Tuck Japan Trek 2009 Sponsor

The Japanese students at Tuck are putting on their first Japan Trek this year, which I think is wonderful way for them to teach their fellow MBA students about Japan. I am very pleased to serve as an official sponsor of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth's Japan Trek 2009 because I know such trips will build lasting bridges between individuals and nations.

-Adam Markus
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Questions? Write comments, but do not send me emails asking me to advise you on your application strategy unless you are interested in my consulting services. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant." If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Strategy

In this post, I have decided to simply comment on the mostly helpful advice that Wharton provides in Tips on the Wharton MBA Admissions Interview. In addition to my own knowledge of Wharton MBA interviews, I am drawing on the reports found at accepted.com and clearadmit.com.

For those who might be interviewing with J.J. Cutler, the new Director of MBA Admissions & Financial Aid, you should read my earlier post on him as you get can learn about his background, though I can't say that it will provide you with much insight on how he conducts interviews.

I have quoted that entire Wharton Tips text and inserted comments. Wharton's original text is in bold.

Tips on the Wharton MBA Admissions Interview

Invited to an interview? Here are some tips directly from the Admissions Committee to to help prepare you…

PURPOSE

Interviews provide additional information about your candidacy that is included in the final reviews of your application. As such interviews, are not the decisive factor in your admissions decision. In most cases, interviews are fairly consistent with the application.

ADAM: At Wharton, interviews are just one factor that goes into the determination to admit, waitlist, or reject. That said, don't take this interview lightly because I think is fair to say that those who don't do a superior interview are unlikely to be admitted or at least waitlisted.

STRUCTURE

Interviews are blind, which reduces bias as your interviewer will have no preconceived ideas of your ability or personality based on your written application.

ADAM: While it is true that all interviews are blind in the sense that interviewers will not have read your application, if you interview with an admissions officer or alumni you have had previous contact with, the interviewer may very well have preconceived ideas of your ability based on that contact.

Interviews may include behavioral questions. Questions may center on specific examples or detailed descriptions of events, projects or experience that demonstrate how situations you’ve faced in the past have been handled and what you learned from them. Behavioral interviewing assumes that past performance predicts future behavior.

ADAM: Sure, this is possible, but a review of Wharton's interview reports indicates that the behavioral interview method is generally not used at all or used extensively. However, the fact that they have a statement like this means that you should be prepared to answer behavioral questions. See my post on MIT interviews for more about that.

No advance preparation is required. Questions are straightforward and cover topics such as why you seek an MBA, why you feel you are a good fit for Wharton (vice versa), what your career goals are, how you spend your spare time, what you value, about what you are passionate, etc. You will not be asked analyze a case study or demonstrate your mastery of particular subjects.

ADAM: A review of Wharton's interview reports indicates that the questions are almost always straightforward. You should certainly prepare for this interview by becoming comfortable answering the full range of such general MBA questions as well as being able to discuss everything on your resume. See here for more information about how to prepare for such questions. It is particularly important that you be able to express why Wharton is your first choice.

All interviews carry equal weight. There is no advantage to interviewing on-campus or with an admissions staff member. Arrange the type of interview that is most convenient for you.

ADAM: Based on my experience with clients, I can say that I have not ever noticed any real distinction in terms of outcome (admit, ding, waitlist) that was traceable to who the interviewer was. If you do an alumni interview, you will might have a choice of alumni to select from. The one advantage of this is that you can find out about the alums ahead of time. If you have an off-campus option of meeting with an admissions officer, you will be able to learn about him or her as well. Campus interviews are with students or admissions officers, but you will probably not have any information about your interviewer ahead of time. Each option has its inherent advantages and disadvantages. Alums and admissions officers are likely to be more experienced at interviewing, whereas students are more likely to be your peers. My suggestion is to select whoever you will feel the most comfortable with.

GENERAL TIPS

Interviews are dialogues or exchange between two people. Steer away from pre-rehearsed speech and over reliance on your résumé. We are interested in getting to know you as an individual, so follow the cues of the interviewer.

ADAM: This is really sound advice regarding the structure of the exchange. Successful Wharton interviews often become conversations rather than simply a question and answer session. Their advice "to follow the cues of the interviewer" is really applicable to any interview, so listen to each question and don't simply blurt out the first thing that comes to your mind. Also try to gauge how long your answers should be based on the conversational style of the interviewer. Instead of making speeches, make certain that you are engaged in a dialogue. One thing to practice is giving short, but very direct initial answers to questions.

The exact length of the interview does not indicate how well the interview went. While we schedule 30 minute interviews, they may vary a bit. Deviations from the schedule are random and unrelated to the candidate.

ADAM: Reported length is typically 30-45 minutes.

Do not expect the interviewer to give you feedback – literally or figuratively. Be careful to avoid any interpretation of verbal or non-verbal communication, as both may mislead you.

ADAM: I think asking for feedback is a particularly odd thing to do because it puts the interviewer in a difficult position. The advice to avoid interpretation of verbal or non-verbal communication is nonsensical and/or simply badly stated. As a human being we cannot avoid such interpretations. More specifically, Wharton has previously suggested following the cues of the interviewer, which is a form of interpretation of both verbal and non-verbal communication. What they probably meant to say was that one should not necessarily assume the absence or presence of positive verbal and/or non-verbal feedback from the interviewer indicates how well your interview is going. This might be true or it might not. It is certainly is the case that whatever way your interviewer acts, you need to stay positive and focused and not over-analyze the interviewer's reactions.

Interviews are not a popularity contest. The interviewer is assessing your fit for the Wharton MBA program, not whether or not the two of you would make good or best friends.The key is to relax, be genuine, and enjoy the opportunity for us to get to know one another.

ADAM: While these interviews may not be popularity contests, your objective is make sure that the interviewer understands why should be a part of the Wharton community. As these interviewers are gatekeepers, convincing them that you belong at Wharton requires that you be well prepared as well as relaxed and genuine. Being both well prepared and genuine requires real practice, so don't focus on one at the cost of the other.

-Adam Markus
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If you are interested in my interview preparation or other graduate admission consulting services, please click here.

Questions? Write comments, but do not send me emails asking me to advise you on your application strategy unless you are interested in my consulting services. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant."


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UC Berkeley Haas MBA Interviews

Before reading this post on UC Berkeley Haas MBA, I suggest reviewing the Director of Admissions for the Full-time MBA Program's excellent Tips for Acing the Admissions Interview. I also suggest that you listen to the short podcast on interviewing found at http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/haas/podcast/audio/haas_mba_interview_tips1.mp3. The advice is very simple and clear and applicable to most schools. If you think you will get special insight about the Haas interviews from listening to this, you will likely be disappointed, but still it is worth a listen.

The reports of interviews found at accepted.com and clearadmit.com make it clear that you need to know your resume completely as you will be asked about content in it ("Walk me through your resume"). 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.

You also need to be prepared to answer routine MBA questions. Most reported interviews simply consist of them. See my previous post on basic interview strategy.

I see no reports and have not been told about any trick questions really. Be prepared to ask questions about the program. If you have an alum interview, be prepared to have a number of questions.

Interviewers (students, adcom, or alumni) are usually friendly and consistently try to create a very relaxed interview atmosphere. Most interviews are conducted with students on-campus or alumni off-campus. I did read some reports of relatively weak student interviewers, so don't be surprised if this should happen. Regardless of how your interviewer performs, just be relaxed and positive. This is an interview about fit and your own potential, so make sure you can explain in depth why you want to attend Haas, how you will contribute to it, and what you intend to do afterwords. Previous contact with alum, visits to campus, and/or intensive school research are all great ways to prepare. For more about Haas, you might want to read this.

Campus interviews are scheduled for 30 minutes and usually last 30-45 minutes. Alum interviews seems to last about 45 minutes to an hour.

If you are interested in my interview preparation or other graduate admission consulting services, please click here.

Questions? Write comments, but do not send me emails asking me to advise you on your application strategy unless you are interested in my consulting services. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant."
-Adam Markus
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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

Wharton's Director of MBA Admissions & Financial Aid, J.J. Cutler

In January, Wharton announced they had had a new Director of MBA Admissions & Financial Aid, J.J. Cutler. This is what Wharton says about him:

J.J. Cutler is the new Director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid. Since 2007, J.J. has been President of Lindi Skin, a start-up offering skin care products specifically designed for people with cancer. In this role, he developed a strategic vision and successfully positioned the Lindi Skin brand, securing national media coverage and expanding the community of healthcare professionals sensitive to the skincare needs of cancer patients. He has served as Senior Vice President of Marketing for ARAMARK Healthcare's North American group and spent seven years in a variety of roles at Johnson & Johnson. Among other responsibilities, he managed over-the-counter brands; oversaw new market development for a variety of chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases; and helped create Canyon Seven, a wellness business developed in partnership with Canyon Ranch Health Resorts. While at Johnson & Johnson, he won the prestigious "Standards of Leadership" award for his work in building an MBA recruiting strategy for Wharton.

J.J. has deep roots in the Penn community. He earned his B.A. in Communications from the College (School of Arts and Sciences) and his MBA in Operations Management and Strategic Management. While at Wharton, he served as a student advisor to the Academic Affairs office and a teaching assistant for the undergraduate Marketing 101 course.

The first "J." stands for Jonathan, by the way. As he entered PENN undergrad in 1989, he is approximately age 38. As you can tell from the above, he has no adcom experience, but is clearly an involved Wharton alum. I think it is very interesting that the Wharton approach was to hire someone without prior admissions experience. It is also interesting that they did not promote someone internally. While I will not predict a shake up in their admissions processes for Fall 2010 yet, I would not be surprised to see one coming. In his (JC) interview with Clear Admit (CA), I found the only interesting part to be the following:

CA: How might the admissions process at Wharton change under your tenure? Do you have any plans to do things differently than your predecessor?

JC: Yes. In the short term we are right in the middle of round two, so nothing is going to change today. And I am just a few weeks into the job, so I think it’s premature to make changes right away.

Longer term, I do think that innovation is a hallmark of Wharton’s curriculum and a hallmark of the way in which we view all of our processes, including admissions and financial aid. Going forward, we will be looking for innovative ways to attract the right candidates, as well as to be innovative in terms of the transparency of our process.

We want to continue to arm prospective applicants with the tools they need to provide us with the best applications they can. To that end, we will continue to providing opportunities for students to come tour our campus, to sit in on classes. And we’ll look for innovative ways to expand on these offerings. And we will also be going out and doing global presentations about Wharton so that applicants around the globe know what we have to offer.

So I do think that there are lots of ways we will continue to be innovative. But in the short term, for rounds two and three of this year, we will continue with the process as it currently exists.

The new director appears to be a manager presently engaged in the process of learning about his organization before taking actions to alter it. Clearly, the time to alter it would be approximately after Round Three results are announced. The rest of the interview, which is worth reading, is basically useful for showing the extent to which J.J. Cutler is just reciting the basics regarding Wharton's processes.

Some more information about his experience can be found in the job announcement for his previous position:

Prior to Lindi Skin, Cutler held the position of Senior Vice President of Marketing for ARAMARK Healthcare. In this role, he led the marketing team, driving its leadership position across the enterprise and innovatively communicating that position to the marketplace.

He earlier worked with Johnson & Johnson in roles with increasing responsibility for several divisions, including: Leading OTC brands at McNeil Consumer Healthcare, including Tylenol([R]) PM, Motrin([R]) IB and Pepcid([R]) AC; and Biologic products at Centocor, including the company's leading product, Remicade, where he led new market development for a variety of chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

Cutler is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a Senior Scholar of the Department of Health Policy at Jefferson Medical College. He earned his bachelor's degree in Communication from the University of Pennsylvania and his Master of Business Administration in Strategic Management and Operations from The Wharton School. Cutler serves on the Board of Directors for the Independence Visitors Center Corporation in Philadelphia.

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Questions? Write comments, but do not send me emails asking me to advise you on your application strategy unless you are interested in my consulting services. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant." If you are interested in my interview preparation or other graduate admission consulting services, please click here.

-Adam Markus
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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

MIT Sloan MBA Interviews

Before reading the rest of this post, I strongly suggest downloading a copy of MIT's excellent guide to behavioral interviews, The MIT Sloan Interview Guide, because reading it first will maximize the value of my comments below.

The behavioral interview method is not old:
“Bill Byham, CEO and founder of Development Dimensions International, originated the behavioral interviewing method in 1970.”

In fact, the STAR technique outlined in MIT’s guide 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.

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 in MIT essays. It is simply this (taken from the MIT Sloan Guide):

• Situation: define the situation or “set the stage.”
• Task: identify the task/project performed.
• Action: describe the action you took.
• Result: summarize the outcome

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.

Since your interviewer will know your file well, you need to have alternative stories for answering behavioral questions. Unlike MIT's behavioral essays, you need not limit your answers to topics from the last three years. My suggestion is to have a mix of stories ready to deliver from different times in your life.

You can find behavioral questions in the interview reports found at accepted.com and clearadmit.com. In addition, the list of behavioral questions found at MIT Career Services site is actually quite good for preparing for answers to wide variety of questions.

Beyond answering, behavioral questions, you need to know your own application completely as you will likely be asked about content in it. Re-read your essays and consider what your interviewer might ask you to explain more thoroughly.

You need to be prepared to answer routine MBA questions as well. While the answers may be analyzed using behavioral analysis, don't be surprised if you get asked questions like "What do you want to after your MBA?" or "Why Sloan." See my previous post on basic MBA interview strategy.

The interviewers, all admissions staff, are generally reported to be friendly. They are the only ones who conduct interviews.

Based on reports, interview length could be from 30 to 60 minutes with 45 minutes to 60 minutes being most common.

For more insight into MIT, please see here.

If you are interested in my interview preparation or other graduate admission consulting services, please click here.

Questions? Write comments, but do not send me emails asking me to advise you on your application strategy unless you are interested in my consulting services. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant."
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス

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