MIT Sloan has always placed emphasis on learning by doing or practice-based learning; this has reflected historically in their essays and interview questions. Its no wonder then, that the MIT Sloan MBA Interview is largely behavioral (even 100% behavioral for many applicants). Read on to know more about the MIT Sloan interview process:
Duration: about 30 minutes
Format: By Invitation only
Who conducts them? The MIT interview is conducted by members of the admissions committee.
Location: All interviews are conducted virtually.
Interviewer’s access: The Interviewer would have read your application and watched your video that you need to submit as part of the interview process
How to schedule the interview: If invited, you will receive detailed instructions on how to schedule your interview.
Interview Process: As part of the MIT Sloan interview process, you will have to respond to two additional questions within 24 hours prior to the interview. The questions would be shared by MIT’s admissions committee when they send you an email inviting you for the interview. These questions are:
Required Question #1:
The mission of the MIT Sloan School of Management is to develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world and to generate ideas that advance management practice. We believe that a commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity, and well-being is a key component of both principled leadership and sound management practice.
In 250 words or less, please describe a time when you contributed toward making a work environment or organization more welcoming, inclusive, and diverse.
Required Question #2:
We are interested in learning more about how you use data to make decisions and analyze results. Please select one of the following prompts to respond to:
Please select an existing data visualization and in 250 words or less explain why it matters to you. The data visualization should be uploaded as a PDF. Examples may come from current events, a business analysis, or personal research.
In 250 words or less, please describe a recent data driven decision you had to make, and include one slide presenting your analysis. The slide may include a data visualization example and should present data used in a professional context. Your slide must be uploaded as a PDF.
MIT strongly believes that your past experiences are the best indicator of your future success. That’s why they focus the interview largely on behavioral questions that determine how you respond to challenging situations, how you behave as a leader or a team player and what qualities do you possess.
To give well-structured and coherent answers to behavioral questions, you should frame your responses using the STAR approach.
Another tip for answering behavioural questions is to tell more recent stories (within the past few years) as these are more indicative of your current capabilities and personality. It’s understandable that you may not always have a recent story for every situation asked, however, try sticking to this advice wherever possible.
Many interviewers start by asking about any changes in your candidacy or updates since you applied. This is interesting as no other b-school asks this question and its your opportunity to update the b-school of any job promotions, job changes, a crucial project you have just started leading, or a GMAT/GRE uptick. Your interviewer is also likely to questions you on the data visualization exercise, so be prepared to explain your submission. Besides a largely behavioural line of questioning, the interviewer may also ask you questions based on your resume and work experience.
Here’s a list of questions asked in the past:
Intro and work-related questions:
Anything new since you submitted your application?
Has anything changed on your resume since you submitted it?
Tell me about yourself beyond your resume.
Walk me through your resume.
What professional development have you undertaken?
What does a typical day at work look like for you?
MBA-related questions:
Why MBA? / Career goals
Why now?
Why Sloan?
How will you contribute at Sloan?
Pre-Interview presentation:
Share something about your data visualization story with me. (follow up questions)
Tell me about your DEI Essay. (Follow up questions on the DEI essay)
Achievement, influence and leadership:
What’s your biggest accomplishment?
Tell me about a time you showed leadership.
Tell me about a time you thought innovatively.
Tell me about an experience you are most proud of.
Tell me about a time you had to convince someone.
Tell me about a time when you had a different opinion with others. How did you convince them?
Tell me about a time you led a project when you didn’t have direct authority in your team.
Tell me about a time you had to make a difficult decision? What was difficult about it and what was your reasoning?
Tell me about a time you challenged the status quo.
Tell me about a time when you had to make a recommendation based on incomplete data
Self-Awareness Questions:
What is your leadership style?
What is the most constructive feedback you have been given?
What are your 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses?
Teamwork and Diversity:
Tell me about working with a difficult colleague.
Tell me about a time that you disagreed with a co-worker.
Tell me about a time you mentored someone.
Give me an example of you helping someone in your team who was underperforming.
Tell me about a time when you faced a challenge as a team leader and how you handled it.
Tell me about a time you worked with a diverse set of people.
Tell me about a time someone changed your perspective on something.
Adversity and Failure questions:
Tell me about a failure. What did you do and what did you learn?
Tell me about leading a team during an adverse situation. What challenges did you face?
Describe a time at work when something unexpected happened that derailed a project.
What do you do in your free time?
Any Questions for me?