After deciding to pursue an MBA (a decision that only took me 10+ years), I moved fast and completed my application to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign iMBA program.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I got invited to interview. And now it's officially on the calendar.
From Interviewer to Interviewee
I've probably sat on the interviewer side over 200 times. When you're the one asking questions, you notice certain things about candidates:
First impressions (this is real, people—physiognomy is science, apparently)
Communication skills. Specifically, the ability to clearly articulate your work and achievements. You'd be surprised how many people struggle with this.
How much they actually prepared
Here's my conclusion: people go absolutely crazy preparing for interviews when they're fresh graduates, but once they become experienced professionals? They get lazy. Even I consider myself a slightly-above-average communicator, but when I have an interview scheduled, I prepare like my life depends on it. Even a tiger hunting a rabbit gives its all.
There's a line from a Korean drama—I don't remember the exact wording—where Kim Gu, after enduring torture in prison, lamented: "Even the collaborators work this hard to survive. I should work hard too." As someone who's conducted countless interviews, I still give 100% when I'm on the other side. If even the person holding the evaluation clipboard tries their hardest, shouldn't the applicant?
Writing this out, I realize I've somehow cast myself as the collaborator in this metaphor. Not my finest moment.
Anyway, being an applicant again after so long? It hit different. I'm used to asking the questions, not answering them. And here's the kicker—I've never done an interview in English in my entire life.
So I did what any reasonable person would do: I pushed the interview date back as far as possible and spent my weekend in hardcore preparation mode. On the subway. At the gym. While eating. Just constantly rehearsing.
But native-level English is tough for me. When you're preparing without knowing exactly what questions will come up, you inevitably hit walls. And my pronunciation... I used to be pretty fluent, but apparently age makes your tongue sluggish. My tongue just doesn't move like it used to.
A Fun Tool: Accent Guesser
Speaking of pronunciation, I found this amusing service: BoldVoice Accent Guesser
You turn on your mic, read the given English sentences, and it tells you which country's accent you have.
The image below is just an example, not my result.
My result? 100% Korean. No matter how many times I tried. 100% Korean.
Why though? I tried rolling my R's, adding dramatic inflections—still Korean. Part of me wonders if the site just checks your IP address...
UIUC iMBA Interview Prep
I compiled 25 expected interview questions through Google and Reddit searches. (Seriously, when you need real answers, go to Reddit. These are the same people who exposed "Sweden Gate"—the scandal where Swedish families don't feed their guests. If anyone will spill the tea on MBA interviews, it's Reddit.)
Then I practiced until the answers felt natural in my mouth
These 25 questions cover pretty much everything MBA applicants get asked. I cast a wider net just to be safe, but I'm confident you won't see anything outside this list. MBA interviewers need to avoid bias, which means they stick to similar question types for all candidates. Personal or highly specific questions are rare.
The 25 Questions:
Tell me about yourself
Why are you looking to do an MBA? Why MBA?
Why iMBA with Gies?
Short-term and long-term goals
What courses are you most looking forward to?
What industry or company do you want to work in after graduation?
Leadership experience + your thoughts on leadership/teamwork
Challenges when working in teams
Overcoming difficulties / Working with diverse teams
What aspects of the MBA program do you think will be challenging?
How can you contribute to the iMBA program?
Greatest achievement + Experience leading a team project
Second greatest achievement
Strengths / Weaknesses
Three strengths / Three weaknesses
Constructive criticism and feedback
A time you failed
How do you prioritize tasks when faced with multiple deadlines?
How do you handle stress and pressure?
How do you handle conflicts or disagreements?
Just like when I wrote my essays, preparing answers for these questions forced me to look back on my life. Like, really look back. A full retrospective.
It also pushed me to think seriously about how I want to shape my career going forward (finally, right?). The more I wrote, the clearer my path became. I now have a much better sense of what I actually want to do.
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