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Popeye
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Anybody completed INSEAD Interview? 27 Dec 2006, 15:16
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Hello there,

I finished my first interview at last. It went on pretty smoothly. I was asked questions mostly from my resume, briefly about why MBA and (Note this) no questions on Why INSEAD!!! Seemed odd considering that this is the most obvious question.
I now just leave it up to the admissions. Glad it's over...
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necromonger
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Anybody completed INSEAD Interview? 28 Dec 2006, 10:46
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popeye,
hmm..that's interesting. Was the interviewer younger/older? maybe your app was clear about why you were interested in INSEAD and it did not really require much asking? In both cases of my interview they asked me why INSEAD and I had a short answer and that was it. Neither of them bothered to get in more probing because it was probably clear. In your case may be it was very clear why?
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Popeye
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Anybody completed INSEAD Interview? 28 Dec 2006, 15:03
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Yes, I would think the essay on "Why INSEAD" was descriptive enough. We were running short of time too. The interview ran for more than 1 hour 15 minutes and my interviewer had other appointments lined up.
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Popeye
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Anybody completed INSEAD Interview? 07 Jan 2007, 09:03
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Folks,

I had my second interview yesterday. It was a plain disaster!!! It went very badly :(. He grilled me for 1.5 hours on why I need an MBA. It was worse than a job interview. I was cross-questioned on every point I made and he had an argument against everything I said which proved that my goals would never work.
I was rather thrown off initially because he invited me to his home for the interview. Seemed rather cheesy.
I felt almost let down and humiliated at the end:(. It was nothing like my first interview. Towards the end I witnessed all possibility of my getting an admit vanish into thin air right in front of me.
So long guys...
All the best to you...

Popeye
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Anybody completed INSEAD Interview? 07 Jan 2007, 10:05
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Popeye
Folks,

I had my second interview yesterday. It was a plain disaster!!! It went very badly :(. He grilled me for 1.5 hours on why I need an MBA. It was worse than a job interview. I was cross-questioned on every point I made and he had an argument against everything I said which proved that my goals would never work.
I was rather thrown off initially because he invited me to his home for the interview. Seemed rather cheesy.
I felt almost let down and humiliated at the end:(. It was nothing like my first interview. Towards the end I witnessed all possibility of my getting an admit vanish into thin air right in front of me.
So long guys...
All the best to you...

Popeye
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How about a totally different take on this? He was pushing you to articulate your ideas, defend your position, and seeing if you stood up to a challenge. I had a very similar interview that was all stress and no fun - but I still got in. Don't write it off just yet my friend.
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necromonger
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Anybody completed INSEAD Interview? 07 Jan 2007, 11:21
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Popeye,

Relax! A tough interview does not mean you bombed it. You know, in "soft goals" like MBA, it's easy to argue everything - it's not like technical questions where you often have a right or wrong answer. He simply may be probing to see how you stand up to his questions. Maybe he just is an unusual type of interviewer - either way, I don't think you should see this as the end of the road. My take is that an interview at best bolsters your application or might slightly weaken it - and that too only if both interviewers send a negative impression. Even then it might not mean much.

The point is - chill, wait until results day, and let us all hope for the best. Don't let this ruin your days.

A question on his style - was he argumentative, or abrasive/rude?
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Anybody completed INSEAD Interview? 07 Jan 2007, 12:02
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He was not argumentative but sarcastic almost cynical I might say...five or six years ago as a teenage girl I would have broken down in front of him but now I'm definitely more mature...I stood firm on my stand but I'm not very aggresive by nature...my instincts overtook and I sort of quited down :(
Whew! one freakin interview that was and to top it all at his home
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Anybody completed INSEAD Interview? 07 Jan 2007, 12:09
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Did you say the interviewer asked you to interview at his home ? That is really strange and quite unprofessional and especially given that you are a woman. Once you know your decision (I am sure that you will get IN!), you should write about this to the admissions committee.

Popeye
He was not argumentative but sarcastic almost cynical I might say...five or six years ago as a teenage girl I would have broken down in front of him but now I'm definitely more mature...I stood firm on my stand but I'm not very aggresive by nature...my instincts overtook and I sort of quited down :(
Whew! one freakin interview that was and to top it all at his home
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Anybody completed INSEAD Interview? 07 Jan 2007, 12:27
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You're a girl! who wuda guessed with a name like 'popeye' :)

I agree with Lhotseface, it's both unprofessional and inconsiderate to call a woman home to interview and then, on top of it, be sarcastic and argumentative. Throws a bad light on the interviewer. But again, don't let it bother you too much - a jackass in an interview will probably also sound like a jackass in his summary to INSEAD. Besides - it's basically 1 "unsure about the outcome" interview vs. the rest of your app, and I'd hedge my best on the rest of it.

How did it end? awkward or did he (I'm assuming it's a he unless I missed a gender mention) give any feedback?

(BTW - to put it in perspective, I had a very tough boss for 3 years - but the truth is I got my best review comments and guidance from this person than anybody else in my career. So maybe, just a chance, that this guy has his own method of "testing" someone and perhaps his interview comments will be kinder. Did you send a thank you note in any case?)
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Anybody completed INSEAD Interview? 07 Jan 2007, 13:10
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Meeting at home sounded wierd to me too. But he was a family guy with kids so I simply did not argue over where to meet.
I did send a thank you note, not much I could do there. Feedback kept coming in throughout the interview, you know - "you should take more time blah blah blah". At the end when I looked back I realized that I did less that 40% of the talking myself.
To argue over the success of someone's goals is one thing but ridiculing them is a totally different issue. :(
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Anybody completed INSEAD Interview? 12 Jan 2007, 08:03
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Folks,

This wait is killing me. Although my interview went badly and I'm not too hopeful, I still want to see an email in my inbox ASAP! I'm badly distracted at work and productivity has plunged. At home, I can't read my novel at a decent pace without getting distracted. :(
Timothy and Necromonger do you feel the same way? How're you keeping yourselves busy?
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Anybody completed INSEAD Interview? 12 Jan 2007, 10:18
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Popeye
Folks,

This wait is killing me. Although my interview went badly and I'm not too hopeful, I still want to see an email in my inbox ASAP! I'm badly distracted at work and productivity has plunged. At home, I can't read my novel at a decent pace without getting distracted. :(
Timothy and Necromonger do you feel the same way? How're you keeping yourselves busy?
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Popeye, fortunately (or unfortunately) I've been terribly busy at work and some interesting things happening at the career front, so it's taken my mind off INSEAD for now - though I'm absolutely looking forward to the results (a +ve one hopefully). At work, I do have a way of blocking everything else out :) but trust me, I'm really really looking forward to this - and given it's the only school I've applied to, it sure adds to the experience! Have you applied elsewhere?
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Popeye
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Anybody completed INSEAD Interview? 12 Jan 2007, 12:02
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Yep I have applied to another school. Stanford.
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Anybody completed INSEAD Interview? 12 Jan 2007, 12:07
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Good luck to the 3 of you! I guess you will all hear back this week.

As for me, I'll be waiting for an interview invite the following week. This wait is killing me and I have a loooooong way to go.
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