My interview was conducted by an alumnus in-person, on campus. The interviewer only had access to my resume prior to the interview, and they matched the interviewer to me based on my job experience and goals. I found the interview to be harder than other MBA interviews based on the tone of the interview (much more serious, high pressure, frequent interjections) as well as unexpected questions asked. The interviewer grilled me about my quantitative and analytics experience as well as my knowledge of the industry/discipline I would like to pivot into (product management in tech or fintech).
1. Why MBA/ why now?
2. Why career goals, questions about my knowledge of industry trends, how do I think AI will impact fintech?
3. Why Haas?
4. How do I define inclusion and what framework would I implement at a future company to promote inclusion?
5. Biggest risk I’ve taken?
6. Follow up questions about my data analytics experience – very specific about programs I’ve used, statistics experience.
7. Questions about why I made certain career moves (I moved disciplines going from analytics to strategy).
8. Biggest challenge I’ve faced in my career?
9. TMAT when I dealt with conflict on teams.
10. TMAT when team morale was low and how I improved it.
11. Anything you didn’t share?
12. Questions for interviewer?
The interviewer seemed very focused on my fit as a future product manager and wanted to test me in an high-pressure situation. Given that the interviewer had a career in tech product management, this made sense, however it surprised me that they did not focus much on the contributions I want to make at Haas. I do think my interview experience differed from the norm, with most prospective students I’ve spoken to saying their interviews were more laid back, conversational, and focused on overall school fit.
