Almost all top business schools require an MBA interview from every applicant they will eventually admit. This interview gives admissions committees the opportunity to assess your career focus, communication skills, sociability, and gravitas and to determine whether you are who you say you are. The MBA interview complements the other MBA Application Components.
Your MBAPrepAdvantage Interview Preparation Service includes a Skype mock interview that optimally prepares you for both the actual content of the MBA interview and for using optimal body language. We review your “elevator pitch” and examine your capacity to handle wide-ranging questions about your career goals, strengths/weaknesses, leadership skills, managerial potential, etc. We also give you oddball questions designed to test your composure and ability to think on your feet.
MBA Interview Formats
Additionally, we prepare you for whether an admissions officer, student or alumnus interviews you and for the various MBA interview formats used by different business school (which often reveals valuable insight about how these schools evaluate applicants). An MIT Sloan MBA interview will ask emphasizes behavioral questions, which focus on your actions in past events rather than hypothetical situations. Questions often begin with “Tell me about a time …” This emphasis on behavioral questions is consistent with the competency-model used by MIT Sloan to evaluate applicants. Wharton conducts its MBA interview in two parts, consisting of a team-based discussion and then a standard one-on-one conversation. While most business schools conduct these interviews blind (i.e. your interviewer will have not first read your application), HBS is an exception. You can expect your interviewer to probe deeper into different areas of your overall profile after having first read your application.
MBA Interview Policy Comparison (2015)
MBA Interview Content
- Have you prepared a 2-3 minute “branding message” or “elevator pitch” that quickly summarizes your background in a manner compelling to the listener without bogging down in any one particular area?
- Are you prepared to answer expected commonly asked questions?
- Why do you want an MBA?
- What are your short-term and long-term career goals?
- Tell me about a time you made an impact?
- Are you prepared to handle the different interview formats that vary per school?
- Do you know how to avoid “red flags” that could torpedo your interview?
- These red flags are usually revealed in answering questions related to professional and personal failures, workplace conflicts, difficult circumstances, etc.
- Do you know what type of questions to ask your interview in order to build a positive impression?
MBA Interview Delivery
We use Skype for all mock MBA Interviews to effectively coach you on using optimal body language.
- Are you maintaining an appropriate level of eye contact?
- Are you conveying confidence in your body posture?
- Do your facial expressions and reveal positive emotions?
- Do your hand gestures complement your content rather than distract from it?
To discover more about how MBAPrepAdvantage’s MBA Interview Preparation and other services can help you gain admittance into your top MBA program, visit our Business School Consulting Services and Fees page.