MBA Admissions Interview Tips and Samples

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General
Be yourself; allow your personality to shine.

Respond to questions honestly and candidly.

Understand what is asked of you. Feel free to ask for a repeat if you don't clearly understand a question.

Avoid the "smart-aleck" reply or the clever-flip demeanor (you know the effort to be cute, snappy alert, falsely witty).

Do your homework on the school and program.

Be on time. Look nice.

Examine yourself. Know something about the MBA and how it can aid you.

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Tell me about yourself

What publications do you regularly read ? why ?

What books have you read recently ? what impressed you about that one ?

What have you done to keep yourself current, or to develop your skills, in your field ?

How do you spend your time outside of work

Is your current balance among career, family, friends, and interests the right one for you over the long term ?

What activity do you enjoy the most ? why ?

Who most influenced you when you were growing up ? how ?

Who are your heroes ? why ?

What competitive sports have you participated in ? Did you enjoy them ? are you competitive by nature ?

Is there anything else you would like us to know about you ?

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What is your managerial philosophy ?

What is your managerial style ? what aspect of it do you wish to change ?

What have you done to develop those under you ?

How much do you control those under you ? How much freedom do you give them ? how do you motivate them ?

What do you do best/worst as manager ?

Are you a better leader or follower ?

What would your subordinates say about you as a manager ? why ?

What is your definition of leadership

What do you want to be doing in 5 years’time ? 10 years ? 25 years ?

What do you want to accomplish in life ?

How have your goals changed in recent years ?

Why do you want an MBA ? What do you expect to get from it ?

Which other schools are you applying to ? why ? why so many/few ?

How did you choose these schools ?

Which school is your first choice ? why ?

What if you are not accepted at a top school ?

It's two years after graduation, what three words would your team members use to describe you?

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Did you achieve these on your own ? who else was involved ? how ?

What have you done that best shows your willingness to work hard / take initiative / innovate / exceed expectations ?

How many hours per week do you work ?

What do you like most/least about your position ? why ?

What are the biggest challenges your unit faces ? what are you doing to meet these challenges ?

Where is your industry headed in the next five years ?

Describe a failure on the job

What are you doing to address your failings

What would you change about your job ?

How does your performance compare with that of others at similar levels in the company ?

Describe your salary progression to date. How does this compare with that of others at similar levels in the company ?

Describe your salary progression to date. How does this compare with that of others at similar levels in the company ?

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How did you pay for your education ?

How would you describe yourself as a college student ? Is this still true about you ?

How would you describe yourself as a college student ? Is this still true about you ?

Why did you choose this profession

Why did you choose this firm

What are your key responsibilities

What and whom do you manage directly

Describe the financial aspect of your job : budget, revenues, costs, return on assets employed

What are the key technical challenges of your job ? managerial challenges ?

What do you do best/worst in your job ? why ?

How could you improve your performance ? what actions have you taken to make these improvements ?

What have your major successes been ? what financial or other impact have these had ?

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Which school did you attend

Why did you choose that one

(regarding a lesser quality school) Don’t you worry that you will be overwhelmed by the quality of students attending our program ?

which factors most influenced your choice

what was your major, why ?

are you glad you chose that school ? what would you change now if you could ?

how many hours each week did you study

which courses did you do best in ?

which courses did you do worst in ?

so your grades reflect your abilities ? If not, why did you not do better ?

In what ways did your education prepare you, or fail to prepare you, for your career to date ?

What did you most enjoy about college ?

What did you least enjoy about college ?

What extracurricular activities did you participate in ? what was your role and contribution for each ?

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What is an activity you are involved in and why is it important to you

What contribution would you make to a group

Name 3 words or phrases to describe yourself to others

3 examples in your job (to understand what you do exactly)

what is most frustrating at work

how would co-workers describe you

what did you learn from your steward experience

describe a situation where you brought an idea forward and it failed

how do you define success

what is your definition of leadership

what would you do if a team member wasn’t pulling his own weight

why did you choose your job

why in the US (for internationals seeking in an MBA in the US)

what countries do you prefer ? why ?

what is the most difficult in managing people

how have you handled a management difficult experience?

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What have you learned from good leaders ?

Talk about a bad manager, why was the manager bad, and what did you do about it ?

Describe what you would do if you had to choose another profession

Describe something you have fixed or would like at work

Tell me more about your typical day

Where do the examples of your typical day come from ?

Describe a situation where people have relied on you, why ?

What is your biggest weakness and what are you doing about it ?

What are your goals short, mid, long

How HBS will help you achieve your goals ?

Who is your hero ?

Talk about a passion of yours, and how it contributes to your leadership skills

How can you show you know a great deal about the school, that you are well prepared for the interview ?

Prepare to any questions on resume

What would you do if not accepted

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What would you do if a team member wasn't pulling his own weight?

Is there anything you would like to ask me/us?

give 3 positive character points

give one negative one

when was your integrity challenged + example

why Kellogg

why an MBA

how have you handled a management difficult experience?

what questions do you have about our school?

What was your major ?

Did you like it ?

Do you think your grades are an accurate reflection of your ability ?

Did you work as an undergrad ?

What are the weaknesses of your file ?

Why is now the right time for you to go to business school ?

What do you feel you will learn in business school that you can not learn by continuing to work ?

What do you think you will add/bring to the HBS community ?

Describe a time when you have affected change in an organization ?

What is a common misconception about you ?

What do you see yourself doing in the long run ?

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Why does this school appeal to you?

What is an activity you are involved in? Why is it important to you?

Talk about experiences you have had at work.

Why are you interested in a general MBA program?

Why did you choose your undergraduate major?

Discuss yourself.

What contributions would you make to a group?

Name three words or phrases to describe yourself to others.

What is most frustrating at work?

How would co-workers describe you?

Describe a typical work day.

Have you worked in a team environment? What were your contributions to the effort?

Discuss any experience you have had abroad.

How did you choose your job after college?

What do you do to relieve stress?

It's two years after graduation, what three words would your team members use to describe you?

Describe a situation where you brought an idea forward, and it failed.

How do you define success?