November 7, 2009
Interviews are won or lost in the first 5 minutes. Experienced interviewers can tell in your initial interactions with them if there’s potential here, or if you’re just not going to fit in. Over the last 2 weeks, I’ve worked with over 75 undergraduates conducting 1-on-1 mock interviews with them, and I can definitely tell you, after just the first few questions, which were the handful that stood out from the crowd.
So what does this mean? You need to start your interview strong! Prepare for the typical introductory questions (e.g. can you start by telling me a little bit more about yourself? Why are you interested in working for us? Why this role?), and be ready to really impress the interviewer with your answer.
Today I want to focus specifically on the introduction – what should you say and how much should you say if the interviewer asks you to tell them more about yourself?
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September 10, 2009
Ensuring that MBA candidates, who’s English is not their native language, can handle the rigours of the classroom and academics is a big concern for the Admissions Committees (AdComs), especially given the huge increase in applications from both India and China.
The new English test, known as the Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic), seems to be another way to help filter and legitimize the candidate pool. Endorsed by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), who runs the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), the new test will debut on October 26, 2009 for non-native English speakers.
Part of this computer-based test involves providing a 30-second voice sample / recording for schools to assess your English proficiency. According to the official press release, schools already signed-up to accept these new test scores include London Business School, University of British Columbia, Queen’s University Belfast, University of Edinburgh, HEC Paris and Yale University.
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