Global MBA Career Week - What I learned from the Mock Interviews

As part of the Global MBA Career Week, our students went through a series of mock interviews with recruiters from the industry. Said Chady, Strategy & Management Major, tells us more about what he took away from this experience:

My objective for attending the mock interviews was to prepare for a real work interview

situation. I wanted to pick up some interview tips and learn how to better manage anxiety in a typical interview setting. For me, the mission was certainly accomplished! 

What is your greatest takeaway from the mock interviews? 

• Pay attention to the details: Every step in an interview is important, from the greetings, eye contact, style of sitting, to the narrative and the structure of our responses
• Know the relevant keywords: Having a comprehensive knowledge of the keywords related to the job is critical, in order to synthesize the answers and make them relevant
• Be clear of your added value: Identify and be able to articulate the added value you can bring to the company, from previous experiences and through the MBA program, in terms of hard skills and networking

What did you appreciate the most about this experience?

• Being able to test the impact of my responses: Getting constructive feedback from a professional recruiter and what metrics he used to judge the quality of my answers
• Practice makes perfect: After a few interviews, I felt more comfortable handling difficult questions and learned how to better support my arguments with relevant examples
• Getting advice on my professional potential: Being able to discuss my profile with a professional and discovering what they believe would be the best fit for me in terms of opportunities and responsibilities was particularly rewarding for me

What did you learn about yourself through this experience?

This experience helped me to discover my areas of improvement; the following was the

recruiters’ advice:

• Make your profile stand out: Build a strong link between the keywords in the job offer and your own qualifications
• Support your answers with examples and statistics: The recruiters felt that my answers were well-structured (Situation, Problem, Solution), but missed figures and examples that showed my added value
• Take advantage of open questions: When the recruiter asks why you want to join the company, use the question as an opportunity to demonstrate a common ground