Coffee shop in Atlanta, GA 8am. I wore a suit and may have been a bit overdressed but felt it was better to err on the side of caution. My interviewer apologized for not letting me know that less formal attire would have been acceptable.
Questions: Pretty standard stuff but there were two that I wasn’t expecting
- Why MBA? Why now? Why McCombs?
- Post MBA goals
- Tell me about your current role
- Tell me about a time you led a team
- Tell me about a time you overcame a challenge
- Who do you admire?
And the two I didn’t see coming:
- What three words would your teammates use to describe you?
- How would you introduce yourself at a cocktail party?
Overall, it was a very relaxed, conversational, low-pressure interview. It was my fourth interview in the span of a couple of weeks so maybe that helped put me at ease. Compared to other interviewers from different schools, my McCombs interviewer was more methodical…reading questions from a sheet of paper, pausing to find the next one, etc. He explained that it was to ensure a fair experience for all applicants. Funnily enough, it kind of fit the rest of the school’s application procedures in terms of adherence to a process. I grew up in Texas so we spent a few moments talking about favorite restaurants, football teams, etc. One thing that I think helped me was that before we got started with the meat of the interview, I asked him a few questions about his background, job, etc…this helped me frame my responses to his questions in ways that might have resonated more with him than if I had just been answering them (“As I’m sure you know from your experience with xyz…”).
