Haas (Berkeley) Hub

Haas EWMBA Program Interview Background - Biotech undergrad overseas, Masters in biotech (south bay), experience in marketing, digital marketing, operations, and project management (waterfall & agile) at a fortune 500 scientific company. Undergrad GPA is very low but masters GPA is 3.8 while working full time. I got the interview invite within a couple days after the submission deadline for R2. I chose 3/2/2017 for convenience and agreed to interview on campus. Attire recommendation is business - I wore a mid-blue suit, light blue shirt with tie just to be safe. This is pretty close to what I wear to work, less the tie and suit jacket. I would recommend giving yourself time to be comfortable in a suit, be it days or weeks in advance. There is parking right across Haas (event parking), but a spot may be hard to find if you run into a major event. Street parking time limits don't make sense to accommodate time needed for interview. I arrived early to grab a coffee and calm my nerves. The EWMBA Admissions office is not hard to find in the main admin building. I was greeted by admissions staff and waited in the lounge for my interview. I met with my interviewer and proceeded to a personal office for the interview. I am more accustomed to meeting in conference rooms, so this was something I did not expect. Try not to be distracted by all the files, computer, etc. in the office. We started off with introductions and general "tell me about yourself" type questions. I talked about what I studied in undergrad, masters, and how it led to my current role. I also talked about the business courses I took which naturally paved the way to "why MBA." My response was I always knew I wanted formal business education because I am interested in all facets of business, so the question really is "why now." I felt comfortable with 4 yrs of experience and I am confident I can contribute meaningfully to the cohort. Goals wise, I wanted to transition into software product management, and eventually start my own company. I gave rationales to why Haas is the perfect fit for this goal. The next stage was "walk me through your resume" type questions. I just went through my various experiences listed/not listed on the resume and painted a story of how I got to where I was, and how it'll help me get to where I want to be. I highlighted a couple of key achievements, since they accentuate my initiative, leadership, teamwork, and ability to make sense of complex things moving at 100 miles per hour. The last stage was about my recreation and how I spend my time outside of work. I had a hard time answering this question because my interests are diverse. I led with "I like to focus on work, but explore on interests." Some things seemed to connect and we had an enjoyable chat to slightly over the allotted interview time. My best advice is practice performing under pressure and be steady. I learned to shift my mindset from "convince them" to "share my passion and story." Also have solid stories on how you fit with the Haas defining principles and culture. The defining principles closely match my personal principles, so I just needed examples to demonstrate. Best of luck & see you at Haas!