A great set of tips from an alumni interviewer on BW:
"this is probably a little late for u but some free advice for everyone else. i'm really surprised how different the interview looks from outside than from the inside. i'm an alumni interviewer, did 6 this last round. i won't tell u exactly what guidelines adcom gives, there's a lot and some is pretty specific. interviewers are looking for specific qualities no matter what question they ask. we might probe into areas that concern us, but i've been seeing candidates that just really miss the ball, even though we give them chances to answer. it's not a stress interview, it's really a time for the candidate to show off their best stuff.
tips:
1. DO NOT RAMBLE. even if your answers suck, if the candidate sticks to structured answers, they'll get the benefit of the doubt. rambling = interpreted as unable to grasp and communicate main ideas.
2. Frame your answers. numbering your points generally scores points.
3. leadership stories matter. it's up to you to make sure those get told no matter what question gets answered.
4. know your transitions/'why i made these decisions' down cold. how you reason demonstrates your judgement, your maturity and insight.
5. describe processes. how you got from A to B. mba is highly concerned with breaking down problems into pieces.
6. show that you're a person who's going somewhere in life. passion, energy & direction.
a typical interviewer can get a lot of this out of a 'walk through resume', why mba, goals, why wharton. pre-know where weaknesses/perceived resume stereotypes are and speak to them proactively to pre-empt interviewer concerns before they bring it up.
hope that helps, good luck y'all!!"
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