myice

11. Round 1 / Alumni / Off-campus (Published December 4th, 2008)

Round 1 interview with an alum in my region, lasted a bit more than 2 hours.

This was by far the most difficult interview of all the ones I have done. I was given only 1 interviewer choice, I contacted him by email and he responded a couple of days later. We set up a meeting at his office. I met with him in the morning-he had asked me to dress "smart casual."

This was not a blind interview. My interviewer knew my application really well. Also he had been selected as my interviewer because we had similar goals, although a very different background-so he knew what I was talking about regarding my goals, both short and long-term.

The interview was really conversational, and we started by talking about small businesses in general (we both work for small businesses) and how we were coping in the current environment. I have to say it's really hard to list the questions because he was very talkative and I had to fight my way in to speak-so he did not so much ask questions as much as I placed the different points I wanted to make throughout the conversation, but still big themes emerged:

Walk me through your resume. What was your school about? (my undergrad background is a tad complicated)
Leadership: experiences, coping with teams
Goals, how LBS will help you get there?
Have you applied to others schools? Which ones? Why? [Note that he had in-depth knowledge of other schools and asked me very specific questions about why I had applied to those schools and he kept pushing about what was important to me in an MBA and how the strengths of each school were different)
How my short term goals fit with my long term goals: he pushed a lot about that and the direction I have chosen. It's really important to demonstrate how everything fits together.
At some point he gave me a topic for my presentation and he asked that I don't share the topic with anyone so I won't, but it was a general topic that did not require any particular knowledge. I had 7 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to present. It did require some serious thinking and was very concrete. I had limited ideas about the topic so I tried to make a somewhat funny presentation while still getting key points across. I think it worked! They are just trying to assess whether you can speak English correctly, can give an organized presentation and be convincing. The content really doesn't matter.

The interviewer loved the school and his goal was to see 1. if I would fit there, 2. if I really wanted to go there.

At the end he told me he would recommend my candidacy to LBS... Final response in a couple of weeks. Good luck to all!

myice

10. Round 4 / Off-campus / Alum / Admitted!(Published August 1, 2008)

I put in a last minute round 4 application to the London Business School and somehow landed an interview. I honestly didn’t expect to get an interview as the application was literally me deciding to bring my MBA plans forward after a frustrating week at work. But I thought on re-reading my essays that it was pretty solid, with a good GMAT and good career progression, so I got an interview.

The interviewer contacted me on a Friday and arranged for the interview on the Sunday so I really didn’t have all that much time to prepare for it. I looked up some blogs and discovered there would be a presentation, which made me a bit worried.

The interview also felt a bit strange as it was arranged at the interviewer’s house and on a weekend. As it was only a few kilometers from my house, I decided to ride my bike there, but half way I had a flat tyre and had to ditch the bike and call a cab, which was a problem because I had forgotten to bring my phone. And of course it just happened to be just when a major football game had finished and all the cabs were busy. Anyway, it all made me about fifteen minutes late (and pretty flustered), which I don’t think impressed my interviewer, he made a comment about needing to be organized to do an MBA. As it was a weekend, I wore jeans and a fine woolen knit over a casual shirt with a casual coat for outside, my interviewer wore a pair of casual pants and a long sleeved shirt, so I thought I at least got the wardrobe organized right. But not a good start by any means.

We began the interview in his dining area, LBS had provided him with a list of around 30 questions which we went through, skipping a few here and there. The order of the questions was a bit random, and they covered a wide range of things for example

“what do you think are the major challenges facing today’s business leaders” or
“How assertive are you? How assertive would your friends say you are?”
A mixture of personal reflection and external awareness I guess, along with some which were getting at my motivations for doing an MBA and choosing LBS – not unexpected. He took meticulous notes and asked intelligent follow up questions indicating he was listening closely.

I work in the public sector, and fortunately, so did my interviewer. This made some things easier, I could use acronyms he understood and could quickly outline situations which would have required much more explanation to someone outside government. It also meant I couldn’t bluff or exaggerate – not that I would have anyway of course – and that he knew senior executives in my organization.

The presentation was unexpectedly easy. He chose a topic from a list of about five from LBS, gave me five minutes to prepare then let me talk for a few minutes. The topic was something like “what will be the next great human advances” or along those lines - something suitably broad which was a test of structured communication rather than knowledge. Lucky I am good at structured communication, I don't have any experience debating, but I think my off the cuff answer was pretty well put together. In the end it was quite a simple exercise, it was fun actually and certainly nothing to get worried about.

Before the interview began my interviewer said it would take about an hour, but we took much longer than that, the formal questions and the presentation easily took and hour and a half, and then we chatted for a while afterwards about London, the MBA, what he did after his LBS MBA. All up it must have been two and a half or three hours.

After the interview, he didn’t give me any feedback and his impressions of me were difficult to read although he did offer to give me any further advice should I need it.

Anyway, a couple of weeks later, I got an email letting me know I had a place on the LBS MBA to graduate in 2010. The interviewer called me to follow up and congratulate me.

Overall, I actually enjoyed the interview and got along well with the interviewer, despite the poor start and even though I had to leave his place in gathering darkness and figure out what to do with my bike…

myice

9. Round 3 / Off-campus / Alum (Published May 1st, 2008)

Interview Date: 29 April

Round 3 Interview

Location: Weekday at his company's offices

Interviewer: Industry (Telecomms)

Me: Military & Consulting, solid GMAT

My interview lasted just about two hours.

The first hour was the main interview question portion. After explaining how the interview would work, that he couldn't provide me feedback, that there would be a short presentation, etc. we got started.

Questions included:

Why London Business School?
Because of my background, what do I hope to get from the programme? (This was an essay question, and I think he wanted to sense-check based on my experience, which is fairly broad.)
How would your colleagues describe you?
What's the strategy of your company? (But that I didn't need to reveal confidential info, obviously.)
What would you change about that strategy?
This led to a broader discussion on priorities and leadership in business.
Describe a time where you felt you failed.
What did you learn in your international experiences? How would you apply that to interactions with your study group?
How did I know an LBS alumni I had mentioned in my application?
The presentation topic was around corporate social responsibility. (He had a list of five, and asked me to do that topic.)

After all that was done, he had one last question (something minor), and then he put the papers away and just chatted about the school. He started out by telling me some of the things he wish he had asked his interviewer back when, and then it was just a Q&A session with me asking the questions.

It was clear that the admissions office had done a very thorough evaluation, and my interviewer had clearly studied my application closely, as well. He was very poker-faced throughout, so it was tough to get a read on how I was doing. I find out in just a few weeks!

myice

8. Round 2 / March 2008 (Published March 23rd, 2008)

It was a good interview that went over by about ten minutes and lasted for a full hour.

There was no presentation and I think my experience was quite different from the other candidates.

I was not asked any standard questions (why you/why LBS/why now/teamwork example etc.). They went straight into the essays and picked up on particular phrases (you're an outsider in your own country, why) and went into DEPTH. They really liked my essay on who I would pick to eat dinner with because it showed who I really was - they want to see passion. They didn't like my essay on weakness (self congratulatory and weak). I think they were trying to get at how I would fit in from a people/study group perspective, the actual qualifications are probably left to the admissions committee. Interestingly, the alumni who interviewed me will also have input when it comes time to decide study groups.

I don't think my interview should be seen as a template because my interviewers were quite 'different.'

myice

7. Round 2 Interview / Alumni / February 2008 (Published March 2nd, 2008)

Location & Time: A meeting room in his apartment, early morning

His Profile : Finance. Working in a big MNC.

My background : Advertising. 4 years experience. Strong GMAT

Summary

Very friendly. It was more like a chat than an interview. We spent more time talking about the LBS experience than "interviewing".
The interviewer had read the application thoroughly. He only had 4-5 questions he wanted to ask.
He started the interview by walking me through some crucial facts about LBS (Shadowing Project, Second Year Project, and etc.) and we spent a lot of time discussing about them.
Some of the few questions I recalled were "What do I think about the school's marketing program and why do I think an MBA is right for me".
After 45 minutes, he told me to get ready for the impromptu, which was a little surprising because I didn't feel like I went through any serious interview yet.
The impromptu was about CSR which happens to be what I have a lot of experience in. But even without my experience, I felt that anybody could be able to handle it.
After the impromptu, we spent another 30 minutes talking about the schools. Its pros and cons.
The interview lasted about 2 hours. I would say LBS interview is totally different from that of other schools. It's more like exchanging thoughts with an alumni and learning more about the school.
I haven't receive any decision yet. I'll update this entry as soon as I'm informed.

myice

6. Round 1 Interview / Alumni / November 2006 (Published December 27, 2006)

Location: His office in a stylish skyscraper. Time: Early morning His sector: Private Equity His Previous Job: Consulting

My background: Sales/Marketing in a famous multinational.Only 3 years experience but good progress. Strong GMAT/GPA. Strong Essays.

Summary

We bought coffee and muffins from the cafe downstairs; immediately he put me at ease by being very friendly. I asked him questions about the deal his firm was trying to close.(something I learned by researching about him)

Interviewer had read my application carefully. He had specific questions to ask,making the interview experience similar to that of HBS.

He walked me through his own resume first,then said ,now it is you turn, tell me about yourself. After my answer came the following questions:
Would you prefer your old job or current? Why? (one is very quant based, the other one a brand management position)
Tell me your improvement areas.(as many as you like)
Why LBS? ( I said, general management+international business focus of the programme, student diversity, London advantage and reputation of the school)
What would you do with and without an MBA in 5 years? (2 different scenarios)
Why do you wanna join firm X or Y( I had mentioned them in my goals essay as companies I would like to work in upon graduation; it was easy to answer because I had solid reasons)
How did you gain the respect of your team?( I am 4-5 years younger than my reports)
Which other schools have you applied to?
Then he talked about pros and cons (mostly pros) of LBS.
As you can see, suprisingly , there was no impromptu presentation. I think that is at the discretion of the interviewer;he didnt think it was necessary.

At the end of 45 mins,he said: I am going to say Yes and will recommend you.

Decision:Admitted.

myice

5. Round 1 Interview / Alumni / November 2006 (Published December 20, 2006)

Interview was conducted in English. It took place on a weekday evening in my interviewers office. He received my current application, essays and CV. No recommendation letters or even the recommenders’ titles, no last year application (I am a reapplicant). He was curious “what were those huge improvements and changes that made adcoms consider you this year” so we talked about my last year aspirations as well. I wasn’t asked about Life and Universe and Everything (I mean why MBA, why NOW, why LBS), but this question loomed in the air.

What I was asked:

Your short-term and long-term goals. How LBS curriculum will help you fulfilling them? What skills do you think you need?
How did you like your visit to school and what was your take-away from the lectures you visited?
What project would you choose with your study group at LBS if you were at the point of choosing? What role in the group would you play?
How would you choose between different schools if you were in such situation? (what would be the base for your decision?)
What it the difference between firms at which you are targeting?
Tell me about your current industry, its main players. How do you see the perspectives of this industry?
What would you do if not admitted?
How you plan to finance your studies if admitted?
How do you lead? Describe a recent experience. Any lessons learned from it?
Your three good traits from your colleagues’ point of view? Three bad traits? (that was a tough one)
We got into the details of some of my essays. Talked about my work, current project and international experience. At the end the interviewer gave me a presentation topic. It was close to my heart so I hope I was able to handle it well. The interview was very friendly and lasted more than 2 hours. Result: Admitted!

RusGirl, http://rusgirl.blogspot.com/

myice

4. Round 1 Interview / 12/2006 / Alumni interview (Published December 7, 2006)

The interview lasted over 1.5 hours. The interviewer was very personable, and we met in her office. These are roughly the questions I was asked (tough to remember all of them given that the interview was quite long).

Tell me about your job. What are your responsibilities? What do you do on an average day? What do you like about your role? What do you dislike about it? What are you strengths and weaknesses? Give me an example of leadership (this is where I was told that I needed to provide a more recent professional example). How do you deal with challenging situations... give me an example. How do you deal with difficult group members?

For the presentation, I was asked to answer one of the prompts. I had 5 minutes to prepare and then approximately 5 minutes to present my argument. It really was not difficult and actually was rather fun. I structured my presentation with an introduction to re-state the issue, introduced my recommendation, presented three salient points to support my position, and finished with a conclusion that re-capped the strength of my argument.

At the end, I had the opportunity to ask questions (which I took advantage of, b/c I have not visited the school).

myice

3: Round 1 Interview (Published January 14, 2006)

Here is the interview process for London Business School:

ANGEL ANGIE'S INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE

I applied to R1 and got the interview decision at the end of November 2005. I was contacted a week later with the details of my interviewer (an MBA2005 alumni). I am writing this on January 14th 2006.

Timing and location:

We agreed to meet on the weekend since we were busy and out of town on weekdays. We met in the cafe of a 5* hotel in the city center and shared a jasmine tea during the interview. Interview Duration:

Mine lasted two and a half hours. The reason was that I was talkative and also that in the end I had some more questions and we talked longer about shadowing, summer internships, his current job and so on.

Interview Style: I was dressed formally but the interviewer came in jeans and woolen pullover. It was fine though. It was quite relaxed. The interviewer said that this was his first interview. He was an extremely nice and friendly guy and very laid back considering his background (8 years in Accenture with high responsibility pre-MBA). The interview was conducted in English which was a bit awkward given we both spoke the same mother tongue (and it is not English!) Interview: The interview was split into two parts a) Interview questions: The interview questions were mainly about my motivation, leadership and teamwork. Examples are:

You have only 2 years of work experience... can you tell me about your leadership experience?
When you were leading a team, did you ever face resistance from them? How did you solve it?
What do you want to learn during the MBA? What are the skills you need and what do you need them for?
What do you want to do after the MBA?
How are you going to choose your school if you get multiple offers?
Then he also asked some very specific questions about my CV, such as "tell me about your internship in X or your year abroad in Y" etc. b) Presentation: The presentation is nothing to worry about. You are given a topic (just like in debating) and have 5min to take a position and prepare a presentation. Since we were in a public cafe surrounded by people I remained seated, so it was more like giving a short compelling speech. I think they look at structured thinking, communication skills and at how convincing (logically) and compelling (emotionally) your presentation is. Just be creative and say something, it doesn't matter if the fact base is shaky. The topics are all completely random so you can pick any side. Overall, it's nothing to worry about. I think once you're invited for an interview chances are very good, and you'll hear about the decisions about a week or two after the interview (and these days of waiting are very painful!). You can find more information about the application on my blog at angelangie2008.blogspot.com.

Good luck!

myice

2: Round 1 Interview (Published January 2006)

Here is the interview process for London Business School:

This is my experience for Rd1 for class of 2008 (Fall 2006 entry) Scheduling Interview:

Once you receive an invite to interview from the admissions team, you will get an email from your local country/region representative with an alumnus name and email for you to contact the person. In my case, after exchanging a few emails, we decided on time and place to meet.

Interview Duration: Mine lasted an hour and half. I have heard interviews lasting between 1 hour and 2 hours. So it's most likely the longest business school interview you will have.

Interview Style: I was wearing a suit since I thought the interview will be formal but it turned out to be much more casual (at least in appearance) and if I were wearing business casual, I would have been fine. So check with your interviewer. If you have doubts, just go in a suit. Interview Questions:

The interview is split into three parts and the alumnus has copy of your application and essays. a) Interview Questions: The interview questions where similar to other b-schools questions (why MBA, why LBS) but there is a big focus on teamwork, leadership and conflict type questions. It felt very much like a job interview and it was guaging my ability to be in leadership roles as well as my ability to work in teams effectively.

Some questions probed my thinking on some business issues related to my work and company. One example, I was asked what areas I thought my company was weak in and how would I improve it.

My advice here is to prepare as you would for a job interview and re-read your entire application as the interviewer will know every detail of your application. b) Case study: Don't freak out! Its a simple case study and is designed to gauge how well you can articulate your thoughts. The interviewer gave me a simple case about an issue (think GMAT's analysis of an issue) and you are supposed to present your thoughts in a 2-5 minutes verbal presentation. You can jot down notes and such but the issue is very simple. My strategy was to come up with three points to discuss for and against the issue. c) Q&A: About 15 minutes talking and answering some of my questions about LBS and his experience at LBS.

Overall, a very pleasent experience and the 1hr+ format allowed me to share other experiences and activities/interests not necessarily reflected in the application. LBS Round 1 Interview for MBA 2008 Class (Accepted)- London

I interviewed in London with a recent alum. Alumni details were sent by the adcom and he was expecting a call for me. I think LBS places a lot more emphasis on the interview than most US Schools and its almost a make or break thing. From what it seems LBS had sent my interviewer a detailed list of questions and my full application. He had done his homework well and read my application throughly. He also placed the 4 page question database on the table and I noticed that he had highlighted in green the questions he had decided to ask me. We started with general introductions and a bit of personal background and he then moved on to questions:

General questions:

Describe your career progress along with learnings and failures.
What have been your biggest achievements.
What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses.
Describe occassions when you exhibited leadership at work.
How do you deal in an international team environment.
What are your career goals and Why LBS?
What distinguishes LBS from other schools you have applied to? (LBS asks for names of other schools in their application and hence this question)
Industry Specific questions:I think one of the key difference between my interview for US schools and LBS was that my interviewer also had few questions on the industry I work in, general trends:

What is the biggest opportunity and challenge facing your industry? (I mentioned globalization as both an opportunity and challenge)
What would you change in the way your organization works?
What are your learnings from your entrepreneurial venture?
Why do you want to go back to your current industry?
Case Study:

It wasn't really a case study. He had a list of 10-15 topics from school and he selected one and asked me to express my thoughts on it. I was given 3 minutes for preparation and 5 minutes for presentation. I made a few points in support of the topic (one can decide to argue against it as well) with examples and just recited them to him in about 3 minutes. It was fairly simple, I think you should definitely take a stand rather than just expressing both sides of the topic.

Lastly, he opened the floor for any questions to him. Overall I think it was about an hour. At times intense but fun.