Interviews create that personal connection between you and the program representative, so you should be as prepared as possible to answer any of their *many* questions. This video will cover how to practice for your interview, how to research your interviewer, and the day-of steps to take.
Below, we’ll shed a little more light on exactly how to construct your interview answers, where to spend your prep time, and how to stay calm before it’s time to execute.
Answers Come Before Questions
You should have your answers before you ever get the questions. This may seem counterintuitive, but it’s the key difference between how the average interviewee preps versus the high-performers. This is how you do it:
- List out the brand stories you’ve already collected
- Write out as many potential questions as possible
- Simply match the question to a story
While this won’t prepare you for all possible questions, and you might forget the story you chose for one out of ten questions, you’re certainly better off than someone who failed to prepare matches at all. Answers will be much more easily accessible.
Find the Gaps
Reread all of your application assets and compare those to the brand stories you identified. How could you communicate things about yourself that you weren’t able to cover in your essays, resume, recommendations, or short answers in your interview? How might you incorporate that story into an existing question?
Think about where you might need to add detail or address weaknesses. If you used your optional essay for something other than your biggest weakness, consider which story might mitigate that weakness and what question it could answer. Look back at your shorter essays and ask yourself which stories would be better if you elaborated on them? Can you think of a question that matches that story? Lastly, think about how you’re going to structure your answers. An interview is a conversation, but it’s not an opportunity to indulge in your stream of consciousness. Prep your answers as if you had to submit them in bulleted writing.
Focus on One
Leading up to an interview, you should spend the majority of your time thinking about that school. Don’t prep for your second interview before you’ve completed your first, to avoid confusion. Screw Them Interviewees often talk trash. Even well-intentioned applicants might let slip their GPA or impressive work experience in the hall outside the interviewer’s office. Don’t get psyched out by what others say. You don’t know if it’s true, and if it is, there’s nothing you can do about it. Regardless of how other applicants are acting, focus on yourself.
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