IMD Switzerland 面試經驗

[brtchen]

IMD 邀請我去 school visiting and campus interview. 請問有人有此類的經驗可以分享嗎?

[Yimmiwan]

I found something on BW forum that may help you.

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Wouterneirinck (a R1 applicant for class of 08) asked:
"Hi Constantza, thanks for your support.

Do you have any recollection of how your 'interview day' went? How was the atmosphere and structure of your 'personal' interview?

I'm especially interested in knowing how the 'case study' is organized, how long it takes, what is being asked from students etc.

Should you have some typical examples of presentation topics that you can share that would also be very welcome of course.

kind regards,
Wouter"



Constantza (a self-proclaimed IMD class of 05 alumnus) replied:
"Interview day lasted about 6 hours, and in hindsight - not a stressful experience at all.

- Personal interview - lasted an hour and focussed mainly on application, motivation for an MBA, why IMD, what alternatives and career goals shot & medium term. I liked it because it was a chance to talk about these questions (although a repeat of application) in some detail instead of the 1200 odd characters you're restricted to on the application.

- Impromptu presentation - There's no set list of presentation topics. Mine was about some cola-can manufacturer who had a problem the managing board was meeting about. They give you a business situation (1 page micro-case) which you have 30 minutes to read, analyse and prepare on; you get transparencies, pens, highlighters and the like. The micro-case would probably imply rather than explicitly ask the question to be answered. You've just got to wisely choose the question you want to answer. Hint - go for one that has no more than 1-2 options. You will NOT have the time to explain 3-4 options before settling on one. The evalutators will give you exactly 5 minutes, raise a hand to warn you at 4 minutes and if you haven't finished, will stop you dot at 5.

- The case study is typically organized in a large study / meeting room and moderated by a faculty member. They could organize the discussion any way they want - typically focussing on the challenge, then focussing on solutions to the problems therein. Every member of the group in the case study is given the opportunity to speak and put forward their point of view &/or challenge another's point of view. The evaluators, also sitting in the room observing (but not involved in the discussion) will measure quality, clarity and brevity of contribution, your ability to work with your group-mates and NOT behave in a competitive manner even though this is competition to get a place on the program. The faculty will measure how well you have prepared the case and how you are able to qualitatively and quantitatively back your arguments up. My advice - prepare the case well, including doing any necessary maths, focus on a few things probably NOT mentioned in the case like socio-economic/demographic aspects of the country where the case is centered. During the discussion, challenge others points ONLYif you have a genuine reason to, do so tactfully. Don't defend a point of yours proven wrong - acknowledge and move on.

Good luck"


Another quickie from Constantza:
"Case study - 5-6 people, moderated by a faculty member.

a) Analyse the case thoroughly and come with some quantifiable & justifiable opinions. Do some maths (market size, growth, trends affecting etc). Don't get into complicated SWOT, Porter or strategic analysis.

b) During the discussion - don't talk too long / too much / too fast / defend a point or opinion proven wrong. The moderator will give you an opportunity to speak and state your points. So it's not something you'll need to worry about.

c) Take it esay and relax. The adcomm is not evaluating how smart or eloquent you are because you've proven those qualities by swinging an interview. They're looking for how well you work with others.

Good luck"




Wouterneirinck's own experience share:
"Hi Jediblue, congrats on the invite call!

Actually I had the interview day last Friday (9th), together with 5 other guys. It seems that was actually the first possible day for the 2008 R1 applicants (I could select 9th or 23rd, heard from other people 16th was a possibility as well. Probably a lot more dates are coming up the next couple of weeks). I submitted my application January 31st.

Some feedback:
- in all, interview day is a very enjoyable experience. Fellow applicants are all amazing people, and IMD staff/faculty is incredibly friendly.
- interview: not too stressful, just know your application and why MBA/IMD fits your career path and personality
- impromptu presentation: 30 minutes do fly by... don't forget to read the mini-case thoroughly before you start structuring your presentation
- case study: very interesting, also helps you understand how things are done at IMD during classes
- at lunch, you get a chance to talk to the current class; don't miss the opportunity. Every single person is super-friendly and helpful, even when they lack sleep and have an exam 1 hour later.

- at the end of the day, I inspected quite an important off-campus facility called 'The White Horse' together with a fellow applicant. (Nikolai, if you are reading this, you still owe me a beer somewhere in Jan 2008, let's hope we can drink it in Lausanne!)

To conclude: I believe this interview day really helps you to appreciate IMD's way of working. At the same time, rest assured that IMD will know you very well after that day as well! I feel that, whether I will be admitted or dinged, IMD admission staff will have reached their decision with more accurate information on me than any other business school.

hope all goes well for you and other thread contributors,
Wouter"



defjams' experience (another class of 08 R1 applicant):
"geimt/wnbphd,

Sorry I could not give you guys a reply sooner but I had to tidy some stuff up.Please bear with me.

My narration of the interview is just my own opinion as I tend to mix my thots attimes with reality.

My interview day started at about 0900hrs prior to this time, I had met other participants and have been introduced to the admissions officers.Everybody has a slightly different schedule some with breaks in between and some (like mine) was ful with just 15 mins breaks atmost.(except for the Lunch break which was for everyone).

Short Interview

The admission officer would for about 45 minutes ask you questions and record your answers. I believe this part is really about fleshing out your raher bare application. However it comes with an intresting question at the ned. I would not disclose this question but rest assured, its food for thought.

The Impromptu Presentation

You would be given a topic (most times takes the form of a business problem/challenge) for you to go through (Its only one page) and make recommendations.You would be provided with transparencies and markers to prepare slides and you have 30 mins to do so.

My Advice

This presentation is impromtu so there is no way you can prepare for it really. It boils down to YOU. What do you feel and your opinion. There is no right or wrong answers . Just be prepared to defend your own point of view.

NOTE: This year (at least during my interview day), the format of the impromptu presentation was changed. You would now have to present infront of the other group members and the admission officers. You would be challenged. Then you would have to carry out a group discussion with your group members and try to agree on a common position and then re-present your ideas. Please note, there is no right or wrong answers just backup your views and please give way to superior arguments when you hear one.(Remeber the saying that a genius is one who recognises the genius in another person).

Long Interview

A more senior admision officer/member of faculty would now have a one -on-one chat with you. This interview provides you an opportunity to really expantiate on the rather short essays in the application.

My Advice

Evaluate your application honestly and identify its weakness in your profile etc. Then prepare an adequate explanation because, you would be asked.

Case Study

In the case study, you would have evaluated/analysed the write up that had been emailed earlier.You can run the numbers etc but my advice is to focus on those soft issues that influence decision making try to figure out the different angle to the issue. A word about team discussions, always allow the other person say his bit even when you are convinced he is wrong.Politely state your own views.

PLEASE VISIT THESE TWO THREADS FOR MORE DETAILED EXPLANATIONS

http://forums.businessweek.com/n/pfx/fo ... w-bschools

http://forums.businessweek.com/n/pfx/fo ... w-bschools



Before the interview day

Rest,Rest and Rest !

After the Interview

For those interviewing in Lausanne. You can drop by a very important facility (Woouter's expression) called the MGM."



Found another Sharing by geimt (also R1 applicant)
"To put some new life into this thread again - I interviewed last Friday at Singapore..

Also attended the cocktails thrown the night before.. was great to meet some recent and old alumni - All spoke very strongly about the school and how it focusses on you.. which is the key differentiator for IMD... Lisa & Janet were very friendly.. Also what was heartning to see was a lot of the Alumni are now in the Banking & Financial Services space - which is the space I work in presently and If I do get an Admit - that where I will like to work..

Now to the interview day - It was primamrily a group of 8 (6 Indian, 1 - Taiwanese & 1 Singaporean)

The interview was the usual - Why IMD, Why MBA, Leadership exp, New changes at work place .. and the trick question at the end :-)

The Case discussion was quite heated since we all had a lot to say - but guess they moderated it very well.. The Case presentation in the group was again good fun. I guess I did the financials piece fairly elaborately - I hope they liked it..

The impromptu presentation on the case went off well.. and the subsequent group presentation was also managed by all of us well..

Now the tough part - THE WAIT - I hope to hear from them soon.. I need the admit.. its my dream school..and hope to see all of you in Luasanne next January..


Thanks Wouter / DefJams - Your advice really helped a lot ..."



Last one by pulse12345 (a class of 07 admit):
"Sridhar,

Yes, I had two interviews. First one was the normal one but the second was unexpected. However, the questions asked were different.

First interview , with admn manager, lasted for about 50 min from 9.30 am. Before that, we all [4 in total] attended a class from 8 to 9.30. It was an interesting class on manufacturing outsourcing.

Most of the questions were typical such as- career goals [short-mid-long term], how do you find IMD helping you to fulfill these goals, what is leadership, important achievement and why do i view it so, my strengths/weaknesses, how do my colleagues/friends/managers describe me, how did I find the class etc. Since I have had earlier communication with [phone and email] with the interviewer, I was able to feel at ease. Oh, I was also asked about my preference for work location post MBA and the reasons behind it. I was also asked a unique question [for me, it was a business related] at the end which I would not like to disclose.

Second interview was with an admn officer. She came with a set of questions and noted down the answers in detail. Again all typical questions - why IMD, what do you know about IMD, other schools applied, what about financing etc. Again, there was an interesting/surprise question [demanding a bit of creativity to answer] at the end. This interview lasted for about 15 min.

Dont be concerned with the surprise questions - they are simple and just answer what comes to your mind."

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I hope this is enough to help you. If too much English, then I am sorry you won't make out of the interivew. Good luck.

[brtchen]

關於IMD的面試安排
進度與版上分享一下
請以後的學弟妹有興趣的要及早遞出申請書

IMD每年有安排一次在亞洲面試
像今年就是五月在新加坡舉行
我因為六月才寄申請書
被通知要面試就只能自己飛去瑞士面試了

七八月是旺季
機票很貴
旅館很貴
還要提早過去適應時差
面試後又想沿著日內瓦湖小小旅遊一下
所以待的時間大約會到一個星期
這趟面試很貴的!

IMD的面試蠻長的
要一整天
且沒有其它替代方案(eg 電話面試、視訊面試、校友面試)
所以還是建議大家要把握時間
爭取有機會可以安排在亞洲面試

在此也謝謝yimmiwan的分享回覆