Best Strategies For Answering Common MBA Interview Questions
Interviews are an essential part of the MBA admissions process. In order to build a strong application, applicants should understand what kind of questions admissions officers may ask.
Stacy Blackman, a contributor at US News and founder of Stacy Blackman Consulting, recently discussed some common questions asked in MBA interviews.
What is your biggest weakness?
Blackman says this question is an opportunity to explain any shortcomings in academic performance or other potential weak points in an application.
“Explain how you have already begun the hard work of improving on your negative traits and that you have a plan for further betterment while at business school through specific classwork and activities,” Blackman writes.
Everyone has weaknesses, but Jen Weld an admissions consultant for Accepted and Former Asst. Dir. of Admissions at Cornell’s EMBA program, says one strategy is to paint your weakness as a strength.
“For example, being too detail-oriented might bog you down with too much work, but it ensures you are thorough, leaving no stone unturned,” Weld writes in an Accepted blog post.
Tell me about a time you failed
A moment of failure can serve as a powerful learning opportunity. According to Blackman, when talking about failure, every applicant should be prepared to reference specific examples.
“When you discuss a failure during an MBA admissions interview, acknowledge your role in the incident, explain your reaction and discuss what lessons you learned or what you wish you could have done differently,” Blackman writes.
Most importantly, applicants should convey what they learned from failure.
“Don’t blame others; your overall tone should come across as positive,” Blackman writes.
Describe a poor manager you’ve had
Similar to the previous questions, it’s crucial to maintain a positive tone in response to “describe a poor manager you’ve had.”
“Your best bet is to briefly explain, with no bitterness, your issues with the manager and quickly move on to the positives: how you adapted, became empathetic, reached a compromise or confronted the situation to ultimately achieve a favorable outcome,” Blackman writes.
Janet Raiffa is an investment banking career coach, the former head of campus recruiting at Goldman Sachs and a former associate director in the Career Management Center at Columbia Business School. In an interview with efinancialcareers, Raiffa stresses the importance of maintaining an optimistic tone and never “trash talking” a previous manager or boss in an interview.
“While they very well may be have been terrible, you don’t want to suggest that you are a malcontent who has trouble getting along with people,” Raiffa tells efinancialcareeres. “Complaining is also not a positive thing to do in an interview, and shows lack of judgment.”
Tell me about yourself
This may seem like an easy question to answer, but Blackman says this question is where applicants tend to ramble on and lose focus. To answer strongly, Blackman recommends applicants to come up with an elevator pitch.
“Structure your thoughts and come up with your ‘elevator pitch,’ the one-to-two minute speech where you convey who you are and what motivates you, your education, work accomplishments and passions, why you want an MBA and what professional goals the degree will help you reach,” Blackman writes.
What types of terrain should you cover in this deceptively simple question? In a Poets & Quants article, Linda Abraham – founder of Accepted – lists several questions that are directly related to knowing yourself as an applicant.
- What are your short-term goals?
- What are your long-term goals?
- What do you hope to gain from attending this program?
- What will you contribute to your peers? To society?
- Which examples will you provide if asked about a leadership experience, a time when you failed, or your response to criticism?
Interviews are designed to help you paint a more in-depth illustration of your application. While it’s important to prep beforehand, remember to relax. It’s a conversation after all.
Sources: US News, Accepted, efinancialcareers, Poets & Quants
How Business Schools Are Teaching Soft Skills
Business schools are still trying to crack the code when it comes to teaching soft skills.
Soft skills, according to the balance, are interpersonal skills such as communication, listening, and empathy. Such communication skills are highly sought after by MBA recruiters and employers. According to the Graduate Management Admission Council, employers rank oral communication as the most important soft skill, followed by writing and listening skills.
User-Centricity Approach
Nicholas Glady, an associate professor of marketing at ESSEC Business School, argues in a Financial Times piece that a “user-centricity” approach should be taken by b-schools to teach MBAs soft skills.
According to Glady, user-centricity involves designing courses that can be adapted to fit the needs of students. In a user-centricity approach, students could be put in a real-life situation where they present their results and findings to managers or executives.
How Schools are Teaching Soft Skills
At ESSEC, according to Glady, business analytics courses involve projects that are based on real-life data sets. In these courses, students analyze data from partner companies and present to top management a solution. In the presentation, students are assessed on hard skills, such as methodological aspects, and soft skills, such as presentation structure and quality.
“The accuracy of technical analyses is the fundamental basis of reliable work,” Glady writes. “However, if it is not convincing, it will not achieve the real objective: transforming the company. Both hard skills and soft skills are a means to an end, which is to improve the company’s ability to achieve its mission.”
At the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, communication skills development is built into nearly every course, according to lecturer Gregory LaBlanc.
“We put a huge emphasis on the ability to communicate things and not simply to know things,” LaBlanc says in a Poets & Quants interview.
According to LaBlanc, Haas hires teachers with backgrounds in theater, game design, and improvisation in order to teach students how to communicate spontaneously.
“It’s also about being comfortable enough about what they know that they’re concerned more about communicating that,” LaBlanc says.
For Glady, he argues that business school professors should be teaching students skills that will allow them to act in real-life situations.
“For business schools, this means designing courses that can be adapted to the students’ needs — what to learn, how to learn it,” Glady writes.
Sources: Financial Times, the balance, Poets & Quants
The Power in an MD/MBA
The MBA and MD are both degrees that offer vastly different career paths. Yet, experts say, when combined, the MBA/MD can improve leadership in medical organizations and, ultimately, lead to better care.
Kent Bernhard is a contributor for Boston Business Journal, a publication covering business news.
“While some argue that doctors should stick solely to medical training, the reality is that an MBA and M.D. is a powerful combination that can improve the leadership of medical organizations and lead to efficiencies that deliver better care,” Bernhard writes.
According to The Atlantic, the number of joint MD/MBA programs in the US has grown from six to 65 in 20 years.
Why Healthcare Needs More Business Leaders
“Many of the greatest challenges in healthcare today are business problems,” Evan Rachlin, an MD/MBA graduate who works in healthcare at Bain Capital Ventures, tells The Atlantic.
Legislation, such as the Affordable Care Act, have motivated many medical students and residents to better understand the business of healthcare and how aspects, such as budgeting and accounting, affect healthcare.
Alexi Nazem is a third-year MD/MBA resident in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. In an interview with The Atlantic, Nazem argues that topics learned in business school should also be taught in medical school.
“Eighty percent of what we learn [in business school] should be taught in medical school,” Nazem tells The Atlantic. “There are a lot of things you learn in medical school that are not as relevant to the practice of medicine as management and leadership are.”
An MD/MBA Offers New Perspective
One of the arguments in support for the joint MD/MBA is that it offers students a unique perspective.
Akhilesh Pathipati is a fourth-year MD/MBA student at Stanford. In a post for Stanford’s Scope blog, Pathipati explains the difference between business school and medical school and how a combination of both offers a unique perspective.
“Business school teaches students how to approach decisions in the absence of evidence,” Pathipati writes. “Class discussions frequently revolve around ambiguous choices and the frameworks used to analyze them.”
In contrast, medical school is heavily evidence-based.
“Classes impart proven information and we’re evaluated on how well we know established guidelines,” Pathipati writes. “Although this is a vital principle, sometimes high-quality data doesn’t exist; for instance, in determining how to approach preventive care, chronic disease, or end-of-life decisions. Such situations occasionally leave doctors paralyzed by indecision.”
By having a business education, Pathipati argues that medical professionals can embrace such challenges.
Bridging a Gap
Policymakers, administrators, and physicians often don’t see eye to eye. Pathipati says this often leaves doctors feeling “unheard” and distrustful of non-clinical leadership.
For Pathipati, he says an MD/MBA degree can allow him to bridge the gap between business leaders and clinical professionals.
“Getting a dual degree is not only a way to learn new information, but to learn how to convey that information to different stakeholders,” Pathipati writes. “In doing so, I hope to facilitate communication that can lead to better solutions.”
Sources: Boston Business Journal, The Atlantic, Scope
The Most Important Factors to Consider Before Applying to an MBA
An MBA serves as an investment towards a lucrative career. Yet, it’s important to consider a few factors before dedicating two years of your life and thousands of dollars to a business degree.
Damian Davila is a writer for Wise Bread – a personal finance publication. Recently, Davila wrote an article about important factors applicants should consider before applying to an MBA.
Type of MBA
Davila says prospective MBA applicants should first consider what type of MBA they are interested in: part-time, full-time, or executive.
“While the full-time program allows you to fully immerse yourself in the MBA experience, a part-time program enables you to keep your current job and minimize student loans,” Davila writes. “An executive MBA (or EMBA) requires applicants to have several years of work experience, which will vary depending on the school. EMBA students typically have to attend classes on weekends.”
GMAT
According to the Graduate Management Admission Council, 9 out of 10 new MBA enrollments at the top 50 U.S. full-time MBA programs are made using a GMAT score as a key factor. So, it’s important to consider the average GMAT score at your target schools. Davila says applicants should also take into consideration the financial costs of prepping and taking the GMAT.
“Getting to that minimum score is going to cost you prep time and money,” Davila writes. “At the very least, you’ll need to cover the $250 test fee, but you may also have to pay for test prep services or additional materials that can bring up your total GMAT costs to thousands of dollars.”
Academic Rigor
In addition to the GMAT, experts also say prospective applicants should determine whether or not they are ready for the rigorous academic coursework that comes with an MBA.
Erin Town is an MBA Admissions Director at University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. In a blog post for the Graduate Management Admission Council, Town writes that applicants should consider strengthening weak academic points prior to applying to b-school.
“The MBA curriculum moves very quickly,” Town writes. “If you struggle with math, consider taking a class at a community college. If you have never taken accounting before, look into opportunities to learn the basics. Brushing up on a few key areas can be a great way to prepare yourself for school and to assess whether you have what it takes to keep up with the challenging MBA coursework.”
An MBA can certainly transform your career financially. However, it’s not for everyone. Consider important factors prior to dishing out thousands of dollars. As Davila writes:
“MBA programs aren’t cheap, after all.”
Sources: Wise Bread, Graduate Management Admission Council, Graduate Management Admission Council.
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