A business school admission process can be quite stressful, especially when it comes to a face-to-face interview where you meet with the admission board and have to prove to them that you deserve to be selected for the study. Naturally, there is no need for you to sit and hope for the best, there are lots of things you can do to secure a place at your dream school. A solid preparation process is one of the most effective strategies in this situation. There are several steps you can take to prepare for your business school interview, and here are some of the most important ones.
Identify Your Strongest Points and Sell Them
To get into your dream business school, you do not have to be perfect, and you do not even have to make a perfect fit or have the best academic achievements – you just need to know how to sell yourself well. The craft of “selling yourself” is all about knowing your strengths and using them to convince the admission committee that you are worth the place at the school.
Before your business school admission interview, do a self-analysis, and find the things about yourself that make you stand out. There could be something exceptional about your personality, your academic achievements, your professional experience, or even your drive for success. Prepare at least five “selling points,” all backed up with some evidence or short stories that prove your point for you to sound more convincing when you mention them to the committee. As an option, you could mention your special teamwork skills or leadership potential you’ve had since early childhood. Let the admission board see how your strong sides coincide with the core values of the program you are applying for.
Practice, but Don’t Overdo It
Get ready for the interview, and have a friend help you train by setting up mock interviews, but do not over-rehearse it, you don’t want to sound like a robot during the actual interview. If you prepare too much, your speech will sound scripted, which will not make a good impression on the admission board members. Although it is going to be an interview, it still has to go smooth and natural, more or less like a casual conversation where you get to present some interesting information about your past experiences.
Go through your application and highlight the best parts of it. Be ready to comment on it and give your interviewer additional information on some of the most interesting parts of your experience. Additionally, come up with a few engaging stories from life to give to the interviewer when they ask for some details but make sure to introduce the story only if it goes in smoothly, do not mention if there is no evident reason to do so. Be prepared with all the materials your interviewer might need.
Go Through Common Questions
If you want to know what to expect from the interview and how it usually goes, there are lots of resources online that can show you how the process goes step by step. Additionally, those resources can help you predict and prepare some of the business school interview questions you might be asked during your interview. Having a sketch of good answers prepared can be life-saving if you want to impress the board members with your wittiness but are not sure if the stress will stop you from doing that. In most schools, you will need to answer some of the following questions:
- What career goals do you have and why do you want to pursue them?
- Why have you chosen this school?
- Tell us about a time in your life when you had to lead a team and comment on your experience, how did you handle it?
- What are your strongest and weakest points?
- Tell us about a challenge you had in your life and the way you managed it.
- Do you have any further questions regarding our school or the studying program?
Prepare Your Own Questions
In case you are still wondering if it is appropriate to ask some questions, it is not just appropriate; it is obligatory if you want to show your genuine interest in the program and the school. At the end of the interview, you will be asked if you have any further questions, and even if you don’t get that question, make sure to initiate a talk where you get the answers you are looking for. In most schools, they will look at the questions you ask and see just how good a fit you are, so make sure to come up with something unique and original, something that doesn’t say “this was the first link on Google.”
Genuine interest and thoughtful preparation will prove to your interviewer that you are a great fit, and the answers of the latter will help you understand if the school itself is a great fit for you personally. If there is such a possibility, do research on your interviewer, and look them up on LinkedIn or the school’s website. It will help you tailor better questions and come up with more relevant answers. Being mindful will help you keep your emotions together and not feel too stressed about the admission process.
Stay Real and Grounded
Preparing for the interview might take quite some time and be stressful. If you feel like getting some help with your admission application, consider reaching out to an essay service (https://essayservice.com/admission-essay) to have a professional writer do your admission essay.
Whatever happens, make sure to keep it real and be grounded. Show the admission board the real you, be genuine about the things that make you unique, and help them see the things that inspire you and fuel your career aspirations. Demonstrate your enthusiasm and personality while being calm and reserved. The more sincere you are, the more thoughtful and grounded candidate you will appear to be.