Cracking The Personal Interview

By Author: Peter Devis
Total Articles: 3
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There are definite answers to the questions you will be asked during the Personal Interview round of your MBA selection process. So, what we will do is help you arrive at the correct answer yourself, so that you sound natural and coherent in an interview.
Here are some of the kinds of questions you can be asked, and how best you can respond in such situations:
Q. Tell me some thing about yourself.
This is the first question you will certainly be asked and so you can prepare for it, to sound your best. When you are asked this question, this is typically what the interviewer would like to know:
• Your educational background
• Your work experience, if any
• Your strengths and achievements
• Your family background

Address each of the points mentioned above briefly. If the interviewer wants you to elaborate s/he will ask you.
Q. Why do you want to join this institute?
Another given question, you need to assess for yourself your reasons for wanting to join the institute. Try to be as honest as possible in your evaluation. Ideally, your criteria for choosing ...
... an institute should include:
• Ranking/ placements
• Courses offered
• Fee
• Location
Do your background research on the institute, its placements and specialization(s) it may be known for. A comprehensive analysis of the institute will convince the interviewer that you are sincerely interested.

Q. How will you add value to this institute if you make it through?
Any institute is looking for students who will enrich the culture of the institute and bring prestige to its name. This question presents an opportunity for you to showcase your strengths. However, it is critical that you talk about real achievements.

Q. What do you consider your biggest failure?
There are multiple ways to address this question. You can actually evade this question with a neutral answer to avoid sounding negative with a response like ‘Failure has never dragged me down. I’ve always seen it as stepping stone to success”. The other way to tackle this, is to make a weakness sound like a strength with responses such as ‘I sometimes get too immersed in work, that I forget to have a life’.

Q. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
This is not an opportunity to show off all the designations you know. Instead, know the roles you are expected to play in various designations. Make sure you achieve a perfect balance between your professional and personal goals.

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