Dear Members,Thank you very much for participating in recent chat session with MBA Decoder Team. We had a wonderful discussion with
Namita and Gaurav.For our friends who could not attend the event, here are some key questions and answers. For those who want to read full discussion, session transcript is attached below.
Good Luck to all!!
Divya123: How different are the EEO interviews in comparison with the regular ones?MBA Decoder: ISB is looking for the similar qualities among EEOs as compared to the regular entry people. So the interview is not going to be very different. Perform your best and do represent an all-rounded personality.
Krr15h: Can you give us an overview of what ISB interviews are like? I've heard both that they are conversational and stress inducingISB Alum 13: The ISB interviews like any other MBA interview are conversational; it’s not always a stress interview mine was not. That said a stress interview means that the panel could be either testing you on a strength you have advertised in your application or mentioned in an earlier question.
A stress interview is also an opportunity for you to shine and let the panel know about your thought process and structured thinking that a MBA applicant should boast of. Also, for ISB remember they will never stress upon a weakness it will be always on an area of strength.
Bullzeye: I've read numerous past interviewees’ blogs. They say that the panel somehow doesn’t feel convinced for some important questions like "Why MBA, why now" etc.ISB Alum 13: Remember that the why MBA answer needs to represent a delta between where you stand and where you want to be in the short term and the long term. If your answer details the skills required to fill in the delta and show an MBA is the answer for it your job is done. You need to convince yourself with the answer first before you convince the panel.
ISB Moderator Ankur: What does ISB look for in a re-applicant?ISB Alum 13: If you are a re-applicant and have been invited for the interview then they are looking for (1) if you have worked on the earlier feedback (2) what progress have you made in your profession or towards your goal while you have been away for a year.
Devashish: How do we answer tell me something about yourself question? It should be personal, professional or mix of both starting from school, college and then work ex?ISB Alum 13: it’s better to start in a chronological way and end with the most recent detail, but remember do not waste too much time on details that don’t matter for the interview for instance your school name etc.
Abhra: How to approach question like " can you achieve your goals without an MBA"?ISB Alum 13: That’s a great question, the answer usually is Yes; you will try to get there but MBA is the way to get there faster and also MBA will prepare you better to take the next steps once you achieve your goals. The idea is to answer the questions in a positive way for instance you might be asked to detail on recent current affair which you might not have a clue about, now the only answer to that is I don’t know but you could compliment by saying, I don’t know I seem to have missed the news however I am up to date on XYZ and if you are willing can detail on that event. That ways you have answered the question and also informed the interviewer you are ready to answer another question in the same are but a different topic.
Bullzeye: When I am from a large pool of common applicants, say IT.. is it best to differentiate me with my personal traits applied to professional environs?MBA Decoder: An MBA is a professional course. Just focusing upon the personal stuff to differentiate will help much. The panel may perceive you to be light on work related experiences which will not go down too well. Will NOT help much.
Gmatbugsme84: Does the interview panel have the feedback that we got on our last application? Because most of the feedback that I got seemed to be kind of given on the spot and not prepared beforehand?ISB Alum 13: Well the interview panel might / might not know it but when they will submit their feedback and the weakness matches what was drafted in the last year’s interviewer feedback ISB will know not much progress has been made.
MBA Decoder: I would like to add to ISBAlums advice on the length of your questions. When we conduct mock interviews, we often find applicants taking a good 5 minutes on the opening question- tell us something about you. It becomes a kind of a rant. Not required. Practice this answer really well. Often what you say here will form the basis for the next set of quest.
ISB Alum 13: Add to MBADecoder point, with our services one thing that we will focus on is to ensure that you cover all aspects of your strengths and offering when you answer the interview questions, most candidates make the mistake of preparing really well for the interview but somehow only focus on probably 15-20% of what they can offer and that a natural thing as we somehow consciously fall back on our greatest strengths whenever asked to field a question that’s we believe is important to us.
Bullzeye: What would you do it not selected to ISB - how to deal with such questions?ISB Alum 13: That’s a question where you inform the panel about your Plan B to get to your desired goal. But again end on a positive note your answer should show your determination to achieve your goal.
MBA Decoder: Plan B- that’s an important question, which a lot of b-schools have been asking these days. Not getting into ISB is not the end of the road for you, but you must tell them that you will still continue on your growth path.
Abhra: What degree of details should we know about the future roles we are targeting... for example consultancy??ISB Alum 13: abhra great question again - you need to know the career / role in a crux and how its useful to you in the longer term for instance if you talk about consulting then you should be aware of whats a day in a consultants life like , thsi will give you the grounding to answer the questions with tangible points consulting will not allow you to present or work with CXOs on the first day or even in the first 1-2 years so no point in talking about inspirations you will draw from a working session with a CXO cause that will not happen right away.
Mayank760: How to tackle a question such as, "Why should we not select you at ISB?”ISB Alum 13: Turnaround the question and answer why they should select you and talk about your development areas and why MBA is important to address them and then end on a positive note by re-iterating your strengths. No other great way to answer a difficult question like this.
Ladl1: Do I need to worry about general knowledge?ISB Alum 13: Current affairs YES! general knowledge like i posted earlier if asked about X say you dont know much and give them a Y to question you on. Don’t fret / stress over it too much though, it should not affect your main prep for the interview.
Chat TranscriptAttachment:
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