Wharton New Interview 2010 Experience / Update

An update from our Wharton Alum on previously posted interview tips:

"Hi folks, from speaking with a number of our clients over the past few days that have interviewed at Wharton, it is obvious there has been a huge shift in interviewing style this year.   So far, we had not come out with this info because we wanted to hear it from our clients directly, rather than publishing it based on other sources.  We spoke to 14 interviewees about their Wharton interview experience in November 2010, and here's what we found.

What's changed?
Questions have changed focus from Why Wharton / why MBA, etc. to six behavioral questions.  Tell me about a time when:

• You have been working toward the completion of an important task, when it has been necessary to consider the opinions and feelings of others
• You have worked as part of a team working towards an important goal, when you have addressed conflict between two or more team members
• You have worked with others to complete an important task, when there was no formally appointed group leader
• You have ensured an important task has been completed, when you felt others were less focused than you on completing the important task
• You have had to persuade others to your way of thinking, when at first they did not buy into your idea.
• Your ideas have been challenged by others, requiring you to defend your opinions.

What stays the same?
A lot.  Interviewers still look for the same things that they did before.  Solid experiences, good communication skills, a humility and warmth and friendly body language.  Through these questions, you should try to demonstrate both your professional experiences and your personal attributes.  Be enthusiastic, describe your experiences with expression and draw the interviewer's interest into your story. 

So why would Wharton use the same questions repeatedly with all students?
Mostly to establish consistency.  When you ask the same questions of people back to back, you get a clear way of distinguishing between personalities, characters and ideas.

What about the scripted questions? 
While it might seem like the Wharton interview just got super easy because you know the three questions they will ask, don't be under that illusion.  Know your resume, why Wharton, why MBA, why now COLD.   These could come up at any time in the conversation and could make/break the reviewer's impression of you regardless of how you answered the questions above.

How should I prepare for the new 2010 Wharton interview format?

1. Think about some situations that have been crucial in developing your career or have been personal milestones for you (3 - 5 experiences)
2. List the people that were involved in these situations and the role that you played, as though you were writing a script
3. Write down a summary of each situation, the actions you took and why it was such a critical experience for you - what did you take away from it?
4. Use these experiences to then weave your answers to the questions above.  
5. Don't restrict yourself just to these three questions, think about other behavioral questions that may be asked and how you could use these situations to respond to them
6. Try to be a (real) story-teller, not a newscaster.  Tell a story that you would want to hear from someone you just met
7. Tell the story to someone you don't know at all.  Shameless Plug: it could be one of us :-)
8. Practice, Practice, Practice - Get in front of the mirror, record yourself, observe your own body language and shrug off the gestures or mannerisms or phrases that you don't like from your vocabulary and body language

Wharton Interview Tips 2010

Hi everyone,

Congratulations to those who've been invited to interview at Wharton and good luck!  Here are a few tips from our Wharton alum (who is now busily conducting mock interviews over webcam for those interested!):

"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!

One thing that people often forget to do when they explain why they want to go to Wharton  is explain the MBA bit, spew out a bunch of things that they like about the school, but forget to explain how the school's offerings tie in with their short term and long term goals.  Make this linkage very clear in your interview.

Finally, remember, the school is called "The Wharton School".  NOT "Wharton School of Business", NOT "Wharton Business School" and NOT "Wharton GSB".

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

HBS Interview Experience 2010

Hi everyone,

It seems like the HBS interview invites are rolling and so we here's a quick refresher of our interview guidance.  Once our clients start interviewing, we'll anonymize post whatever they want to share on this blog as well, so bookmark us and keep checking back!

Guidance from our HBS Alum:

"The HBS interview is not the Wharton interview - don't go in expecting a casual conversation that you can drive.  Go in expecting an interview that will be driven mostly by the interviewer.  Expect them to be taking notes and assessing you during the interview.  Expect a few tough questions - also, expect that you will get almost no encouragement from the interviewer while you are speaking.  Of course, it could turn out that your experience is much more casual than this, but we would encourage you to go in expecting this. 

The interviewer will know you, your profile, your essays and your resume cold before you even step in to the room.  They will look to see if they hear the same person that they read about - so be sure to stay authentic and true to the voice that you reflected in your application. 

There could be one or maybe more deep dives into your resume - be prepared with at least a few snippets or phrases that you want to cover when a question like this comes up for any of the experiences you have on your resume.  Same with questions about your undergraduate education. Expect a few behavioral questions too. 

HBS interviewers are either AdCom or a few (very) select alumni so they are experts are doing this (vs. interviewing with students at some other schools).   Walk in confident, but not arrogant, and describe your experiences with humility.  Show your personal side and give the interviewer something to remember you by when they are done at the end of the day.  

Don't forget to Practice, Practice, Practice - webcam, mirror, mock interview with family / friends (and us!).  Good luck!"

To do a mock interview with a HBS alum, send us your preferred time slots (EST) in an email at essaycritique@gmail.com

Five MBA Essay Mistakes to Avoid

Hi everyone,

Now that we've reviewed a bunch of Round 1 essays, we revisited our "5 Mistakes" blog from last year and updated it slightly, but also found a lot of it is still pretty relevant!  As you're thinking about your Round 2 Essays, here are some quick traps to watch out for...

1. Answering a Different Question - As simple as this sounds, we have found that a number of essays sent to us actually answer a different question than what is being asked.  Many times, this is because candidates first identify parts of their personality and professional experiences that they want to showcase, and then figure out how to "force fit" these experiences into the essay questions. The best way to avoid this mistake? Do it the right way - think of the question, and then write the answer, not the other way around.  After you're done, go back and check - have you answered the question exactly as it's asked? 

2. Skimming over the Details - "That day, I learned how collaboration and teamwork are critical to leadership...". Whenever you have one of these "I realized / learned" revelations, check to make sure that before or after you have supporting details that explain why or how you realized what you did.  The best essays are detailed enough that they naturally lead the reader to the conclusion that you were trying to hit.

3. Distracting Creative Imagery - "Beads of sweat dotted my brow as I lifted the rusty hammer to hit the moss covered..".. Great for a fiction novel, not so great for a business school application. We have seen a number of essays which are fun to read because they are written so well - unfortunately, they're just not written for an application. Especially all you very gifted writers out there, try and keep a check and keep the language simple.

4. Language, Grammar - If English isn't your first language, invest a lot of time in polishing the language and grammar in your essays. While a lot of people think it is OK to write in loose language if you are an international applicant, remember that you are competing with other international applicants who may not have this problem. As long as it feels like you have taken the effort to polish the language, you'll be in good shape.

5. Super-glorifying your accomplishments - Essays are all about you and your achievements. We get that, and of course you should brag about your achievements.  At the same time, if you were a first year analyst in a MBS group in an investment bank, don't say you helped your organization battle the credit crisis (if you didn't). State your accomplishments as is, and they will sound great. In an attempt to magnify accomplishments, we have seen a lot of essays that lose their authenticity and credibility.

Hope this helps! If you have something else you'd like to see covered here, send us an email at essaycritique@gmail.com.  We look forward to working with you!

Michigan Ross MBA - Fall 2011 Essay Tips

Ross's deadline is coming up on October 11th, so here are a few tips on how to tackle the Fall 2011 essay questions.  Two of our four reviewers were accepted at Ross, so they offer their words of advice here... 

1.  Introduce yourself in 100 words or less (100 words)
New question, and this one is actually easier than you think.  We love it, because it's 100 words and it gives you the perfect opportunity to give AdCom your best elevator pitch about you, your life, your personality, your professional background, just about anything.  

Our two cents here - keep it light, this is an introduction, there's enough room in the other questions to talk about the serious stuff, so for here, just project yourself as someone that classmates would actually like to have a beer with after class.  Don't go overboard in doing so -- it's really alright to sound like a normal, fun person, with a few interests.  

2. Describe your career goals. How will the Ross MBA help you to achieve your goals? (500 word maximum)
Before you start writing this essay, create a map for yourself. Link your professional experiences of the past to how you got to where you are now and why you think an MBA is the best thing for you at this point in your career. These experiences should lead the reader to the natural conclusion that an MBA would be the idea thing for your career right now.

Then, think through your short term and long term goals (don't forget either one) - and do it at a level of specificity that makes the reader believe that you have invested time in this self reflection. A lot of people tell us - "I don't know what I want to do yet!" Well, if there's one thing that you could do of the many that you want to do, what would it be? Then lay out why Ross. For this piece it is important that you go a step beyond what jumps out at you from their website - go through specific programs and parts of their curriculum and link them to your goals. Discuss which programs or people that you have met or spoken to that caused you to consider Ross as a top school.

The most important thing about this question - your entire essay should appear to have a single theme - your past experiences, why MBA now, goals and Why Ross pieces should all appear tightly integrated with each other. 

3. Describe a time in your career when you were frustrated or disappointed. What did you learn from that experience? (500 word maximum)
Once you have the situation picked out, first describe why this was frustrating or disappointing. What may seem obvious to you may not be to the reader - explain what the situation meant for you in the role that you were in.

Whether you eventually conquered (or "won" in some way) makes no difference here. Don't try to force fit a "I overcame it by.." - you don't have to. It's OK if you don't have a win story here. What's important is that you discuss very openly and clearly what you took away from the experience. How did your personality change after this incident(s) occurred? How did your attitude towards other people or an organization change? What would you do differently if you were faced with a similar situation in the future? 

4a. What are you most passionate about and why? (300 word maximum)

What a great opportunity to pick a topic of your choice and discuss why it's important to you!  The only thing here is, be sure to highlight how, in the past and in the present you actually 'apply' this passion in your life.   Use this essay - we highly recommend it! 

4b.  We expect that Ross MBAs will not only be effective leaders, but also effective teachers. How will you contribute to the learning experience of your peers at Ross? (300 word maximum)

If you feel like you have nothing substantial to say in Q. 4a (it's okay), this is a good alternative.  Use your professional background or community experience to describe how you will share with your peers at Ross.  You can discuss student clubs, initiatives that you will take, classroom projects, etc.  If you have professional networks that the class can benefit from, this is a good place to mention it! 

Good luck, folks - try and get your essays read by an independent, unbiased set of eyes!  Even if you don't use our services, be sure to ask someone that doesn't know you for their candid opinion on your essays - this is the best "preview" of AdCom's feedback.  

HBS Essays - Final Pointers for Round 1

As our reviewers are in the home stretch and busily reviewing HBS Round 1 essays for the deadline, a few reminders / pointers from our HBS alum based on common errors they've seen in the essays they've reviewed so far:

1. What have you learned from a mistake?  Remember, the question asks about a mistake, not a failure, not how you fixed a problem in the company, and not what you learned from a challenging professional experience.  Too many essays we've seen for this question completely miss the point.  Don't feel compelled to demonstrate a heroic endeavor here - just state the mistake you made, and what you learned from it.

2.  Renewable energy and Microfinance -- if you are going to express an interest in either of these things, make sure you explain why and what you've done in these areas.  Readers like us (and admissions officers) can get put off reading about these buzzworthy topics essay after essay if there isn't real substance in them.

3. Introduce yourself essay - try to lighten up.  It's okay to brag (really, it is), but at the same time, you want to introduce yourself and your real personality.  If you care about family, say that.  If you care most about mountain biking, say that.  Don't feel pressured to describe yourself as the flag bearer of literacy in the world if you aren't one.

4. Don't litter your essays with names of HBS grads remotely related to you or friends of friends that you have talked to once.  Use names only if it makes sense to do so and if it meaningfully contributes to what you are saying in your essay.

5. Finally, get your essays read and reviewed.  The entire package, not individually.  Get them read by family, friends, but most importantly, by an independent reader that doesn't know you at all.  Remember, the admissions officers only know you from what they read in your essays.  This may sound as a shameless plug for our services, but it's not.  You can get your essays reviewed by us or anyone else out there, but get them read by an unbiased reader that doesn't know you personally. 

Hope this helps!  Good luck this week to all Round 1 applicants. 

Note: We will be reviewing HBS essays until just before the deadline and are offering 24 hour turnarounds at a premium rate for those interested.