7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
Kellogg MMM Program Interview
I applied R1, interviewed on campus on 10/3 by adcom. For what it’s worth, I felt like the interview went really well. Below are the questions I got...
First one was a request to walk them through my resume. I have some tips for this one. (1) Don't read from your resume and don't repeat bullet points. Try to focus on what you learned at each stage, or what you took away from it. (2) Be intimately familiar with your resume so you don't have to look at it, but hit all the major milestones: college, first job, promotions, etc.
They then asked why now? Your resume should be the arrow for this question so I would reference your experience and the next steps and why an MBA gets you into that next part of your path.
Why Kellogg? I applied for MMM, but she didn't ask why MMM directly so I ended up adding in my why MMM to the tail end of why Kellogg. She seemed pretty happy with the specificity of my answers here. This is a gimme question for nearly every school so it's OK to sound practiced/rehearsed.
Short term goals and backup plans. Lots of people want to work for Google, but obviously only a select few get in. I heard some stories from Kellogg students about applicants that said MBB or bust and that was looked upon unfavorably because it doesn't show a realistic, thought out plan. It doesn't make schools look good if their graduates don't accept positions because they're not the big named firms.
Long term goals. Pretty straight forward.
Biggest professional achievement. I think a person should approach this in a couple of ways. Definitely explain the impact of your achievement to the overall company. Definitely talk about what you learned about yourself and about your goals with this achievement. Try and loop nearly all your questions back to why this program and an MBA are the RIGHT fits for you.
Greatest strength and weakness. I would have 3 top of each practiced for Kellogg. Students that have done interviews told me that sometimes they ask for greatest strength and then top 3 weaknesses or vice versa because everyone only practices one. For your weakness, be genuine. It helps show them you have self awareness.
Describe a difficult team/leadership situation and how you handled it and what the outcome was. This will vary person to person. Again, try to show good leadership and collaborative spirit in your story and be genuine. If it got worse or didn't go well, explain why and what you learned.
Describe when you faced an obstacle professionally. Again, straightforward.
And finally, what do you feel you bring, uniquely, to Kellogg?
I had actually practiced version of all of these which is why I felt pretty good about it, but your mileage may vary.
I've also heard of applicants that had interviewers that were very friendly and chatty but didn't have much meat in their questions: this is not a good interview. If this happens to you, try to ask a question to bring the convo back around to Kellogg and you. Strangely, I didn't hear anything like this from any other school's I talked to so it might be a side-effect of Kellogg interviewing so many students.
Hope that helps shed some light!
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
I had my interview with Jim Holmen on 18th Nov at Bangalore. We started early as I reached half an hour earlier than my scheduled time. Started with discussing about Bangalore traffic and jumped into the actual interview.
1. Why do you want to do an MBA?
2. In what position do you want to see yourself after MBA?
3. While selecting MBA schools, which aspects did you consider?
4. What motivates you?
5. What do you do in your free time?
6. How would you want your Kelley team to be?
7. What will your teammates learn from you?
8. What would your colleagues highlight as your strengths?
9. What would your colleagues highlight as your improvement areas?
10. Do you have any regrets in your journey till now? (Discussed about my Under Grad Major which got me nowhere)
11. Do you have any apprehensions to do an MBA now?
12. Tell me if there is anything you’d want me to know about you?
13. Questions if you have any.
I really got a feel of a conversational interview. Discussed something or the other in almost every question. Hope this helps.
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
Ross was my top choice going into this interview, and that hasn't really changed since. Overall the experience was positive. I really enjoyed my 1 on 1 interview with a current student. The programming surrounding the interviews was great as well, although it made for a very long day. I didn't elect to do the afternoon activities (Tour, class visit, etc.), since I had already visited the school previously.
The team exercise was very disappointing. I'm not a believer in the exercise being a good measuring stick. I was placed in a group of several military applicants and was not given a chance to really show who I was due to them taking over the discussion and exercise. It's pretty disappointing that a top school like Ross believes that a children's exercise is a good way to gauge team skills.
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
My interview was scheduled with an LBS alumnus.
I was expected to fly to another city as LBS couldn't find a rep in my current city, fortunately the interviewer managed to get his friend (also LBS alum) do to it my city, which saved me the 5hrs flight.
The interviewer is pretty high up in a M/B/B.
The interview was short as it was scheduled for only 1 hour, had 3 parts:
- Questions for me (based on resume, work experience, also behavioral).
Questions were: have I led a team, what is the profiles of the people in the team, have I failed in a project, describe my international experience and cultural sensitivity, etc.
Also typical ones like: why MBA, why LBS, is LBS my first choice.
There was an oddball question to test my ability to handle ambiguity: "How many bathtubs in this country?". I didn't prepare for this kind of question and kinda bombed this part.
- 5 minutes presentation (5 minutes to prepare): convince a CEO that he should hire a Data-analysis consultant to help with all major decision making.
- Questions for alum, about 15 minutes. I asked him about his LBS experience and if there was any advice for me. He was surprised that I knew in depth about his CV, so I told him I looked him up on Linked In before.
In summary, it was a fairly pleasant interview, I did OK.
So far I've been waitlisted at LBS. The interviewer was surprised to know that, as he expected me to be admitted.
Fingers crossed and see how things turn out!!
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
Just finished my interview with Mr. Philippe Barr. Lasted 22 mins. Was conversational. I would say it went pretty well.
Questions:
1. Why MBA? Why now?
2. Why KF?
3. Experience handling a team and any problems you faced?
4. How will you seek information for a task your academic advisor at KF gives you in order to complete?
5. How will you involve in KF outside of class?
6. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
7. Questions?
He told that his email is available for his Skype profile in case I have more questions. But I could not find it there.
Anybody have his email id? Could you please help? I would like to send him a thank you note.
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
Had my interview with Donna Bauman recently. Those yet to interview, here are the questions I got:
1. Walk me through your resume (worded a little differently though)
2. Why are you looking for an MBA? Where do you see your career in the future?
3. Why does KF appeal to you?
4. What are the kind of activities outside KF (she hinted towards community activities) that you have participated in?
5. What kind of teamwork experiences have you had in your professional life and what have you learned from them?
6. Is there anything you'd like to add that I haven't asked you about?
7. Any questions for me?
Good luck to all applicants.
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
Hey guys! Just had my interview, I really liked the style, but unfortunately we started a bit late (they had technical problems) and I didn't have an opportunity to ask questions about Kellogg that I had. It was a Skype interview with the adcom, very nice lady.
Duration: 45 minutes.
Questions: Why that major?
Why that undergrad school?
Why Kellogg?
Why MBA?
Why now?
Your best achievement at work?
Why you changed your job?
Edited: "Is there anything else about yourself you want to tell me?"
I felt like I spoke a bit too much, but this was very unusual format to me
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
I've just had an interview with a lady from admissions team via Skype. It lasted roughly 40 minutes and was quite relaxed.
First, she asked me to walk her through my resume and my experience at college. Then we talked about my career progression at the current employer, and discussed my strengths and weaknesses. I also got several standard questions on "Why MBA? Why now? Why Kellogg" and also talked about my extracurricular activities. In the end, I was asked if there is anything else I would like to add, and got to ask questions myself.
Overall, it was much less scarier experience that I anticipated, with no unexpected questions :wink:
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
The Interview lasted about 40 minutes and asked pretty much all the questions you would expect:
1) We moved though the progression of my resume starting with my undergrad school
2) That led into why an MBA
3) Led into why now
4) Why Kellogg
5) Tell me about your leadership styles
---> Tell me about your greatest career accomplishment to date
6) Talk to me about some of your strength and weaknesses
7) What would you be involved in at Kellogg
8) What would you offer to the Kellogg community?
9) What do you feel are some of the strengths and weaknesses of your application?
10) Is there anything else you would like to know?
11) Do you have any questions?
What I did was, I got to Chicago Thursday, went to the school Friday and had lunch with some students (this was great, asked a lot of questions and got awesome material for the interview), then I sat in a marketing strategy lecture, and finally did a building tour. Did some practice Saturday and rehearsed a lot Sunday by videotaping myself over and over until I had answers I was satisfied with for each question. I didn't memorize answers, but I had certain points I wanted to hit for each one. Woke up early Monday, rehearsed everything once more, took an Uber to the school and made small-talk with the driver to prepare my vocal cords a bit, and got there about 30 minutes before my interview.
I checked in, they asked for a copy of my resume and told me to have a seat. I watched the video I recorded of my answers until it was time to interview. They ended up calling me in about 5 minutes before the scheduled time.
I felt like the interview went really well. I was sort of stumped by "What would I offer Kellogg?" but I feel like everything else was pretty much great, and I touched on that question in my follow-up email.
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
I had my interview scheduled via email from the Kellogg's interview coordinator with details of 1 alumnus in my area, a week after the R1 application deadline. I sent my interviewer an email the very same day to schedule my interview and we found a time slot a week later at 10 AM at his office.
I reached the interview location that was located in the downtown, so spent 15 minutes to find a parking spot. I reached exactly on time for my interview and dressing in formals did not help in the slightly humid weather.
After the initial greetings, the alumnus introduced himself and provided details about the interview process. We started the actual interview 15 minutes later starting with the resume (the entire interview) revolved around my resume. So make sure you know what you have written in your resume with proper examples to substantiate those 'claims'.
After the resume based questions, it was the turn of the usual interview questions:
1. Why MBA
2. Post MBA short term and long term goals
3. Why Kellogg
4. Definition of a leader, example of yourself as a leader and lessons learnt.
5. Failure as a leader and lessons learnt.
6. Extracurricular activities, the reason for those particular activities and how do you plan to continue involving yourself in the community during MBA at Kellogg.
7. Questions for the alumnus.
The entire process took 75 minutes with the final 15-20 minutes taken by the interviewer to talk about his experiences at Kellogg and how Kellogg's experience has helped him both personally and professionally.
In summary, the interview was very conversational with the interviewer didnt turn it into an interrogation. Alum's experiences were also useful in assessing the fit to the school. So do make sure to listen to what the the interviewer has to say and make sure to have 2-3 intelligent and relevant questions for the interviewer. This will show 2 things:
1. That you have done your homework about the school
2. You are interested in knowing more about the school from an alumnus' standpoint.
Final Decision: Admit to the class of 2018.
Materials Used: Clearadmit interview archives, Stacy blackman Kellogg interview guide, Clearadmit Kellogg interview guide (you can go for one of the 2 Stacy or Clearadmit guides).
Decision to go for an off-campus interview: Good experience. Make sure to show that you are interested in the school and that you are trying to connect with the interviewer.
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
I had my interview this morning and I think it went very well. It was with a career management member. As others said before it is not to trick you but to test your interest.
We went over the regular questions : why MBA now ? Why Ivey ? How can you contribute ? Talk to me about yourself and your resume ? What do you do in your current role ? How did you move the ladders in your job ? Why your teammates would recommend you ? etc
So as long as you're prepared for these questions and can come up with examples it should be fine, it's really not to trick you.
Beside there were a lot of personal questions like why did I study for the CFA, etc.
Good luck for all of those who will be interviewing soon, I hope it goes well!
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
The interviews are done! Both were positive experiences but very different type of interviews. I never had the impression that I was being grilled or that they were playing a "bad cop".
1) First was 100% in the local language, the alum has been doing interviews for some time so he was straight to the point: I want to hear about your story, career path leading to an MBA and career goals, and see that everything makes sense. After that, he asked a few questions because he needed to fill the form. Those were about culture shock, extracurricular activities, etc. After that, he said my story was coherent and that now he was there for any questions and to help me make this very important decision that is doing an MBA. He said the his career would be very different had he not gone to INSEAD. We spent some time on that and he offered some good advice.
Total duration: 90 minutes
2) Second was half in English and half in the local language. The alum asked many more questions this time. As I was explaining my trajectory from university until my current job, he stopped to ask questions and really understand my motivations. Lots of questions on soft skills, I think he covered everything: leadership story and style, culture shock, weaknesses, etc. During the interview we would go back and forth between these questions and him telling about his experience. He always had a smile when talking about his time at INSEAD and you could tell that he enjoyed it. He said my story made perfect sense and that he was in a very similar place when he did his MBA.
Total duration: almost 2 hours
Last comment to those who are still going to pass their interviews: times goes by super fast! Do not be scared of interviews that are very long, trust me, I would have stayed longer talking had I not been on a tight schedule.
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
My interview experience was a very pleasant one. I had a video chat with one of the Admissions representative, and she was very kind and her questions were on point. Nothing too tricky, but in depth questions to try to understand your personality and your fit with the program. Once you qualify for an interview, it means they already like your credentials and everything you submitted on your application, so it is important to show your true self and to try to connect with the interviewer so that they feel confident that your presence in the classroom will definitely contribute to a diverse, healthy and collaborative class. I felt very comfortable with my interviewer and would recommend applying to Duke, Fuqua School of Business for their good values, best professors and best overall experience!
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
CBS has a very interesting interview model. They do not require or even offer on campus interviews. Their model is about people doing interviews in the community and not trying to burden people with coming to NYC. I liked this approach.
They match you with up to 6 alums within a certain distance of your area code and its up to you to choose and reach out to someone. I only got 4 alum matches as theres not many CBS folks in my area. I recommend doing proper LinkedIn and Google searches to pick the person you are most comfortable with and feel would be a good fit with depending on careers interests or other.
I chose my interviewer based on their very interesting and strong career history which I felt could make them a great asset to me in the future. But pick based on your own criteria. Often, they may not respond so you may end up emailing two or three of them so don't get hung up on one person. The first alum I contacted responded.
We met at his office and he was a very relaxed, easy going guy. Not as intimidating as his resume would suggest. We started off with one big question up front, sort of a why MBA/why now/why Columbia combo, that kicked things off. So have your story and the brand you want to communicate very clear in your head as the questions may not come as you expect. After this big intro question it was an extremely laid back conversational feel. We went off topic a couple times, but stayed within the general themes and never really dug into my resume, although I would be very prepared in the resume department. He ask me very bluntly what other programs I had applied to. Be prepared for this question and have a rational answer as to why you applied to each. Don't be afraid to say CBS is your top pick despite applying to those other schools.
Overall the interview went great. Off campus interviews can be tricky as the alums can stray from the script and can ask whatever they want so you have to be a bit more prepared. Outside of the usual questions, I would know what brand and statement you want to get across to the interviewer. They must then submit a review survey back to CBS so ensure they take a positive take away from you as they may be submitting feedback days later.
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
Part Time MBA Interview.
I met with a current student at the Gleacher Center. Make sure you bring a copy of your resume. All interviews for the evening/weekend program are conducted blind so you don't know who you are interviewing with and they don't know anything about you besides the 3 minutes scanning your resume.
On the interview day, I showed up roughly 15 minutes early for my interview. One of the assistance directors of admissions welcomed me when I walked in and briefly went over what to expect for the interview. About 5 minutes before my scheduled interview, my interviewer came in. They were provided a copy of my resume. 5 minutes later, the assistant director that welcomed me walked me back to the room where I would interview.
Questions were mostly behavioral. What are your plans? Why an MBA? Why a Booth MBA? At Booth, you sometimes work in groups -- tell me a time when you worked with a difficult person and how did you deal with it? Tell me about a time you miscommunicated something, how it impacted work and how you fixed it to ensure it wouldn't happen again.
That was around 30 minutes. After the interviewer spent 10 minutes answering some of the questions I had. After, the assistant director of admissions that welcomed me asked me how I thought it went, told me I would hear back in 2-3 weeks and to let me know if I needed a decision earlier as he walked me out.
Overall, it was a pleasant experience that felt more conversational than a traditional "work" interview.
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
Had my interview recently. Following question were asked:
(a) Tell me what you do at work ?
(b) Why MBA ?
(c) Short term and long term career plans ?
(d) What are the positive and negative feedback received at workplace ?
(e) Who are you outside your work ?
(f) How can you contribute to different clubs in the college ?
(g) What are other colleges applied to ? If selected in all them, then what will be your choice ?
My advice to future aspirants:
(a) Questions are pretty normal and usual. So go prepared !
(b) If it is a skype interview, then look straight into the camera instead of looking into your screen. Eye contact shows confidence.
(c) Search and gather information about college
(d) In the last, don't try to complicate the things. Go simple and prepared.
All the best !
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
Had my interview on the 1st of Dec with Pedro Garza. It was a 45 minute interview. Pedro was very straight forward and direct. Interview was slightly more formal than conversational.
Questions:
1) tell me about you, not about your professional background but things besides that.
2) walk me through your professional experience and reasoning behind career decisions as you moved roles and companies.
3) why MBa
4) why mays
5) situation where you failed
6) post MBA goals, which companies?
7) back up plan if primary goals don't work out
8) challenge while managing a team / team conflict
9) which other schools and how did you decide?
10) any questions you have?
Hope this is helpful.
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
I was interviewed by professor McQueen (for Finance track). "He know what he's doing" was the thought I had during the interview. Knowing how to read you really well, but still trying to support your answer when you were stuck were the two things I valued from him. I was asked professional-related questions which I could answer quite well thanks to my background. Behavioral questions are standard. With BYU, though, you should be prepared to read & understand the School's honor code policy. Overall, experience with interview was good, I think mainly because of the interviewer. The questions was pretty much the same like other interview questions I had from different schools.
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
I had my interview on 7th Mar'16 at Bengaluru, India when an Associate Director had visited India. I was called for a Pre-Application interview i.e. I hadn't submitted my application by then. It was primarily based on my resume. The interview lasted 30 minutes with 10 minutes for questions.
Main questions were -
1. Explain about yourself
2. How many employees are there in your organization
3. Key aspects of your profile
4. What team members would say about you
5. Mention an instance when you have had differences with your immediate supervisor.
Apart from these, were the typical, Post MBA plans and about your interests. I am into cycling so spoke about cycling and running.
The interview was conversational with the interviewer interested to know more about my experience.
For the prospective applicants, please be prepared to mention specific instances of being a team player and where you have exhibited leadership qualities.
7 years ago Nov 19, 2018 07:11
I visited Kelley more than one time, and I have nothing but good things to say about it. The students, alumni and faculty were great, very welcoming and knowledgeable. In fact they made you feel like you were part of the program already.
My interview was self initiated, and the visit started with a dinner the night before with two second year students, at a nice Italian restaurant in downtown Bloomington. They were very open and transparent about the school, they made sure to let me know they weren't part of the admissions team and that could ask any "tough" questions.
The day of the interview I attended a class in Marketing Law, the professor and students were very engaging. Then lunch with admissions and other current students, Interview with current student, and finally some meetings that I arranged with some faculty and students.
My interviewers, I would say was the exception to all the welcoming I experienced. He showed something like 15min late, and had quite an attitude. I felt as he was there by obligation and had no interest in learning about me. He went through the motions of the scripted interview he had and that was it. I actually cross passed with him after an hour or so, and didn't acknowledge at all when I greeted him. My interview obviously went well enough, as I got admitted to the program.
I want to say that he probably was the exception to the rule. The school in general was very welcoming, the people very humble, and helpful. I would recommend Kelley to anyone.