I interviewed on-campus with a consultant that worked with the admissions committee. She was not a full-time member of adcom, but apparently worked with them during admissions season. At first glance, she appeared like she wasn’t going to be very friendly, but I pushed the small talk and we developed some good rapport early on. Like you probably know if you’re reading this the MIT interview is non-blind, they have read all of your material. At the beginning of the interview, she reiterated everything MIT provides in the interview guide about the behavioral interview. She wanted specific anecdotes and she didn’t want to hear the same stories I had used in my application.
- Her first question was about a story I used in one of my essays. She basically asked me about the challenges in managing this project and specific difficulties.
- I have an office overseas which I manage remotely, she spent a lot of the interview asking specific questions about the challenges in managing the offshore staff. She wanted specific examples of issues I’ve faced and how I handled them. She wanted specific examples.
- Tell me about a time when you had to decide multiple options. Drilled into my answer.
- What will your business do when you leave? Wanted details.
- She didn’t ask my Why Sloan? – Why an MBA? – Goals? or any of the other standard interview questions.
- Questions for her? This really was my only opportunity to show that I’ve done my research on Sloan. I mentioned specific courses, professors, treks, and clubs in the context of my questions.
- At the bottom of my resume, I had some “other interests” listed. She even asked me about a couple of those.
- Do you have your official transcripts? I didn’t have the official transcripts, so I handed her the photocopies I made.
She would drill down into every question. One question she asked multiple times because my anecdote didn’t directly address her question.
Overall, be prepared to discuss stories from your app materials and have several new stories ready. They want details. I recommend using names and specifics. Story should be detailed as if you were telling a colleague.
This was very different from your standard interview. Focus your efforts on preparing some good stories. Don’t worry too much about the standard interview questions like why Sloan. Also, don’t save your good stories for the end. Use your best anecdotes early because you will only have the opportunity to go through a few because of the time the interviewer spends drilling down.
I think I did well, but I am certainly glad that this was one of my last interviews. If you interview on-campus, I recommend participating in “lunch with a student”. Eased the tension and gave me some good information about the program.
