UPDATE: This article was originally posted on October 8, 2018. It has been updated with new information and tips below.
After months (or years!) of preparation, you’ve finally received good news: you’ve been selected to interview at one or more of your top choice MBA programs!
Though this is certainly causing for celebration, it’s not time to break out the champagne quite yet. After all, only about 50% of candidates who interview at elite business schools actually get in. This means that MBA interviews require extensive preparation.
But what if you’re not a native English speaker?
Like it or not, non-native English speakers have a tougher time successfully navigating the MBA interview, given the numerous mistakes they are likely to make during the process.
However, we believe that any candidate, native English speaking or not, can have an outstanding MBA interview. It just takes a little preparation.
That’s why we’ve created this list of the 5 deadliest mistakes non-native English speakers make during MBA interviews and have given tips on how to avoid these errors so you can be sure to land a spot at your dream school!
Mistake #1: Writing a script for every answer
Though there are many mistakes non-native speakers make, this is #1 for a reason – it’s so common yet so damaging!
Before starting to prep a client for interviews, I send them two sets of questions: a list of “foundational” questions (including questions such as “Why MBA” or “What are your goals?” that are sure to feature in the interview) and a list of questions unique to each MBA program.
When I first started training applicants for interviews, I was surprised to find that nearly 100% of the time, clients wrote page-long answers to each question and spent hours trying to memorize each word of the answer to show up to our sessions with “perfect” responses.
However, when we started practicing, the painstakingly-prepared answer started to unravel at the seams before totally falling apart.
That’s because writing and memorizing scripts gets in the way of building empathy. Here’s why and how to avoid this practice!
Ditch your script:
- Memorizing scripts can hinder building a connection with your interviewer.
- It can make you seem distant or uninterested due to a lack of eye contact.
- Stressful situations can cause you to forget memorized answers.
Use Bullet Points:
- Write 1-2 word bullet points for key points in your answers.
- This helps you remember critical information and keeps your responses natural.
Make sure you give special attention to foundational questions like “Why MBA?” and “Why our business school?” to ensure your answers are polished and consistent.
Stay Engaged:
- Freeing up your mind from memorized scripts allows for better charisma and engagement.
- It helps you adapt your answers based on the interviewer’s body language and cues.
By freeing up your mind, you have more time for charisma and can keep a steady flow for the entire interview, ensuring you’re one step closer to making your dream of attending an elite MBA a reality!
Mistake #2: Getting caught up on individual words
Recently, I was helping my client Caio prep for his Wharton interview. Given their highly unusual group interview format (applicants must present a 60-second pitch in front of dozens of competing applicants), he was struggling to get through his whole pitch.
After running through it 3 or 4 times, I asked him, “What’s holding you back?”
Caio responded by telling me that he really wanted to make sure to use the word, “worrisome” in his pitch, as he felt it was the perfect word to express his ideas. However, he was struggling with the pronunciation of the word each time. This led to hesitation leading up to the moment he spoke the word and to giving up on his answer immediately after pronouncing this tricky term.
After a bit of discussion, I encouraged him to choose a very similar but easier to pronounce word for that portion of his pitch. The simpler word did not reflect poorly on his English skills but was actually an incredibly smart move on his part. This is due to one key insight: leadership and credibility depend much more on “intangible” cues a person gives off than on specific wording.
After we removed “worrisome” from his answer (and replaced it with “complicated,” a word he was much more comfortable with), he was able to deliver his pitch with so much confidence and enthusiasm he landed that spot at Wharton.
Key insight: Don’t worry about individual words or small English mistakes. Projecting confidence is much more important.
Mistake #3 – Not controlling your pace
One of the most common misperceptions I come across when training non-native English speakers for MBA interviews is that they think speaking fast means they are fluent in English.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
In general, speaking too quickly makes it difficult for the person listening to you to follow what you’re saying. Unfortunately, when the brain gets confused, it tends to stop paying attention, meaning that, though your interviewer might still be politely smiling, his or her mind is a million miles away.
As such, controlling your pace is an important part of the interview.
Though you’re likely to be a little nervous (and, as a result, speak more quickly) at the beginning of the interview, try to monitor yourself and quickly slow back down when needed. For this to work, we recommend you practice extensively, as, through practice, you will gain better awareness and control of your pacing.
Key insight: Speaking more slowly makes you appear self-confident, and this boosts your credibility.
Mistake #4 – Not choosing the right examples for your audience
Just last week, I was helping our client Marcelo prepare for his Rotman interview. During our practice, I asked him the question, “How have you changed over the last 5 years?”
He’d definitely put a lot of thought into his answer and started out by saying, “I’m a lot less explosive than I was in the past. Since I had children, I’ve learned to be more patient…”
I immediately stopped him and asked him, “In your native language, what does explosive mean?” He started to explain that it was commonly used for someone who was impatient and rushed through tasks and who sometimes got a bit frustrated when things didn’t move quickly.
I explained to him that in Canada, this answer would likely imply that he had a bit of an anger problem and was prone to rage-fueled outbursts — not a great look at a school that highly values diversity and communication. After discussing this, we reworked his answer to focus on how having children had helped him learn new ways of communicating – turning something negative into a definite positive!
You’ve likely heard that one of the keys to good communication is adapting your message to your audience. This is even more important when you’re communicating across cultures since something perfectly harmless (or even positive!) in your culture might be highly negative or a “red flag” in another culture.
As such, spend some time thinking about your examples and how they might translate to your interview. If you’re not sure, try to reach out to a native of that culture and run your ideas by them. If you’re not able to do this, perhaps opt for a different, “safer” example!
Key insight: Great stories in one culture sometimes just don’t work in another.
Mistake #5 – Not practicing
One of the most common mistakes we see in MBA interviews is that candidates fail to tell compelling, well-constructed stories about their profiles while also nailing the basics.
Striking this balance between sharing STAR-format examples that show off your background while also presenting strong answers to questions like “Why do you want an MBA?” is a challenging task that requires significant thought and preparation.
Because of this, it’s no surprise that, on average, 50% of interviewed applicants walk away without an offer.
This is why our interview preparation process here at Ellin Lolis Consulting is known as the best in the industry. We offer customized 1:1 support that ensures you’re able to turn your application’s strengths into compelling answers that show fit and sell your profile in any type of interview. That’s why 98.9% of our complete consulting clients get into at least one of their target schools.
Not only can you take advantage of our development process through multiple sessions – you can also benefit from a single session! If your budget is tight, our interview experts can focus your session on a single aspect of the preparation process, from workshopping your answers to providing mock interviews.
Real MBA Essays That Got People In
School-specific sample essays that got our clients accepted
