Congratulations! 

You have been invited to interview with MIT Sloan. 

Now what? 

How to pass your

MIT Sloan MBA Interview

STEP ONE

CONTACT ME

AT LEAST 10 DAYS

BEFORE YOUR INTERVIEW

STEP TWO

DECIDE HOW

MANY SESSIONS

YOU WANT

 

STEP THREE

ARRANGE PAYMENT 

My fees fluctuate depending on availability 

If I agree to support you, I will quote you a price that will not change during the course of our working relationship 

 

HOW TO PAY

STEP FOUR

SCHEDULE OUR FIRST SESSION

TO OCCUR AT LEAST 5 DAYS

BEFORE YOUR MIT INTERVIEW

 

STEP FIVE

SEND ME

YOUR MIT APPLICATION

MIT interviewers read your entire application before interviewing you. I want to do the same.  Once our session is scheduled, please attach and send me your 

Also, if you have access to your recommendation letters, please send those, as well. After reading your application, I will prepare a custom list of questions to fit your case.

After your interview, I will destroy all hard and soft copies to maintain client confidentiality

 

STEP SIX

PRACTICE BEFORE and

AFTER EACH SESSION

PLEASE NOTE

 

CANCELLATIONS

 

AFTER YOUR INTERVIEW

PLEASE HELP ME

IMPROVE MY SERVICE

MIT's Interview Instructions

The MIT Sloan MBA Admissions Committee conducts Behavioral Event-Based Interviews.

The concept behind Behavioral Event Interviews (BEI) is past behavior is a reliable indicator of future response in a similar situation.

BEI is different from the traditional screening interviews:

 

What the Admissions Committee is looking for

The interviewer will be looking for concrete and specific examples revealing one or several of the following traits during the interview:

 

Preparing for BEI

 

(found at http://mitsloan.mit.edu/mba/admissions/MITSloan_interview_guide.pdf; accessed 3/2011)

 

Behavioral Event-Based Interviews (BEI) 

What is BEI?

In the 1980’s, industrial psychologist Dr. Tom Janz introduced a method of interviewing called the “Behavioral Interview.” Research shows that this interviewing style is extremely effective, and MBA admissions officers have started using it in interviews as well as essay questions, first at MIT and now, Stanford , and other programs (depending on the interviewer).

 

Why do interviewers use BEI?

The premise is that the best predictor of future behavior is your past behavior. In a behavioral interview you will have to demonstrate your knowledge, skills, and abilities, collectively known as competencies, by giving specific examples from your past experiences. Instead of asking how you would behave in a particular situation, the interviewer will ask you to describe how you did behave. Expect the interviewer to question and probe you for more details about what you thought, felt, said and did. Also, your interviewer will not allow you to theorize or generalize about several events.

 

How can you prepare for a Behavioral Event-Based Interview?

During a behavioral interview, always listen carefully to the question, ask for clarification if necessary, and make sure you answer the question completely. Your answer should contain these four steps (Situation, Task, Action, Result or "STAR") for optimum success. http://web.mit.edu/career/www/guide/star.html

 

Whenever you can, quantify your results. Numbers illustrate your level of authority and responsibility. For example: "I was a shift supervisor." could be "As Shift Supervisor, I trained and evaluated 4 employees."

 

Example of a STAR Answer


Behavioral Interview Example

Question: “Describe a situation where you have had to deal with a difficult person.”

Answer: “I was transferred to a new project at my previous company to replace a beloved member of the team. My new team leader exhibited hostility towards me and I found myself left out of vital communications and meetings. After a few weeks, I was able to talk her into a one on one meeting. When laid out all of the key objectives for the team, the previous employees role in meeting those objectives, and then discussed goals that I could set to make sure I was able to serve as a quality replacement. In our discussion, we also identified a few underlying issues with management that she had been carrying around with her. In uncovering all of these sentiments, she was able to clearly define her situation and achieve an understanding with her supervisors. In the end, the entire team morale improved, I was able to exceed my goals and the company itself became more profitable from our teams increased performance.”

Follow-up questions will test for consistency and determine if you exhibited the desired behavior in that situation:

Watch a behavioral interview here

Information compiled from various public sources including http://web.mit.edu/career/www/guide/star.html

MIT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

 

RESUME

 

GOALS


TEAMWORK AND RELATIONSHIPS

 

LEADERSHIP


ACCOMPLISHMENTS


SELF-AWARENESS


CLOSING QUESTIONS

 

REPORTS

2011 R2


2009 R1, interviewed w/ adcoms in Tokyo

1. Interviewer: Rod Garcia, Director of MBA Admissions

2. Length of Interview: about 45 min.

3. Questions asked:

He used to ask one big question and made several questions to dig down my answers.

1) What do you do know?

- What is your task in that business?

- How could you establish such a big and exciting business?

- Please tell me about your past professional experience.

2) Tell me about the time when you have to persuade people or organization to influence others.

- Please give me example of the dialog you had with your peers.

- Why and how do you think you were effecting in persuading them?

3) Please tell me about the time when you had to put yourself into uncomfortable environment

- Why were you in that situation?

- What did you do and learn through the task?

- How did your attitude change since this experience?

4) What do you want to do after MBA?

5) Do you have any questions? (2 times)

6) Do you have anything else you want to mention?

Overall impression: Rod was really friendly but professional. He asked me a lot of questions about my past experience.


2007-2008

The 2nd round interview was in Tokyo with adcom (#2 guy below Rod Garcia). It lasted 30 mins.

Questions:

1. What kind of quality or talent I bring to my workshop?

2. What are my personal (not job related) goals in the future?

3. What kind of preparation do I do for my personal goals?

Then related to my answer on 3rd question, he continued to ask:

4. How do I rank MIT for my MBA selection?

5. Why MIT?

6. Is there anything I would like to tell him?

7. Question for him

The interviewer was taking notes of my comments, but the overall atmosphere was mild with some smiles from him.


HOW TO FRAME YOUR ANSWERS

I have compiled several frameworks that my clients use to structure their essay and interview answers. Use them, but do not abuse them.

Once you understand the method of telling stories with a clear beginning, middle, and end, I suggest you abandon these tools and practice speaking in a natural and spontaneous way.

Remember, your interview is a conversation. Do you enjoy meeting new people? Show your interpersonal skills at the interview - you can impress your interviewer and boost your chances of admission.


PREPARE TWO MORE ASPECTS OF YOUR STORY IN CASE YOUR INTERVIEWER ASKS FOR MORE DETAILS AND FOLLOW UP

Example of a STAR Answer

 

(found at http://web.mit.edu/career/www/guide/star.html; accessed 2011/10)

 

Variation 1: R-STAR

I suggest using a modified PAR template: R-STAR. Put the result at the beginning.

 

Variation 2: SOAR

Provide a structured framework to keep your answer clear and concise, while conveying how you effectively overcame the challenge.

 

Variation 3: SOFT

Information is subject to change. Please verify all data with the schools.