With interview season upon us, everyone has questions:
- How should I prepare?
- Is it better to interview on campus?
- What questions should I expect?
- What should I wear?

In this post, we address the last question on this list.  While attire may seem trivial compared to preparing your story and practicing answers to frequently asked questions, it apparently is quite important.  Not only is it important in terms of the impression that you can make, but it is also critical in terms of your comfort level, so that you feel appropriate and relaxed.

 Having lived through an evolution in business dress standards, many business minded folks are understandably confused about what constitutes appropriate attire. The popularity of “casual Fridays” and similar corporate edicts seems to indicate that success in the work place is not contingent on adherence to a formal dress code; in essence, substance matters over style. Is dress for success dead?

Probably not. In “Dressing the Part,” Eileen Boylen writes: “There’s certainly nothing casual about business. People who take business casually generally get fired.” Boylen also notes that “while clothes don’t make the man, clothes can make people focus on the person’s professional attributes rather than their physical shortcomings.”  There is something more to business attire than redirecting a client’s focus;  professional appearance may actually signal other professional qualities.

Smart dressing might also have an effect on the wearer. Just as a reflexive smile may actually improve your mood (see “What’s in A Smile?“), donning that power suit may help get you in the business character by facilitating confidence, enthusiasm, and higher energy levels. In this view, grooming has the dual benefit of conveying positive signals to both the groomer and an outside observer.

The importance of appearance in a professional setting cannot be underestimated. Jude Ndu writes, “experts say that the impact of face to face communication is only about 15% of what is said verbally, 20% of how it is said, and a whooping 65% of what your body language/dress or grooming says.” You’ve heard it before: a picture’s worth a thousand words.

For more on the topic, see Toni Bowers’ article “Can a dress code prohibit body art?” Also see “Return of the Dress Code” (Business Week).  Whether you dress in business attire or business casual, remember to pay attention to the little details as you prepare for this big moment.

For MBA applicants, traditional telephone interviews can be a boon or a bust. On the one hand, the absence of face-to-face contact makes it much more difficult to convey your true personality. For some, however, the relative anonymity provides the freedom to express yourself without worrying about the nervous sweat dotting your brow…or your questionable choice in pajamas–the de rigueur phone interview attire. But “cheaters”, beware. According to a recent Businessweek.com article, to circumvent potential students’ use of stand-ins, more and more business schools are turning to Webcams to conduct phone interviews.

Though most schools try to interview candidates in person, certain circumstances may make that difficult, especially if the applicant lives outside the United States. Phone interviews can leave open the door, in some instances, to unethical behavior, whether it be in the form of extreme coaching or even having an imposter stand in for the applicant. Over the phone, interviewers listen for suspicious clues such as rustling paper, delayed responses, and requests for the interviewer to repeat questions–possible indications that the candidate is searching notes for an answer or consulting with someone.

Stacy Blackman was quoted in the BusinessWeek article, and her recommendation on how to navigate phone interviews was referenced. To elaborate: while it may be tempting to script out answers if you are not face to face, this does not work to an applicant’s benefit. As with an in person interview, you should prepare thoroughly! You may take notes and outline some answers to frequently asked questions. You may have your resume on hand. But do not script your answers and read them to the interviewer. This is a terrible approach, is quite transparent and will not be appreciated.

Starting this month, the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business is requiring that phone interviews be conducted via Webcam. Several other schools, including Penn State, Arizona State, and Ohio State offer it as an option. While cutting down on cheating is just one of the reasons schools are adopting Webcam interviews, the technology has other valuable benefits. Webcam interviews let schools record and store images for later use. Alison Merzel, admissions director at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business, another MBA program that officially started using Webcams this year, is impressed with the screening potential. “You can capture an image and compare it with their GMAT or TOEFL image; it gives you the option of having identification,” she says.

Webcam technology is nothing new, but the boom in VoIP technologies like Yahoo! Messenger and Skype means that MBA admissions offices now see them as a feasible, low-cost option. Many international students already use Skype and would choose Webcam interviews over speaking via telephone. And while interviewing in pajamas won’t fly, at least from the waist up, many feel the technology is more forgiving than an in-person chat. Interviewers also get a glimpse into the applicant’s home or work, which adds to the overall sense of who the person is.

Most admissions officials encourage in-person conversations that take place on campus, but both applicants and interviewers seem pleased with the Webcam. It may not be perfect, but the technology goes a long way toward creating a genuine exchange between applicants and admissions committees.

The third-round application period looms for many prospective MBA students, and there’s no better time to incorporate the advice of MBA admissions directors on ways to make—or break—your chances of getting in at the school of your dreams. But how can anyone stand out amid a sea of applicants? Admissions directors are looking beyond work experience and the GMAT to evaluate candidates. A recent piece in the Financial Times discusses some ways to manage the details of your application to ensure you follow the rules, take advantage of all opportunities and market yourself beyond your resume.

The article notes that New York University’s Stern School of Business has made a request of their potential MBA students this year: to limit the size of objects submitted with their applications. Stern appreciates creativity in potential students, and has encouraged the submission of unconventional materials that reveal something of their character and interests. Past applicants have sent in stories, poems, and paintings—one even included a mock cereal box decorated with photos and an ingredient list which included “a charismatic social individual.” But leave the personalized guitars, skis and snowboards at home, please. “We tell people we want them to think outside the box - it just needs to fit inside a box,” says Isser Gallogly, Stern’s Executive Director of MBA Admissions.

Creativity is fantastic, but admissions directors also look for integrity. “In the essays, we want people to sell themselves to us, but we also want them to be honest,” says David Simpson, acting Associate Dean of the MBA program at London Business School. “Candidates often talk about extra-curricular work even though we’re not specifically asking about this. That’s great. But if they write it down, we’re going to ask about it, so they should have a good story.”

Schools stress that applicants shouldn’t regard the interview as another opportunity to list accomplishments. It’s where the school finds out who the person really is and interviewers may have strong views on the type of person they believe will fit into their program.

A major pet peeve reported by admissions directors: overkill in all its forms. Long-winded essays and a barrage of recommendation letters, for example, will not endear applicants to admission staff who have thousands of applications to review. Several admission directors cite the tendency of applicants to send long or multiple e-mails in the hope that they will get the attention of one of the recipients. “Long e-mails are very irritating,” says Rod Garcia, director of MBA Admissions at MIT Sloan School of Management.

Applicants can certainly damage their chances by failing to display courtesy and respect to all the staff members—including administrators and customer service staff—with whom they interact during the applications process. “People don’t necessarily understand that every interaction is an opportunity to show their qualities,” says Gallogly.

Time is of the essence, and synthesizing these tips into your overall application strategy will go a long way toward ensuring you receive that all-important phone call or e-mail this spring.

For applicants who are fortunate enough to have received interview invitations, be sure to check out our Invitation Tips.

Of course, many applicants are spending the holiday weekend wondering if they will be receiving interview invitations from HBS and Stanford. Often applicants ask whether WHEN they hear about an interview from these schools says anything about their chances for admissions. The answer is no, but let’s go straight to the source for confirmation.

Derrick Bolton address the topic on the Stanford MBA Blog. “Please be assured,” he writes, “that your likelihood of admission bears no relationship to when you receive your interview invitation; the timing of your invitation simply depends on when we review your file - and there is no pattern to application review.” He says that the Round 1 interview invitations go out from now until mid December every business day even during the Stanford school holiday from Dec 24, 2007 to Jan 1, 2008. They try to send all interview invitations by Jan 11, though some will go out later and some applicants may be asked to join the waitlist without an interview. Finally though, he stresses, “no matter when you receive your invitation to interview, you have the same chance of admission as any other candidate.”

HBS delivers the same message on their frequently asked questions:
“Interview invitations are extended on a rolling basis throughout the course of each application round. The timing of your interview does not imply anything about the status of your application nor does it impact your candidacy. Invitations to interview may be extended up until the notification date and are a positive indicator no matter when you receive them.”