Three aspects of your personality - Personal, Cultural, and Academic would play an important role in the selection process. Balancing them out is not necessary but understanding how to sell in these three dimensions is crucial.
Personal
The first point of evaluation is to understand the candidate’s personal qualities. Business Schools value leadership, confidence, teamwork, vision, communication, calculated risk taking, and humility. Incorporating these traits through the manner in which the interviewee communicates, and the experience she cites is important to convey a holistic picture of her personal attributes.
The resume should highlight leadership skills and teamwork. But the one on one communication is an opportunity for the interviewer to verify these traits, and also to learn about the candidate’s humility, confidence, and thoughts about risk taking and vision about the future.
Before attending the interview, the candidate should have at least two experiences, each of risk taking, leadership, and teamwork. Do understand that a good interviewer will be prepared to understand non-verbal cues, and evaluate the candidate.
There are several techniques and attributes by which the interviewer evaluates personal traits. We have summarized a few important to dos under each attribute:
1) Confidence – Non Verbal Cues: handshake, tone of greeting, smile, and confidence with which the interviewee approaches the interviewer
2) Communication: clarity with which ideas and experiences are explained without stuttering.
3) Teamwork: Include experiences that show how the team played an important role in your success.
4) Leadership: Include experiences where you have taken the initiative to kick-start the project, handle obstacles, and own the responsibility of the outcome. For other qualities of leadership, read our leadership page.
5) Humility - Respect: Listen attentively to the question, and wait for the interviewer to complete the question before answering them.
6) Humility - Achievements: The tone while explaining achievements should convey humility without sounding artificial.
7) Risk Taking – Career Choice: Include experiences where you .......
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