Synopsis
Another one bites the dust! Yesterday I had the toughest interview of my life EVER! I have had several great interviews, even some mediocre ones, but regardless of the outcome, I haven't ever walked out like I was put in the wringer. Though I walked away shaking my head, I came to the conclusion that I had been played like a harp. Some statistics on the interview for those who care about such things:
1. Total length: 1:55 hours.
2. Breakup -
a. 1:10 min - Resume - why, what, how, figures, describe, who?
b. 20 min - why MBA, why Kellogg, what other schools, Goals?
c. 20 min - Questions on school and clubs
d. Pleasantries at the beginning and end.
It started out very innocuously; with the basic disclaimer that this was just a conversational interview with stress only on getting to know me better. So I started by giving a low down on my resume, and before I got through the first bullet point, the innocuous questions started floating in, "I am curious at how you arrived at this figure", "exactly how many people are we talking about here", etc. till the end of the process when I felt I had been scanned, analyzed, prodded, poked, squeezed dry of information. With all my claims evaluated, with every link in the picture tested for strength.
My final impression at the end of the process was that of awe! I had been gone over by a master of the art, who knew the business, and the exact pressure points to pull, push and prod to elicit extremely frank feedback. I have been on either sides of the interview table, and have some experience of this process. This was unlike any other business school or work interview I had given. If this is the level of intellectual capacity available in classes at Kellogg, I must say it will be the best learning experience of your life.
And I unfortunately again did not quite hold up to the test. The conversation was very smooth, but a couple of candid answers, some sore notes, in my moment of weakness when I let the guard down for a moment seemed like they torpedoed my interview. I did try to fish around in my thank you note, but no bites, this guy was good, very very good. I just hope the rest of the Kellogg interviewers are on the same level, because that is the only way I stand a chance. Rip every story apart at it’s seems, and try to put it back together to see if it can make a complete picture.
Good luck to everyone out there who still has interviews to give. In a rapid sequence of events, I have my Chicago interview scheduled for next Thursday. I hope to take the lessons learnt from this interview to the next one and do a better job. From the conversations I had with the interviewer though, I was left with the impression that this was another very formidable foe. Very sharp, very intelligent and smart to boot. I must say though, despite the way it sounds, each interviewer so far is one better than the previous one. Kellogg tougher than Michigan, Chicago seemingly tougher than Kellogg (or at least as tough). And like the Borg I seem to be evolving, learning on the fly, smoothening the protrusions and gaps in my story, getting better over time. With the reaming my resume has received, I am pretty confident of doing a good job the next time around. My over all why MBA story is pretty strong and memorized by rote.
1. Total length: 1:55 hours.
2. Breakup -
a. 1:10 min - Resume - why, what, how, figures, describe, who?
b. 20 min - why MBA, why Kellogg, what other schools, Goals?
c. 20 min - Questions on school and clubs
d. Pleasantries at the beginning and end.
It started out very innocuously; with the basic disclaimer that this was just a conversational interview with stress only on getting to know me better. So I started by giving a low down on my resume, and before I got through the first bullet point, the innocuous questions started floating in, "I am curious at how you arrived at this figure", "exactly how many people are we talking about here", etc. till the end of the process when I felt I had been scanned, analyzed, prodded, poked, squeezed dry of information. With all my claims evaluated, with every link in the picture tested for strength.
My final impression at the end of the process was that of awe! I had been gone over by a master of the art, who knew the business, and the exact pressure points to pull, push and prod to elicit extremely frank feedback. I have been on either sides of the interview table, and have some experience of this process. This was unlike any other business school or work interview I had given. If this is the level of intellectual capacity available in classes at Kellogg, I must say it will be the best learning experience of your life.
And I unfortunately again did not quite hold up to the test. The conversation was very smooth, but a couple of candid answers, some sore notes, in my moment of weakness when I let the guard down for a moment seemed like they torpedoed my interview. I did try to fish around in my thank you note, but no bites, this guy was good, very very good. I just hope the rest of the Kellogg interviewers are on the same level, because that is the only way I stand a chance. Rip every story apart at it’s seems, and try to put it back together to see if it can make a complete picture.
Good luck to everyone out there who still has interviews to give. In a rapid sequence of events, I have my Chicago interview scheduled for next Thursday. I hope to take the lessons learnt from this interview to the next one and do a better job. From the conversations I had with the interviewer though, I was left with the impression that this was another very formidable foe. Very sharp, very intelligent and smart to boot. I must say though, despite the way it sounds, each interviewer so far is one better than the previous one. Kellogg tougher than Michigan, Chicago seemingly tougher than Kellogg (or at least as tough). And like the Borg I seem to be evolving, learning on the fly, smoothening the protrusions and gaps in my story, getting better over time. With the reaming my resume has received, I am pretty confident of doing a good job the next time around. My over all why MBA story is pretty strong and memorized by rote.
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