So…it happened finally…the much awaited Wharton Interview. It was a hub interview in Paris with Marilyn Yakowitz (yes she is the same lady from OECD when you google her name, which is so cool).
I arrived at the office of Bain and Company at 50 Avenue Montaigne (must say its a nice office, could see basilique mont martre and the louvre from the office over the Champs Elysse…ahh the sight) at 8:30 AM (1/2 and hour before my interview). The wait was interesting, as I was reading about the takeover bid by EON and the oil security crisis in Nigeria (in French). I glanced at my watch at it was 9:05….hmmm…running late…got me a little worried..so here is the first tip..if things run over a little…dont get nervous.
She came over an introduced herself and we walked to a small room for the interview. There was some general conversation to begin with. Then she explained to me what the idea of the interview was and what sort of things she was going to be looking for (which was kinda nice) and that we had 25 mins left from that point on.
- Instead of asking me the “walk me through your resume”, she said that it was a pretty standard question, so why dont i talk about my career progress. During my answers, she mentioned some interesting interactions that she has had in the past with my company (in the 90s) and was queried our company’s current position on those topics. The cool part of the interview was that she was familiar with the oil business and its challenges so that made the conversation interesting. She asked me something targeted towards my field (and her interest), sustainable development and how i would implement it. I think i could have done better on that answer, since I gave her my current perspective only, as opposed to telling her what I would do 15 years from now if I became a leader in the energy industry
- Next was, why an MBA….which is standard
- Why Wharton, and after i mentioned the collaborative environment bit..and that its one of the more transparent B schools..she did chime in…saying thats the same impressions she has had being on the admissions comm. for the last 3 months
- What is my leadership style
- quickly (as we were running out of time), Strenghts and weaknesses…
and there was one other question inbetween which i dont recollect…..
then she asked me if I had any questions…and i asked her some questions which I have been pondering about… she then gave me her card and walked me out… and encouraged me to contact wharton in case of any queries….
phew….i was a little nervous..kept thinking about negatives after the interview…why did i lean back a little instead of leaning forward…aaaah i forgot to tell her about my latest performance appraisal..aaahh..i could have done better on the sustainable development question…..oh well….its over…id give the interview an 8/10.. bottom line..keep your cool and be yourself and chat ! it was fun….
