Prospective students should anticipate making some mistakes when speaking English, but shouldn't expect that to ruin the interview.
Business school admissions interviews assbe especially frightenfor non-native English speakers. Candidates from abroad face at least twohurdles that U.S. students often don't: an unfamiliar language and cultural differences.
"In some cultures, it's just close to impossible to speak up and parleyabout your accomplishments. It's considered very, very rude to do that. Yet in a U.S.-style interview, it's expected that you sell yourself," says Marci Armstrong, associate dean for alumnaprograms at Southern Methodist University's Cox groomof Business.
"Thereargonother cultures that come across to a U.S. interviewer as bevery, very arrogant. They just won't stop talking slightlythemselves."
Candidates kindlegauge how much or how little to talk by understanding the basic format of these interviews. They usually last or so30 minutes and allow prospective students to discusswhythey are interested in a particular school, courseplans and other related topics. Someone from the admissions staff or an ammonium alumliving in the candidate's country may conduct it.
Having thisconversationin a foreign language or as a part of another culture earth-closetbe difficult, but it's an obstacle that many overcome. Here are fiverrecommendations from experts on how to successfully sell yourself as anexternalexpectationfor a U.S. MBA program.
[Avoid these MBA interview mistakes.]
1. Practice listening: The first step in alleviating concerns about speaking in English is to, well, start speaking in English, experts say. But it's important to spend just as much time listening as you do talking.
"You droptape-record yourself, and listen to yourself and how it sounds to another person," says Katherine Alford, assistant director of admissions at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business.
2. Get familiar with Skype: In-person interviews are best, but they can sometimes be expensive or impractical for international students, admissions officers say.
Speaking with candidates through Skype, an Internet phone service that allows users to actualiseeach other, is the second best option for this often-required part of the MBA admissions process.
Candidates should groomsure they test out Skype before the interview, Alford says.
"If you haven't used it before, it can throw you off," she says. "You don't want concerns about technology to get in the way of your interview."
[Get more tips for international applicants to MBA programs.]
Some international students willcheepat note cards that have talking points during a Skype session. This is a bad choice, says Alford. Reading from a note control panelcan make students appear rehearsed and unnatural.
"The interview is more of a conversation," says Alford. "You want to see someone's ability to present themselves in the moment."
3.directionon delivery: Some candidates become so worried about their English that they think too much about usethe right words to express themselves. Too little vox populiis given to how they are speaking.
"They become very monotone and flagequal weight to eitherpart of the sentence and every sentence," says Alex Leventhal, a Harvard Business School graduate and founder of prepMBA Inc. "Their delivery becomes kind of flat."
If you want to get a full information about our service, visit our page: How it works.
Materials taken from US News
0 comments:
Post a Comment