70 Kira Talent Interview Questions

To get a holistic view of applicants, some business schools use the Kira Talent interview platform, enabling schools to conduct automated remote interviews. Candidates can sit at home and log on to the platform and record live written and video answers. This process allows AdCom to filter out certain applicants by assessing their on-the-spot answers. We expect the platform to be adopted by more schools as a key part of their evaluation process.

Therefore, it’s important to understand what a Kira Talent interview is, which schools conduct them, how to prepare for them. Having a reliable question bank that can help you practice for it. So, that’s what we’ve compiled for you here.

What is a Kira Talent interview?

It is a video interview platform that asks MBA applicants randomly assigned questions that they must answer ‘live’. These can be written or video interview questions, and the format varies depending upon the school. You record your answers using the webcam and microphone of your computer. While working with our clients, we replicate the school specific formats to prepare you better for the Kira Talent interview for your target schools.

Some schools have fixed questions that all applicants are asked, and these are easily available online. Other schools randomly select questions from a bank of possible questions. Some schools may use a mix of both fixed and randomly selected questions.

For writing questions, you are instructed to write a short essay answering the question presented to you on the screen. For the video essays, a question appears on the screen and you get around 30 seconds of prep time to read and think about your answer. When your prep time is up, you must start speaking while looking into the camera and answer the question within the predefined time limit.

The Kira Talent Interview requires on-the-spot thinking but also careful structuring of answers, so the SCAR (or STAR) framework can help you organize your thoughts. For more on using the SCAR framework, check out our Video Interviews blog and Episode 04 of our youtube video series “How to apply for an MBA - Kira Talent Interviews”.

Which schools require Kira Talent interviews?

Here’s a list of 21 schools that use Kira Talent interviews as a part of the application process. If you’re applying to any of these schools in the coming rounds, you should prepare for Kira Talent:

1. INSEAD

2. Imperial College London

3. London Business School

4. University of Oxford, Saïd Business School

5. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University

6. Yale School of Management at Yale University

7. Johns Hopkins University, Carey School of Business

8. UC Berkeley Haas School of Business

9. University of Washington, Foster School of Business

10. Washington University, Olin Business School

11. University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management

12. Western University, Ivey School of Business

13. University of Waterloo, School of Engineering

14. Queen's University, Smith School of Business

15. University of South Wales

16. Boston University, Questrom School of Business

17. Case Western University, Weatherhead School of Management

18. Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business

19. McMaster University, Faculty of Engineering

20. University of Connecticut School of Business

Since the questions you’ll be asked by many of these schools are randomized, it’s best to prepare by going through a variety of questions to practice. This way, you won’t face any awkward surprises when you’re on the spot!

Questions you could be asked in a Kira Talent interview:

The questions you could be asked could be of three types (1) Questions about your profile, (2) questions regarding your motivation to pursue an MBA and (3) behavioral questions that typically focus on situation based questions concerning different leadership traits.

Questions About You

1. Tell us about yourself.

2. How would you describe yourself.

3. Give us your elevator pitch in 60 seconds.

4. Is there anything about you that hasn’t been covered in your MBA application? Tell us about it.

5. If you were to ask a close friend, spouse or a family member to describe you, how do you think they would do that?

6. Tell us about one of your favorite hobbies and why is it important to you?

7. What three terms would you use to describe yourself?

8. How would you want to be remembered once you graduate?

9. Tell us about the most important thing you’ve learnt from your career.

10. Tell us about three qualities of yours that you think have helped you progress professionally.

11. What is your most impactful contribution to society?

Motivation-based Questions

1. Why do you want an MBA?

2. Why do you want an MBA at our school?

3. What are you expecting to learn during your MBA program?

4. Why do you think it’s the right time to attend an MBA program for you?

5. What are your short- and long-term career goals?

6. How do you think an MBA will help you reach your goals?

7. Tell us about the top three factors that convinced you to apply for our MBA program.

8. Tell us three reasons we should offer you a seat in our MBA program.

9. If you get an admit, what will be your biggest challenge during the first year of your program.

10. How do you think you can add value to the class and your cohort?

11. What makes you stand out from the rest of the applicants?

Behavioral Questions

1. Tell us about an ethical dilemma you faced.

2. Would you say most people act out of self interest or altruism?

3. Tell us about a bias that you had to overcome to succeed.

4. When was the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone?

5. Tell us about a piece of advice that you offer to others but struggle to follow yourself.

6. What inspires you to get out of bed everyday?

7. If you had an extra hour everyday, what would you use it for?

8. If you were to give advice to your 18 year old self, what would it be?

9. If you could go back in time and change something in the past, what would it be?

10. What were you like 5 years ago and how are you different today?

11. Tell us about an innovative idea that you helped implement.

12. Tell us about a time when you tried to pursue something and then suddenly had a change of heart. How did you deal with it and made the transition?

13. Tell us about a time when you were unhappy with your performance at work. How did you address it?

14. Describe a time when a failure ended up leading you to a success.

15. Tell us about your most significant achievement.

16. Tell us about your biggest strength/weakness and why?

17. Tell us about the biggest challenge you’ve faced?

18. What was the hardest piece of news you ever had to deliver?

19. How do you manage to work effectively under pressure?

20. Tell us about a time when you were overwhelmed with work pressure. How do you handle it?

21. How do you handle a failure?

22. How do you handle a situation when you know you've made a mistake?

23. Tell us about a time when you made an unpopular choice. How did you implement the decision?

24. Have you ever postponed a decision? Why?

25. Tell us about a time when you had to make a quick decision.

26. What is your risk tolerance? Did you ever make a risky decision? Why? How did you handle it?

27. Tell us about a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty? If so, how?

28. Tell us about a time when you were multitasking. How did you prioritize your projects?

29. Tell us about a time when you delivered something under tight headlines. How do you manage the stress?

30. Have you ever been in a conflict with a co-worker or a boss? How do you manage conflicts at work?

31. Tell us about a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty to help a client or a colleague at work?

32. Tell us about a time when you led a team.

33. How would you define successful leadership?

34. Tell us about a time when you worked successfully as a part of a team at work.

35. Tell us about a time when you challenged the status quo.

36. Tell us about a time when you had to revitalize a stagnant team.

37. Tell us about a time when you needed more hands on the deck. How did you ask for help?

38. Tell us about a time when you had to make an unconventional choice. How did you convince your team about it?

39. Tell us about a time when you had to adapt to a new culture, environment or work style.

40. ​​When was the last time that you stepped out of your comfort zone?

41. Do you believe that social responsibility should always be prioritized over making a profit? Why or why not?

42. According to you, what is the biggest challenge technology has posed to us today?

43. According to you, what is the biggest challenge your industry is facing in today’s times?

44. According to you, what is the biggest social issue we’re facing today?

45. Tell us about a book, movie, song, person or event that has influenced you the most in your life.

46. Who is your role model and why?

47. Tell us about the most played song on your phone.

48. How would you explain Instagram/Facebook/LinkedIn to your Grandma?

For more advice about behavioral questions, check out our blog about how to tackle behavioral questions in an MBA interview.

Want to crush your MBA interviews life a pro? Check out our MBA interviews masterguide. Or even better, book a chat.