Master Interview Questions

Personal Characteristics / Skills / Strengths:

1. Tell me about yourself:
Good morning/ afternoon. My name is Hoang Thu Trang. I graduated from T University. I have
been working for around 5 years now and currently employed as Trade and Investment Advisor
at the xxx Embassy.

My work motive: “Work hard. Play hard”

So besides working, I do enjoy extracurricular activities such as sports like tennis and inline
skating; some charity works … often together with my companies.

My social drive: “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social
transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good
people” – Martin Luther King Jr. I thought of myself as a good person, and that’s the reason why
I apply for [the university applying to] in the first place. I would like to have the opportunity to
obtain advanced management knowledge, especially in social entrepreneurship so that I can
voice myself in the social transition stage of Vietnam.

2. What is your strongest personal asset?

It would be persistence. Benjamin Franklin once said: “Energy and persistence conquer all
things”. Well, in my opinion, it is absolutely true.

(Copy from other version)

3. What are your strengths and weaknesses as a student?

My strengths as a student include progressive learning attitude, hard work and creativity. I am
not the kind who sits quietly in a class and takes notes. In fact, if I actually take notes, I will
forget about everything I write down. So I prefer to research new cases, pose questions and
suggest solutions and debate.

About my weaknesses??? Well, not only in study. I think that I always try to do too many things
at the same time. Currently, I have my official job at the embassy, an inline skating club that
focuses on tutoring kids, a career center at Vietnam National University. I spend lots of my
energy on those things but I think it’s time to actually slow down a bit and set a priority list on
what I should spend more time working on.

4. Name 3 strengths that you have and why you consider these strengths
The first thing that I would consider strength is my determination. It helps me make decisions
very quickly. Not every time a right one but you know, when you think fast, you identify
 opportunities much more rapidly than most others and eventually, become able to take
advantages of such in your career and your life.

My second strength would be self-responsibility. Since I make decisions very quickly, there are
certain risks in it. Say, one time in A DIPLOMATIC OFFICE, I had to make the decisions of whether
to testify the qualification certificate before or after finishing the import documents for
exhibitions products. It was 2 days to the exhibition so I decided to fulfill all the documents first.
However, one of the package was discovered unqualified. So I had to take charge of all the
expenditure considering that package. … It was not too much though but I am responsible for it.

The third strength that I would mention here is my ability to gather information. Good decisions
depend on the information we have. So I always try to pick up new pieces of information
everywhere I go. I can listen to a conversation in a coffee shop and link it to the news that I’ve
read another day or simply I can google that conversation topic to have more insights on it.

5. What would one of your friends/teachers/supervisors say about you?

If you asked my friends about me, I think they would probably say that I am a busy person.
Some told me that I am always on the run. I am busy at work all weeks. I go cheer for a football
match every Monday and Thursday. I often spend two nights a week for inline skating and
tennis. The weekend is spared for family and charity trips. Occasionally, I have friends and
students coming over to help fix their resume, course works, researches and other things as
well.

What would my teachers/ professors say about me? I think that they would ask themselves:
“Why is this girl asking so much?” I always come to classes prepared with notes all over my
readings and questions in every topic that interests me. Sometimes, they are just questions to
confirm what I understand of the textbook. Other times, they are case-related or open
discussions to expand the lecture’s scopes. They help me understand more during the courses
anyway.

About my supervisor, I think that they would describe me as an assertive employee. I do my job
self-responsibly as I was assigned but before doing that, I do question them carefully, suggest
possible alternatives and defend my ideas on fact-based methods. I ended up doing the job in
any methods that my supervisor prefers but at least, I manage to provide the best information I
can to the job instead of just blindly doing it.

6. What would a supervisor or professor tell me are your strengths?

I think the first thing that my supervisors would talk about me as my strength is hard work.
Guess it’s just obvious to them since I work always for more than 10 hours per day even without
their requests. All assignments are on deadlines. And I certainly don’t mind stay overnight
during high times. The second thing, they would say, is my positive attitude. I do not take
anything as impossible, so when a difficult assignment comes to me, I just do some researches,
suggest solutions and find a way to optimize the outcomes. It’s much like finding a new market
 niche in a quite mature one, challenging but pay off. The third thing, well, I guess, it would be
that I have high requirements for everything. It’s not exactly a strength though. Sometimes, I am
tired of it too coz the reason why I spend 2 extra hours at work per day is that I don’t want to
tolerate the quality of a job for my conveniences.

A professor??? A professor would describe me as a student of hard work, debates and

punctuality. I read books, journals and case studies before and after classes. I often email my
professors my question list 2 days after each lecture. I do love to raise open questions during
practice sessions and debate over my ideas of a proper solution. And every of my assignments
are submitted on if not before deadlines. Well, I think those are 3 traits that helped me ace my
college with a GPA of 3.93/4.00.

Academic Experiences/Performance:
1. Why did you major in Business Administration?
Since my mother was running her own business at the time, I guess my first and primary goal
when majoring in Business Administration is to have the sufficient knowledge to help her in the
future. Additionally, Business Administration seemed to be a broad field, which covered many
different disciplines, including: Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Operation and etc. Considering
my reading capacity, I think that a Business Administration major would provide me the general
knowledge, based on which, I could read to advance myself in a number of different disciplines
instead of just locking myself in one. Besides, since I always plan to obtain a postgraduate
degree, Business Administration was just the right choice for undergraduate since it gave me
time and professional insights to select a specific discipline that I would like to study in-depth for
my master degree, and of course, my lifetime career. As you might have seen in my application,
Now I choose to go ahead in social entrepreneurship and advanced management.

2. Why did you choose to attend your university?

Due to family economic problems, I had to return from the United States in 20xx though I had
successfully applied for a scholarship in a good university there. It was not enough though. So
when I was back in Vietnam, I had to select amongst a few international cooperative programs
that were available here on 3 criteria: First, tuition – must be of my family’s capability, Second,
course materials and instructors – of course, must be creditable and from renowned sources
and Third, degree – must be accredited internationally. I had 2 other alternatives as well, RMIT
and Sunderland. Well, RMIT is good but it does not have Business Administration Major
available in northern Vietnam. Sunderland is a cooperation program between I must say 4
different colleges, from Vietnam – Singapore – Australia – the United Kingdom. Each year is a
different nation. Thus, it does not sound quite reliable for me. With my university, I was happy
with their tuition here – US$10,000 for a bachelor degree; it is accredited as I checked on
Council for Higher Education Accreditation; courses materials are similar those used in Alabama,
and 40% of the professors are delegated directly from the United States. Reasonable of a
choice!
3. When did you choose to enter this occupational field and why?
I would like to have a successful career as a business consultant in matters regarding corporate
social responsibilities since 20xx. There are 3 reasons for it. Firstly, my major was Business
Administration so being an expert in a business field was nothing but appropriate. Secondly, the
day I entered the University, I also got a sales job in an IT company, which helped me
understand a lot about Vietnam market situation. As for me at the time, Vietnam was getting
deeper and deeper into recession because most domestic businesses were operating in a very
short-term and unsustainable way. Frauds and inequality were everywhere. Some were getting
rich very quickly while others were left unemployed. This further urged me to engage in long-
term career in sustainability-focused consulting. Thirdly, I was recruited by an NGO, namely … in
20xx and had the chance to engage in an inspiring program of [Saving the electricity], which, just
generally, gave me the idea of how a social-benefiting program would positively influence the
whole nation. And all of such just motivates me in the subsequent processes of exploring other
management practices in later organizations, which, I think, in addition to the master education
that I may obtain thanks to [the university applying to], play a major part in my long-term target
as a professional consultant in social-orienting businesses

4. How did you make the decision to apply to our program? What other
programs did you consider?
I have studied quite a few programs in both the United States and the United Kingdom. It occurs
to me that MBA programs of [the university applying to] offers Entrepreneurship concentration,
which focuses on creating, identifying, assessing, shaping, and acting on opportunities that
generate economic and social value in a variety of contexts and organizations.

Also, I have done some researches on the diversity levels at [the university applying to]’s One
year MBA. The international diversity is roughly 75%, and US diversity of 40%. I truly believe this
is the program to be since I really enjoy to have discussions with people from different
backgrounds to find out the optimum solutions that Vietnam may need in this transition stage.

Additionally, I have seen that [the university applying to] also have Center for Entrepreneurship
and Women’s Entrepreneur Leadership. Therefore, I am really looking forward to apply what I
will study at [the university applying to] into these centers as well.

I also consider another program, which is Master of International Affairs in Columbia Schools of
International and Public Affairs (SIPA). The major still aligns with my long term goal in social
enterprise consulting but focuses more on sustainability than leadership. But I am still
considering [the university applying to] as my first choice.

5. How has your undergraduate background prepared you for our

program?
I had a Highest Honored Bachelor Degree in Business Administration with a GPA of roughly
3.93/4.00, and courses in economics, finance, accounting, marketing and management, which I
think, in addition to years of my business experiences, a strong background for my future
 courses in either advanced management practices or entrepreneurship – of course with a focus
in social enterprise.

6. What courses have you enjoyed the most?

Business Communication and Organizational Behavior are the 2 courses that I most enjoy during
my college. My Business Communication Course was taught by Dr. …, a fulltime Faculty in
Alabama. It provided me an insights of how people look at a business issue differently and
methods, which I can use to effectively transfer my messages amongst colleagues, to my
partners and mass customers. Organization Behavior, on the other hand, was taught by
Professor …, an expert at Swedish Embassy. It provided me the knowledge in how a
corporation’s interests collide with its stakeholders including: Shareholders, employees,
customers, partners, competitors and the society. And of course, the most interesting parts,
how to align the benefits of different parties.

7. What courses have been most difficult for you?

I would say that the most difficult courses for me were those that are financial related. I aced all
of them though. There was a specific course, called “Macro Economics for Manager”, which I
considered very challenging. It took into accounts how macro problems such as unemployment,
social inequality can be addressed at different management level. But it was really interesting
though, along that course, I had the chances to study how Vietnamese businesses behaved
before, during and after the 20xx Recession and how it affects the economics. I guess that
course equips with a very strong analytic skill to address the macro behavior issues in my future
career as a social-oriented business consultant.

8. What satisfaction have you gained from your studies?

A great deal, I should say. I did not really like every course in the University’s Business
Administration Program but since I did like to have an A in everything, I have learnt a lot. In
subjects that I love like International Marketing and Operation Management, I read and picked
up a wide range of professional insights and management practices from cases and solutions. In
subject that I’m not really interested like Money and Banking or Advanced Finance, I read twice
as much and gained proportional knowledge from them. A teacher used to tell me that: “If you
want to better yourself when studying in Vietnam, compete with yourself not others!” So I keep
a promise with myself to always try it 150% of the last time. So, as long as I get better in each
course, whether I like it or not, I’m progressing in my knowledge. That is satisfaction.

9. Tell me about the research project you completed with Professor/

KOTRA Hanoi KBC?
In June 20xx, I was assigned a project with Korean Housing Guarantee Corporation – KHGC. It
was a very challenging project since I have to develop new contacts with Vietnam Ministry of
Construction for special cooperation. At the same time I also needed to conduct surveys and
statistical analysis to provide KHGC with the actual market trend in Vietnam. The Report in the
market trend was really challenging since statistics in Vietnam is kind of a scarce resource. So I
 needed to go through various personal contacts to get some numbers and compared them with
those I obtained from the internet. Over 10 hypotheses were set up just to identify the real
trend of housing demand in Vietnam. I’m glad though that it turned out very successful as the
Best Consultant Report of KOTRA in 20xx and the KHGC did sign an MOU with the Housing
Department of Vietnam Ministry of Construction, thanks to my new contact point.

10. Do you feel your academic record accurately reflects your abilities and
potential?
I think that my academic record has accurately reflected my abilities to academically capture the
subjects and ace them with every means possible. However, it does not tell how successful I
have been when applying it in my career as a salesperson, a human resource assistant, a market
research expert and an international project consultant that I am today.

11. Do you feel you have worked to your full potential?

I don’t think that I have reached my full working potential yet. When I first came to KOTRA as a
Market executive, I finished the job that others do in one hour in a day. A week later, 3 hours; A
week afterwards, exactly one and after a month, I could do trice as much in an hour. My working
potential expands over years, and I think that as I always try to do a job with 150% of the last
time, my potential will continue to extend substantially in the future.

12. How would you rate yourself in the following areas?

Reading and Comprehension: As an expert in market research, it is my job requirement that I
have to be comprehensive when reading and scanning for related information from different
sources, including: Books, Journals, Websites and other unofficial resources. Therefore, I would
rate myself as Good in Reading and Comprehension

Analytical Skills: Regarding analytical skills, if I could not quickly capture, analyze and synthesize
obtained information to have an overall view of the market, I would not be an expert in market
research and rather, would not have written spot articles or reports that were nominated
Number 1 in Korean Trade Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in 20xx.

Communication – Oral, Written and Listening: Since I had been a salesperson for over 2 years,
oral communication and presentation skills in Vietnamese and English should not be a problem.
Written English is proven and certified as researching expert in a Trade Missionary of the Korean
Government. Listening skill is not of concern also since I had a year, spent in a natural English-
speaking environment of the United States and many years working in Trade and Promoting
functions, which require me to communicate with international partners on a frequent basis.

13. What didn’t you like about your college/university?

The only thing that I did not like about the University’s Program in Vietnam is that it is lack of
competition. Since all students of the programs are Vietnamese, they kept the habits of
maintaining just a passing grade for every course. Sometimes, I felt left out like a nerd jumping
 into an A. The only thing that distinguished me from a nerd was that I actually involved in a lot
of extracurricular during school.

14. Tell me about a professor or supervisor that you didn’t like and why.
There was a professor I really did not like since he kept a strict A requirement that said 90% is A
but 89.9999% is certainly not. I was frustrated by that rule. But since I don’t want to get a B in
that course, I tried harder in it than any other courses. I ended up with a solid A and more
knowledge than I could ever think of. But I still don’t like that professor, at all.

15. Why would you be an asset to our department? How would you be able
to contribute to our program?
As I have learnt from [the university applying to] website, [the university applying to] college is
looking for individuals, who are capable of being an influential leadership in business, politics
and other social fields of underdeveloped countries. I believe that I am the change agent that
you are looking for. What I could bring to [the university applying to] are not just my years of
businesses experiences with proven results in both Commercial and Social-orienting Projects or
my excellent performances during my undergraduate education but indeed, my commitment
and enthusiasm in obtaining more advanced management knowledge and social enterprise
practices in a US University … which, I think, will help me move forward in my future social
entrepreneurship and consultant career. When such a time comes, I can proudly prove that [the
university applying to] one year MBA is a program for success, actual leadership and social-
transitions.

16. What skills and experiences do you feel have prepared you for
admission to this program?
As I have completed a bachelor degree in business administration and been working for 5 years,
I believe that I can consider myself a well-prepared candidate for [the university applying to]
Program

17. Why should we consider you for our program instead of several other
equally qualified candidates?
I would not think “equal” is an appropriate word in this situation. If I say that you should
consider me because I am “better” in some cases, the word “equally qualified” will be negated
right away. I think everybody differentiates and is great in some way. Some are economic
experts, some are agriculture professional, and others work in public policies. I, I choose to focus
on social entrepreneurship and sustainability. This is an alarming issue in Vietnam during this
socioeconomic transition stage. But I am not capable of solving the problem on a macro level. I
will just build sustainable things, which people can refer to when opening their future
businesses.

Say, in 20xx, over 30% of Vietnamese corporations were introduced to the market, while
another 30% went bankrupted, leaving a more massive number of unemployed workers without
 any means of living. So short-term, so unsustainable! Since I choose to commit my long-term
career in resolving such problems and since [the university applying to] would like a social-
influencing leader, I believe I would be the choice.

(Only if Question 11 of this Section was answered: Besides, since I said that my working potential
expands greatly overtime, I think that [the university applying to] should consider how great it
will be in the future and how it will benefit Vietnamese society and grant me the opportunity)

18. How many programs have you applied to besides our institution/
program?
I also consider another program, which is Master of International Affairs in Columbia Schools of
International and Public Affairs (SIPA). I am applying for a concentration in Development
Economics there. The major still aligns with my long term goal in social enterprise consulting but
focuses more on sustainability than leadership. But I am still considering [the university applying
to] as my first choice.

19. What will you do if you are not accepted into our program?
I will certainly wait for the result in Columbia before re-applying for [the university applying to]
of course. In the short-run, I will continue my job at the Embassy and accumulate more
experiences along the way.

Extracurricular Activities:
1. What extracurricular activity has been most satisfying to you?
I am the President of an Inline skating club in Hanoi, where I learn a lot about myself and
develop a passion for being an agent of change, who can coordinate and lead people from very
different backgrounds. I also learned the value of being in a team and working as a team both on
and off the field. Generally, it helped me gain a firmer understanding of my own strengths,
weaknesses and thus, grow both personally and professionally.

2. What is the most significant contribution you have made to your school?
I was the Student President and thus, held responsible for different student events including
Halloween 20xx, Information Day 20xx, and other Public Relation events on dantri.vn. Currently,
as an alumnus, I still conduct private tutoring and career consulting session for senior year
students.

3. What activities do you enjoy most outside of the classroom/ work?

I often do some tennis or go to my inline-skating club after works. They rid me off the stress
during the day and refresh for another efficient day at work. Occasionally, I spend time to go on
Charity trips in north provinces of Vietnam as well, sometimes Ha Giang, other times, Cao Bang
or Son La.
 4. Do you have any hobbies or outside interests?
I do have a special interest in conducting tutoring and career consulting sessions for seniors and
newly-graduates of Vietnam National University. This was actually inspired by the time I worked
as an HR assistant in [Non-profit organization] and worked closely with many people from
Human Development sector.

5. Tell me about any volunteer experiences in which you have

participated.
Well, the last charity trip that I was volunteering for was one trip to Ha Giang to build a concrete
bridge for local people to pass the stream during flood season. It was a scary trip indeed since
we have to go up the mountain in a narrow but 45 degree steeped road. It was a cutting cold
February but I am glad that I made that trip coz when I came there I could not believe that there
are kids, who are walking around barefoot when the temperature is like 2 degree Celsius. I am
glad I could bring some warmth to them.

Weaknesses: 
1. What challenges do you think you might face in the graduate program?
I think I would miss Vietnamese food very much but I will manage to cook for myself even
though I am not a very talented cook myself.

2. What would you say is an area in which you need improvement?

Well according to my mother, or rather Vietnamese stereotype of a perfect woman, I am a bit
too ambitious and aggressive. I wouldn’t mind being an ambitious woman since I have clear
goals and want to realize them. About the aggressive part, I think I would like to become more
gentle in my conversations and thus, balance my modern woman characteristics with Vietnam
traditional standards.

3. What would you change about yourself and why?

I am rather aggressive in approaching my goals. Sometimes, I have too many things planed out
at the same time and spend lots of energy on them. There are times when I wish I could split
myself into 3 persons to both do my job at the embassy, run the skating clubs, and work on my
new initiative about the “Clean vegetable” network. So I think in the future, I would like to slow
down a bit to look at things more clearly, listen more and do things more efficiently.

4. What skills or abilities do you hope to strengthen through our program?

I would like to enhance my intuition and communication skills during my master program in the
United Kingdom. I am a fact-based individual. It is a good thing since I often need to make quick
decisions. However, sometimes it gets too pragmatic that my decisions become harsh and rigid.
As for communication, I am still lacking certain methods to effectively motivate and coordinate
my colleagues and subordinates during high time of the projects. Therefore, I think that with
additional knowledge in advanced management as well as the diverse perspectives that I may
 obtain in a developed nation as the UK may enhance my communication skills, especially in a
managerial role and help me add more intuitive aspects to my decisions and, thus, make the
right ones when opportunities come.

Goals:
1. What has motivated you to pursue this academic field?
I would like to pursue a graduate degree in advanced management practices and
entrepreneurships for 2 reasons. Firstly, my undergraduate degree was in business
administration so it is appropriate to continue my education in a business-related field.
Secondly, after years of working professionally in Vietnam, I discovered that Vietnam is getting
deeper into the recession because most of its businesses are very short-term oriented. Thus, I
look for a course in an advanced nation, which can provide me the most modern management
insights that, I believe, will help me find a more sustainable approach for my future businesses
and the society.

2. What are your short-term and long-term goals?

My short-term goal is certainly obtaining a postgraduate degree in management field, with a
focus on social enterprise.

My medium run plan is to establish what I call a Share Food Network in Hanoi, which channels
chemical-free food and homemade recipes from 2,000 low income households in rural Hanoi
and adjacent provinces to over 6,000 city families of demands. This idea is initiated considering
the alarming food poisoning situation in Vietnam and the low market accesses of low-income
farmers in the area.

If I subsequently success in establishing the Share Food Network above, I will move on to my
long-term goals as a professional business consultant in social enterprise using my Food Sharing
story as a successful example.

3. Why do you want a graduate degree in Advance Management Practices/

Entrepreneurship?
A graduate degree in Advanced Management Practices and/or Entrepreneurship will provide me
the most updated knowledge in modern management methods and diverse perspectives of how
a business or project can be effectively conducted, delivering sustainable outcomes to its
stakeholders and the society as a whole.

4. How do you see this program fitting into your career goals?
I have been working in project design and management in public, private and nongovernmental
enterprises. A graduate degree in advanced management topics and entrepreneurship will add
up to those experiences and help me successfully establish my own social-oriented business
 when I return to Vietnam and thus, contributing to my long-term career dream of being a
successful business consultant with proven success in corporate social responsibility.

5. Tell me about a goal you have set for yourself and how you have
achieved it or intend to achieve it.
5 years ago, when I start going to work professionally, I set a goal for myself that one day I
would be a professional business consultant in Vietnam. Hence, I tried really hard afterwards. I
aced every course in my college program to obtain the necessary knowledge in addition to the
job. I worked 10 hours per day to progress myself from a sales position to an assistant, market
executive and subsequently, market research expert. Along the way, I did lots of case readings,
occasionally involve in experience sharing discussion and thus, gained a great deal of new
business perspectives, which I am currently applying as a successful project consultant. Until
now, my dream of being a professional business consultant still holds, with re-focus in social-
oriented enterprises. So I think that in addition to my existing experiences and academic
achievements, graduate education in modern management practices and entrepreneurship in a
more advanced nation is a must for that goal. Thus, I hope that Chevening can give me the
opportunity to once again complete my dream.

Leadership/Teamwork/Problem Solving Skills, etc:

1. Tell me about a major accomplishment and how you achieved it.
My most significant accomplishment to the date is probably the project that I have done with
Vietnam Ministry of Constructions (MOC) and Korean Housing Guarantee Corporation (KHGC) in
KOTRA Hanoi KBC, the Korean Government Trade Missionary in Hanoi. In that project, I have to
simultaneously develop new contacts with the MOC and conduct an in-depth report regarding
Vietnam Housing Trend for the KHGC. With the MOC, since KOTRA had not made any official
contact before (with Ministry of Development and Health, we have more connections), I took
time composing an official letter to the International Relation Department of the MOC,
explaining that the KHGC is a corporation under direct supervision of Korean Government and it
specializes in guaranteeing the constructions schedules, which have always been a problem to
Vietnamese real-estates. It took days of calling and checking to actually get the answer and
weeks dining and negotiating for a Memorandum of Understanding between the KHGC and
Housing Department of MOC. That was successful. The research as well took days to gather
statistics from official and unofficial targets. Comparing them to have the right trend is a
challenging tasks to as you know, data in Vietnam are rather bias. But it paid off. The researched
was nominated Best Consultant Report at the end of 20xx.

2. Tell me about a situation in which you showed initiative.

When I first get in KOTRA, I figured out that most staffs working here are filing the Korean
exporters and their Vietnamese purchasers in accordance with the name of the Trade
Delegation. This is convenient as market executives have to keep a very close record in every
 buyer-seller meeting during the delegation. However, it is really messy. Say for example, if I
need to find a potential Vietnamese importer in plastic pipes for a Korean pipe manufacturer, I
will have to remember in which delegation that I have pipe traders from Korea and look in their
meetings for potential buyers. So I decided to create a simple excel VBA so that every time I
make an entry about a new Vietnamese importer in a specific business field on Delegation
Workbook, that entry will automatically appear in the sheet, named after the business field of
my Buyer Categories workbook. Just easier for me to simultaneously follow the Delegation
Processes and look up buyer databases for Korean exporters.

3. Tell me about a group in which you were involved. How did you
contribute to make this group achieve a goal?
During the time I work at Company X - an online payment company, I was selected as a member
of the 12 member strategic consultant board, which consults directly to Company X Board of
Directors. The Group includes Directors of Different divisions: From technology, to Public
Relation, to International Projects, Finance & Accounting, Operation controls and Business
Developments. I was the youngest in the group with literally the lowest decisions making power.
But I took a very good advantage of being the little one. I became the social glue when directors
of different divisions have some arguments. I remember one time when director of technology
started a “fight” with his colleague in Operation Control. Some requirements set by Operation
Control cannot be applied in the technology system. There was extreme tension between the 02
divisions. One said “Such requirements will slow the technological core of the Company”. The
other went on stressing that the security levels are not sufficient. After the meeting, I invite the
technology guy out for a beer and figured out that his problem was that putting too much
calculations on a server will make the system collapse. So if I can just put the new part in a new
server, it would be fine. So I started a meeting 2 day afterwards (well, after I asked both of them
out for a beer the next day) and basically resolve the problem.

4. Tell me about a time you assumed a leadership role.

It was an international project in Sichuan, China and we have to prepare the project plan in less
than a week. The director of my division was on a business trip so I was solely in charge of it. The
plan includes many different parts from Operations, Finances, Technologies and Marketing
Solutions. So I set up a cross-functional team from many different divisions in my company,
outline the tasks and lead all the activities using deadlines. There was one problem though
because we had to complete everything in 7 days. So the whole team was required to work at
nights and weekends. Many actually got mad about this. So what I did was re-scheduling the
time so that each person only had to work at max 2 days over-night. I started with people from
Technologies then went with marketing before summing everything up for finances. I stayed
overnights for the whole week though. I did order breakfasts, lunches and dinners for everyone
to keep them motivated during the project. Sometimes, we got mad at each other for staying up
so late. At those times, I just asked them to stop working for a moment, having coffee and some
chats. It’s 3 o’clock in the morning so I totally understand the sleepiness. Later, as we won a
 great deal from that project, I did request the director to split my shares to my team member as
well

5. Tell me about a recent significant problem you faced and how you
handled it.

6. Tell me how you handle stress.

To relieve myself from work stresses, I do engage in some sport activities in the evenings.
Sometimes, tennis, sometimes, swimming, other times, inline skates. I always try to keep myself
balanced, so I don’t get stressful easily even when I have to work for 7 days straight or stay
overnight at the office. Occasionally though, things do become stressful. My boss calls for a
Sunday meeting, for example. Not so nice experiences since I was with my family at the time.
But I managed to calm myself and handle the work in the end. And I do read lots of Dale
Carnegie books, which I think, helps me a lot in seeing things differently and chase my stresses
away.

7. Tell me about a time you had a number of assignments due. How did you
make sure you completed all of them on time and did a good job?
To tell the truth, I always have like 3 or 4 big assignments at the same time. Say back when I was
in the Korean Embassy, I used to have 2 reports, each from 10 to 30 pages due in 3 days, 1 trade
delegation with 14 companies from Korea, which require a lot of telesales and administrative
works, and a on-going projects in defenses that happened to cover a lot of partner meetings.
What I did was: Setting a time table, which started 1.5hr prior to the office hour. In this 1.5 hour,
I either searched for the information on the report or wrote them myself. So the 2 reports
mentioned were actually on deadlines. About the trade delegation, I also set an alarm for phone
calls from 2 to 4P.M., the most effective telesales periods in Vietnam, of course, I have to spend
about 1 hour faxing the documents to my targeted customers beforehand. So after 5 days, I got
each Korean companies about 3 – 4 Vietnamese interested customers. The defense meetings
are mostly set up in the morning from 10 to 11:30, when military officers were most willing to
meet with us. I stayed in the office about 1 hour late, just to summarize all things I’ve done
during the day and see what’s left to cover to adjust in my time table.

8. Tell me about a time when you were confronted by a fellow student, co-
worker or a customer. How did you handle it to resolve the conflict?
It was also during the project in Sichuan, I was confronted by a member from marketing team
since she didn’t agree with me on the program set up for what we called “student program”
targeting student users. She would like to expand the budgets for this program and reduces it
from another program. And I wouldn’t agree on that.

Instead I sat with her and drafted her alternative with some cost variables, showing her that the
cost per user is actually higher using her alternative. I did ask another colleague to invite us both
 to lunch, just my gesture but she didn’t know it. And we are cool afterwards, even become close
friends.

9. Tell me about a time you were faced with a difficult situation and how
you handled it.
One of the thing I hate the most in my current job was that I have too many “bosses” at the
same time: 01 from investment; 01 from marketing and the other from research. One day the
boss from marketing assign me a task that due in 2 days. So I hang that up because I had
something due right away and the day after

But on the day afterwards, he said to me: “Trang the task I assigned you yesterday, you wouldn’t
do it, right? You just want to do Mr. K assignments” Mr. K was my boss in research. So what I did
at that time was to sit in the office until 12 o’clock in the evening to complete every task. I
wasn’t really happy about it but at least I don’t receive a lot of unfair complains from my bosses.

Another difficult time was when I had a delegation from Vietnam to A, in which the A side had
promised to pay the air tickets for Vietnamese companies. So I did fill in the payment on the
Vietnam side and make all the payments. However, just because my boss forgot to fill in the
documents on the A side, our office did not receive any money. So my boss asked me to ask my
Vietnamese customers to return the money. I was freaking out and said that he was the one
who told me about the sponsorships. He just denied it. Luckily he sent me the assignments in
email so I can forward it back to him. But I still had to ask my customers to repay in the end. I
said that it was my fault not to fill in documents, and I could come and pick up the money not
bothering my customers to make the transfers. Luckily, the delegation was quite successful and
my customers weren’t so mad. Some even ask me whether it was my boss who made the
mistakes. They said they have been with A for too long. They kinda get it.

But afterwards, my A boss actually never emails me on any assignments, smart guy. I had a way
to deal with him too. Because his English wasn’t very good orally so I pretended that I don’t
understand him when he talked to me. Instead, I gave him my memo so that he can write on. He
did try to repeat the situation afterwards. I showed him the notes and asked him: “Whose
handwriting is this?” I quit the job shortly afterwards. And The Office’s Former general director
asked me: “Was that because of the marketing boss?” and I said “Yes”. I don’t like him but it was
a very great experience.

10. Tell me about a mistake you made and how you handled it.
It was not exactly a mistake that I made out of carelessness but it had really serious
consequences. On one occasion, I was helping this … company exporting seaweed to Vietnam
and I did find a customer, who would like to purchase a container for US$40,000. And because
seaweed is food so we needed certification from the Korean company. They sent me a scan copy
of certification from Hong Kong, and said the original certification would come when the
container arrived.
 But that certification never arrived so Vietnam custom office held the container in and asked for
12 million VND (about 600USD) to bail it out. The … company did not pay for this. So I did. But
when it was finally out, no one dared to sell it because it had no quality certificate. Later, the
Vietnamese companies piled up bags of seaweed in front of the office and press charges on me.
I did go meet the director of the Vietnamese company afterwards to see how I could help
compensate and how she could withdraw the charges on me. I did feel that I was going to get
beaten up at the Vietnamese company but I came anyway. I did pressure my office since this
was a critical fraud case by Korean company. Afterwards, the Head quarter decided a
compensation of US$20,000 and pressed charges on the … company. Case closed for me but I
did lose the good relationship with my Vietnamese partner.

11. Define teamwork (or success… quality… fairness)

My definition of teamwork is that everybody works at 100% of themselves to create some actual
results. Sales team need results in dollars. Marketing team need results in number of potential
customers. Research team need results in number of documents. Well, but no matter how many
percents that each person contributes to the final result, as long as they have devoted 90% to
100% of themselves then that’s teamwork. Well, during college, I used to work in team where a
team member hardly knew anything about the subjects that the team was focusing on but that
member was actually very active in terms of keeping up the synergy. When other members
were too working very hard, he could go out and buy lunches or drinks for all team members so
that we could concentrate 100%. I also call that’s his team work.

My definition of success is to have time to sit down under a tree, have a cup of hot latte and
read Story of Art of E.H. Gombrich. This is for real because during the past few years I have been
working so hard and hardly have anytime left to enjoy the most basic things of my life. But I
don’t think I can enjoy that moment of success very soon because I have so many incomplete
plans that need to be worked on. Unless those plans are accomplished in some way, I don’t
think I’ll be calm enough to sit down and read my favorite book while having some coffee.

I have no fixed definition for quality. Even during college, I’ve always tried my best to do my
assignment with 150% of the energy I spent on the last. So I will always try to keep up the
quality of the jobs. But if I really need to define quality, I would say that it is something in
people’s subconscious, something that people long for but due the fact that resources are
scared. Sometimes we cannot achieve 100% quality.

12. What was the last book you read or movie you saw?
The last book I read was The Selfish Gene from Richard Dawkins. It is a really good book about
evolution and my favorite quote was: “Our brains are separate and independent enough from
our genes to rebel against them… we do so in a small way everytime we use contraception.
There is no reason why we should not rebel in a large way too”

Well, I think I am just a typical person, whose brains rebel against my gene a whole lot. That’s
why I like the quote. 
 13. How will you make the world a better place?
Well, I can’t. I am too small and the world is too big. But I hope that if I am admitted into [the
university applying to] MBA program, I can somehow find my way to influence people in my
country to create a better sustainable Vietnam before actually thinking of such a macro
purposes.

14. If you could have dinner with someone (living or dead), who would that
person be?
I would like to have dinner with Michael Dell. I know that Dell Inc. was no longer an empire as it
used to be. But Michael Dell did create a system that worked for years and became a billionaire
out of it – mass customization. I think it is the appropriate approach for many Vietnamese
businesses right now. So if only I could meet him, I would really appreciate such opportunities.

Field Specific Questions & Current Events:

1. What do you believe to be the major trends in your intended career field
at this time?
Currently, many organizations have stepped into sustainability issues in Vietnam. Most
significantly USAid programs in enhancing transparencies in government policies and law
enforcements. UKAid is supporting by sponsoring different matching funds programs for
sustainable businesses. Neitherland SNV also becomes very active in Vietnam as well.

2. What do you think about _____________ (current event)?

3. What problem in the world troubles you most? What would you do
about it?
Things that trouble me the most is the continuous military conflicts amongst nations in the
world for economic benefits. The Ukraine case hasn’t been closed yet. I remember my father
was in Ukraine a week prior to the conflict. If he was late one week, I think I’d never see him
again. I don’t want that to happen.

Vietnam is facing the same issue. The Asia Pacific conflict with China has never been hotter. As
far as I know, there were about 700 to 800 hundred Vietnamese people died every two week in
protection of our homeland against Chinese military forces. Admittedly, Vietnam is an easy
target for China since it is not as developed as other countries in Asia Pacific like Korea and
Japan.

So I think hands in hands with improvement in the Vietnam defense system, I can also
contribute myself to a sustainable long-term economic growth of the nation. Many corruption
cases in Vietnam had to do with Chinese people staying in my country and corrupted our
officers. Chinese want to beat Vietnam economically as well.
 But with the knowledge I will gain at [the university applying to], I join forces with many other
Vietnamese experts to push back both economic and military threats from our neighboring
country. If I can succeed on that, I may go beyond and address other world problems.

4. What is the most important development in this field over the past 25
years, and why?
In Vietnam, I would say the problems are only getting worse over the past 25 years, or should I
say 10 years. Ever since the stock market is made available in Vietnam, many people got wealthy
without knowing the reasons underlying such wealth. Many companies are established, and
over 60% of which are financial firms.

Well, financial firms are good but only if they are backed by an economy that manufactures
actual values. The only thing Vietnam can do for right now is assemble, not producing.
Machineries, parts and materials are mostly imported from other countries. Not to mention
countless cases of environmental pollutions due to the industrialization processes. Nothing is
sustainable in Vietnam.

I think Vietnam is aware of its problem and in its initial stage of taking some actions and I am the
kind who don’t want to wait and see. I am the kind to move forward and take some actions
during this transition stage.
Questions Applicants Might Ask an Interviewer:
1. What characteristics distinguish this program from others in the same
academic field?

2. How long does it take typically to complete the program?

3. Where are recent alumni employed? What do most graduates do after

graduation?

4. What types of financial aid are offered? What criteria are used for
choosing recipients?

5. What opportunities are available through the program to gain practical

work experience? Are there opportunities such as assistantships,
fellowships or internships available? What are the deadlines to apply
for these opportunities?

6. Are there any scholarships or fellowships available? How do I apply?

7. Do most students publish an article/conduct research prior to

graduation?

8. I've read articles written by ________ and __ --____. To what extent are
students involved in assisting these faculty members with related
research projects?

9. What types of research projects are current students pursuing?

10. How are graduate test scores, grades, letters of recommendations, and
personal statements evaluated for the admissions process?

11. What is the selection timeline? When will candidates be notified about
their acceptance into the program?