myice

The interview was very relaxed and casual, which I am grateful for. I was quite nervous beforehand because London Business School is a top choice for me and my brain was in the “better not mess this up” mode.

The interview began with the alum giving a short introduction about what he was currently doing, and then gave an overview of how the interview would go.

Here are the questions I was asked:
1) Tell me about yourself.
2) Why MBA, why LBS?
3) Talk about an experience where you had to negotiate a conflict while working in a culture different. (This wasn’t the exact question in terms of phrasing, but that’s the essence of what I was asked and it naturally arose from my responses to the prior questions.)
4) What are qualities you believe are important for business leaders to possess in this day and age?
5) What has been your most significant international experience to date, and how has that experience shaped who you are?

I was then presented with the case study that is unique to the London Business School interview.  My interviewer chose a case for me and left the room for 5 minutes allowing me time to jot down ideas.  After 5 minutes he returned and I had 2-5 minutes to present my recommendations. The point of the case study is to see how well candidates think on their feet, and to also assess presentation skills. I don’t think you can really prepare for this beforehand, but I might suggest thinking about simple business problems, and being able to articulate ideas, risks, and recommendations succinctly.

After the case study, the interviewer allowed me to ask any questions about the LBS program, at which point we discussed some of the clubs and extracurricular opportunities unique to the school. It was a very pleasant interview, and in total, lasted roughly an hour and a half.

The interviewer will have read the entire application, so they might comment or ask about things from the additional essay as well. They are aware of the GMAT score, so if it’s on the lower end, they might ask if you’ve thought about retaking it. I would suggest going over your application and especially the essay responses beforehand.

Another thing to note is that reading all these debriefs will give you a sense of the type of questions they will ask, but the interview will be very personalized. Your responses will determine follow up questions, so having a good idea of what you’ll say for the Why MBA? Why LBS? Why Now? type questions might give you a good idea of what you’ll be asked next, so I highly recommend having solid answers to those responses, which you’ll need for the video assessment anyway and would have already provided in the school essays.

I also don’t recommend just re-telling the resume. If they open with “tell me about yourself,” talk about your professional experiences, but illuminate aspects of yourself that aren’t stated on paper. The first 5 minutes of the interview are the most important in my opinion because it’s your chance to grab the interviewer’s attention and make his or her time feel worthwhile since these are busy alums.

Best of luck to the other candidates and I hope my debrief will help with the preparations!

myice

My interview for LBS was with an alum, and was conducted over Zoom. There are 3 main components of the interview –
1) Fit questions asked by the interviewer
2) The 10-minute case
3) Questions for the interviewer

I am wary to put a time limit to it, as I have heard wildly different accounts (1.5 – 3 hours). My interview lasted approx. 2 hours and 45 minutes. It was a very informal discussion on topics that ranged from recent US politics, the state of the UK economy, common national roots etc. Expect there to be a structure, but don’t treat it like a job interview.

I would advise to be informed about the world around you and your industry and role. Do also expect to be probed on motivational questions (Why MBA? Why LBS? Why Post-MBA aspirations?) have thoroughly fleshed out answers for these kind of questions.

The 10-min case is a random topic (usually based around current events in the business world) for which you will have 5-min to prepare and 5-min to verbally present. While important, treat it like a brain exercise you are asked to do in some job interviews.

A large part of my interview (45 mins or so) was dedicated to questions that I had about LBS and the interviewer. It goes without saying that find out as much info about your interviewer via LinkedIn as you can. This part of the interview is where you can showcase your interest in the school and highlight the research you have done prior to applying.

Good Luck!

myice

Had a fairly conversational interview with an alum that consisted of the standard questions (Tell me about yourself, why MBA, why LBS) as well as some questions about my resume and behavioral questions. My interviewer had already read through my application so there wasn’t a ton of probing questions on my motivations for b-school since it was already in the app. One unexpected question was what other schools I was applying to- makes sense since LBS is very concerned about yield, so this is important to have a good answer prepared about why you would prefer LBS vs. other schools.

For the most part very relaxed, we probably spent about 35 minutes on the introductory questions and then launched into the case, which was very easy (I wouldn’t stress about this- it’s just trying to assess how you think about problems/business decision-making). Finished up with another 20 minutes of questions and that was it!

myice

The interview was on Zoom.

My interviewer was very friendly. He introduced himself and the process briefly, and then asked the standard why MBA / why now / why LBS questions.

Then he asked the behavioral questions. Most of the questions were behavioral. I was expecting some questions regarding family, but surprisingly they never came.
1. When was a time you made an impact on your organization?
2. Tell me about a difficult teammate you had.
3. Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership.
The problem solving question was nothing to worry about. It was very casual and he gave me a lot of space to think and organize what I wanted to say (he turned off his camera and muted himself). I’d say just take a deep breath and structure your response well.

Then I got to ask questions to him, mostly about his experience at LBS.

Overall, he made me feel the friendliness of students at LBS, as well as the friendliness of the faculty. I think LBS would be a great place to learn and make friends.

I got an offer in the end.