© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
— Prashant Tibrewal
The road to a top global business school does not end with scoring high in the Common Admission Test (CAT); it merely opens the door to the next challenging step — acing the interview. While the overall admit rate for top B-schools might appear moderately encouraging at 10-15 per cent, a deeper look reveals just how steep the competition is. Of every 100 applicants, approximately 30-40 might receive an interview invite. However, with fewer than half of those invited ultimately gaining admission, the odds remain daunting even at this stage.
In essence, securing an interview is a milestone, but it is far from guaranteed success. The admissions interview is your last and most critical opportunity to distinguish yourself from equally qualified candidates. Preparing for it with the same rigor as the CAT can be the difference between receiving an admit letter and falling short.
I’m often asked how I managed to crack the MIT Sloan interview. With only three days to prepare, I believe what made the difference was my confidence, my ability to think on my feet, and my commitment to being fully engaged in the conversation.
Here’s a deeper look into business school interviews and how you can make the most of your chance to impress your dream school.
The format and style of business school interviews can vary significantly across schools. Here are a few common types:
– Blind Interviews: In this format, the interviewer only has your resume, not your complete application. A number of schools follow this approach to ensure unbiased evaluation.
– Behavioral Interviews: This is the most common interview style, focusing on your past actions in specific situations. Questions typically begin with “Tell me about a time when…” This format is often used to assess your problem-solving skills, leadership experience, and adaptability.
– Team-based or activity-based Interviews: Schools like The Wharton School use a team-based interview approach, where they get to understand your behaviour within a team environment. IMD Switzerland holds “assessment days” where they conduct personal interviews and also have candidates complete a series of other tasks. These formats assess your communication skills, teamwork, and ability to collaborate effectively.
– Admissions Committee Interviews: Some schools have multiple people from the admissions committee interviewing you together. These could be senior admissions officers, along with a professor on the panel. This format requires you to engage with different people simultaneously and demonstrate adaptability in your responses. Such interviews also veer towards subject-related discussions at times.
You’ve already submitted a resume, SOP, application essays, letters of recommendation, and other documents. With all the information admissions has on you, what are they still looking to assess?
The interview allows the admissions team to go beyond your application. Here’s how they evaluate you:
– Quality of Experience: Business schools know that applicants often exaggerate accomplishments. The interview lets them probe into these claims, covering actual challenges, your actions, and the outcomes. These are best presented only by applicants who have actually lived the experience. Further, behavioral questions, such as “Tell me about a time when you had a difference of opinion with your manager, and how did you convince them?” provide an opportunity to share true and detailed evidence of your qualities and skills.
– Clarity of Goals: An MBA or master’s program is a major investment for both you and the school. The admissions team wants to see that your decision to pursue business education is well-researched and intentional.
– Personality/Cultural Fit: Schools want to know if you are the same person presented in your application. Are you as passionate about sports as you may have tried to list on your application? Have you worked with diverse teams and how did you manage this diversity of opinions, backgrounds, and perspectives? What was the last time you took an initiative outside the defined scope of your work? Conversations around these topics help the school understand if you fit into the environment and the class composition that they are looking to create.
– Analytical Ability: Business schools attract students from fields ranging from tech and finance to fashion and medicine. They seek problem-solvers who can analyze issues, break them down, and offer creative solutions. Mini case studies or guesstimates often test this approach.
– Self-awareness: You are expected to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses, the gaps that you want to fill and the skills that you seek to leverage, as you progress in your career. Admissions officers see this as an indication that you are ready to make the most of your time at business school.
Now that you understand the evaluation parameters, here’s how to ace the interview with targeted preparation.
– Know yourself: Were you able to impress the interviewer with every answer? If not, then reassess your strategy. The first step to preparing for an interview is to list down 3-4 aspects of your profile or experience that will impress the interviewer – your background, achievements, or leadership experiences – that you can highlight. Once you have figured this out, you will surprise yourself by your ability to bring up these aspects that you identified, in most of the questions asked.
– Have an authentic conversation: Interviewees being overprepared for the interview is a common observation that many interviewers make. Most interviewees do not listen to listen. They listen to answer. Treat the interview as a conversation rather than a Q&A session. Use anecdotes and humor, if appropriate, and express yourself authentically. Above all, answer questions like you were talking to a known person, without sounding too rehearsed with your answers.
– Read between the lines: Most interview questions have no right or wrong answer, so it’s essential to understand the question’s purpose. Just answering may not be enough; instead, analyze what the question seeks to uncover and tailor your answer accordingly. The same story, for instance, can highlight teamwork or team conflict, depending on what the interviewer might want to assess.
– Practice storytelling: Over-preparation is risky, but lack of preparation is even riskier. Avoid structuring stories on the spot, and don’t let a story drag on without a clear point. Practice key ideas and stories beforehand, using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method to keep the interviewer engaged and to the point.
– Present Genuine Interest: While applying to multiple schools is common, lacking focused research can come across in interviews. Talk to alumni, read about program aspects, and personalize your responses by mentioning specific features of the program that align with your goals. Close the interview with thoughtful questions, that demonstrate genuine interest in the program.
Final Thoughts
Cracking a business school interview is a blend of preparation, self-awareness, and adaptability. It is natural to be anxious and nervous; and the best way to stay comfortable is to treat it like a conversation. Listening carefully, answering effectively, and staying confident are the three most important components of acing the interview. Above all, the interview is as much an opportunity for you to assess your fit with the school as it is for the school to evaluate you. Enjoy the conversation and stay authentic to maximise your chances of success.
(The author is the founder of Alum-n-i, and Founding Member of ISBmantra & AdmitSquare Consulting)
