If you received an interview from HEC MBA program, you already know that you need to prepare a presentation on a topic of your choice. This topic could make or break the interviewer’s decision and you should be careful in preparing the presentation.
Ask yourself the following questions:
Is my presentation professional?
Would you feel comfortable presenting this topic in front of your classmates or colleagues? Check your presentation to make sure you do not have any typos or formatting problems.
Is this presentation worthwhile for this HEC alumni, professor or representative?
Will the listeners feel that they have learned something new about the topic? If you are interviewing with a local alumni and have seen his/her profile you can try to customize the content according to the audience, but usually it will be a challenge, as you will need to present in front of 2 individuals.
Why did I chose this topic?
This is the most common follow-up question to your presentation, so make sure you have a good answer.
Can I deliver the HEC presentation in about 10 minutes?
Don’t pick something too basic to hold their attention for 10 minutes; likewise, don’t pick something too complex to explain well in 10 minutes. The rule of thumb is one slide per minute, but of course it all depends on your specific presentation. Test it multiple times to gauge its actual duration.
Am I repeating information from my application?
HEC asks you specifically not to do this, as they will review your profile and read your essays. Don’t waste this presentation repeating your career goals or listing your community work, as this will show that you can’t follow directions.
Free! Get feedback today on your HEC presentation. Email yael@admit1mba.com your presentation and we’ll take it from there. Limited time offer; coupon code HEC12 must be included.
Testimonial
London Business School Interview - The Presentation
One of the biggest challenges of getting into London Business School is performing well in the interview phase. In addition to the unusual length of 1 to 2 hours per interview (versus the usual 30 or 45 minutes at other schools), you are going to face the topic presentation. In your interview you will need to create a short presentation based on a topic given to you at the time of the interview. You will have only 2-3 minutes to prepare for it, and there is no public list of questions that you can review beforehand.
The purpose of this presentation is to test your communication skills and overall business knowledge and acumen. Preparing for the London Business School presentation is somewhat similar to preparing for a case-interview, as you need a structure and a method that will help you “crack” any topics or questions.
How can you prepare?
1. Read the news and follow world business and politics. If you can’t talk about the European debt crisis or commodity prices, you’d better start practicing.
2. Talk to yourself! It’s always a good idea to hear yourself speak about a new topic. You can even record yourself via a webcam and see how you perform.
3. Do a few quick drills every day: Write a topic (globalization, oil prices, health-care reform) and break it down into 5 bullet points in just 3 minutes. If you do this exercise 3 times a day for a week you will feel much better.
4. Get feedback. Email yael@admit1mba.com to schedule a free 10-minute London Business School Presentation interview. Limited time offer; coupon code LB12 must be included.
Wait-list at NYU Stern
You’ve worked so hard on your MBA application for NYU Stern, but unfortunately just received the disappointing news that you have been placed on the wait-list.
A few questions to help you evaluate the situation:
Did you receive an interview?
Getting an interview is a good start as it means that the admissions committee saw you as a potential NYU MBA student. Rumor has it that many applicants ended up on NYU’s MBA wait-list this year, so a position on the wait-list without an interview leaves little room for hope.
Is your GMAT score below 680?
It’s hard to believe but 680 is the bottom of the GMAT score 80% range at NYU. It seems that GMAT scores are going up at every school, and the same is true for NYU Stern. As much as NYU loves diversity and outliers, the GMAT score impacts b-schools’ ranking and NYU can’t ignore it.
Do you have any meaningful extra-curricular activities?
Stern MBA emphasizes the important of community. So, if you have not been involved with volunteer work, student associations or other initiatives, getting into NYU is going to be a stretch, and this is not something that you can fix in just a month or so.
Did you visit NYU?
Applicants in the tri-state who did NOT attend a campus-tour raise a red flag; this means that you are either not really interested in attending NYU, consider NYU a back-up option or do not understand the MBA application process. For international students, attending an admissions events or at least interacting with students or alumni is almost a must.
Is NYU a good fit for you?
Some candidates apply to NYU just because it’s in New York and they want to live here (I completely understand - I love being a New Yorker!). Still, NYU MBA is not a good fit for everyone, depending on your career goals, personality, etc.
Free! Email yael@admit1mba.com to get an initial analysis of your wait-list situation. Limited time offer; coupon code WT12 must be included.
A few questions to help you evaluate the situation:
Did you receive an interview?
Getting an interview is a good start as it means that the admissions committee saw you as a potential NYU MBA student. Rumor has it that many applicants ended up on NYU’s MBA wait-list this year, so a position on the wait-list without an interview leaves little room for hope.
Is your GMAT score below 680?
It’s hard to believe but 680 is the bottom of the GMAT score 80% range at NYU. It seems that GMAT scores are going up at every school, and the same is true for NYU Stern. As much as NYU loves diversity and outliers, the GMAT score impacts b-schools’ ranking and NYU can’t ignore it.
Do you have any meaningful extra-curricular activities?
Stern MBA emphasizes the important of community. So, if you have not been involved with volunteer work, student associations or other initiatives, getting into NYU is going to be a stretch, and this is not something that you can fix in just a month or so.
Did you visit NYU?
Applicants in the tri-state who did NOT attend a campus-tour raise a red flag; this means that you are either not really interested in attending NYU, consider NYU a back-up option or do not understand the MBA application process. For international students, attending an admissions events or at least interacting with students or alumni is almost a must.
Is NYU a good fit for you?
Some candidates apply to NYU just because it’s in New York and they want to live here (I completely understand - I love being a New Yorker!). Still, NYU MBA is not a good fit for everyone, depending on your career goals, personality, etc.
Free! Email yael@admit1mba.com to get an initial analysis of your wait-list situation. Limited time offer; coupon code WT12 must be included.
INSEAD Interviews and Your Career
I discussed the INSEAD interview with a New York-based alumnus who has been interviewing for INSEAD for the last few years. Prior to the interview, alumni are provided with the applicant’s resume and some general information. INSEAD requires two interviews, and to get admitted you need to get positive feedback from both interactions. If one interviewer provides negative feedback you will probably be placed on the wait-list. For this INSEAD alumnus, it is the candidate’s work experience that makes or breaks his decision about admitting an applicant. This criterion is often holds true for anyone interviewing you, whether it’s for Columbia, London Business School, Chicago Booth, etc. Why?
What you bring to the classroom – the more hands-on experience you have, the better you are able to share valuable knowledge with your classmates. It is critical for you to understand your unique value proposition and present it in your essays and interview. Remember that having a strong technical, financial or consulting background is common, so you will need more than that to impress your audience.
Attractiveness to recruiters – consulting firms and investment banks often use your GMAT score and GPA as a screening tool in the recruiting process; but an impressive work experience is equally if not more valuable. If they were only looking for extremely smart people, the easiest way to find them would be to go after brilliant undergrads – it's much cheaper and there's a wider selection. However, recruiters are looking for maturity and experience. Recruiters are thinking about how they can leverage your previous experience: your technical skills, industry knowledge, or professional and personal network. Especially if you are a career switcher, work to find an angle that highlights your transferable skills.
If your experience is limited, try to think of ways to enrich it, either by seeking additional opportunities and responsibilities at work or via ex-curricular activities such as non-profits, professional organizations, etc.
Free! Applying to INSEAD? Let me help you create the strongest application possible. Send your CV to yael@admit1mba.com for a free evaluation. Limited time offer; coupon code INSEAD12 must be included.
What you bring to the classroom – the more hands-on experience you have, the better you are able to share valuable knowledge with your classmates. It is critical for you to understand your unique value proposition and present it in your essays and interview. Remember that having a strong technical, financial or consulting background is common, so you will need more than that to impress your audience.
Attractiveness to recruiters – consulting firms and investment banks often use your GMAT score and GPA as a screening tool in the recruiting process; but an impressive work experience is equally if not more valuable. If they were only looking for extremely smart people, the easiest way to find them would be to go after brilliant undergrads – it's much cheaper and there's a wider selection. However, recruiters are looking for maturity and experience. Recruiters are thinking about how they can leverage your previous experience: your technical skills, industry knowledge, or professional and personal network. Especially if you are a career switcher, work to find an angle that highlights your transferable skills.
If your experience is limited, try to think of ways to enrich it, either by seeking additional opportunities and responsibilities at work or via ex-curricular activities such as non-profits, professional organizations, etc.
Free! Applying to INSEAD? Let me help you create the strongest application possible. Send your CV to yael@admit1mba.com for a free evaluation. Limited time offer; coupon code INSEAD12 must be included.
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