Interview Questions

1. Describe yourself.

Over the last ten years, my background has been in the field of direct sales.  Specifically, I¡¯ve been focused on identifying and gaining new accounts for my region.  During the last year alone, I was able to¡¦

2. How would someone else describe you?

Dependable.  I make sure that whatever goal I¡¯m assigned, I see it through to the end.  Everyone in my office has come to rely upon me to uphold my end of a project.  In fact, that¡¯s why I¡¯ve been involved with most of my company¡¯s most expensive projects.  They can be confident that I will finish what I start.  On the last project that I was assigned.

3. Why should you be a good candidate for our program?

I sincerely believe that I am the best person for the position.  My past experience has taught me the necessary skills that will allow me to succeed in this position.  Other candidates may have the ability to be successful, but I combine that ability with an attitude that is guaranteed to deliver results.

4. What is your long-range objective?

The future is always uncertain, yet I¡¯ve always known my goal.  My objective is to manage a regional territory, remaining directly responsible for all of its customers, sales levels, marketing, and customer service with my MBA.  I know that your school offers the potential to achieve that position and I¡¯m fully prepared to do what is necessary to get there.  It¡¯s always been important for me to set my goals high and then follow through.  At my present job I once¡¦

5. How has education prepared you?

Most students will take the bare minimum of courses to get through, but I¡¯ve always taken additional courses and electives that I knew would relate to this type of work.  For example, during my senior year I was able to take two additional marketing classes.  In one of them, my final project involved working with a team and¡¦

6. What were your major responsibilities in your most recent job?

Much of my responsibility was spent assisting my engineering department.  We were able to double the number of new products introduced every year as a result of cutting the development time in half.  One product had been stuck in development for over two years.  I was able to..

7. Why did you leave you leave your last school?

I enjoy challenges.  As I¡¯ve learned more about the industry, I¡¯ve succeeded in increasing the areas under my responsibility.  My last school was poorly funded. There are inherently only so many opportunities in a small school.  Your school has better funding that allows for more creative research in the field.  I¡¯ve always wanted to work at this level.  Over the last year I was able to¡¦

8. What is your greatest weakness?

I¡¯ve historically been a poor time manager.  I would get some involved with the projects that I was working on, that I might run late for a meeting, or not schedule enough time for another project.  In order to deal with this, I¡¯ve begun adhering to a much tighter schedule on my calendar.  I will organize my projects and schedule a time to work on each.  This has the added bonus of not only helping with my time management, but enables me to remember all of the projects that I need to work on.  I now carry my pocket calendar with me everywhere.  Here, let me show you what I have scheduled for next week.  As you can see¡¦

*Note: Whenever this question is asked, make sure that you find a way to turn your weakness into strength or find a weakness that isn¡¯t a crucial characteristic.  It is much preferred to mention a real weakness that is not critical, as answers like ¡°I¡¯m a perfectionist¡± are sometimes perceived as dodges to the question.  In our opinion, the best two answers to this are the ¡°time management¡± answer above or mentioning a skill you¡¯re developing; for example: ¡°I tend to get nervous in public speaking situations.  However, I have made an effort in the last year to make more presentations to larger groups so that I can overcome my fear.  I¡¯m not nearly as nervous as I was a year ago, but I still have lots of room for improvement.¡±  Such an answer addressed a nearly universal fear, and reveals nothing that would tarnish your professional image in the eyes of the interviewer.

9. What do you expect to get from this graduate school position?

I¡¯ve worked in inside sales for the last five years.  This opportunity to get my MBA is a natural step in that process.  Up until now, my interaction with customers has taught me the importance of having the technical knowledge to answer any questions and to quickly respond to problems out in the field.  Working with potential new customers, not only will I still be able to give them the answers they need, I will actually show them the solution as well. One of my greatest sources of job satisfaction is knowing that I¡¯ve handled a problem well.  In one situation a customer needed¡¦

10.  How has your past experience prepared you for this position?

All of my last positions have prepared me to do this graduate school program.  I¡¯ve spent time working in each of the departments that interact with this position.  That experience has equipped me to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together.  I want the challenge of cooperating with each of these other departments and networking with the relationships that I¡¯ve already established.  When working independently in a department, it is easy to fall prey to tunnel vision.  Having worked in each of the related departments, I¡¯ve developed a number of ideas for how they could all be coordinated together.  One idea is¡¦