MBA Interview Questions

If you have made it through your GMAT preparation, your GMAT exam, the application process, then there’s one more thing that you need to get through — the MBA interview to get into the program of your choice. This is a crucial part of the admission process that determines whether you are the right candidate or not. You are going to be asked many questions, hence, preparing for the interview beforehand is very imperative. 

To make the process a bit easy on you, we have come with a list of the most commonly asked MBA interview questions. So, let’s have a look at them. 

• Why do you want to do an MBA?

You should answer this question without any doubt. Besides, since this question most probably has been answered by you in your application through the essays, you should already have a clear idea of what to say. Moreover, it is important to give a convincing reply to the admission committee about the same. If you were not able to express your entire reasons in the essay due to the word limit, this is your chance to say all that you want to. 

You may state your academic and professional reasons for pursuing the business program. This question is likely to be asked to you if you are planning for a career change. If this is the case, then you should provide not just the reasons but supporting evidence that ensure credibility of your statements. No one gets into a top ranked B-School just because they find MBA interesting. 

If you happen to say that you’re interested in a subject area within the Business domain, then be prepared to answer questions like, “what have you done to pursue this interest?” Hence, make sure that your answer to the question does not create more questions, if not, be prepared to answer the ones that follow. 

• How do you see yourself contributing to the B-School community and culture here?

Have you ever wondered why there are so many international students in business schools?  Well, B-Schools love diversity and they are proud to showcase it. Hence, they always want candidates who can contribute to the community in various ways. 

So, plan your response so that it is not limited to academic modules or career opportunities, but also incorporates a wide array of extracurricular activities, other student clubs, cultural and community engagements, etc. As an MBA student, you’re set out to make a mark for yourself in many ways and build a career that helps you outshine. However, besides just focusing on yourself, it’s essential that you contribute your knowledge and share your ideas with the b-school community. So, answer in a way that it takes into account what you are going to do for the school as well. 

• Describe an episode of failure in your life?

This is a tough one! But this is the most common question that a lot of B-Schools including Berkley Haas and Michigan Ross have asked candidates. This question is tough because most of you would want to focus on the positive and best results of your professional journey. Having to answer a  question that talks of your failures isn’t a pretty scene. However, successes and failures make you who you are. Even many of the successful entrepreneurs have failed in their lives at some point of time. So answer this question with all honesty. The admission committee is not going to throw out your application just because you’ve failed in a class or in a project.

The purpose of asking this question is because they want to know what lessons you learnt from it and how you incorporated those in your future decisions. Do not give simple failure examples of late submission of a project and neither should it be something that destroys someone’s career.

• Give an example when you’ve demonstrated leadership?

This is one of our favourite MBA admission interview questions. The answer to this question portrays your leadership skills — how well you have managed to successfully handle something. For instance, here you can talk about  managing a team, how you managed a conflict, when you made a challenging decision and more. 

Through this question your teamwork skills, critical thinking abilities, conflict management skills and behavioural aspects like empathy, compassion, motivation, ideology etc. are assessed. 

• What other B-Schools are you applying to?

This is another common question  asked in an MBA interview. The admission committee knows that you’ve contingency plans when you’re applying to a B-School. You’d be a fool not to have a backup option. Despite this knowledge, they wish to know that they are your first choice or the ideal one. 

There are two motives behind this question:

• They would like to confirm that you’ll choose their B-school if you’re given the admission and will not deflect if you’ve another choice.
• To understand your approach and reasons on the basis of which you’ve selected your target schools.

Even though you may feel the question is a bit unfair, do cite your reasons for your choices and be honest. If you’ve selected schools just based on rankings, then you’re giving the admission committee the benefit of doubt in your approach. Show that you have  carefully evaluated each school based on the course modules, campus life, faculty, teaching methods etc. Finally, convince the school that they are your first priority, given the chance. 

No one can predict exactly what questions will be asked. So, be prepared and go through some of these common questions asked in MBA interview. We have provided just a few sample ones, you are always free to dig up some more.

All the best!

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