When MBA Admission interviewer asks this question, a candidate’s natural tendency is to answer the question from the narrow scope of creation, but if you pay close attention, the interviewer is looking for evidence of self-expression.
SELF-EXPRESSION = CREATIVITY
Self-Expression needs a canvas and a story. Don’t worry if you have not written a single short story or you are not particularly good at telling funny anecdotes in parties. We are all great storytellers. Just stop reading this article for 60 seconds, and pay attention to the random thoughts that you are having right now about yourself.
No cheating…
No Distraction..
Just 60 seconds.
Done?
How were the thoughts structured?
“I have to ace this interview for my future,” “I suck at interviews,” or “I can master the interview; after all I mastered GMAT and Essays.”
Depending on the level of self-loathing or self-respect, your thoughts are primarily in the form of goals or judgmental statements. But once the statements die down, you will hear a story – a story about someone who overcame obstacles after obstacles to reach the Interview stage of MBA Admissions. Yes, it is your story.
Your story is unique, and you might have chosen to express it through many canvases: writing, music, painting, singing, sports, acting, problem solving, leadership, and speaking engagements. Express your unique story when the Interviewer asks about your creative skills.
1) Creativity and Original Thought
The definition of Creativity has become so intertwined with Original Thought that no matter how much you try to redefine it, the definition persists in the common psyche of our society. So don’t redefine it, relish the definition by offering evidence that you came up with an original thought, or in the context of your work – an original solution.
Who is the judge of an original thought? Someone who has limited knowledge of Computers and their history will quote Apple as the innovators in User Interface for Desktop Computers, but a domain expert will challenge this conclusion, and explain how Xerox PARC in 1973 developed the first personal Computer – the Alto, with Graphical User Interface. A historian will go further - challenge this finding and cite Doug Engelbart's Augmentation of Human Intellect project to be the first project to incorporate Multiple Windows, and hence a User Interface. If you go just by the idea and not the implementation – credit should go to Vannevar Bush for the original idea of a Memex desk-based information machine. It is a never ending “Who gets the credit” game. So don’t dwell on the originality of the idea. Chances are that the idea is not 100% original.
From an MBA Admission Interview context, originality means ....
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