NOBEL PRIZE ADVICE FOR YOUR HBS INTERVIEW

1. GO FOR PAR, NOT A BIRDIE
2. SCHEDULE IT RIGHT AFTER LUNCH

A recent article in the New York Times summarizes some research from Nobel Prize winning economists Kahneman and Tversky about so-called ‘rational behavior’ and findings might be helpful to those facing an HBS interview.

I am less sure about the timing (after lunch)  issue, but their work supports my advice about the interview, that you should focus on not blowing it, rather than trying to score a birdie (by bragging, taking risks, etc. ). 

Who You Are

DAVID BROOKS

http://is.gd/oBh1NK

Kahneman and Tversky  . . . proved that  people rely on unconscious biases and rules of thumb to navigate the world, for good and ill. Many of these biases have become famous: priming, framing, loss-aversion.

Kahneman reports on some delightful recent illustrations from other researchers.

1. Pro golfers putt more accurately from all distances when putting for par than when putting for birdie because they fear the bogie more than they desire the birdie.
2. Israeli parole boards grant parole to about 35 percent of the prisoners they see, except when they hear a case in the hour just after mealtime. In those cases, they grant parole 65 percent of the time.

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Text of Harvard Business School invite for Round 2 Appplicants is below: if you want a mock interview, go here

http://hbsguru.com/prices.html#4

Dear Sucker Warm greetings from Harvard Business School! After careful consideration of your application materials, we are delighted to inform you that you have been selected for an interview with a member of our MBA Admissions Board. We look forward to the opportunity to get to know you better through our interview process. We use an online scheduling system to manage our interview process. Since we know that many of our interviewees expect to travel to either our campus in Boston or one of our global hub cities for their interview, we are sending this message in advance so that you are aware of where our Admissions Board members will be traveling. We hope this advance notice is helpful to you as you plan for your interview. We will have interview slots available in the following locations: Boston, MA (on the HBS campus) Menlo Park, CA New York, NY Dubai, UAE London, UK Mumbai, India Paris, France Sao Paulo, Brazil Shanghai, China You will receive another email from HBS MBA Admissions at noon on Monday, February 7 with a link to our online scheduling system. You will be able to select a specific interview slot at that time. Please note that all of our interview slots are available on a first-come, first-served basis. In the past, our interview slots have filled very quickly, so we encourage you to be prompt in selecting your slot. Videoconference interviews (via Skype) may be available for applicants in remote locations. Again, we hope this advance notice is helpful to you. Thank you for your interest in Harvard Business School, and we look forward to meeting you soon. Sincerely yours, MBA Admissions Harvard Business School Soldiers Field Road Dillon House Boston, MA 02163

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AS TO DATA BELOW, SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE WRITTEN TO NOTE THAT HBS HAS TAKEN DOWN SEVERAL PAGES OF CONFIRMED INVITES, SO 398 NUMBER IS CERT TOO LOW. THAT LEAVES US JUST GUESSING AGAIN.

hbs interview data–sorta solid but don’t sue me -for kids waiting, the key figure is that 398 kids have signed up for interviews, out of what Dee Dee said would be 800 invites. Let the speculation begin, she also said they would be adding slots. You can decide whether this glass is half empty or half full.
location total open full
telephone 19 7 12
Boston 121 7 114
California 78 25 53
New York 42 0 42
Asia 81 10 71
Europe 88 12 76
Middle East 14 0 14
Sao Paulo 21 5 16
TOTAL 464 66 398

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HBS INTERVIEW FLASH FROM THE PALACE:

http://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/blog.html

1. 800 INTERVIEWS IS PERFECTLY NORMAL–

2. HER CLAIM THAT THEY WILL BE SENDING OUT INVITES ACROSS THE WINDOW FROM 10/15-11/1 IS HARD TO INTERPRET, SHE ALWAYS SAYS THAT, WHEN IT WAS TRUE-ISH OR NOT. AS A RULE, JUDGING FR. PAST CASES, MORE OF THOSE INVITES WILL BE IN FIRST HALF OF WINDOW. BUT THIS YEAR IS NEW IN THAT WINDOW SHUTS DOWN SO SOON, SO INVITE FLOW COULD MORE LESS FRONT ENDED. THEY MAY BE STILL READING APPS, ETC. AND DECIDING EVEN AS THE PARADE BEGINS. KEEP POSTED HERE AS THE RESULTS COME IN.

Round One Interview Invitations
Date: October 14, 2010

Just so you know, I always wonder whether my comments here alleviate or create anxiety. This update may sound quite stern and rather chilly. That’s not how I mean it, but I want to be very (very) clear.

We will begin to send out interview invitations by email tomorrow, October 15. The invitation will provide detailed instructions about the sign-up process.

Please note: We will continue to send out invitations until November 3. Really. And not just a few – we plan to interview about 800 people in Round 1, and we will send out interview invitations on a rolling basis as applications are reviewed. We will continue to add slots in many locations as we send out more interviews, and there is ALWAYS the option to come to campus.

If you call and ask us if we can expedite the consideration of your application so that you can make travel plans, the answer will be “Sorry, no.”

Another important note: Please don’t send in additional materials or have others do so on your behalf. Even if we thought that was fair, we can’t be adding things to files at this point.

Warmly,

Dee

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If you’re one of those “last 50″ interviews (invited a month after invites went out) does that mean your chances of getting in are better?  Obviously they spent even more time debating your application and decided to extend an invitation to you, is that an “we decided we like you, you’re in if you don’t blow it” situation or is it more like “ok, let’s try to give you a shot and see what you’re about”?

hmmm, not really either, you can speculate on this 12-ways to Sunday.  About 20 of those last 50 invites are falling fruit from bigfoots shaking the tree (e.g. bigshots calling up and saying take a close look at this kid), the rest are more random than you think, and a bunch could just be logistical (someone was late handing in stuff). The adcom likes to nurse the delusion that they are reading folders night and day, right to the end,  and going over every last folder 3, 6, 9 times to make sure that no poor soul has slipped thru the cracks, so you imagine that every folder gets an independent rejection from 4 different readers, and every day, some new, last, ‘never-say-die’  reader finds an interview-making piece of DNA in YOUR folder that every other of the 3, 4 5 prior readers has overlooked, like the innocence project on TV, and then the call goes to the governor to stop the execution at one-minute to midnight. The reality is, after first wave of invites went out, there may have been some reserve pile of  200-300 folders which they just put off, for one reason or another, and at that point, ALL THE OTHER NON-INVITES WERE BASICALLY SENT TO SIBERIA NEVER TO BE LOOKED AT AGAIN. Of those remaining 200-300 folders, HRH Leopold just keeps some running, macro mental track of how round 1 replies are shaping up, in terms of kids accepting etc., what emerging demographics are, etc. How Accepted Week-End for Round One Went, etc. After that,  everyone likes to be mercurial a bit  (calling Derrick Bolton!!), so over the next x weeks,  when she wants to give herself some cheap thrills, she ( or some bunch of inner adcoms) just read over some bunch of   folders, and keeping in mind the running tallies & the micro theme de jour/ de week, she/they  find a few they  like, and reach  out and give quite an exciting email  goose to  some lucky, formerly doomed person.  Another way it works is that HRH or some other Officer level adcom read a story in New York Times etc. about X (some new initiative, industry trend, organization), and say, “Dont we have some kid like that  in the 300-limbo folders ?” And just to test their memory and office  search capabilities, they locate the folder, re-read it, and all of a sudden, it is just a bit more interesting.  Poof, another zombie brought back from the dead. Maybe. 

But whatever triggered your escape from the Limbo 300, it was not really some compelling, lost jewel of overlooked accomplishment, it was just some demographic or topical hook, or 2nd look, or even late look,  and after your Interview, you are just in the Big Ol Interview Pile O’Kids.  I’d be surprised if accept rate of the Last 50 was diff than first Wave.

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Janus wrote:

Has anyone (Sandy the HBS Guru, I’m looking in your direction!) ever attempted to compile a list of who had “tough” and “easy” interviews and if there is any correlation between that and admission?

yeah, I have compiled this list, and many others, based on the ~300 mock interivews I have done over the past 3 years: conclusion=NO PATTERN. Superstars sometimes get hard interviews (and blow them) while marginal kids get walk me thru your resume interviews, with no tuff guy questions about
1. WHY WE SHOULD TAKE YOU? LET’S HEAR YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH!
2. WHAT WILL BE HARDEST FOR YOU HERE, GIVEN X AND Y ON YOUR RECORD?
3. WE GET LOTS OF KIDS FROM YOUR BACKGROUND, MANY WITH BETTER SCORES, ETC. WHAT MAKES YOU SPECIAL?
4. IF YOU WERE HEAD OF TOYOTA NOW, WHAT SIX THINGS WOULD YOU DO?
5. TELL ME 3 MORE MISTAKES?
6. DESCRIBE SOMETHING COMPLEX TO ME IN REGULAR PERSON TERMS (A FAVORITE Q OF HRH LEOPOLD)
7. DESCRIBE A TIME WHEN YOUR VALUES WERE COMPROMISED AT WORK?
8. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST RISK WE TAKE IN ACCEPTING YOU?
All of the above tuff questions, which you think they might hit the marginal candidate with, but they don’t. Folks who get questions like that, and more stressful interviews are JUST NOT LUCKY. There is no rhyme or reason for stress/difficult questions–but if you get hit w. a barrage of them, and get confused or demoralized, it can damage your chances.
ALL THAT SAID, MOST INTERVIEWS AND INTERVIEWERS ARE SUPER NICE AND DONT REALLY STRESS YOU OUT, BUT IT HAPPENS. 

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DOUBLING DOWN W. DEE LEOPOLD, WHAT DOES IT MEAN????

 I heard having an interview with Leopold means ur chance of admission is doubling down…
not becoz of u, but i guess it’s becoz she’s esp. harsh in selecting students…
but good luck to you!!!!

hmmmmmm, ‘doubling down’ w. Her Majesty is my phrase, originally used on my blog and Biz Week boards, and what I mean is that if you interview w. Dee Leopold (HRH) and she likes you, you are in, if she dont like you, you are not in, the decision sorta gets made in her head right there, unlike any other adcom, where they write a report, and then it gets considered holistically w. your app and everyone else, of course, Dee is doing that too, but in some unpluged way. It is possble to have so-so interview w. reg adcom and get in, based on whole story, but if you have so-so interview w. Dee, and it leaves bad aftertaste, Buy-bye, similarly, if you have boffo interview w. reg. adcom, that could get devalued in reg. admission process, but if Dee flips for you, well, good chance you will be in. Of course, you are thinking YOU will be the one she will flip for, soooooooooooo, many out there hoping to get Dee. Hmmmmmm, IMHO, she is a gal who has seen a lot of applicants and heard a lot of stories, and seen how a lot of boffo stories have turned out (some not so boffo)–so chances of sweeping her off her feet, not as likely as you might imagine, altho, sure it does happen. ON DA OTHER HAND, while being totally professional, etc. etc. she is, ahem, ahem, unlike funny and patient and lovely person you may have seen at Forums etc. someone w. both a trigger wit and a trigger response to little annoying things you might say, soooooooooo chances of setting off an internalized spike of INSTANT DING ANGER, are out there. All that said, in most cases with her, you neither sweep her off her feet, nor cause an explosion, and she is a warm and sensibile interviewer who does not throw curve balls and let’s you sorta reach your own level, and the only gaffs, are those you cause yourself. She dont pressure you. So not a bad person to draw for the interview, but BEWARE of Instant Dingma Gonna Get You minefield.

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 WHY GET A MOCK INTERVIEW FROM  SANDY–WELL, HERE IS ONE HAPPY CUSTOMER (NOT PICTURED ABOVE BUT YOU GET THE IDEA)

Sandy,
Just finished my Wharton interview. 

After you bitch-slapped me during the mock interview earlier this week, I canned the notes/list and simply started preparing questions in my head.  There were zero “robotic” responses as a result.   I also took your advice in telling stories about extras/community service, and passions outside work to combat the Finance-geek impression that you could get from reading my app.  Feel that strategy paid off, as non-work areas were where she focused.   
Questions:

- Walk me through resume. 
Kept it real crisp, then transitioned naturally into cultural rediscovery story –which she loved. 

- Why MBA, why now, why Wharton. 
Took why Wharton a step further to how I would contribute to Wharton. Emphasized how I wanted to strengthen the career dimension of the program’s SE Asian components (i.e. Global Immersion Program), snd changing the perspective that SE Asia club/tour is more of a fun party event (which I’d heard was the case from current students, and which she laughed, and confirmed was her impression as well) 
- ST/LT goals
- Tell me about a leadership challenge you faced. 
Talked about my struggles being a leader….while I was the youngest person in a culture where age is viewed as prerequisite for decision-making power.  I followed your advice and added as much self-awareness in my response as possible… i.e., admitting that I made my share of snafus initially as I was learning the cultural ropes.  She responded with empathy, citing a simular situation she had faced while working in dif country.

- Tell me about a leader you admire and why.  Talked about one of my recommenders… brought in skill in managing conflict in cross-cultural teams, and then how I have tried to emulate that in my own experience. Talked about how he succeeding coming from a disadvantaged past and how he took advantage of all his opportunities to succeed… then brought that make to me and stated examples of how I have done the same in my life.
- Considering your age, why do you feel you would fit into a learning team where most people are a few years older? Went to our prep. Talked about how maturity was one of my strenghs, and how I both enjoy and work really well with people older than me.

Mentioned ethnic  professional community I started in NYC, and how I was able to inspire other members of the group (doctors, lawyers, etc. whose average age was 30+) while I was just 23.  Also mentioned how I was able to thrive in —– despite being the youngest employee at IB.She responded by saying that that was a great answer.

- What are some of your passions outside work.  Talked about how I love to play ____, and worked in my interest in Psychology and how that was an effort to be well-rounded academically. Then I moved on to ____.  Mentioned how I have been ____ for over five years (hopefully that dispelled any remaining impression of being a typical Finance-geek), . she was able to visualize this as she had lived in NYC for two years.  Then I worked in how I could continue to pursue both of these interests at Wharton through x and y.

I am confident that I have added another ally to my cause, and have my fingers crossed for the decsion.  Thank you for being so cruel to me during the mock interview.  At the time, I thought you were being too harsh (even bordering on being a jerk), but it turned out being exactly what I needed.    

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CAN A STUDENT AT STANFORD HELP YOU GET AN INTERVIEW????

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