Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Wharton Interview Tips

A few tips and guidance from our reviewers, two of whom interviewed successfully at Wharton:

"First, let me clarify - at Wharton, unlike other schools, the interview won't keep you out of the school. However, it is obviously one of the many things that counts towards the strength of your application and can come down on either the "Yes" or "No" side of your decision heavily. So it's key to be prepared.

The style is almost always conversational - regardless of who you interview with. Your answers to the 'script questions' should be authentic, well thought out and prepared - Why Wharton, Why MBA, Why Now, ST / LT Goals, Walk through your resume, etc. Prepare these in front of a mirror / webcam - you have no idea useful this can be! Even better, do a mock interview with us or with someone else.

For the behavioral / leadership / teamwork questions, have a few thoughts in your mind that you can pull out and use if the opportunity presents itself. Know yourself, know the school, know your story. Be friendly, humble and project your accomplishments without coming off as arrogant. Body language is important!"

To do a mock interview with a Wharton alum, send us your preferred time slots (EST) in an email at essaycritique@gmail.com. To get our blog discount, mention WHDISC in your email.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Ross Interview Guidance

As the interview invites start to roll for Ross Round 2, here are some useful tips from one of our reviewers who successfully interviewed at Ross:

"The great thing about interviewing at Ross is that there are a few questions you absolutely know you will be asked. Be fully prepared to answer:

- Walk me through your resume / background
- Why MBA? Why Now?
- Why Ross (being prepared for this is critical)
- What will you bring to Ross?

Besides these questions, you will be asked a couple of behavioral questions - describe a team experience, challenge you have faced, mistake you made, failure, confrontational situation, disagreement with a colleague, etc.

Quite frankly, the answer to the "core" questions above are very important and you should spend the majority of your time practicing and re-practicing those answers so that you know clearly what your story is and how you are going to communicate it.

There is a fine line between communicating your story and sounding arrogant so be careful not to cross it. Also, you should have a clear idea of what you will be involved in when you get to Ross and how. "

Between the hours of 7 - 10 pm EST, our reviewers are now conducting thirty minute mock interviews. Mention ROSSDISC when you contact us and get a discount for reading this blog!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Mock Interviews by H / S / W Alums

Starting Monday, January 18th, our four reviewers will conduct mock interviews between the hours of 5 - 11 pm Eastern Time on weekdays and for a few hours on the weekends.

The thirty minute interviews will be conducted via phone or webcam and reviewers will provide a detailed analysis of your responses and your body language / non-verbal communication right after the interview. If these timings don't work for you (or if you don't want a live interview), we are also offering an analysis of a recorded interview.

Interviews will tailored to the school that you are interviewing at and feedback will be provided based on the school's requirements.

Why do a mock interview?
You've gotten this far, so don't stumble now. Practicing is the key to successful interviewing - and what better way to do this than with people who've been in your shoes not too long ago? The feedback you get will be detailed and will include suggestions for improving your verbal and non-verbal communication.

Interested? Send us your details and preferred time slots at essaycritique@gmail.com

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

HBS Essay - Career Vision

A number of you have written with questions about HBS and it's "Career Vision / Why is it meaningful to you" essay. We realize this is a hard question so here are some guidelines you can follow -

"To describe your career vision, think long term - it is important to articulate to HBS AdCom where you see yourself over the long term. In many essays that we read, this career vision seems unrelated to your past experiences - and while it is alright to want to make a career change, it is equally important to highlight why this career change is your career vision e.g., if you are in Technology and describe your career vision as a leader in the Microfinance sector, it is critical to highlight how this became your goal.

To describe why this vision is meaningful to you, you can concisely describe past personal or professional experiences that make this vision relevant. Especially if your vision is a "popular" MBA vision (e.g., entrepreneurship), try to highlight why this is different for you by using this "meaningfulness" criteria.

We also see a number of applicants try to force fit the "Why HBS" angle into this answer. It is alright to include this component if it makes sense in the context of your essay and story, but not required - do not force fit it if it means compromising other parts of the essay"