Preparation Plan for an MBA Interview

The biggest challenge for you as an MBA aspirant is formulating a preparation plan upon being shortlisted for the interview round. The stakes are high at this point of time since you would be competing with the best – the ones who would have already demonstrated a certain level of aptitude for the program! Hence it becomes important to understand the key dimensions of the interview preparation, as discussed below.
Start with knowing yourself!
It all begins with knowing yourself. The interview is about you and you are the best judge of yourself! Write your career goals, strengths, interests and learning experiences. Support each point with examples and illustrations. Be absolutely honest to yourself while doing this exercise. This will help you to delve deeper into your personal self and present yourself with clarity.
Research about the institute/program
Get details w.r.t the program you are applying to. This information is available at the website of the respective school. Take a note of important dimensions like vision, mission, quality policy, program details, academic pedagogy, placement facility, industry interface, student development etc. This becomes even more critical in case of niche offerings, which need greater justification in terms of intent to pursue a highly specialized program. Try to identify the unique selling proposition (USP) of the institute.
Write answers to predictable questions
There are certain questions which have a strong probability of being asked; respect these questions and draft sample answers.Sample questions in this category are:
  • Introduce yourself?
  • Why do you want to do an MBA?
  • Why should we select you?
  • What are your hobbies?
  • Have you ever failed in life?
  • Who is your role model?
  • Where do you see yourself in a few years from now?
Practice
We suggest that you should appear for an optimum number of practice sessions- GDs, PIs, Writing Tasks etc. Such sessions give you a near real feel of the actual process enabling you to evolve as a more confident candidate.Practice should be under high levels of simulation, and the feedback from each such session should be carefully improvised. Please ensure that this kind of simulation is created by the right set of people.
Adhere to the following
  • Prepare thoroughly; leave nothing to chance. It always helps to go well prepared. This is also important from a perspective of psychologically stimulating you, leading to higher confidence.
  • Manage time smartly. You may not have enough time after being shortlisted for the GDPI round; hence it is advised that a comprehensive time bound plan should be prepared before triggering off the preparation process.
  • Learn from feedback given by professionals.
  • Learn from past experiences of other candidates. This will give you insights into the actual process, the types of questions asked etc. However this kind of trend analysis should not limit you to a specific set of questions for a particular school. The one thing which you can expect in these interviews is an assessment of your ability to manage change.
  • Document your learnings, as it will help you to keep a check on the overall preparation process.
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