Crush the MBA Interview: A Master Guide
Updated: Feb 1
If you’ve got an invite for an MBA interview, the Admissions Committee thinks you make a great candidate - on paper.
The interview is the school’s way of assessing if you can back up your written application. This means brushing up on your communication skills, showing your overall fit with the school and being ready for those curveball questions. Depending on the school, your interview could be with an AdCom member, a professor, or even a school alumnus and either over zoom or in person. Some schools like Wharton conduct Team Based interviews where you will work through a business scenario in a team setting.
Many top business schools such as INSEAD, Yale, LBS, and Kellogg also incorporate video essays or Kira Talent interviews in the application process. This usually comes up at the application submission stage. As an applicant, you have only one chance to record answers with little prep time and within a given time limit. Also, you won’t get any live feedback. This may be more tricky, but it is a time-saving and standardized interview method for many schools and you can train for it.
No matter which interview you’re giving, we’re here to show you how to ace it. In this Master Guide, you will learn more about the MBA interview landscape and find links to different interview guides and question banks. Bookmark it!
1-on-1 Interview
Like we mentioned above, if you’ve reached the interview stage, you’re nearly there. Typically, you now have a 50% chance of getting into the school. Cause for celebration? Hell yeah! However…
Applicant, “What do you suggest I do once I receive an interview offer?”
Our advice, “Get your head back in the game - you’re not done yet. This isn’t like any job interview you’ve ever had. You must present yourself as a leader capable of driving high-impact decisions with strong communication, presentation and management skills. So, start your interview preparation as soon as you can.”
The first step to prepare for your MBA interview is to check out the person conducting it. This could be an Admissions Committee member, a former student, or a professor. Do some background research and see if you have common ground - this will help you form a connection and ask relevant questions. Find out if they’re going in ‘blind’ with just your resume or if they will have access to your entire application. Most school interviewers will only refer to your resume. At HBS and MIT, however, the interviewer will have studied your application in depth.
Kira Talent Interview
Kira talent is a video interview platform that asks applicants randomly-assigned questions which applicants must respond to on the spot. Typically, it offers 30-60 seconds of prep time before candidates have to write or record their answers. It also provides a roster of practice questions to get applicants all set up before they dive into the real thing.
A quick read through forums like Reddit and you’ll find these questions are horribly unpopular! Nevertheless, lots of top business schools ask them, including:
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
INSEAD
Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley
Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College
IESE Business School
Yale School of Management
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Ivey Business School, University of Western Ontario
Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
To tackle your Kira talent interview, make sure you are familiar with the type of questions you’re going to be asked. We advise applicants to prepare their stories in a structure like SCAR to answer the Kira questions confidently and eloquently. Here’s how to nail your Kira talent interview.
How to prepare for your MBA interview
MBA interviews typically have three kinds of questions:
Questions about your profile
Motivational interview questions
Behavioral interview questions
Questions about your profile
Your MBA interview will open with the interviewer asking you about your overall profile. These include introductory questions like Tell me about yourself / Walk me through your resume / Give me a 30 seconds elevator pitch.
The next set generally includes questions about your professional and educational background, short and long-term goals, strengths and weaknesses, and notable achievements.
For a more detailed analysis and hands-on advice about these common MBA interview questions, head over to our blog 10 most common MBA interview questions and how to answer them.
Motivational interview questions
Business schools design MBA programs to create impactful leaders of tomorrow. They see an MBA as an investment in your future, and want to recruit candidates with a vision.
Part of having a vision is demonstrating that you have a clear set of post-MBA plans. You need to know why you want to pursue an MBA, how you’re planning to spend your time during an MBA, what your interests are within their program, which clubs and extracurricular activities excite you, and how you will contribute to the school as a student and an alum.
For precise, well-structured answers that can increase your chances of success, check out the 10 most common MBA interview questions and how to answer them.
Behavioral interview questions
Up to this point, the interview is fairly predictable. Having gone through the essay-writing process in depth means that you probably had good answers confidently prepared. But MBA behavioral interview questions are not the same as motivational interview questions.
Behavioral questions test your leadership, teamwork, collaboration, communication, flexibility and adaptability, responsibility and accountability, diversity, crisis management, time management, determination, and values.
The questions are largely situation-based and are designed to test your candid response to certain professional situations. Your answers demonstrate your command of key soft skills and on-the-spot thinking. A tried and tested way to answer these behavioral interview questions is by using the SCAR interview response technique. Since there are no set rules to what you might get asked, these questions are best tackled through practice.
In our blog, behavioral questions in an MBA interview, we have compiled 30 MBA behavioral questions that you should prepare to ace your interview, and how you can answer them.
BONUS 🎁
From experience, we have identified that there are 5 questions that take the longest to prepare and are hardest to answer but are asked regularly in MBA interviews. Find out what they are here: 5 toughest questions to tackle during an MBA interview.
Questions to ask your interviewer
When we conduct mock interviews with SWC clients, we usually end by asking a crucial but commonly overlooked question, “Do you have any questions for me, the interviewer?” to which some applicants answer with a wry smile, “No, I already know everything about the program.”
No matter how much research you’ve done, the interviewer can always provide more insight. Don't limit your MBA interview to just telling the school more about you. Asking questions shows genuine interest, depth of research, and motivation to attend.
If you are struggling with what to ask your interviewer, the 28 questions to ask your interviewer in an MBA interview blog contains a comprehensive list of questions you can ask your interviewer, whether they’re Adcom or an alumnus. You will also find a bonus section with 10 points to keep in mind while framing your list of questions.
The key to a successful interview is practice. All SWC applicants go through multiple rounds of mock interviews to help them refine their answers, presentation, and get into their groove. If you are at the MBA interview stage and would like to book your mock interview, check out our hourly packages or book your free chat right away.
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