Context:
My Round 2 Berkeley Haas interview occurred in mid-March 2020, was with an alum in the Boston area, and was blind, or i.e. the interviewer had only seen my resume. I was invited to interview in mid-February about 5 weeks after I submitted my application in January on the Round 2 deadline day. I have been admitted and was notified via a phone call a day before the decision deadline.
Experience Overview and Summary:
As many have people have written, the interview was easy going. My interviewer helped me feel comfortable and our conversation seemed very casual. Despite my struggles with two key behavioral questions, our conversation went for almost two hours (scheduled for 45 minutes). In my decision notification call, the admissions committee member mentioned that my interviewer found me “personable.”
Specific Questions:
- Tell me about how you made the jump from studying [my undergraduate major] into the [industry] that you’re in. [Very tailored walk me through your resume, leading to several follow-up questions specific to my industry. These follow-ups truly made the interview felt conversational]
- Why Haas?
- What is the biggest risk that you’ve taken?
- Tell me about a time when someone has told you that you’re wrong and what did you do about that?
- What else would you like me to know about you?
Parting thoughts:
I think the casual and conversational nature of the interview allowed me to feel comfortable and confident. Even though I felt like I missed two questions, my takeaway is that it isn’t critical to ace the question so long as I came across as genuinely passionate about Haas and as someone who has reflected about their experiences.
