Business graduate program interview questions

Stew Leonard Jr. ’76 learned the primary lesson about job interviews many years ago. He would sit in on various interviews with his father, Stew Leonard, who founded Stew Leonard’s grocery store chain in Connecticut in 1969.

“Afterwards he’d say, ‘Stew, did you notice how that candidate did their homework on Stew Leonard’s? That was impressive,” recalls Leonard Jr., who became president and CEO in 1991.
Anyone who has participated in a job interview agrees: The most important preparation for the applicant is to learn as much as possible about the company.

“Sometimes a potential candidate will show up and I’ll ask them, ‘Did you walk through the store?’ They would say, ‘No.’ That makes my interview very short. Why would I want to hire someone who shows little interest in our company?’’ says Leonard Jr.

At his interview with Thomson Reuters, the financial data company, Tim Rourke ’06 remembers, “I asked if the company was facing pressure from free financial data providers such as Google Finance and Yahoo! Finance. They thought this was an excellent question and responded that while they realize data is becoming more of a commodity that the level of data sold by our company will never be available on a free basis.”

Rourke, an account manager for Thomson Reuters, says, “To demonstrate to the interviewer an intimate knowledge of the company and how you can contribute is what will make an applicant stand out.”

He now sits across the table interviewing applicants and offers a second key quality: a smile.
“Walk into the room tall, smile, and have a firm handshake,” says Rourke. “I am always most impressed by people who look me in the eye and smile. I can’t stress the smile part enough because if you look too serious it can also come across the wrong way.”

Good social skills are vital in any organization, says John Baumann ’72, managing director and institutional regional client group head for JP Morgan Asset Management. What impresses him as he interviews a student or recent graduate?

“Someone who smiles, is enthusiastic, and shows confidence with humility. Good social/people skills, meaning they ask good questions, listen intently, and they make the interview more than just about them,” Baumann says.

To prepare for an interview, he says, “Do some practice interviews, on camera, to watch and listen to yourself.”

Michael Mattiello ’04, who works in global wealth management for Merrill Lynch, interviews primarily candidates for internships. “Three things that stand out are persistence, a clear goal, and adding life to their resume. All make my job much easier,” he says.

He stresses that “the student who follows up relentlessly will stand out.”

Sending a resume is not enough: