How to Interview Like a Top MBA: Job-Winning Strategies From Headhunters, Fortune 100 Recruiters, and Career Counselors

255 Pages·2004·1.636 MB·English

by  Shel Leanne

Praise for How to Interview Like a Top MBA
“A must read! As someone who has also recruited top MBA can-
didates for investment banking, I unequivocally recommend
How to Interview Like a Top MBA. It does an exceptional job of
explaining what recruiters at the most sought-after corporations
look for when deciding whom they should hire. Easy to read and
very well organized, Dr. Leanne’s book covers important aspects
of the interview process and provides valuable anecdotes. Read-
ers will find the ‘100 Tough Questions and How to Answer
Them’ particularly useful. I wish I had had this book as a
resource when I was interviewing for a job years ago.”
—YAHPHEN YVONNE CHANG
Columbia University and Oxford University graduate
Vice President, Debt Capital Markets—Investment Banking Group
BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc.
“Dr. Leanne’s How to Interview Like a Top MBA has codified the
nuances of landing a job in a way that I—a former recruiter for
McKinsey & Co. who currently hires for my Venture Capital
Firm and, at the Board Level, selects senior management in
portfolio companies—find extremely compelling. I highly rec-
ommend How to Interview Like a Top MBA!”
—DALE LEFEBVRE
MIT graduate, Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School graduate
Former McKinsey & Company Consultant
Managing Partner, Pharos Capital
This page intentionally left blank.
HOW TO
INTERVIEW
LIKE A TOP
MBA
Job-Winning Strategies from Headhunters,
Fortune 100 Recruiters, and Career Counselors
DR. SHEL LEANNE
Copyright© 2004 byShellyLeanne. Allrightsreserved. Manufactured in the United States
of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of
thispublication maybe reproduced or distributed in anyform or byanymeans, or stored
in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
0-07-145857-3
The materialin thiseBookalso appearsin the printversion ofthistitle: 0-07-141827-X.
Alltrademarksare trademarksoftheir respective owners. Rather than puta trademark
symbolafter everyoccurrence ofa trademarked name, we use namesin an editorial
fashion only, and to the benefitofthe trademarkowner, with no intention ofinfringement
ofthe trademark. Where such designationsappear in thisbook, theyhave been printed
with initialcaps.
McGraw-HilleBooksare available atspecialquantitydiscountsto use aspremiumsand
salespromotions, or for use in corporate training programs. For more information, please
contactGeorge Hoare, SpecialSales, [email protected] or (212) 904-
4069.
TERMSOFUSE
Thisisa copyrighted workand The McGraw-HillCompanies, Inc. (“McGraw-Hill”) and its
licensorsreserve allrightsin and to the work. Use ofthisworkissubjectto these terms.
Exceptaspermitted under the CopyrightActof1976 and the rightto store and retrieve
one copyofthe work, you maynotdecompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, reproduce,
modify, create derivative works based upon, transmit, distribute, disseminate, sell,
publish or sublicense the workor anypartofitwithoutMcGraw-Hill’sprior consent. You
mayuse the workfor your own noncommercialand personaluse; anyother use ofthe
workisstrictlyprohibited. Your rightto use the workmaybe terminated ifyou failto
complywith these terms.
THE WORK IS PROVIDED “AS IS.” McGRAW-HILL AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO
GUARANTEESOR WARRANTIESASTO THEACCURACY, ADEQUACYOR COMPLETENESSOFOR
RESULTSTO BEOBTAINED FROM USING THEWORK, INCLUDING ANYINFORMATION THAT
CAN BEACCESSED THROUGH THEWORKVIA HYPERLINKOR OTHERWISE, AND EXPRESSLY
DISCLAIM ANYWARRANTY, EXPRESSOR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED
WARRANTIESOFMERCHANTABILITYOR FITNESSFOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. McGraw-Hill
and itslicensorsdo notwarrantor guarantee thatthe functionscontained in the workwill
meetyour requirementsor thatitsoperation willbe uninterrupted or error free. Neither
McGraw-Hillnor itslicensorsshallbe liable to you or anyone else for anyinaccuracy, error
or omission, regardlessofcause, in the workor for anydamagesresulting therefrom.
McGraw-Hillhasno responsibilityfor the contentofanyinformation accessed through the
work. Under no circumstancesshallMcGraw-Hilland/or itslicensorsbe liable for any
indirect, incidental, special, punitive, consequentialor similar damagesthatresultfrom
the use ofor inabilityto use the work, even ifanyofthem hasbeen advised ofthe
possibilityofsuch damages. Thislimitation ofliabilityshallapplyto anyclaim or cause
whatsoever whether such claim or cause arisesin contract, tortor otherwise.
DOI: 10.1036/0071458573
For more information about this title, click here
Contents
Preface vii
Introduction xi
I
PART Best Practices
1
CHAPTER Create a Great First Impression 3
2
CHAPTER Do Your Homework in
Four Key Areas 15
3
CHAPTER Use Your Résumé as an Effective
Interviewing Tool 33
4
CHAPTER Demonstrate a Fit Through Your
Responses to Key Questions 55
5
CHAPTER Shape the Interview with
Responses to Open-Ended and
Turnaround Questions 69
6
CHAPTER Address Clear Weaknesses
(Without Apologizing!) 81
7
CHAPTER Present a Strong Explanation if
You’ve Been out of Work 87
v
vi Contents
8
CHAPTER Demonstrate Business Relevance
if You’re a Nontraditional Hire 97
9
CHAPTER End Your Interview Excellently 111
10
CHAPTER Follow Up, Reinforcing a
Positive, Lasting Impression 119
II
PART 100 Tough Questions ANDHOWTO
Answer THEM
General Résumé Questions 127
Questions About Career Goals 137
Questions About the Available
Job 141
Questions About Your
Education 155
Questions About Your
Qualifications 163
Questions About Your
Leadership 171
Questions About Your Career
Progression 187
Questions About Losing or
Leaving Your Job 191
Other Difficult Questions 195
Personal Questions 201
Personality Questions 209
End-of-Interview Questions 223
Index 227
PREFACE
Over the years, I have benefited from outstanding academic and
career advice and from excellent mentoring and interview coach-
ing. Many ofmy successes—from gaining admission to top universities,
to landing jobs within prestigious companies such as McKinsey & Com-
pany and Morgan Stanley—would not have been possible except for the
wonderful mentoring I have received over the years. My gratitude for
this assistance created in me years ago a dedication to empowering other
people with knowledge and resources, helping enable them to make their
own dreams become reality. For more than fifteen years, I have devel-
oped my own perspectives on interviewing and career management best
practices, and I have conveyed those perspectives to others, helping
them to secure access to excellent jobs and academic programs as a
result. I have enjoyed designing educational resources using different
tools that prod people to think deeply about how they can best develop
their talents, how they can put them to use, and how they can effectively
draw on educational resources to open doors of opportunity.
In this work, I am happy to share important insights about inter-
viewing. The art of interviewing excellently is relevant not only for
those in business, but for those pursuing employment in many other
fields—from law to the nonprofit sector. Similarly, the insights of this
book can help you regardless of whether you are seeking full-time
employment, part-time employment, internships, or admission into aca-
demic programs.
vii
Copyright © 2004 by Shelly Leanne. Click here for terms of use.
viii preface
In the past, I have enjoyed serving as an interview coach to students
at Harvard College, the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and
Harvard Business School. I have equally enjoyed witnessing the impact
that interview coaching can bring, as I have watched those students gain
access to top graduate schools such as Harvard, Stanford, Yale, and
Columbia, and top companies such as McKinsey & Company and Gold-
man Sachs. As one student commented after gaining admission to
Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business, “The admissions
interviewer actually told me before we finished that he was very im-
pressed by my answers!”
Indeed, when it comes to interviewing, delivery is key—in terms of
your résumé presentation, and in terms of your interactions with the
interviewer before, during, and after the interview. It is not merely your
qualifications that matter, but how you communicate your qualifications,
and whether you effectively portray yourself as an excellent choice and
a wonderful fit for the job or opportunity at hand. Those who know
how to interview excellently generally fare better in securing job inter-
views, internships, scholarships, or admission to competitive academic
programs. When you have become adept at communicating your qual-
ifications and candidacy in compelling terms and promoting yourselfin
ways that will make the interviewer see you as the ideal candidate, you
are likely to be pleased more often with your interview outcomes.
I hope this work will help provide you with knowledge and best prac-
tices that empower you in the interviewing process. By coming to
understand the underlying purpose ofquestions posed and how to pre-
sent your qualifications in the most compelling light, it is my hope you
will learn how to interview excellently.
In this book, I draw on input from professionals who are or have
been engaged in recruiting efforts at Fortune 100 and other top com-
panies such as IBM, Procter & Gamble, J. P. Morgan Chase, Verizon,
American Express, Cisco Systems, Intel, Lucent Technologies, Staples,
Prudential, Oracle, Smith Barney Citigroup, McKinsey & Company,
Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Ernst & Young, and Pricewater-
houseCoopers. I must thank the Fortune 100 and other corporate exec-
utives for sharing their insights with me. I must also thank those
corporate executives, executive recruiters, and career counselors who
preface ix
took the time to allow me to interview them, so that we could include
their insights directly in this book. I hope you enjoy the excerpts from
my conversations with them, which are woven throughout this text.
I thank Wilbert Watts, Jr., my wonderful husband and best friend,
for his love and encouragement. I thank my family, the Geigers and the
Holloways, for their years ofdedication and support. Thank you in par-
ticular to Aunt Mildred Geiger, Uncle William Geiger, Aunt Ann
Lewis, Uncle Alonzo Lewis, Uncle Edward Geiger, and my lovely
brother David Geiger, Jr. I express gratitude to Christine Baker, for-
merly of the Harvard Bureau of Study Counsel, for years of excellent
mentoring. Thank you to Lorelee Parker and Julie Taylor, two won-
derful friends. Thank you to Sponsors for Educational Opportunity for
their excellent work. I express my deep appreciation to Nina Graybill,
my literary lawyer, for her steadfast support and insightful advice. I give
a hearty thank-you to my editor, Mary Glenn, who was so dedicated
and encouraging throughout the entire editing process. A big thank-
you also to Nancy Hall, my project editor, who provided excellent work
and support, which helped bring this book to fruition.