Knowledge is Power

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in preparing for an interview, getting all those notes into your head, and rehearsing what you are going to say, that it’s easy to forget about the interviewer as a person.

I have heard more than once from interviewers that they are looking for a conversation. They want to be engaged by you. If you just rattle off your accomplishments and desires, always thinking about what you are going to say and not thinking about the interviewer as a person, you will alienate them.

Make a conversation. And to do that, you must pay a bit of

attention to your interviewer.

It doesn’t matter how “right” your answers are if you don’t engage the interviewer and sell them on you as a person. Even if they seem like a robot, maybe especially if they seem like a robot, you have to use your people skills. The interviewer may be dead tired, or may have had a fight with their husband or wife. In that case, you are just another applicant- one in a blur of many. You have to snap these interviewers out of it. Ask them about themsleves after you finish answering a question. Tell a little joke (if you’re good at this). Heck, even slipping on a polished floor and landing flat on your butt is a good way to break the ice. (A great way, in fact.)

Most interviewers will really put a lot of thought into the interview process and try to determine, in spite of your answers, whether or not they think you’ll be a good fit for their program. Because of this, some admissions people will allow you in even if your answers weren’t the best, but because they saw something special in you.

Conversely, some will reject you because they felt you had no real conviction behind your answers. It is up to you to engage them in conversation and make them believers.

Some interviewers sound like lonely housewives when they complain about the lack of any conversation with an applicant. They don’t want answers that sound as though they have been memorized. They don’t want an endless recital of achievements. And they certainly don’t want silence.

They want conversation. They want to find out about you as a person. They want to get a real feeling about whether you belong in their MBA program or not.

So, no matter how impressive your recital is, it’s often worthless if you don’t engage the interviewer.

A few tips:

1- If you’re nervous, just say so. It always releases the tension.

2- Don’t forget to smile!

3- Ask a question or two about the interviewer. How long have they been at this school? How many students to they have to interview each day? Try to bring down the walls between you.

4- If you’re good at being humorous, give it a try. Just be careful of not causing offense.

5- Pause when you speak. Use some of your time to engage them in conversation, and they’ll remember you better for it.

None of these rules are very difficult, but you may forget the basic rules of socializing because you are nervous. Take the time to remember them. Breath deeply. And smile.

Be rock solid when you go to your MBA admission interview. Learn what hidden mistakes will kill your chances, and what you absolutely must say to win over the interviewer. Learn all this in your free report at: MBA Interview Questions