Application Part 4: The Interview

So, LFM Class of 2011 interviews are coming up next Friday and the following Monday. If you were lucky enough to be invited, here are a few words of advice. (Pls note I'm not on admissions, and have no idea what the admissions team is really looking for. This is just my own personal take).

1. Beforehand prep: I googled "B-school interview questions" and got a ton of sample questions. I used these to prep for my LFM interview, as well as interview at other schools. There were some standard questions, but a lot that I wasn't ready for... like, "Name your favorite CEO". What? Who has a favorite CEO, seriously? Anyhow, I used these sample questions to practice with prior to the interview.

Regardless of what kind of questions they ask you, most schools use situation-based interviews, which means they ask you questions that start with "Tell me about a time when you did......" You will want to respond to these questions in a STAR format.... situation, task, action, result. So, practice telling a story in 2-3 minutes that highlight the situation at hand, what you were supposed to do, what you actually did, and what the results were. As a former interviewer at my old job, I can tell you that most people want to talk about the situation at length, and would ramble on about the background to make sure I understood what was going on... but I always wanted to hear about the action and results. So, if you can, try to make your situation and task description brief - if the interviewer is confused, they will ask you to clarify. Spend the bulk of your time on the action and result - that's the good stuff!

Also, you can be pretty sure that any b-school is gonna ask you "why our school, why now" - you probably wrote about this in your essays, so just be sure you can answer this question well when they ask you.

Also, get familiar with the school before you go... you want to be able to showcase that you have really researched the school and want to be there! And get your facts straight - be sure you don't accidently mention the Indiana State Leadership Initiative at your Michigan State interview, or something stupid like that.

As a side-note, I'd also give yourself ample time for travel to your interview... fly in the day before, and stay a day after. Explore the school and city, feel it out and see if you could picture yourself living there. Try to do something socially with the current students, see if you get along with them. 2 years is an awful long time to live someplace you picked off of a one-day trip.

2. Day of: Get there early, give yourself time to get settled. And then relax. Be yourself. I think its probably a lot more beneficial to give honest, real answers than canned BS that you think they want to hear. Be excited about the school - let your passion for the program show. Remember the STAR format!

My interview was pretty straightforward. I know I had heard some horror stories from other b-schools, where interviewers specifically ask you things that will make you uncomfortable just to see how you do under pressure. I didn't get that in my interview at LFM - they asked pretty reasonable, straightforward questions about my experiences and future goals. However, every interview is different. If you do get asked a tough question, just stay calm and do your best!

Also, at some other schools the folks interviewing me hadn't read my application, so I just reused examples from my app. At LFM, they were very clear that they had read my app in its entirety, so decided to use all new examples - I didn't want to be repetitive. Make sure you have some good examples in your head that you haven't already talked about on your application.

At the end of the interview, they will ask you if you have questions. Make sure you ask at least one intelligent question. Get the person's business card. Make sure you are polite and thank them for their time. At the end, sell yourself one final time.... shake the person's hand and reiterate your passion for the program.

3: Afterwards: Relax! Get out and explore the city. Get a cocktail, you deserve it! Try to get dinner/drinks with current students to get a feel for the peers you would have in the program. Make sure you send a thank you to your interviewer within 24 hrs - I always do email, I think that's fine these days.

I know that the LFM interviews are a day long process, with panels and info sessions, dinner with current students, as well as some partying over the weekend for those who stay in town. I encourage all the prospectives to go to as many activities as possible - again, its just a good way to learn about the program, your future peers, and the "vibe" of the program. In the end, deciding to join LFM was a gut call for me... it just felt right - it felt like home, and other programs didn't. However, you have to really spend some time at a school to figure out if its right for you.

Best of luck to all the interviewees! If you have any questions about LFM or the interview process, feel free to leave me a comment!