{"id":31940,"date":"2016-01-27T13:20:50","date_gmt":"2016-01-27T20:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=31940"},"modified":"2016-07-27T15:54:06","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T22:54:06","slug":"an-interview-about-interviewing-at-hbs-an-accepted-student-speaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/an-interview-about-interviewing-at-hbs-an-accepted-student-speaks\/","title":{"rendered":"An Interview about Interviewing at HBS: An Accepted Student Speaks"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_37068\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37068\" style=\"width: 239px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/interviewfeedback\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-37068 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/MBA-interviews-keep-up-with-current-events-239x300.png\" alt=\"Check out more MBA Admissions Interview tips!\" width=\"239\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37068\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/p>\n<p> Make sure you are up to date on current events for your industry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><i>Want to know what it's like to <span class=\"il\"><a href=\"https:\/\/reports.accepted.com\/perfect-answers-to-mba-interview-questions\">interview<\/a><\/span> at Harvard Business School?\u00a0<\/i>Harbus<i>, the <span class=\"il\">HBS<\/span> news organization, interviewed a\u00a0<span class=\"il\">Class<\/span> of <span class=\"il\">2018<\/span> applicant during the Round 1 wave and graciously shared the <span class=\"il\">interview<\/span> with\u00a0<\/i>Accepted<i>. Our anonymous interviewee (who was accepted!) is a female manufacturing engineer at a high profile global healthcare company in the U.S.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">HBS is about to send out their Round 2 invites\u2026if you're lucky enough to get one, then you'll want to see this first-hand advice! <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What happens at an HBS interview? Can you walk us through the day?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The morning of <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2015\/12\/28\/3-day-of-tips-mba-interview\/\">the interview<\/a> I attended a discussion group and then class. Interacting with current students, seeing the case method in action, and getting a feel for a day in the life of a student was very beneficial, especially before the interview. The admissions committee does a great job creating a comfortable environment where interviewees can get light snacks and refreshments, mingle with other prospective students, and attend events throughout the day. Applicants are taken to a separate waiting room once the interview time approaches. The 30-minute interview goes by very quickly. There is typically one interviewer and one observer, with the interview itself being very conversational. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Was there anything that took you by surprise in the interview?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rather than generic behavioral questions, the interviewer prepares tailored questions based on your application. This can make the interview more challenging in that the questions are more difficult to predict and prepare for. However, this approach also allows the interviewer to use the time most effectively to get to know you. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the single worst thing one can do during the interview? And can you give some examples of unexpected ways one can impress the panel?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The easiest way to derail the interview is probably by not being authentic, either through scripted answers or lack of familiarity with one\u2019s own application. Ways to impress the panel include knowledge of current events in your industry and in other industries, getting them excited about your professional aspirations, and being able to articulate <a href=\"https:\/\/reports.accepted.com\/mba\/why-mba\">why you chose certain paths<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What are some of the things you should do when you receive an interview invitation (on the week of the interview and on the day before the interview) in order to ensure that one is best prepared for what is to come?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the weeks leading up to the interview, it is important to familiarize yourself with current events and monitor news for your industry. There are some great resources online with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/questions\">typical interview questions<\/a>, however I recommend not crafting specific answers but instead focus on high level bullet points. The week of, continue your normal news routine, read your application daily, and reflect on possible questions. The day before, go over the top things you want the interviewer to remember about you, any breaking news, and try to relax as much as possible. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Can you tell us a little about your post-interview reflections?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I made some notes after the interview with key things I wanted to capture in <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2012\/11\/13\/thinking-about-harvards-mba-interview-reflections\/\">the reflection<\/a>. The reflection is a good opportunity to recap one\u2019s strengths, clarify anything from the interview, and thank the admissions team. I was glad to have some time before my flight the following day to refine the reflection before the 24-hour deadline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What were some of the trickiest questions you were asked?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What industry are you interested in besides your current industry? Follow-up question: What is a company you admire in that industry?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you couldn\u2019t work in [your target industry], what would you do instead?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you have any other advice for those who have gotten as far as the interview stage?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take time to celebrate this achievement. The HBS application and interview process is intense. While it\u2019s important to stay focused through this final hurdle, it\u2019s also important to find outlets to relax so that you don\u2019t burn out leading up to the interview.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/reports.accepted.com\/mba\/harvard-business-school?utm_campaign=gmatclub&amp;utm_medium=acceptedhbs&amp;utm_source=blogcta\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn2.hubspot.net\/hubfs\/58291\/GetAcceptedToHarvardBSchool.jpg\" alt=\"Watch the webinar: Get Accepted to Harvard Business School!\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><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\/2016\/01\/Accepted-Signature.png\" alt=\"Accepted: The Premier Admissions Cosultancy\" width=\"429\" height=\"69\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<strong>Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/reports.accepted.com\/mba-interview-prep\">MBA Interview Prep: How to Ace Your Interviews<\/a>\u00a0[Free Guide]<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2015\/10\/14\/an-hbs-student-helping-hbs-applicants\/\">An HBS Student Helping HBS Applicants<\/a>\u00a0[podcast]<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2015\/05\/26\/harvard-business-school-2016-mba-essay-tips-deadlines\/\">Harvard Business School 2016 MBA Essay Tips &amp; Deadlines<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2016\/01\/26\/an-hbs-interview-experience\/\">This article\u00a0<\/a><em>originally appeared on\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/\">blog.accepted.com<\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where apply, writing your application essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.<\/p>\n<p>Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will help\u00a0<em>you\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/hubs.ly\/H01gxJF0\">get accepted<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Want to know what it&#8217;s like to interview at Harvard Business School?\u00a0Harbus, the HBS news organization, interviewed a\u00a0Class of 2018 applicant during the Round 1 wave and graciously shared the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,939,775,243],"tags":[1806,178,1272,100,49,1008,179,1039,1691,1007],"class_list":["post-31940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","tag-admissions-interviews","tag-business-school-interview","tag-business-school-interviews","tag-harvard","tag-harvard-hbs","tag-interview-advice","tag-interview-questions","tag-interview-tips","tag-mba-interview-help","tag-mba-interviews","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31940","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=31940"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31941,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31940\/revisions\/31941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}