{"id":29330,"date":"2015-07-01T01:40:42","date_gmt":"2015-07-01T08:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=29330"},"modified":"2015-07-01T01:40:42","modified_gmt":"2015-07-01T08:40:42","slug":"mba-admissions-preparing-for-the-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/mba-admissions-preparing-for-the-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"MBA Admissions: Preparing For The Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/info.accepted.com\/free-mba-admissions-report\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-32053 \" src=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/interview-date.jpg\" alt=\"Download &quot;Navigate the MBA Maze&quot; today!\" width=\"302\" height=\"254\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>\"MBA Admissions: Preparing For The Interview\"<\/em> is the latest post in our series <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/tag\/navigate-the-mba-maze\/\">Navigate the MBA Maze<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Here are three key tips on how to present yourself during those crucial face-to-face minutes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><b>1. \u00a0Structure Your Answers. <\/b>Structure helps your interviewer see where you\u2019re going with your answer and helps you remember where you\u2019re going, too. So when they ask, \u201cWhy do you want to attend <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/HarvardHBS.aspx\">Harvard<\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/stanford.aspx\">Stanford<\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/NorthwesternKellogg.aspx\">Kellogg<\/a>?\u201d don\u2019t say, \u201cWell, I was born in Florida in 1984, and . . .\u201d\u00a0Instead, lay out a clear structure: \u201cThere are three primary reasons why this school is my top choice:\u00a0curriculum, culture, and community.\u201d After providing the structure upfront, provide details for each reason you mention. Not every interview answer requires an upfront structure (some are more story-oriented), but use one for those that lend themselves to it. You\u2019ll be glad you did.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><b>2. \u00a0Project Confidence. <\/b>Regardless of your general confidence level, do your best to clear your mind of doubt and believe that you deserve an offer. As you <a href=\"https:\/\/reports.accepted.com\/mba-interview-prep\">prepare for the interview<\/a> remind yourself of your past achievements in challenging circumstances. And make sure your confidence doesn\u2019t spill over into arrogance (\u201cWell of course you should accept me because...\u201d).<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><b>3. \u00a0Read Your Interviewer. <\/b>Some are high-energy. Some aren\u2019t. Some like humor. Some don\u2019t. Some are by-the-book. Some won\u2019t ask a single question you\u2019ve practiced for. While you can\u2019t prepare for every single type of interviewer, you can adjust your style a bit to match theirs. Though schools stress that they seek objective opinions from their interviewers, we all know the reality: a large factor in interview performance is likeability, and interviewers like candidates who remind them\u00a0of themselves. An even simpler strategy is to pay attention to clear cues from your interviewer\u2014 if they\u2019re yawning and looking at their watch, you\u2019re probably being too long winded or need to use more compelling examples; if they\u2019re asking probing questions for everything you say, try including more details in your initial answers.<\/p>\n<p><em>If you are interested in individualized interview coaching or a mock interview, check out Accepted.com\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/interviewservices.aspx\">MBA interview assistance packages<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/info.accepted.com\/free-mba-admissions-report?utm_campaign=blogcta&amp;utm_medium=NavigateMBAMaze&amp;utm_source=CTA\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-30837 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Navigating-the-MBA-Maze.png\" alt=\"Download your copy of Navigating the MBA Maze\" width=\"600\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-28527 size-full alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Accepted_PremierAdmissionsCosultancy.png\" alt=\"Accepted: The Premier Admissions Cosultancy\" width=\"429\" height=\"69\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u2022\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/reports.accepted.com\/mba-interview-prep\">How To Ace Your MBA Interview<\/a>\u00a0[Free Guide]<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2011\/02\/25\/mba-admissions-interviews-behavioral-and-qualitative-questions\/\">MBA Admissions Interviews: Behavioral AND Qualitative Questions<\/a>\u00a0[Short Video]<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2014\/11\/24\/mba-interview-questions-walk-me-through-your-resume\/\">MBA Interview Questions: Walk Me Through Your Resume<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2015\/06\/30\/mba-admissions-preparing-for-the-interview\/https:\/blog.accepted.com\/2015\/06\/30\/mba-admissions-preparing-for-the-interview\/\">This article<\/a>\u00a0originally appeared on\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/\"><em>blog.accepted.com<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/accepted.com\/\">Accepted.com<\/a><em>'s\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/aboutus\/AboutUs.aspx\">experienced admissions consultants<\/a><em>\u00a0can help you create the most impressive application possible with\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/Services\/MBAProgramServices.aspx\">comprehensive packages<\/a><em>,<\/em><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><em>or provide targeted assistance from\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/services\/mba\/admissionsconsulting.aspx\">picking perfect programs<\/a><em>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/admissionsresume.aspx\">designing a dazzling resume<\/a><em>,\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/essayediting.aspx\">constructing engaging essays<\/a><em>, or\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/interviewservices.aspx\">preparing for intense interview<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/interviewservices.aspx\">s<\/a><em>\u2026and more!\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/accepted.com\/\">Accepted.com<\/a><em>\u00a0has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top programs since 1994 \u2013 we know what works and what doesn't, so\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/contactus.aspx\">contact us<\/a><em>\u00a0to get started now<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;MBA Admissions: Preparing For The Interview&#8221; is the latest post in our series Navigate the MBA Maze. Here are three key tips on how to present yourself during those crucial&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,939,775],"tags":[1896,39,124,1691],"class_list":["post-29330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","tag-mba","tag-mba-admissions","tag-mba-interview","tag-mba-interview-help","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29330"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29331,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29330\/revisions\/29331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}