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During Interviews, MBA Candidates Should be Themselves – to an Extent
By Chris Hassan
Posted July 13, 2012 05:15 PM
Behaviors to avoid during MBA admissions interviews.In the competitive business school admissions process, prospective Master of Business Administration (MBA) students can use their interview to show there is more to them than a list of academic credentials and professional accomplishments. However, business school candidates need to be careful, as showing too much of their true selves to admissions officers can backfire.
Fight Back Tears, Resist the Urge to Hug and Find Dates Elsewhere
No MBA degree program wants to accept students who are pretending to be someone else on their application and during their interview. As a result, candidates who receive an invitation to meet with admissions officers should go into their interview ready to provide honest answers to the questions they are asked. While prospective students should be themselves, there are certain behaviors that have no place in an MBA admissions interview.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek recently highlighted a few real-life examples of things business school candidates should avoid doing at all costs. For example, while admissions officers value applicants who are passionate about their academic and professional goals, this is no reason for them to shed tears during an interview. This was the case with a candidate for Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, who was emotional throughout the interview.
It is also important for applicants to know their boundaries. No matter how warm and friendly applicants are, they need to resist the urge to hug the men and women they are meeting with. Furthermore, an admissions interview is not the place to ask someone on a date, which actually happened during an interview at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business.
Leave the Props at Home
Applicants might think that using markers or a flip chart to walk admissions officers through their resume will be helpful. However, what seems like a good idea has the potential to make an admissions interview memorable for all the wrong reasons. As a result, interview-bound candidates will want to consider leaving the easel at home.
What MBA Candidates Should do During an Interview
Going into an admissions interview, Poets & Quants recommends that MBA candidates relax and be prepared to answer questions about their resume, personal and professional accomplishments, strengths and weaknesses, and leadership experience. At the same time, applicants should have done enough research on the business school they are interviewing for that they can ask a few questions of their own.
