UBC Sauder Personal Profile/Video Interview

Written by Joyce Chung and Matthew Tran

UBC’s Sauder School of Business is the faculty at the University of British Columbia where spark innovation, further ethical and effective business practices, and lead at the forefront of change.

At UBC Sauder, you will gain the knowledge and skills you need to achieve your business career goals and potential through professional development and lifelong learning offerings. Read on to find out how to apply to this prestigious program!

UBC Sauder Supplementary Application

In addition to your standard UBC Personal Profile (learn how to apply here!), you will be required to answer two additional supplementary questions.

Supplementary Questions

1. Explain how you responded to a problem and/or an unfamiliar situation. What did you do, what was the outcome, and what did you learn from the experience? (maximum 200 words)

You are encouraged to write about one of your volunteer experiences! You can also discuss how you have overcome an issue in your personal life. Whichever experience you choose, you will want to emphasize your resilience, optimism, and proactive personality.

Recommended Structure:

• Hook (1-2 sentences)— grabs the reader's attention & introduces who you are. The key to a great hook is to make it personal, unique, and specific to you!
• Example (most of the response)— describes the situation using STAR to demonstrate how you overcame it.
  • Situation: 1 sentence (can be merged with Task) = What challenge did you face? When and why did it occur? Who was involved?
  • Task: 1 sentence (can be merged with Situation) = What was your role here and your main responsibility?
  • Action: 1-2 sentences = What were the steps you took to fulfill your role and overcome or manage your circumstances?
  • Result: 1-2 sentences = What were the positive outcome of your involvement in this activity? What are the tangible results of your actions?
• Reflection (1-2 sentences)— reflect on the experience and what you learned. How will you continue To learn more about the STAR model and how to use it, click here!

1. Briefly describe the culture of your school community and your involvement within it. What impact has the school culture had on you? How would you enhance or change it? (maximum 200 words)

Sometimes, students tend to only reflect on their academics. Instead, you’ll want to clearly connect to specific volunteer/leadership experiences in which you have contributed to your school’s culture!

Recommended Structure:

• Hook (1-2 sentences)— grabs the reader's attention and introduces your school's culture. Where did you see a gap in your school’s culture and what inspired you to get involved?
• Example (most of the response)— describes one volunteer/leadership experience using STAR to demonstrate how they contributed to the school culture
  • Situation: 1 sentence (can be merged with Task) = What was this activity about and what was its goal?
  • Task: 1 sentence (can be merged with Situation) = What was your role here and your main responsibility?
  • Action: 1-2 sentences = What were the steps you took to fulfill your role and achieve your goal?
  • Result: 1-2 sentences = What were the positive outcome of your involvement in this activity? How have you impacted the lives of the people involved? What are the tangible results of your actions?
• Reflection (1-2 sentences)— encourage them to reflect on the experience and restate the key values/atmosphere they promoted

The Video Interview

If you’re applying to the BCom program at UBC’s Sauder School of Business, you will also complete a video interview that requires you to respond to two questions to two pre-recorded questions on camera.

If you’re worried about completing an interview on camera, think of it as a practice run for your time at UBC Sauder! Class discussions, collaboration, and public speaking are crucial parts of the BCom program, so the video interview is a great chance for you to demonstrate that you can think critically, perform under pressure, and stand out from other applicants.

You will record video responses to prerecorded interview questions. Carefully read and follow all of the instructions in the link provided in the Personal Profile section of the online application. You will be walked through the technical setup and you’ll be able to try recording yourself before answering the two formal interview questions.

Make sure to:

• Read all instructions thoroughly.
• Allow yourself ample time to test your recording equipment.
• Try a practice question before recording responses to two set interview questions.

The questions you will be asked will relate to your own opinions and experiences. The questions are all open-ended, meaning that there isn’t one correct answer. Your answers should:

• be clear, insightful, and complete;
• be genuine and unscripted (that is, not read from prepared statements or notes);
• demonstrate professionalism and maturity; and
• confirm that you have understood the questions asked by providing relevant responses.

Please keep in mind that you’ll only have one attempt to respond to each question. Once you’ve started to view a question, you won’t be able to pause or replay it. You’ll be given 30 seconds to think about your answer, and up to 90 seconds to record it.

If there are any barriers that will prevent you from completing the interview portion of your application in this format, you can contact  bcomquestions@sauder.ubc.ca for accommodation. In your message, please include your full name and provide relevant details regarding your circumstances. They will require up to three weeks once your message is received to consider an alternate format for submission.

Lights, camera, attention!

You don’t need to be the captain of the debate club to ace the Sauder video interview, but it’s still important to present yourself professionally. Here are a few tips for putting together a winning video interview!

• Prepare. Think about your past challenges, achievements, and beliefs. Know your best qualities and have two to three personal experiences or stories on hand to draw from.
• Create the best recording space possible. Close all other browser windows and programs on your device. Silence all audible alarms and alerts. Eliminate loud background noises, and make sure there are no other distractions. Make sure you have an Internet-connected computer with a functioning webcam and microphone.
• Be confident. Sit up straight, dress well, and don’t forget to smile! These simple actions will put you in the right mindset to deliver a natural response.
• Don’t dwell on mistakes. Everyday speech isn’t always perfect and the occasional “umm” or mispronounced word is to be expected. If you misspeak during your response, take a moment, breathe, and keep going. You will only have one chance, so remember that confidence is key.
• Be authentic. One of the reasons the video interview is part of your application is so the committee will get to know you better. You’re the only person who can

To learn about the UBC Sauder video interview in more detail, take a look at our in-depth guide!

Want to be extra prepared for applying to UBC Sauder?

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