[面试经验] [原创]Bad Chicago interview experience in Singapore

The Singaporean interviewer neither brought a piece of paper nor recorded down anything during the 40min conversation (or debating). Through the whole interview, he kept persuading me to give up the idea of attending a MBA, an idea in his mind even before he met me. Even he might think that’s a unique interview strategy, I didn’t appreciate it nor think the approach was effective and fair in helping the school know more about me. Here comes part of the transcript for my interview.  

I:   self introduction (on the half way of my introduction of career progress and my passion, he stopped me. I have used the exact same opening for my Duke Interview, the comment was excellent. )

He:  Don’t waste time on that. Let’s get to the points. Tell me why would you like to do an MBA? Frankly speaking, the amount you are going to spend is almost SG$ 300k including living expense, school fees and opputonity costs etc. It is a huge investment. There are many cheaper ways for you.

He: I am just here to help you. I don't want to see you wasting your SG$300k on something you can get in a much cheaper way. [Suddenly he started talking in Mandarin as if he was the senior who give advices a junior. I insisted responding in English, keeping the interview as formal as possible. ]

I: well, SG$300K is indeed a big amount for me. But do you know how large the market of my industrials will be? I have read a report from IBM that says the market will grow into 26 billions by 2010. Considering I want to become an entrepreneur in this field, I felt SG$300K is not so significant if I can succeed in the long term…. (He stopped me before I finished.)

He: I felt it would be better for you to work for a few more years in some business functions for example, XX, XX or even my organizations before you considered a business education. [I am working in a non-profit environment] I do suggest you looking for other options.

I,   Fine. Actually I did not say MBA is the only route for me to move further. I seriously evaluated other possibilities as well, for example, having a startup experience at this moment... however, I discovered that MBA would fill the gap between my current position and my long term goal. Specifically, my current position requires me to …My long term goal is ... (He stopped me again before I finished my arguments)

He: I just want to let you know that there are better options for you.

I:  I had some reservation on the word "better". Even after we tried those things, we still could hardly tell which step is "better" in our lives. I would just like to say I saw MBA course as the step which could allow me to accelerate my career.

He: You have been wasting 20 min talking something irrelevant. I am a very practical person; tell me you practical plan in 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and 10 years.

I: I:  I would like to work as a consultant in US upon graduation because … in 3-5 years, it is very possible that I will move back to the Asia pacific region partly because of some personal reasons that…. , 5-10 years down the road, i will start my company in the field because.... in the long run, I believed I can expand my company market to other regions with the networks I developed over the years and my understanding of the foreign market i gained during my experience in America

He: Ok. Now tell me why you would like to do an MBA??

I:   (here I gave very specific personal reasons) I made up my mind because of three considerations. …first …second,,, The last reason is my interests. My understanding of my industrial is that… Based on my understanding, I do need to a business education which could complement my non-business background to fulfill my interests in …(He stopped me before I finished talking)

He: That’s why I would still advice you going to work for some business related jobs first, because that will make you learn much more in the business school.

I: well, I only partially agree that. I felt working in my current place could help me understand the professional knowledge… (He stopped me before I finished talking.)   

He: Well, It seems you just didn’t want to seriously consider my suggestions. You are still young, why not delaying your business education a few years later?

I: well, It is nothing wrong for being young. I admit that my working experience is little. (three years upon matriculation) But as long as I have strong motivations and reasons to attend the business education, that could still be a wise decision …. (He stopped me before I finished)

He: I just feel the cost is too high for you to attend a business school. If you don’t like to take my advices, that’s also fine.

I: well. If you are referring to the risk, I agree that the decision could be very risky. But I focused more on the potential. If we are only looking at 5 years duration, definitely 300K is not a clever investment. But how about duration of 20 years? What if I can become a successful entrepreneur at the end of the 20 years? Do you feel it worth the 300K? And do you think it is more likely for me to become a successful entrepreneur with the Chicago business school education?

(Then he started asking me about why Chicago and what I can contribute. I gave specific answers. At the end of the interview, He said)

He: Please consider my suggestions; I still feel you should look for other cheaper options.

I: I want to say it is indeed something about personal value. Some people would like to use 300K to buy a house and be happy, and I would use 300K to invest in my future career. There is nothing right or wrong.

He. OK. That’s fine

Later I sent a thank you note to him and here was his reply:

I felt uncomfortable because he focused on his suggestions until the last minute of the interview. BTW, when he was answering my questions at the end of the interview, he gave me the impression that the Chicago GSB did not help him a lot. He is 30 something and held high positions in Singapore. He accredited his success more to his achievements before the bschool education than to the MBA itself. I am not sure whether that could be the possible reason why he doesn't appreciate people from a different background.

I had a similar situation in one of my job interviews when the interviewer seemed to keep "discouraging" me from pursuing the job. However, I guess that was just one of the "role-playing" or "pressure" interviews in which you are tested on your commitment, composure and ability to persuade. As it turned out, the interviewer also replied promptly to my thank-you note and the result was positive.

Also, alums who volunteer time to recruiting applicants shouldn't think of MBA as completely useless, right? So he might be using one of those interviewing strategies. I think you have done your best to demonstrate your qualifications, so no worries for now and keep your fingers crossed. Good luck!

the interviewer is kind of freak, at least he was weird...forget it, but feel free to tell the school your feeling in the feedback to the school on the interview...

I have no idea about the intention of the interviewer, however, if he intended to test your dedication to an MBA education. I think you gave quite good answers. Your answers shown that you really want an MBA and you have seriously considered about it.

Best Luck!

Thanks for all the supports. Frankly speaking, I was very depressed initially. But anyway, later i realized that it was just part of the life where many things are beyond our controls. After I calmed down, actually i sent an email to the admission office, seeking the possibilities for another round of the interview. So far I haven't heard anything from the school and in fact I didn't expect too much. I just believed that would make me feel better at the moment and get the whole experience over so that I could move on.