Are you done with your MBA interview?

Did you follow the proper MBA interview etiquette?

Did you shake your interviewer’s hand, look them straight in the eye, ask for their business card (if they have one), and say your goodbyes?

(If you’re getting ready for a video interview read our post Your Guide To The MBA Video Interview).

Congratulations!

Getting to and through the interview stage at a top business school is an incredible accomplishment and you should be very proud.

To maximize the value of your interview, though, there are a few things that you still need to do.

Don’t worry, they will not be nearly as difficult as the task you just accomplished.

In this post, we’ll teach you the proper MBA interview etiquette you need to make the right impression after your MBA interview.

And at the end of the post, you’ll get a free MBA interview thank you letter template that you can use right after your interview.

(If you’re looking to prepare for an upcoming MBA interview, read our MBA Interview Guide.) 

So, what’s the first thing you should do after your interview?

Reflect On Your MBA Interview

First, take some time to reflect on your interview.

There’s no sense in obsessing over each detail- it’s over now, and you did the best that you could.

Instead, quickly jot down different points covered in the interview and new information that you learned.

Then, think back over anything that you feel could have gone better.

What questions were you least comfortable answering?

Did you forget anything you had been hoping to say?

These notes will help you as you prepare for any later interviews.

Proper MBA Interview Etiquette

Once you’ve taken some time to reflect, write a thank-you note to your interviewer.

If you just interviewed with Harvard Business School, you’ll be required to write a post-interview memo within 24-hours.

This new requirement has caused great worry among some MBA applicants.

Think of the memo as an email that you might write after an important meeting at work. The question HBS poses is relatively simple.

“You’ve just had your HBS interview. Tell us about it. How well did we get to know you?”.

In your thank you note, you should:

1. Reiterate how much you enjoyed the interview.

2. Quickly summarize key points of discussion.

3. Share new information that you learned in the interview.

4. Use this opportunity to once again reinforce the main goals of your personal brand.

If you hope to help small businesses in developing countries, share how that topic was discussed in the interview, and any inspiration that you drew from the discussion.

The idea is to pick the most important element that you want to reinforce instead of touching on too many topics.

There’s no word limit, but keep your thank you letter fairly brief- a few paragraphs, or a page at most.

At the end of your letter, just as you would at the end of an interoffice email, you should:

1. Thank your interviewer(s) for their time.

2. Reiterate your interest their b-school program.

3. State that you are always available to answer any questions.

If you’re still preparing for your HBS interview, watch How To Prepare For Your HBS Interview.

Post-MBA Interview Thank You Letter Template

Even though other schools might not require a post-interview memo as an application component (for example Stanford GSB), you should send a thank-you note to your interviewer shortly after the interview.

Typically, email is the best way to send the note quickly.

However, if you’re committed to writing a handwritten thank-you note, make sure that you get it in the mail within a day of the interview.

The note will likely be a bit briefer than the HBS thank you note, but you should still:

1. Thank the interviewer for their time.

2. Touch on a few key points from your conversation.

3. Close with a reminder that you are available should they have any questions.

Here’s a template for what your post-MBA interview letter could look like:

Dear Mr. Jones,

Thank you very much for taking the time to meet with me this morning, I truly enjoyed our conversation.

I was very interested to hear your perspective on Stanford’s culture and how it might foster my own interest in technology-driven startups.

I certainly agree with you that the school’s location would be very advantageous for pursuing that interest, and I was glad to hear your stories of previous students’ interests and successes.

That information, and our entire conversation, furthered my interest in the Graduate School of Business, and reinforced my belief that I could thrive and grow in the program.

Please feel free to contact me with any further questions that you might have, I am happy to provide any additional information that you need.

Thank you again, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

John Smith

(111) 222-3333

johnsmith@gmail.com

Conclusion

In this post, you learned the proper MBA interview etiquette you need to make the right impression after your MBA interview.

If you read the entire post, you picked up a free template for your post-MBA interview thank you letter.

It’s important to mention specific information from your conversation. This helps solidify your interviewer’s impression of you, and later, to jog their memory.

It’s also important to keep the note simple and brief.

This is not the time to add in that extra story that you forgot to tell, or to send a laundry list of questions that you should have asked during the interview.

After taking brief notes on your interview and writing the memo or thank-you note, you have arrived at the waiting period, as the committee deliberates.

Though waiting can be tough, you can rest easy knowing that you gave the application your best shot and that you did everything that could, from the beginning of the online application to the end of the interview, to ensure your success.

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