With the completion of Round 1 of submissions, it is now interviews time. While we do have a good idea of what you bring to the table through the applications the interview helps us know you better. A lot of you might be contemplating the kind of questions that will be thrown at you; how to answer; what to say, what not to say. I am presuming that at this point, a note on interview tips would just do you right. So here goes.
1. Why MBA? This question could be one of the first ones to be asked. You have a past experience. You have done something and now you have plans for the future. So how does an MBA fit into your plans? Expressing a clear set of goals (both short-term and long-term) for how an MBA will have an impact on your future is what we want to hear. Try and connect your current role to your post-MBA goals as much as possible. The exact roles, responsibilities, and industry you want to be in are not important what is important is that you have thought about your future and an MBA fits well with that future.The interview panel will have read your essays and gone through your CV. However, they do not have access to your academic and GMAT scores (to avoid any kind of influence and for a fair judgment). The panel will question you on what you’ve written in your essays and about your work experience. The learnings that you have derived from your workplace, the kind of initiative you’ve shown; the leadership potential that you have displayed, how have you contributed to the team, etc – with examples – is what we want to know. Quality of your contributions is worth more than the quantity. Be prepared to be questioned on any aspect of your application. We would typically not go outside of what is mentioned in the application.
2. Communication skills – This is a very important aspect of your interview. How you converse, your language, clarity of thought, your listening skills (how receptive you are to ideas from the panel etc), your confidence levels, the energy you bring into the room are some of the basic things that an interview panel looks at very closely. Do you come under pressure very easily? How well do you articulate any topic of discussion? These are some things that you can think about when preparing for the interview.
3. Last but not the least, the most important tip – be yourself and be honest.
All the best!