For people, who have interviewed already - which of the organized events did you like / find helpful? I am a little tight on time and trying to decide which ones to make it to. There is the coffee chat with students, lunch with faculty, the career development session, the 'what's next' session with Dee and a student reception. Thoughts?
RDeezy wrote:
Interviewed Yesterday on campus.
I'm pleased overall, I think it went well. I came up before the crazy blizzard because I didn't want to have to postpone. Selected the first interview slot for R2's and I'm glad because now it's over! I stayed with a friend in Soldier Field Park apartments. So even though the conference I planned to attend was cancelled due to the weather I still got a very real experience being couped up on campus the whole weekend. There were so many house parties that I was able to interact with students on a normal level and just get to know who they were as individuals. Geesh, everyone is so intelligent and doing amazing things already.....Good luck to everyone else in R2 or waitlisted!
@RDeezy - I also interviewed on Monday. We probably passed each other at some point during the day!
Much like what RDeezy said, the day was great. Participated in a class visit, campus tour, had lunch, faculty and student Q&As, career development session, a session with Dee and chair of the MBA program (RC year), and finally a reception with current students. The faculty, students, and facilities are incredible! Was pleasantly surprised how hands-on (and so nice!) Dee was from the start of the day to the end. Also, the admissions staff was fantastic; everyone was incredibly warm and helpful. In fact, during the class visit, the professor made it a point to introduce us to her students; who then clapped and wished us good luck for the interview (even provided some advice) -- all before the first cold call! Couldn't have been a warmer welcome.
Tip: Try to schedule your interview later in the day. For me, it was a great opportunity to first get to know the campus and program a bit (useful for the interview later), also it helped me calm my nerves -- a little.
The Interview: a group of us was led upstairs in Spangler and we checked-in with two admissions staffers who recorded our names and told us who would interview us, and then we waited. I suppose I could have Googled this person during the wait, but was too nervous. I was interviewed by an admissions officer and one person who observed silently. While I walked into the room on the verge of being physically sick (due to anxiety), the interviewer couldn't have been more pleasant. This definitely helped me to calm down and focus on listening, answering, and smiling. The interview was very conversational and the questions flowed naturally (no jumping around like others have experienced). They seemed more interested in the progression of my career (with some questions about what I did in some of these positions). Absolutely no behavioral questions, none on strengths/weaknesses, teamwork, challenges, etc. Only one question that I prepared for (where do I see myself next and how does an MBA fit into it?) came up.
Biggest surprise: how FAST the 30 minutes flew by. Honestly, it felt like only 15 mins. There must have been a wall clock behind me because I didn't see them check their watches.
How I Prepared: I bought the latest HARBUS interview guide and did a mock interview (after which I felt terrible -- it was meant to be hard, though), and looked up all the interview feedback experiences/questions from HBS that I could find online. None of this prep, in hindsight, was useful (though I suppose in a way they helped me to get into the proper mindset). I could have just read my resume once, and would have done pretty much the same.
Tip: Remember to smile, more than once!
After I walked out back to the waiting room, I was given a business card for each the interviewer and the observer (not a real business card because this one just had their name and a generic email address). Tip: if you want to email your interviewer directly, the standard format is first initial then full last name "at" hbs.edu. They also gave us a nice HBS totebag!
Also, took out my iPhone and started a mind dump of everything I could remember from the interview (to reference later for the reflection).
Post-Interview Reflection: Like RDeezy, I kept it right to a page. Nothing special here. Just reflected on the time with my interviewers, thanked HBS for the opportunity, addressed a point brought up during the interview, and addressed one that did not come up.
Now it's the wait that is making me anxious!
Good luck everyone!
PM me if you have any questions.
24 Feb 2013, 22:46
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