Imagine you are at a tony cocktail party where you have to compete with the best and brightest. Your goal is to make a lasting impression on your hospitable but overworked hosts. You are all highly educated and multi-talented, but you know that your influential hosts will probably only remember a handful of you, and the evening will be over by the time your moment arrives. So will you grab them by the collar and recite your promotions to them? Will you focus on academic achievements? Let us hope not. You will probably turn on the charm, compliment them on their apartment, ask for ideas of mutual interest, share a few of your favorite stories, and generally captivate them with your engaging personality.
Your b-school interviews present the same interpersonal challenge: How can you put your best foot forward when your personal distinctiveness, not your resume, sets you apart from the other overachievers competing for your spot at B-School? If there are three categories of applicants: the doers, the achievers, and the dazzlers, what can you do to move from the doers to the dazzlers?
In this write-up, I will discuss some powerful ways to make opening statements in B school interviews.
The dilemma when answering the open question “Tell me about yourself”In my interview coaching sessions, I've noticed a trend among the over represented applicant pools, which make up the majority of my mentees. The classic question
"Tell me about yourself" is often followed by a knee-jerk response of
"I'm an engineer","
"I've a degree from IIT X" or
"I'm a consultant with McKinsey". This is then followed by a detailed resume enumeration as if the interviewer needs a refresher on his/her reading material.
Applicants! As a rule of thumb, build your introductory pitch out of four or five topics, each of which is rich enough to build a conversation around. Your set of introduction themes should emphasize your multidimensionality -
who you are professionally, personally, and in the community. Remember that the person you are talking to will have a long memory from previous conversations with applicants and highly qualified MBA peers. Simply telling them that you are an engineer or banker will trigger all sorts of assumptions, most of which are valid, for example, "Ah, yet another IT guy (a person with poor social and business accumen)", "Here comes another MBB Analyst..(a loud yet inexperienced type)" .
If you are a management consultant or investment banker, for example, you can complement your obvious analytical and quantitative strengths with topics that the interviewer does not necessarily associate with your profession, such as creativity, social influence or exceptional professional experience. In your introduction, also pay attention to unusual personal experiences, formative experiences that offset the predictability of the interview.So the next time instead of saying this
“ Hi I am ABC, an engineer by profession in ABC industry. I did my undergrad from College ABC after which I joined…. Bla bla bla”You could structure your introduction as follows-
1. Set the Tone: Set the tone with a piece of information that is personal (or makes you vulnerable) that connects the entire "why MBA" theme together.
For example, our applicant in question could say,
“ Although I am an engineer by profession, I could actually be a 5th generation farmer if I continued in my family business. When my father, a fourth-generation farmer set up his battery manufacturing business in Neemuch to solve the problem of electricity outages in our farming village, I realized that entrepreneurship is not a theoretical concept. I wanted to acquire my learnings through practical experiences on my own to take on bigger challenges as an entrepreneur later. With this thought, I joined Fractal AI where I currently solve operational bottlenecks for global FMCG giants using a stronghold on data analytics and stakeholder management."2. Evidence of Career progression: In this step, support your background story with solid examples of leadership, for instance
“ Though my formal roles are technical, all my growth opportunities have involved leadership roles."Support the subject with specific examples, anecdotes or details that substantiate :
“For example, after my very first client project as a consultant for Nestle, I became the de facto center of the analytics team. When Nestle approached us with the serious problem of frequent supply shortages, I designed an inventory optimization tool with contingency plans within two weeks, brought stakeholders together regularly, facilitated intensive discussions between participants and led to a jointly developed action plan that resulted in a successful delivery and a further collaboration with Nestle worth 2 Million dollars.”3. State your big Vision for MBAIf you are not yet interrupted by the interviewer, take liberty to quickly jump to your future vision. And keep it interesting
Here is a real example,
“I have actively experienced and observed the traditional agricultural markets - in my agriculture dominated hometown (Name), and I have found that supply and demand are largely susceptible to manipulation by middlemen. This results in volatile market prices, leaving small and medium farmers vulnerable to the arbitrary actions of intermediaries who exploit them.[i] The fluctuating demand trickles down to unreliable forecasts for crop planning. [/i][Mature insights for someone with 2 years of experience]
I want to use my supply chain expertise in the FMCG business and knowledge of advanced analytics to achieve two goals. The first is to build a transparent digital company that enables end buyers and agricultural producers to participate directly in transactions equipped with high-tech tools for product classification and quality control. Second, to equip India's small farmers with strategic insights on crop diversification based on predictive analytics on estimated demand prices and resource inputs. For example, I would like to inform a smallholder farmer of his return on investment based on the selection of a crop and the resources used such as water, fuel and fertilizer to provide transparency on his cost-return ratio.”[This answer worked well for an ISB PGP applicant with 2 years’ experience because it connects the applicant’s vision with his background and formative experiences, which have been covered during the introductory conversation in an interesting manner.]
Did you like this approach? Let’s take the next example for the dreaded question “Can you walk me through your resume?”Applicant: “ Hi, My name is Sanjay and as you can see I have over 8 years of business development and category management experience across startups and retail companies in India and the Middle East. I started my career at .. blab la bla”An improved approach would be as follows,
“
Sure, but before I talk about my professional background, I would like to point out that I completed my formal education in fashion design. I hail from a tribal-dominated region in India known for its indigenous weaves and fabrics. My cultural roots motivated me to study fashion design. Still, I realized early on that I needed to understand business when I observed the financial plight of rural artisans and manufacturers due to unorganized markets, digital illiteracy, inadequate infrastructure, and corrupt middlemen in my home region. With this context I would like to expand on my career trajectory..."
The applicant goes on to describe his resume and initiate further conversation.
Here is a typical example of how career progression should be talked about.."To gain experience in business development on the supply side, I joined a high-end fashion retail division at ABC Group in 20XX where I on-boarded more than 50 global and Indian brands to expand ABC’s customer reach in high-end women's and children’s fashion. To gain an international foothold, I launched the footwear category at Danish brand Jack & Jones in 20XX in a global team by hiring salespeople to expand the selection and partner with retail channels.
Later, I moved to DEF in 20XX - the earliest homegrown Indian label for western wear. Here I was able to showcase my entrepreneurial spirit by growing the buying, merchandising and planning functions, expanding the business to over 50 stores and developing the first online presence on Myntra. This role was the springboard for the start of my career in e-commerce at Flipkart. I grew Flipkart's marketplace business and introduced the omni-channel module by onboarding small retailers and suppliers from tier-2 and tier- 3 cities. In 20XX, I accepted the opportunity to lead the apparel and accessories category for XYZ Group in the GCC region, scaling fast fashion brands and developing technical product initiatives for XYZ Group's $3 billion e-commerce channel.
The seven years of enriching retail experience has helped me explore the breadth of business functions. However, to understand the deeper nuances of social entrepreneurship and develop a business strategy in luxury retail, an MBA from a reputed school is essential. The [Confidential] school’s deep expertise in the luxury industry and its focus on entrepreneurship combined with its rich and meaningful academic offerings in luxury innovation and supply chain, treks and connections to European luxury groups make it an ideal choice for me. An MBA would give me the knowledge and confidence to create authentic luxury to support India’s dwindling tribal and rural communities. As an MBA graduate, I would be able to tap into a global network of experts and draw the attention of bureaucrats and governments to empower indigenous communities to sustain their livelihoods.“Get personalized advice tailored to your unique circumstances in the B School admissions process. Reapplying? Get a free ding analysisBest wishes
Aanchal Sahni (INSEAD MBA alum, former INSEAD MBA admissions interviewer)Founder, MBAGuideConsulting
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