After all the hard work and strenuous nights, when you finally get selected for the personal interview round in your dream MBA college, you don’t want to miss a single chance to make the most out of it. You have to make sure you give your best shot. While MBA entrances test your general aptitude, in the personal interview, the interviewer examines your personality traits. All the premier business schools seek students who have the right attitude, are optimistic, can handle pressure, are socially aware, and have a positive approach. Sometimes, the interviewer might ask the candidate such tricky questions that regardless of how confident the candidate is, he/she might fall into a pitfall. While getting into premier business school requires a lot of diligence and dedication, here are 15 tips and tricks which will definitely help you ace your MBA interview.
1. Prepare for the basic questions
While preparing for an MBA interview, candidates tend to focus so much on the tough questions that they forget about the basic ones. Basic questions that whirl around your ambition in life or future goals or why you want to pursue MBA are as important as the tough ones. Most candidates forget to prepare for these generic questions and fail to tackle them in the interview.
Also, many premier business schools want to ensure that they are inducting students into their institutions who want to pursue MBA for the right reasons. So, questions like “what’s your long-term vision?” to see how you would make use of your degree to contribute to society are very commonly asked. Thus, make sure to have a perfect answer to these questions. Many MBA graduates are inspired by big entrepreneurs and CEOs like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, who with their power and resources are making the world a better place. Hence, make sure you are prepared for such questions beforehand.
2. Brush up your general knowledge and current
While appearing for the interview you should be aware of what is happening around the world. The interviewer will test your general awareness and how conscious you are as a citizen. So be prepared a few days ahead of the interview with current affairs.
3. Make sure you are thorough with the details in your CV
Your CV reflects a lot about yourself, your talent, strength, and achievement. And if you have any past job experience or significant achievements the interviewer might ask you questions about them. So be well prepared to give detailed answers about everything you have written in your CV.
4. Business awareness
It is important to know the field you are entering into. A candidate’s sincerity can be seen in how aware he is about the realm he is entering in. You need to show your passion and interest in studying MBA.
5. Dress well for the interview
“Dressing well is a form of good manners”, this famous quote was given by Tom Ford and stands very true when you want to create a good first impression. When you walk into the interview room the first thing that the interviewer notices are what you are wearing.
Your clothes reflect your personality and it is important that your clothes reflect professionalism and that you are serious about the interview. Make sure you wear clean and ironed clothes and well-groomed for the interview.
6. Be confident
Confidence is the key to winning hearts everywhere. From the moment you walk into the interview room make sure you reflect confidence. Your self-confidence can overpower how much you scored in your exams. While answering a question, be confident about every word you utter from your mouth.
7. Body language
Just like your clothes and confidence, your body language speaks a lot about yourself. Make sure your back is not slouched while talking to the interviewer and you have appropriate eye contact. Appropriate eye contact is the first step towards having a good conversation. Also, avoid crossing your legs while conversing with the interviewer.
8. Honesty is the best policy
Be honest about your work and achievements. State your achievements honestly in your CV and only mention the work that you have done. While talking about any team project acknowledge the work that your team member has done and don’t take credit for the whole project. This will make the interviewer appreciate your humility, honesty and team effort.
9. Shift the focus towards your strengths
During the interview, the interviewer may ask you questions about a topic you are not comfortable talking about or you don’t know. It is then up to you how to direct the conversation towards something that you are comfortable speaking on. No human being is perfect and you might have some weaknesses, recognize your weaknesses and mention that you are taking active steps to improve them.
10. Be polite.
In some instances, you might have views differing from that of the interviewer but even in those situations, you must keep your calm. You can be assertive and yet polite at the same time while putting forward your point of view.
11. Be punctual
Your first impression is your last impression so make sure to put out the best version of yourself. Arriving late for your interview will make the interviewer think you are not interested in this opportunity.
12. Have an opinion
You should have an opinion and don’t fear if your opinion is different from that of the interviewer. Most colleges seek students with different ways of thinking. Students who have varying viewpoints will make for a holistic yet integrated crowd.
13. If you are not sure about an answer be honest
It is ok to not know the answer to every question that the interviewer has asked you. If you don’t know the answer to a question or you are unsure about an answer, be honest. But don’t give any wrong answers.
14. Be clear about why do you want to pursue this course
Most students pursue MBA without having a future vision. Be sure about why you want to pursue MBA and your future goals. Be it getting into the managerial field or becoming an entrepreneur, be clear about it.
15. Good communication skills
All these tips will fail if you don’t have good communication skills. If you can’t speak out what you are thinking, all the other tips won’t work. So work on your communication skills, maintain a pitch that is audible and comfortable but not too loud. Be clear about what you want to say and speak with confidence.
MBA interviews can be tricky. All the nervous jitters and anticipation on the day of admission can lead you to make mistakes, thereby undermining your potential. Nevertheless, when you enter the interview go with a smile, grace the panel, and put out the best version of yourself.