Interview Training Session

Walk Me Through Your Resume

 Agenda
• What should I include?
• What makes my walk through successful?
• “What counts?” Criteria
• Preview of next session
• Breakout and practice

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 Anatomy of an Interview
• Walk me through your resume
• Behavioral Questions
–Answered in the Star Format
• Mini Case Questions
• Questions for the Interviewer

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 Interview Formats vary widely
• 30 minutes
• 2-30 minutes back to back with 1, 2, or 3
interviewers
• 60 minutes with a panel
• Interviewers: typically professionals in your
field, but sometimes an HR representative.

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A few top line things to keep in mind
• The first two minutes; be authentic, SMILE
• No one knows you better than you
• Write down questions
• Tell them what you want them to know
– “Be someone who did something”

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 What should I include?
• Name and Undergraduate Education
• Brief summary of employment history
– Include positions held, key accomplishments and
skills gained
• Reason for pursuing MBA in your
specialization
• [Margaret example]

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 What makes my walk through
successful?
• Spoken chronologically
• Told as a story rather than list of bullet
points
• Highlights “What Counts” Criteria
• Ends with your journey into your field
• Limited to two-three minutes

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Spoken as “Now, Next, Future”

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 What counts? Criteria
• Passion for your industry
• Leadership
• Drive for Results
• Thinking, Analysis, & Solutions
• Collaboration, Teamwork & Diversity
• Communication and Listening
• Planning & Prioritization
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 Leadership
• Definition: Creates a vision and empowers others
to achieve results

• Why is this important?

– Marketers drive the business- provide strategy
& direction as “hub of the wheel”
– Project management/Leading peers
– A brand manager must generate original ideas
 Drive for results

• Definition: Assertively and aggressively pursues

business objectives

• Why is this important?

– Priority #1 - Build the business
• sales/profit growth
• market share growth
• brand equity, loyalty/retention
– Execution is critical
 Thinking, Analysis, and Solutions
Definition:
• Thinks through alternatives & pinpoints key
issues
• Anticipates problems
• Synergistically integrates data and intuition
• Makes timely, sound decisions, and recognizes
impact of decisions
 Thinking, Analysis, and Solutions
Why is this important?
– Take a complex situation in the marketplace
& figure out a strategy
– The answers to moving a business forward
won’t be found strictly in the data. Data tells
you what has already happened, but it’s our
job as MBAs to uncover the STORY behind
that data. Growing a business requires that
you bring your own ideas, creativity, and
problem solving skills.
 Collaboration, Teamwork, and
Diversity
Definition:
• Demonstrates cooperative & flexible behavior
• Builds & maintains productive relationships
and expresses point of view in a non-
threatening manner
• Works to resolve conflict fairly; values and
leverages diverse experiences and skills
 Collaboration, Teamwork, and
Diversity
Why is this important?
– Build trust with others on your team
– Demonstrating an ability to foster
teamwork early on to prove yourself as a
good team player and having the potential
to become a respected leader
– The diverse workforce –globalization of the
work force
 Communication and Listening
Definition:
• Organizes & expresses thoughts clearly
• Expresses ideas in a way that builds
commitment
• Seeks first to understand and then to be
understood
 Communication and Listening
Why is this important?
– Management requires dedication of
resources to your projects; it is necessary to
communicate in a way that enhances your
teams’ commitment to your priorities
– Strong written and oral communication is
essential as a manager
 Planning / Prioritization
Definition:
• Shifts priorities & modifies actions to meet
changing job demands on short notice
• Transitions quickly and effectively to different
tasks
 Planning / Prioritization
Why is this important?
– Driving a business requires the ability to
juggle a myriad of tasks effectively
– As circumstances and market conditions
change, leaders must be able to quickly
reprioritize
Resume Walkthrough Breakout

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 What should I include?
• Name and Undergraduate Education
• Brief summary of employment history
– Include positions held, key accomplishments and
skills gained
• Reason for pursuing MBA in your
specialization

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 Parting Wisdom

You MUST rock this question!

You can anticipate it being asked and

it’s your chance to grab the
interviewer’s attention and start
strong.

Your answer to this sets the tone for

the remainder of the interview

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 Next Time
• October 21 at 6pm
• Be prepared to talk through “Why you?
Why WI? Why this company? Why
[specialization]?”

• [Margaret demonstration]

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Questions?

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