Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Interview stuff for MM - from Harvard website

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Interview stuff for MM - from Harvard website

    Hey MM
    I saw your post on yesterday's thread and posted a reply there - but thought i would post here too in case you didnt check there. I saw this info on Harvard's website. I think it might help your son prepare for his interview Monday.... anyways, I know he will do great -

    (this is more geared to job interviews but iI changed it to make it applicable to your situation where I could...)

    How to Prepare for Interviews
    Before the Interview
    Preparing well for your job interview is the best way to make a good impression and to avoid anxiety that can weaken your presentation. Interviews come in many formats. They may be driven by the interviewer's questions, or they may feel like a conversation you help to steer. They may be with one person or with several. They may be in person or by phone. Be ready for any of these types.

    Seven Key Stages of Preparation for the Interview
    1. Obtain information about interviewers, itinerary, and format if possible. Usually some information about the interview will be given to you. If it is not, ask for it. Ask also about receiving organizational literature.

    2. Know the organization. If you have landed an interview, you probably did some research prior to applying. Include all of these elements:

    Learn as much as you can about the organization.
    Do an internet search on this organization as well as the person that will be interviewing you.

    3. Know yourself. Think through the following questions thoroughly, and commit responses to memory. If you find yourself at a loss for words in response to some unanticipated questions, fall back on these responses, as you will find them very flexible.

    What are you very good at? (3 verbs)
    What are your most significant accomplishments? (3)
    What types of problems are you best at solving? (3 types)
    What qualities best describe you? (3 adjectives)
    What skills do you have?
    What best describes what you can do best? (1)
    What are your weaknesses? (1)
    How do you handle or work on this weakness?
    Why do you want to go to Harvard?

    4. Know what makes you a good match. During this stage, you should think very carefully about how your answers to stage 3 meet your findings from stage 2. In your answers, be as specific as possible, both about yourself and about the organization.

    What makes you a good fit for this school?
    What qualities make you stand out as a candidate for Harvard?
    How did HIGH SCHOOL prepare you for Harvard?
    How did your other experiences/education prepare you for this school?

    5. Know additional information that you want to gain during the interview. The interview focuses largely on you, but should be a conversation. You are considering the organization as well. Good questions say a lot about you. Here are some examples:

    Can you tell me more about your specific courses/facilties/resources/instructors?
    What kinds of projects/community affairs will the school become involved with in coming years?
    What opportunities might become available when i graduate?
    How can I get involved in the school?

    6. Have all logistics worked out ahead of time. Double-check travel times, and have key phone numbers so you can call if there is a problem. If possible, practice getting there.

    7. Anticipate questions and practice responding to them. If you moved quickly over stages 3 or 4 of the interview preparation, go back because good answers to those questions will focus your response to almost all others, and they will be flexible enough to meet most questions you do not anticipate. Practice responses to these additional common questions. Keep answers fairly short, even if questions are very open-ended:

    (a) Tell me about yourself.
    Avoid a long narrative. Use some personal history, but not too much. Focus on key skills, strengths, traits, professional values, and achievements.
    (b) Why do you want to go to our school?
    Be careful of questions that set you up to focus on your own wants. Focus on the match between you and the school, not on what you will get out of it exclusively.
    (c) Why should we accept you?
    Discuss core requirements and desirable traits of candidates, but give considerable attention to qualifications that likely set you apart from other candidates.
    (d) What are your strengths?
    Name three related to succeeding at this institution.
    (e) What do you know about our organization/schooletc.?
    Be prepared to discuss this.
    (f) Do you have more copies of your r?sum?/CV?
    Yes. (Make sure your copies are of the same version you sent.)

    The Day of the Interview
    Keep all answers brief, but thorough. Offer the inquirer a chance to follow up.
    Ask questions about the school. Also ask informed questions about the organization. Ask about the timeline for a decision, which will be helpful as you weigh options.

    Follow-up
    Send thank-you letters immediately. Use a professional format and friendly tone. If possible, send a personalized letter to everyone with whom you interviewed; if not, send one to the chair or point person. Include a few reminders of points that came up in the meeting, or if you have something would like to add now. You might also mention something you appreciated learning. Finally, remind the reader why you believe in the quality of the match between you and the organization.
    __________________
    Over 4 months AF :h

    #2
    Interview stuff for MM - from Harvard website

    jenn im tired just thinking about that i think i need a nap! love ya:l

    Comment


      #3
      Interview stuff for MM - from Harvard website

      Over 4 months AF :h

      Comment


        #4
        Interview stuff for MM - from Harvard website

        Where is MM anyways today????
        Over 4 months AF :h

        Comment


          #5
          Interview stuff for MM - from Harvard website

          Hi everybody, thanks for the input!!!! I'm doing much better today. This info does help. And Fan you are right!!! I left at 6:00 a.m and just got in!!! Big day on Capital Hill, but not before I started off with my RELAXING MORNING!!! Boy is this new technique ever working!!! My husband thinks I'm a hero because I have offered to take our son to school on his days off (he usually drops him on his way to the lab). But, it is me that gets the reward. I drop my son off and roll around the corner to Starbucks. I sit and have a skim steamed milk and a granola yogurt parfait. I have also been taking these really lonnnnnnng baths in the morning by candlelight and soft music -- is so relaxes me!!! I walk out in the day not feeling harried. It works until about 4:00 p.m. -- This is cocktail hour and I love to drink!!!! But I am forcing myself to wait for my husband. So, I've started hitting the exercise room from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

          I do want to thank you all for your input and support. I have to admit, I was going kind of crazy last night!!! (No, I didn't drink!!! But boy I sure wanted to!!!) The real problem is that his school counselor and I don't agree on strategies. My son said he was trusting me and doing it my way (oh the guilt if he doesn't get in). Harvard has a 99% turn down rate, so we're not getting our hopes up! I think also what threw me off my beam is that they don't do interviews, so we weren't prepared. . . as you can probably tell, I'm a control freak . . . I don't like the curb balls!! But today I am better!!!

          I also got to meet my Dad for a late lunch on my way back. I did it!!! I only had two drinks!!! I was soooooo happy!!! My Dad was real impressed and told me how proud he was that I could do this. I told him how great all of you were to me and that I couldn't do it without you. He and my mom said they were going say a prayer of blessing and thanksgiving in behalf of all of you for your caring kindness. Just thought I'd mention it to you in case anyone would be insulted.

          Thank you all for caring so much. I am on my way to the exercise room and then I'm going to walk to the grocery store. My husband thought it would be a good idea if I wanted one glass of wine while I'm fixing dinner, so I'm toying with the idea, but haven't made up my mind. He makes a good point. I no longer allow more than one bottle. When it is gone, it is gone. So, I guess it really doesn't matter if I open it at 5:30 instead of 6, and it helps the family if I prepare the dinner early. I'm pondering how this fits in my goal -- still haven't made up my mind.

          I THINK YOU ARE ALL SO SPECIAL TO CARE SO MUCH!!!Jennah, thanks for doing that research for me; it is so helpful!! MKR your feedback was terric also!! And Fan, thanks for helping me put things into perspective. And luch and Waiting, as always you too are soooooooo incredibly supportive!! Mojo, I know what you mean about being tired. Sometimes when I'm dealing with his school stuff, I feel like I need electric shock to stay awake -- it is very tiring!!!

          I just hope that I am helping my son in the best way that a mother can!!! He has always looked up to me as a role model. You know what they say about being at the top -- the bottom looks very scary!!!

          Thank you everyone!!!

          MM
          Saving the day one minute at a time!

          Comment


            #6
            Interview stuff for MM - from Harvard website

            A Tribute To All Of You

            :thanks: Words can never express how deeply you touched upon my heart by helping me deal with the Harvard situation. I am, indeed, pleased that my son is a serious contender, but I do not deal well with unexpected situations that arise in my personal life (though I deal with them all of the time in business! -- go figure!). The fact that they called on Thursday for an interview on Monday was "panic button" time. And the fact that his counselor and I do not agree on many issues involving the college application process and he is unavailable until Monday didn't help. But one of the other counselors that I know very well helped Alan yesterday and thankfully, we see eye-to-eye. Additionally, some of you sent incredibly valuable "how to information", and I have typed it up so that we can format and answer these questions for Harvard -- great job!!!! (to those of you who sent both on-site and private messages -- thank you). I don't think I can ever thank you enough, but as a tribute to you I thought I would share with you the joy of my most precious gift from God, my son.

            His name is Alan and he will be 18 in December. He has a wry sense of humor, but at the same time, he is a very serious person. He has refused to get a driver's license because he does not believe high school students should drive. So he is starting driver's education in February so that he has his license upon graduation. He attends at all boys school that is ranked very high in the country. As I believe I have mentioned before his father has a PhD in Cell Biology from Vanderbilt and I have an undergraduate from Johns Hopkins U in economics with a law degree from U of Maryland. A few years ago, our son decided he wanted to follow in my footsteps as a political strategist and lobbying consultant, but unlike me where I do environmental issues, he wants to do all of science (no I did not push him into this -- I thought he would be an engineer). He has done several summer internships that has helped him to reinforce this desire; National Geographic Society in Washington, DC, The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and The Junior Statesman Program Advanced Placement in American Government. He is on the Debate Team and has done Model UN for two years. He also has top ranking in the country in AP Physics and AP Chemistry. He is scheduled for three AP's this year, AP Biology, AP Calculus BS, and AP American Government. And he has taken Honors math for four years, with A's every year.

            OK, HERE IS WHERE THE COUNSELOR AND I DISAGREE. The counselor doesn't believe that he has a chance of getting in because his GPA is only 90. But, I have talked to the schools and they indicate that it is not the case. They say that the fact that he comes from a difficult school carrying so many honors and AP's makes him a viable candidate. Also, the fact that he took programs which helped him to master speaking and writing (the areas where he was getting B's) and has mastered them makes a difference. But, they felt that Alan should EXPLAIN that on his application, where the counselor feels that his record will reflect it. He has encouraged him to do creative writing essays, which in my opinion, don't even answer the question!!! He also didn't prepare him for interviews because, believing he wouldn't get in, didn't think they would call him for an interview. So that is why I was going NUTSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

            So, that is why I am stressed!!!! But your information, along with the school's feedback from where he is applying, has given me confidence to go forward. Additionally, my son has a square head on his shoulder, and when I explained to him how I would approach it, he has decided that he agrees and is preparing the application the way I have suggested. And the other counselor did an excellent job preparing him. Your information that all of you have provided further helped him solidify what he is doing.

            SO THANK YOU:thanks: THAT YOU:thanks: THANK YOU:thanks:
            In the words of the Great George M Cohan, "My mother thanks, you my father thanks you, my son [sister] thanks you and I thank you!!!

            Thanks for sharing. Your generosity is overwhelming (in a good way),
            MM
            Saving the day one minute at a time!

            Comment

            Working...
            X