry (I began my own consulting service in September 2007), I have worked with additional clients only on interviews. and more still from 2001-2007 when I was working for a test prep company's admissions consulting service. The advice below is thus based on working with clients on Columbia interviews for almost fourteen years. My client results and testimonials can be found here.

For my detailed suggestions on overall interview preparation, please see:
-MBA Application Interview Strategy

-Interview Practice is ABOUT SPEAKING!

-Further Comments on MBA Admissions Interviews
-General Characteristics of Admissions Officers, Students, and Alumni Interviewers
-Recovering from a bad answer during an MBA admissions interview
-10 Ways to Blow an MBA Admissions Interview
-and my more recent post, When to start MBA interview practice? How to prepare?

Columbia Business School offers only one flavor of admissions interview: “Columbia Business School Ambassador” alumni invitation-only interviews. You will get to select from multiple interviewers, so try to figure out who they are first before contacting them. I suggest using Google searches, LinkedIn, and perhaps your own network to do so. Select someone who you think you will be compatible with. While this interview is certainly important, it is not unheard of for admissions to admit someone the alumni did not recommend or ding someone the interviewer did recommend. The admissions office has the ultimate discretion over this issue and clearly sees the interview as only one factor for determining the ultimate result. That said, the interview is certainly quite important. In my experience, clients who report not having a great Columbia rarely are admitted, so you as an applicant should assume that like with any interview, it is very important t o do well. In my post, General Characteristics of Admissions Officers, Students, and Alumni Interviewers, I discuss Columbia interviewers specifically: “Among top US MBA programs, the school with the most alumni interview horror stories is most certainly Columbia Business School. Given their very open process where candidates choose from many possible alumni, there appears to be very little direct oversight over the interviewer selection process. It is no wonder that CBS admissions seems to frequently conduct short follow-up telephone interviews with applicants.”

Still, Columbia alumni seem to be particularly effective gatekeepers for the program. They are well known for relentlessly determining whether Columbia really is the applicant’s first choice. They are clearly told to do this as it is a consistent feature of interview reports. Not only should you be able to explain why Columbia is your first choice, but you had better explain why HBS, Stanford, and/or Wharton is not. Less then clear answers to the why is CBS your first choice question can prove fatal. Beyond that, I think alumni are really looking to make sure that you possess sufficient mental strength, personal drive (aggression), and career focus to become a part of their “club.”Some of the most common question topics you would encounter in a Columbia interview (Based on my colleague Steve Green’s review of reports at accepted.com and clearadmit.com, which is consistent with what clients have been reporting to me):

RESUME

Walk me through your resume. (PICK AND PROBE CONTENT)
Tell me about a professional achievement
Explain your professional progression up until now and why you need an MBA?
What is unique about you?

GOALS

What are your career goals?
In addition to applying for an MBA, what other steps have you taken toward your goal?
Why an MBA?
Why now?
Why Columbia?
How will you contribute to Columbia?
What are your criteria for an MBA program?
Where else did you apply?
What other schools have you applied to?
What will you do if you don’t get in anywhere else?
What makes you unique from other (financiers / salesmen / IT specialists, etc.) applying to Columbia?
Are there any red flags you think the adcom will find in your candidacy?

LEADERSHIP

What is your leadership / management style?
Tell me about a time when you took the initiative.
Have you ever been in a leadership role?

TEAMWORK

Tell me about a time when you had a work in a difficult team at your first job.
Tell me about a time when you had to work with a difficult person.
What role do you play on teams?
Example of leading a team.
Example of contributing to a team.
Example of a challenging team/group situation.

SELF-AWARENESS

Tell me about a time when you faced adversity?
Tell me about a time when you made a major mistake at work and how you dealt with it.

ETHICS (NOTE: IT APPEARS THAT THIS QUESTION HAS BEEN ELIMINATED FROM INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED FOR ENTRY FROM 2013 ON. YOU SHOULD STILL BE AWARE AND PREPARE FOR IT IN THE EVENT THAT AN INTERVIEWER ASKS IT OUT OF OLD HABIT)

What was an ethical dilemma you’ve faced, and what did you do about it? (Follow up with q's like "What would you do differently?")
Describe a time, either professionally or academically, when you witnessed others behaving unethically–what did you do about it?

PERSONAL

Tell me something unique about you
Is there anything particular you'd like me to add to my report for admissions?
What do you do in your free time?
What do you get excited about? What turns you on?
Why? (sports, hobbies etc.)
What are 5 adjectives that describe your interpersonal skills and communication style?

ANALYTICAL ABILITY / CURRENT EVENTS

Tell me about a technology trend and how it will affect business.
What is the impact of the financial crisis on (YOUR) industry?
Topical questions about the current financial crisis, etc.
Anything related to interviewee's field: Future or real estate, health care, etc.

Either walk me through your resume or questions that amount to the same thing are always asked. Expect to be asked one way or another about how you standout professionally. Be honest, but very direct and sell your experience emphasizing your ability to make an impact. A common question is “What improvements have made in the position hold at work?”

Be ready to ask questions to the alumni. Prepare them ahead of time. Assume that unless the alum is a very recent graduate, they should not be asked about recent developments on the campus. This is a good opportunity to ask them about their Columbia experience and about the alumni network.

If there is anything you wanted to mention that was not covered in your application that you want to bring to the admission committee’s attention, you will possibly have the opportunity to do so because interviewers frequently ask about this.

You probably will not be asked any weird hypothetical questions, but rather expect to cover some variation of the above questions in a great deal of depth.

Reported interview length is typically 60-75 minutes, but some interviews are shorter and some go for 90 minutes.

Brief Telephone Follow-up Interviews with an Admissions Officer: A number of my clients, especially, but exclusively non-native English speakers, have had short 5-15 minute interviews with the admissions office after the alumni interview. Many of my Japanese and Chinese clients have experienced this for purposes of an English language check, but I have also had clients from the US and Canada who received such calls. Sometimes the admissions office simply as a point of fact in the application that they want to clarify. From what I can gather, getting such a call is neither positive or negative in terms of the final result.

-Adam Markus

University of Chicago Booth MBA Admissions Interviews

In this post I discuss MBA admissions interviews for the University Chicago Booth. Beyond my 25 comprehensive service clients admitted to Booth since Fall 2008 entry (I began my own consulting service in September 2007), I have worked with additional clients only on interviews. and more still from 2001-2007 when I was working for a test prep company’s admissions consulting service. The advice below is thus based on working with clients on Booth interviews for almost fourteen years.

For my detailed suggestions on overall interview preparation, please see:
-MBA Application Interview Strategy
-Interview Practice is ABOUT SPEAKING!
-Further Comments on MBA Admissions Interviews
-General Characteristics of Admissions Officers, Students, and Alumni Interviewers
-Recovering from a bad answer during an MBA admissions interview
-10 Ways to Blow an MBA Admissions Interview
-When to start MBA interview practice? How to prepare?

The above posts are my general perspective on MBA admissions interview strategy and apply to Booth.

Booth interviews are conducted blind, so your interview will not have read your application and Interviews are conducted by admissions staff, students, or alumni. They are held on campus or in a location convenient for the prospective student. All interviews, regardless of who conducts them, receive equal weight in the evaluation process. The only thing they will have is your resume.

Most recent Booth interview reports I have seen (both public reports and from my clients), portray the interviewer as friendly. This is not typically a stress interview. Booth typically is using younger alumni for interviews, which is a good idea because they are much closer to the current culture of the school, which changed significantly in the last ten years. Almost all interviews involve student interviewers on campus or alumni off-campus.

Most interview reports indicate extensive questions about the contents of the resume. 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. As such the resume serves four 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.

Prepare to answer routine MBA questions. Most reported interviews simply consist of them. Have a few questions ready to ask your interviewer about the things that are most important to you and your MBA experience. Getting answers to your questions is an equally important part of any B-school interview.”
Like he has done with many other schools, my colleague, Steve Green has compiled the following list of questions from from all the reports submitted to accepted.com and clearadmit.com. In addition to our client reports, we use lists of questions like these as part of our prep sessions with clients.

RESUME

Walk me through your resume, but make sure you highlight just a couple of key achievements.
Tell me about yourself.
Why did you pick your major? Why did you earn a Master's degree?
What are you hobbies / other interests and why?

GOALS & BOOTH

What are your short-term goals?
Why are you pursuing an MBA?
What do you expect from your MBA in the long term?
Why now?
Why Booth?
What other schools have you applied to?
How do you compare them to Booth?
How would you decide between two schools?
Why would you choose Booth over those?
What will you contribute to Booth?
What do plan to do outside the classroom at Booth?
What is your Plan B if you don't get accepted to any b-schools?
You will not meet most of you classmates after the two years at school. How will you make sure you learn the most from this distinguished set of people? How will YOU make sure they learn from you?
Clarifying questions about Booth's program.
What professional groups will you join?
Which social groups will you join?
Booth has classes that present different settings: group-based, individual, project-based. Which ones do you have a preference for? Why?
What will you contribute to Booth, or what will you bring to the Booth community?
What if you hate your internship – what is Plan B
Place yourself 30 years in the future… what would you define then as having been successful?

LEADERSHIP

What is your leadership style, and how do you function when you are not a leader in a team?
Tell me about your leadership style?
What is one area of weakness you would like to work on regarding your leadership style why earning an MBA?
Discuss a time when you had to manage a difficult team or teammate, and how did handle that experience?
Tell me about one occasion in which you displayed leadership.
Tell me a solution you have recently proposed to your employer (asked for an example in my last setting)
Can you tell me about a time when you made an unpopular decision
What is your most defining leadership experience
Describe your leadership style with an example
Tell me about your leadership experience. What/who has influenced your leadership style?
Please give me an example of a leadership-based conflict you experienced.
Tell me about a leadership failure you experienced. How will it help you at Booth?

TEAMWORK

What role do you take on in a team? How have you handled a team-based conflict?
Can you tell me about a time that you led your team / convinced your team to do something
Can you tell me about a time that you led a team over a period of time
Can you tell me about a time that you resolved conflict within your team
Can you tell me about a time when you disagreed with someone at your level

STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES

Tell me about a time you encountered a challenge?
Tell me about a decision you made that you later regretted.
You have had a lot of success in the past. How do you handle failure?
Tell me something you feel passionate about.
What do you think is a weakness that people can have inside or outside of work
Tell me something about you that I could not know from reading your resume
What are 3 things your friends would describe about you?

OTHER

What are the differences you’ve found between different nationalities while working in a multinational?
How is a regular day in your line of work?

CONCLUSION

Is there anything that we have not covered that would like to point out, on or off your resume?
Do you have any questions for me?

Reported interview length is typically about 45-50 minutes. Both shorter, 30 minutes, and longer, 60 minutes, interviews are possible.

Best of luck with admission to Booth for Fall 2016!

-Adam Markus

Stanford GSB MBA Admissions Interviews

Stanford GSB’s is the hardest MBA admission interview invitation to get on the planet. If you have been invited, your chance of admission just went from about 6.5% (depends on the year) to 50%. The odds are much better, now you must close the deal. While a poor interview is unlikely to result in admission, the admissions process at Stanford is holistic and a great interview is no absolute guarantee of success.

You can find results and/or testimonials from my clients admitted to to the Stanford Classes of 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010 here. My full Stanford results prior to the Class of 2014 can be found here. My clients admitted to Stanford GSB have come from China, India, Latin America, Japan, South Korea, and the United States and have had extremely diverse professional and educational backgrounds. The advice I provide below is based on that experience.

Stanford GSB MBA admission interviews, while so hard to get, are not necessarily hard interviews because (1) most of the questions are relatively predictable, (2) the overall style of the interview is typically conversational, and (3) time constraints are either minimal or non-existent. This is interview about fit as typically determined by an alumni “gatekeeper.” Interviews with admissions or other Stanford staff do happen as well, but this is relatively rare. Chances are good that this gatekeeper might be in your industry or in some manner have a complementary background for assessing you. For example, if you might be perceived as lacking a particularly important attribute (professional experience in the field related to your goals or English skills for example), don’t surprised if the alumni is someone who is in a good position to judge this. While I imagine in some places with few alumni, a high level of complementary assessment (e.g., Mc Kinsey applicant interviewed by Boston Consulting Group alumnus) would be less likely, I can say that it is the rule rather the exception if you reside in a location with numerous Stanford alumni.

Interacting with the interviewer
You can typically expect a lively exchange and hopefully a good conversation. If your interview is scheduled for late on a workday or on a weekend or outside of the interviewer’s office, whatever you do, don’t make any plans for it to end on time as Stanford interviews are well known for going long.

Reported interview length for interviews is official 45 minutes, but can go on for longer than that. It usually consists of 30-40 minutes of questions from the alumni followed by 5-15 minutes of question to the alum, but often the interviews go longer, an hour or more is not uncommon. In my own experience with clients, I would say that if the interview goes for an hour or more, that is a good sign, but a 45 minute interview is not necessarily a bad sign. Interviews that last 75 minutes to 120 minutes are not uncommon.

Whoever you interview with, they are likely to be quite friendly and the style of the interview is conversational. Stanford alumni are provided with very clear guidelines for how to conduct interviews. The alumnus will be provided with a list of questions, which they utilize. The extent to which the alumnus does this appears to be highly variable. You may get more of an informal conversation with the occasional behavioral question or you might get something consists of many of the standard interview questions mentioned below.

Just because your interviewer is friendly, it does not mean that you are doing well. Don’t assume a friendly interviewer is not actually a super critical one. Alumni are the gatekeepers and Stanford can afford to reject anyone. Take nothing for granted.

Preparing for the interview
Given the mix of standard interview questions and behavioral questions, I do suggest you prepare extensively for both kinds of questions. For my detailed suggestions on overall interview preparation, please see:
-MBA Application Interview Strategy

-Interview Practice is ABOUT SPEAKING!

Tell me about your background/walk me through your resume.
Tell me a bit about yourself
What extracurricular activity are you most proud of?
What did you take away from your undergraduate experience?
What do you like to do outside of work?
Tell about a time you streamlined operations/made things more efficient? What did you do? How did you measure its success?
What metrics did you use?
Tell me about your international experience.
What is your favorite place you've traveled?
What is your company's strategy? Is it succeeding?

GOALS, REASONS FOR MBA, REASONS FOR STANFORD

Tell me about a specific time when you realized you needed an MBA.
Why a Stanford MBA?
Why do you need an MBA?
Why now?
Why Stanford?
How would you decide between schools if you got into multiple MBA programs?
What will you bring that is unique to the program?
How will you contribute to Stanford?
What are your short-term goals? Long-term goals?
Where else have you applied? How have those worked out?
Explain how you are ready for academic rigor.

CHARACTER & CHALLENGES TO YOUR BELIEFS AND VALUES

Tell me about a time you faced an obstacle and what did you do about it?
Tell me about a time you faced an ethical situation.
Tell me about a time you had your beliefs challenged.
Tell me about a time you had to stand your ground and how did you do it?
Tell me about a time your values were challenged and you had to consult your moral compass?

DIFFICULT WORK RELATIONSHIPS

Tell me about someone difficult to work with that was in a position above you and what you learned from it.

CRITICISM AND FEEDBACK FROM OTHERS

Tell me about a time when others have pointed out a weakness of yours.
Tell me about the most valuable piece of feedback you’ve ever received. How did it change your relationship with that individual? Why was it important?
What is a valuable piece of feedback you have received?

FAILURE

Tell me about a time things didn't go according to plan and you failed? What did you learn from it?
What did you learn from a failure?
Tell me about an individual or group failure.
Tell me about a time when you failed. What did you learn from that event and how have you implemented what you learned from that failure?
How do you deal with failure?

BOOKS YOU'VE READ

Name a book that you’ve read recently that was not for work. We then discussed that book.
What is your favorite book that is not work related?
What are your 3 favorite books?

INSPIRATION, PASSION

Tell me about what inspires you.
Is there anything you've done merely out of passion?
If money were not an issue, what cause would you pursue most vigorously?
Tell me about a time you wanted to give up but found the motivation to keep going?
What is your greatest accomplishment?
Tell me about a time you had to make a trade-off between two equally attractive opportunities?

TEAMWORK

Tell me about a time you worked with a difficult team member or manager.
Tell me about an individual or group failure.
Tell me about a team experience.
Have you ever led a team?

LEADERSHIP

Tell me about a time when you had to lead a team of individuals. What did you learn about yourself? What did you learn about leadership?
Tell me about a leadership experience.
Tell me about a time you knew you were an effective leader and how did you know?
What is your leadership style? Give me an example of how you’ve led that way.
When have you led peers and how?
Tell me about a time when a leader fell short and you had to step up and lead.
Tell me about a time when you’ve been challenged as a leader and what you learned from it.

Demonstrate Fit
You need to be able to explain in-depth why you should be admitted to Stanford, what you can contribute, and what you want to learn. Be willing to openly discuss what soft and hard skills you need to improve/acquire. Show yourself to be open, dynamic, change oriented, and a highly motivated person because the alum will be.

Prepare good questions
Since there is supposed to be time for you to ask questions to the alum, you need to give some significant thought to formulating those. Consider what year the alum graduated and any other background information if you can determine that through Linkedin or other sources of information. Develop four or more questions to ask.

For more about my interview services, please see here.

-Adam Markus

HBS Admissions Interviews for the MBA Class of 2018

In this post I provide advice for HBS Admissions Interviews for the MBA Class of 2018.

HBS ADCOM HQ

In my experience, applicants who succeed at HBS MBA interviews go to their interview with a sense of confidence based on having done careful preparation. My clients who have failed the interview stage have often done so because of related reasons: lack of confidence and/or preparation. Of course, there are times when the post-interview reason for getting dinged is never clear. The reality of having too many well qualified applicants means that many who would certainly make the post-interview cut don’t, simply due to lack of available seats. While these issues could be the same for any interview, the reality is that HBS admissions interviews are more intensive than that of most other schools. Failure to take this interview sufficiently seriously is a recipe for disaster.

My interview-only and comprehensive service clients have been admitted to the regular HBS for the Classes of 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2005. My clients’ results and testimonials can be found here. In addition to providing comprehensive application consulting on HBS, I regularly help some candidates with HBS interview preparation only. I have worked with a large number of applicants from Canada, Europe, India, Japan, other parts of Asia, and the United States on HBS application. I think that this range of experience has helped me understand the many possible ways of making an effective application to HBS.

Before reading this post, I suggest reviewing some or all of the following previous posts:
-MBA Application Interview Strategy

-Interview Practice is ABOUT SPEAKING!

Keyword: A selling point or even a weakness	Stories	Questions It Might Answer
Example: Analytical	Development of 6-sigma strategic framework for XXX, inc. Discovery of accounting errors during first year of work. Senior thesis on the S&L Crisis	Name three words that describe you (This would be one) What are your strengths? Why? (This would be one.) How do you solve complex problems? How could you contribute to your classmates? What skill are you most proud of?

(You can cut and paste this into MS Word or Google docs)
In addition to outlining key words and stories as discuss in my general post on interview strategy, you actually more directly connect this to the specific four criteria (See my essay analysis post) that HBS values in order to see how well you are covering each of the criteria in your interview preparation. The chart below will help you map out your own HBS interview strategy.

HBS Active Interview Preparation Chart

Keywords: A selling point or even a weakness	Stories	Diversity	A Habit of Leadership	Analytical Aptitude and Appetite	Engaged Community Citizenship	Questions It Might Answer

Example: Analytical	Development of 6-sigma strategic framework for XXX, inc.			Analytical		-Name three words that describe you (This would be one) -What are your strengths? Why? (This would be one.) -How do you solve complex problems? -How could you contribute to your classmates? -What skill are you most proud of?
Cooperative	Overcame team conflict when developing 6-sigma strategic framework for XXX, inc.		-Demonstrates consensus based leadership -Can lead others			–Name three words that describe you (This would be one) -Tell me about a project that you've worked recently where you exhibited leadership. -What kind of leader are you?

(You can cut and paste this into Google Docs or Microsoft Word and alter it to include more rows.)

To use the above chart: Try to develop 10 or so keywords and stories that relate to HBS’s four criteria for admission. Don’t forget to include weaknesses when you do so. Your objective is be ready to tell your best stories as effectively as possible. Use the above chart to help determine which key words and stories will convey the most about you. Remember that you want to use stories that are different from the ones you used in your essays. You might be asked about something in your application, which you should be prepared to discuss, but also assume you will need to provide new stories as well.

You need to know your application very completely as you will be asked by adcom about its content.
Review your entire application (not just resume and essays, but everything including the transcript) very carefully and consider what your interviewer might ask you to explain more thoroughly. Remember: Anything is fair game. Assume that the weakest parts of your application will be topics in the interview. Assume the worst-case scenario and be very prepared to address their concerns. Given the annual failure rate at HBS, if you have any academic weaknesses (low GPA, a relatively weak TOEFL, insufficient proof of a quantitative background), be ready to address those issues. Be prepared to tell new stories and alternative versions of the stories you told in your essays.

If you think that either your English ability and/or interview skills are somewhat weak, be prepared to do extensive practice both with other people and alone. The self-study component can be particularly effective if you are trying to cover a huge range of questions and also master telling your best stories.

A point I continually make to own clients who have been invited for the HBS interview is that proper preparation for this interview really requires that you look for all the weak points in your application: Rip yourself apart in order to try and determine what you need to be especially ready to address. Getting a fresh perspective by reviewing your own application is certainly helpful. In addition, you should consider having one or more other people who can help you prepare for this and who will review your entire file. If you use any paid services, make sure that the mock interviewer (admissions consultant, admissions counselor, interview coach) will be reading your application first and developing a list of questions based on that review and with an understanding of what HBS asks, otherwise they are not really helping you prepare for an HBS interview. When I do mock interviews for interview-only clients, I always ask to read their applic ations if they are not doing a blind interview. For schools like HBS and MIT, which are never blind, reading the whole application (especially the essays) is critical for simulating the real thing.

The questions you get will be specific to you.
Most questions will not be odd, but they may be unexpected. On the other hand, the reports that I get from my clients and a number of public reports indicate that the majority of questions are actually common ones. Be able to articulate clearly what you want to learn at HBS and what you can contribute. While it is important to be able to discuss leadership, don’t assume the interview will be entirely focused on it. The interviewer will come in knowing what they want to ask you.

In addition to my own knowledge, I have reviewed reports of Harvard Business School interviews found at accepted.com and clearadmit.com. My colleague, Steve Green, has collected and organized some of the commonly asked questions from those sites.
His general conclusions about HBS interviews:

Expect to be asked for more details about most every topic discussed
Expect topics to change as the interviewer will pursue detailed answers to topics that interest him/her
Expect questions to feed off your responses rather than to be scripted
Don't be surprised if the interviewer does not allow you to ask questions: they treat this interview as a chance to learn as much about you as possible in a limited time
Bottom line: Harvard interviews are quite rigorous compared to other MBA admissions interviews

Here are the questions Steve has collected and organized.

RESUME, CURRENT POSITION

Explain your career path. / Take me through your resume.
Describe your career progression, and talk about the most important things you learned about yourself along the way.
Why did you choose to join this company?
How did you pick your current job?
What are the best and worst things about your current job?
How did you end up at your company?

What do you think about their training program?
What’s the company’s position compared to its competitors?
What was different about your previous job compared to this one?
What was the most surprising aspect about this company when you first joined?
What worries you about the company?

Explain your career path.
Why did you want to work in _____________?
How has your leadership evolved with your promotion(s)?
Who do you admire in your current industry?

Where is the industry heading?

Who do you admire in your post-MBA industry?

Where is the industry heading?

Tell me about your typical day?
How do you find the time to do all you do?
What's most important to you outside of work?
Why did you choose to major in X at your undergrad university?
Why did you enjoy (SOMETHING FROM UNDERGRAD)?

REASONS FOR MBA, HBS

What is your career vision?

What are the steps you plan on taking to get there?
What are the challenges you will face?
How will an HBS MBA help you?

Why do you want an MBA?
When did you decide to get an MBA?
Why HBS?
In class, what type of profiles are you looking to meet? From who would you like to learn something?
What can you contribute to HBS case method discussion?
What experience outside the classroom are you looking for at HBS?
What will you do if you don’t get into business school?
If
we called you and said there is only 1 seat left in the class and 10
candidates remaining, what would you say differentiates you from them?
How do you want to impact HBS?

LEADERSHIP & TEAMWORK

Tell me about a project that you've worked recently where you exhibited leadership.
What kind of leader are you?
Who is a leader that you admire and why?
Name a business leader you admire (non-government).
Tell me about a time you had to work with someone you did not get along with.
Give me an example of a project you've had a difficult time with.
Tell me about a time when you raised an unpopular idea?

STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES

What do you feel you need to improve most at your current job?
What would your supervisor say is a weakness?
How would your colleagues describe you?
Your recommender mentioned that you excellent at what you do: Why do you think that is?
Give me an example of a project you've had a difficult time with.

VALUES & PERSONALITY

How did you find the application process? Did any of it surprise you?
Is there something about you that has not been addressed in your application?
What is a recent non-fiction book you've read? (FOLLOW UP)
What is the most recent fiction book you've read?

What do you think the author was trying to say about society?

What is the most interesting article you've read lately?

Did you agree with it?

What is a common misperception people have about you?
Can you tell me about a time when people's perceptions about you turned out to be wrong?
What words would people use to describe you?
What would your 5 closest friends say about you? Why?
What would a peer that knows you well say you should keep doing, start doing, or stop doing?
Is there anything that would surprise me?
What do you do when you have a really bad day?
What TV shows do you watch?
What sources do you use for news?
Given what you know now, if you could go back to university and pick your subjects, which ones would you?
What motivates you to get out of bed every morning?
What drives/motivates you?
If you could have lunch with anyone in the world who would it be?
Who would you want to sit next to in your first year at HBS?
What would be your dream job?
How would the people who know you best describe you?
What are people surprised to learn about you?
How do you fit with different cultures?

CONCLUSION

What's a question that you thought I was going to ask you but didn't?
Is there anything else that you haven’t mentioned in your application that you would like to share at this time?

Assume there will be at least one question for which you might not be ready for, but don’t panic. Take a deep breath. Answer the question and do not become flustered. Be ready to answer questions about a hypothetical case study, conflict with colleagues, and the latest book you read as these have all been reported frequently. For example, If you are asked what is your favorite flavor of ice cream is (I have had clients asked questions almost like this) and you hate ice cream say that. If you like ice cream just briefly state why for whatever flavor you like and assume that the interviewer is just seeing how you react to a question you were not ready for.

Adcom interviewers are usually friendly, but to the point. They don’t do stress interviewing at HBS exactly, but they will question you intensely. They will be taking notes. Anything you say can be subject to inquiry, so speak concisely, answer questions precisely, and try to avoid voluntarily bringing up any topics that you really don’t want to talk about. Assume the you will be asking follow-up questions, expect to be able to analyze/explain in a great deal of depth. Your interviewer will know exactly what he/she wants to ask you because the purpose of the interview is (1) to see if you look as good in reality as you did in paper and (2) to address any concerns that they have about your suitability for HBS.

Don’t Psych yourself out! It is particularly important that you don’t worry too much about your perception of the interviewer’s attitude as this can be a particularly good way to become nervous. I have had too many reports of clients doing this with HBS. Your interviewer maybe less friendly or more friendly, maybe more aggressive or less agressive, but whatever their attitude focus on your answers. Feel free to panic and cry after you have exited the interview, but avoid doing so during it.

Have Mock Interviews that reflect both the range of questions and various kinds of interviewers you might encounter. If I do multiple mock sessions with the same client, I will use different interviewer personalities. Here is how I helped a client who was admitted to HBS for the Class of 2016 (The client’s full testimonial can be found here):

“Adam digs deep into your application to understand your vulnerabilities and asks challenging questions to prepare you for the worst. He also exposes you to a number of interviewing styles that you may encounter at HBS – from the amiable interviewer who lets you take the discussion in a direction of your choosing (which can be very dangerous), to the probing style that challenges your statements and changes directions on a dime.”

The friendly interviewer will let you hang yourself, the aggressive interviewer will challenge you, the indifferent interviewer will give you very little feedback so you have to take charge, and the rude interviewer will interrupt you and appear condescending. At HBS, you are not likely to encounter a rude interviewer (That type is most common amongst alumni interviewers), but friendly, aggressive, and indifferent are very common types. Whether you are being made to feel good about the interview or not by the interviewer, your mission is still to convince this interviewer that you are right for their school. While you may have some idea of the personality of your interviewer before you interview, chances are you will not. It is therefore particularly important to prepare for a variety of different types of interviewers.

Reported interview length for all interviews is 30 minutes. HBS is totally consistent about this. So part of effective preparation on your part, means really considering time management and not wasting time in the interview by providing answers that are too long.

For more about my interview services, see here.
See here for how to answer the HBS Post Interview Reflection.

-Adam Markus

Kellogg MBA Admissions Interviews for the Class of 2018

This post has been updated for admission to the Kellogg MBA Class of 2018.

In addition to this post and my school specific posts found on Interview Analysis section of Key Posts page of my blog, please also see:

-MBA APPLICATION INTERVIEW STRATEGY (Start with this one even before reading the rest of the Kellogg post)

-Interview Practice is ABOUT SPEAKING!

-When to start MBA interview practice? How to prepare?

Just as with essays, interviews for the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management MBA applicant interviews are all about fit. I could not really tell you how many Kellogg mock sessions I have conducted since 2001, when I started working as an admissions consultant, because the number is simply too huge. Given the fact that Kellogg has an open interview policy, more applicants will interview there in any year that anywhere else. Reported interview length could be from 30 to 60 minutes, with most reported interviews taking 30-45 minutes. As I work with clients from all over the world, I have discovered that Kellogg interviews are pretty consistent worldwide, both for the good and bad.

Know your Resume!

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 four main functions:

1. 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.

2. 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. In the case of Kellogg, it is almost always the case that the resume plays a role in the questions that you will be asked.

3. 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. Make sure you know your numbers and dates. Make sure you can discuss anything on your resume.

4. 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.

You need to be prepared to answer routine MBA interview questions

Most reported Kellogg 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). 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?

In MBA Application Interview Strategy I discuss some specific ways to prepare for many of the types of questions discussed above. Additionally, since some Kellogg interviews involve behavioral interview questions, I would suggest reviewing my post, MIT Sloan MBA Interviews. MIT Sloan MBA Interviews will also introduce you to the STAR method for telling stories, so if you need help in telling stories (especially ones about teamwork and leadershIp), I recommend reviewing that post.

Reread your essays!

Given that your Kellogg essays should contain key content to answer many of the above interview questions and because no interviewer will have read your file, feel free to make complete use of your essays for your interview. Unlike in interviews where the interviewer has read you file, for Kellogg feel free to draw upon on your essays and not even just your essays for Kellogg. For example, if you have written effective contribution content for Wharton Essay 2 or London Business School Essays 2 or 3, you might find it very useful when answering a question about how you would contribute at Kellogg. It surprises sometimes when I am doing mock interviews with a client and they have not reviewed their own essays very much. This a core repository of content. It will need to be altered for purposes of the interview, but you should use it!

Lack of Consistency in Kellogg interviews

As you should know Kellogg’s new motto is THINK BRAVELY, but as far as interviews go, I would say their motto must be INTERVIEW INCONSISTENTLY. While most Kellogg interviews are moderately difficult in terms of the kind of questions that are asked and the attitude of most interviewers (admissions officers, alumni, and students) is professional and friendly, other types of interviews are possible and not uncommon. Given the huge number of alumni interviewers involved in this process, this is especially a problem with alumni interviews whether held on a Kellogg Interview Day (many applicants and interviewers all meeting at the same place for one-to-one interviews) or just through an arranged one-to-one off-campus interview. Even on-campus interviews with students lack some consistency as I will discuss below. Only interviews with admissions officers fit into some predictable norm of moderately difficult and professional.

Some types of dysfunctional Kellogg interviews:

The Cake Walk: The lovely expression “as easy as cake” can be applied to some international interviews that I have heard about. This can be nice for the applicant, of course, but surely is unfair for other applicants. A cake walk interview consists of some of the standard Kellogg interview questions, but everything is very surface level and most of the interview is just nice conversation. The interviewer then prepares a sterling evaluation of the applicant even in terms of areas that were not necessarily addressed in the interview because the men involved (not always, but typically from what I can see this involves men and is just another form of immediate locker room type bonding). If you find you are having an apparently very easy interview, just make sure you work as many key points about your self into the conversation while maintaining a positive and friendly feeling about the whole thing.

“You really don’t fit because I don’t like you”: The worst reports I have heard about have involved Kellogg alumni interviewers who expressed their dislike for the applicant. The interviewer uses highly judgmental language that often barely hides bias. This bias might be gender-based, class-based, or industry-function based. We are not talking here about merely an agressive interviewer, but rather an interviewer who actively looks down on the applicant. Frankly I have never read or been about such an interview being conducted in the US, but I do know about such unpleasant interviews conducted through Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The only thing I can suggest during such an interview is that you hold your own, don’t cave against bully you are dealing with, but respond aggressively in defending yourself and why you belong at Kellogg. The abuse of power is an ugly thing. If you feel you have been treated particularly badly, you s hould consider reporting the details of this to Kellogg admissions.

English not spoken: One of the best reasons to eliminate alumni interviews completely especially when an admissions office is because alumni interviewers don’t always conduct some or even most of the interview in English. I have client reports of this from around the world. This can be to the advantage or disadvantage of the applicant. If an applicant is trying to really highlight their English communication ability, having an interview that is not conducted in English might not be particularly helpful. In addition, speaking in another language is often a gateway to the two previous types dysfunctional interviews I mentioned above. I have no specific suggestions for what you can do when an interview is not conducted in English if you think the interview is going well. If you think the interview is not going well, you can consider this grounds for informing Kellogg admissions. Since Kellogg admissions waives some interviews and subsequently conducts telephone interviews, I would not be surprised if your interview was initially waived. Most applicants will not want to complain about an interviewer, but if you feel you were treated badly, it is worth considering. Advice for international applicants who really want to highlight their English communication skills: Go interview on-campus because campus interviews will be conducted in English.

Bored, hungover, busy, and/or tired: Most reported student interviews are not like like this, but it is no surprise that some of these interviews involve student interviewers who wish they were some where else doing something else (studying, sleeping, recruiting activities, etc.). Not fun if you have traveled to Evanston and find your interviewer is just not that engaged in the process. If your interviewer seems less than engaged, just make the possible case for yourself and don’t let their indifference get to you. The worst thing you can do is react to someone else’s lack of energy. You must maintain your enthusiasm even in the fact of complete indifference. Just imagine you are talking to a mirror and ignore the interviewer’s lack of engagement. I don’t think you can really complain to admissions about this issue. Just be aware that might happen.

While I think it is nice that Kellogg basically interviews all applicants (some applicants are waived initially from interviewing but ultimately do a telephone interview if Kellogg is actually interested in admitting them), it does come at the cost of consistency. I do think that putting all applicants on level playing field means giving them an interview that is conducted with a fairly high degree of consistency. Of course, the moment alumni are involved at any school, consistency tends to get lost unless the school really works hard to maintain standards and weed out bad interviewers. I know many alumni do a great job and should be praised for their involvement with the process, but unfortunately this is not always the case. I have pointed these issues out so you are prepared for the worst case scenarios. Hopefully you will not experience them.

Best of luck with admission to Kellogg’s Class of 2018!

-Adam Markus

Adam Markus: Graduate Admissions Guru

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