Harvard Business School (HBS)

"The interviewer (a senior adcom member who was also HBS Grad) was so nice and welcoming - really made me feel at ease throughout the process, and it felt really fun! 30 mins went by really quickly, and it did not feel like a rapid-fire Q&A at all. Was surprised at how many questions there are for my prior employer! Here is the list of questions: Ask about why picking my undergrad college. How was the exchange program (when I was a high school student) structured? How did you pick your prior employer and move to a different city? What is the big-picture view of your prior employer’s structure? What is your role at your prior employer? How did your role change as you moved to a more senior role? Which division would make the most revenue and which division would make the most profit at your prior employer? A follow-up related to my impromptu research on my prior employer Was dividing your prior employer into different product companies a good idea? Why do you think P/E firm would divide up the company? What was your thought process to go back to your home country and join your current startup from your prior employer and how did the transition go? What was the current startup’s mission, and how did it start? I answered the question, added on the long-term civic mission A follow-up on how did the users use the product of the startup? How current startup is doing, is it still a 10-person startup and what is the business model? What were the customer segments and did they change as the current startup scale? Who was the lead investor in the current startup? Did you participate in fundraising? Were there questions from investors that helped the current startup? How is working under the CEO? Outside of work, what do you like to do for fun?"

"I gave my interview in person and it was a great experience! For the interview know your entire application well - anything you’ve submitted is available to the interviewer so the questions can come from anywhere. Be relaxed and be yourself- they are interested in learning about you- show them you are an interesting person to speak to and you’ll be good!"

"Most engaging conversation ever! It did not feel like the Rapid Fire Round description and it was only as I reflected did I realize there were some 20+ questions covered. The interviewer was very warm, wore a smile throughout the conversation and brought in personal anecdotes that really helped build a rapport. We went quite deep into my company, talking about different verticals, industry, competition, sale cycle, product range, client, challenge, what I enjoy the most. I think 70% of the interview was on this and I apologised at one point for talking a lot, that I know I should keep the answers crisp and short but she reassured me that as long as you are doing most of the talking, the interview is going great we covered 1 question about my short term goal and 3-4 on my long term goal as to why, where, how would you realize it etc The last question pertained to hobbies I did not realise how 30 minutes passed. The interview flow was very organic and I felt like it was a conversation with an acquaintence! I enjoyed the process a lot! All the best to all applicants"

"Hello Folks, So I was waitlisted without an interview in R1 and finally got an invite to interview in R2. I was allowed an opportunity to submit additional information where i mentioned my marriage, promotion, international publications, and my hobby of cooking. This letter i believe helped me go up from waitlist to interview. The interview was virtual and very laid back. Sarah Lucas from HBS was the only person on the panel and she started my interview with her wishes for my 1st anniversary. From the get go it was a very laid back interview. Following are the points we covered. 1. Why particular major and college ? 2. How has my firm helped me evolve as a person ( 6 yrs in same company ) 3. Discussion on recent promotion. 4. I had mentioned about restructuring in the company due to covid, she asked for more details on that and my views on it. 5. Why i was promoted when others were getting laid off. 6. Most challenging country to work in and why. 7. I had 10 international conference publications - which was most important for me. 8. Future goals - why i wanted to follow what i wrote. 9. Role of world bank in energy market ( i mentioned i wanted to join world bank ) 10. Do i think subsidy on renewable is good. 11. My hobbies. Sarah was very soft spoken, allowed me to do a lot of talking, was very conversational as she kept expressing her views on what i said too. Overall a pleasant experience, I think I could not have done better. Now fingers crossed for the decision date !"

"Interview went very smoothly, the interviewer set a welcoming and warm atmosphere which made me feel much more comfortable. I also loved that almost all questions were straighforward about specific things from my application, so I basically knew how to answer them. Questions/talking points -specific thing about my essay, family background and how it relates to my background and goals -why did I go to my first job at a Big 4 and how it related to my goals -how did I handle the fact that my college education hadnt provided me with the basics to work with audit, valuation -how my participation at an Innovation and Entrepreneurship program connect to me transitioning careers to a startup -what do you do now (had just changed jobs after sendind application), what does the company do, can you give more detail on what X means? -can you explain more about the problems the industry faces -question about my volunteer experiences during college, if I had done anything since. How do I choose the institutions I work with or donate to -what about other industries, if you were not in industry Y where would you be? what if during the mba you do an internship, where would that be? -anything you wanted me to have asked you? follow up questions done! I don't exactly remember all questions but this is how much I can remember and hope it helps you."

"The interviewer was friendly and the full interview was quite tailored to my application. Not sure I remember all the questions (the interview was quite intense) but here are the ones I can recall: - Explain your industry and your current job - I mentioned a failure in my essay, he asked me why I thought I failed. - He asked me to rate myself in 3 areas (I don't remember..) - Current challenges in my job - He asked me about a trait I mentioned I had in my essay that didn't seem consistent with my management style - What did I know about HBS? How did I get my info? how would I thrive? What would be my challenges? - He asked about a hobby I mentioned in my resumé - A question I wish he asked."

"My interviewer was friendly but the interview itself was very intense - with high pace, a lot of sudden changes of the topic, a big share of industry-related questions and almost no questions to my CV. Generally I would group all questions I received as follows: 1. Industry-related (very general examples) - 50% - explain what you do - what your competitors are currently doing - what fresh new regulation is there (she definitely informed herself in advance, so I did not fell toooo fit there) - explain your project in plain english 2. "Explain" the stuff in the application - 40% - why exactly you got promoted - how did you persuade your management - explain to me the overall industry environment at the moment you started the project - why you choose exactly that point of time to switch - what have you been doing the last two months 3. Random - 10% - what are your hobbies - what are you doing during Corona She did not stick to the above structure actually, rather she was throwing questions randomly and at a very high pace, sometimes asking 3 questions in a row (I tried to answer them all!). I was not completely satisfied with my answers relating to industry, so I decided to bring some more clarity in the post-interview reflection. I have no clue what reactions my interviewer had as I was very focused to look at the camera. It did not feel like my best shot, but I could not have prepared anything better - it was so tailored to my very specific situation! Best of luck to everyone!"

"Interviewer is very friendly and we covered my resume in depth. Generally each topic had the following 3 questions: what do you do, how did you get involved, and why did you do it. Asked how my day was and how was class. Asked about an special internship in college I highlighted in my app. Asked about a sport I played in college and what it was like being a captain. Asked what was the hardest part of becoming captain. Asked about my managerial style on my professional experience. Asked how did I get there and about my promotions. Asked how would I solve a problem in my future industry. Asked about an extracurricular I'm currently in. How did I get involved/ what do I do/ why did I get involved. Asked if there's anything more I would like to share."

"The experience was an absolute blur, but the interviewer kept the conversation very casual and made me feel comfortable. Having said that, you need to be ready and totally focused. The questions and follow up questions come quick, and you should provide thoughtful and concise questions to each to keep the energy of the interview up. Flow of the interview was as follows: Walked through resume from undergraduate experience to present. Random follow ups on personal interests and current events. Undergrad leadership experience Why undergrad major? Why job/company selected out of undergrad? Challenges, achievements in first job. Follow ups Challenges, achievements in second job. Follow ups Current assignment - how has responsibility increased? (I have worked for same company for 5 years, so the whole interview was showing how I've developed and taken advantage of opportunities in development program) Saw one of my interests in resume, asked why I enjoy it and asked me to expand (learning more about personal side) Asked where I learn about current events. What am I interested in in my own industry and other industries? What companies am I following, etc."

"I interviewed last week in New York. Similar to what others have said the interviewer was friendly, but he definitely came at me from the beginning. We did not touch my resume, or any of the traditional leadership questions that I had anticipated, instead he asked mainly curve ball questions really from every direction. I feel like I did well, I made a point to be articulate and conversational in my responses. To echo what others have said though, it was very apparent that his purpose was to get me off of my script and then push me around to see how I reacted. I think I reacted well, and he definitely had me off of my script from the first to the last question. My interview was 44 minutes long though, not sure if that is a good or bad sign! In the beginning he said there wouldn't be time for questions, and as we were wrapping up I knew we were already past time so I was very surprised when he said, "Do you have any questions?", and then after I asked one and he responded, he asked me, "What is another question?"! Whether I get in or not I know I did my best and there is no way I could have been more prepared for the interview. I am grateful that I did plenty of mock interviews and personal preparation beforehand though, had I not there is no way I would not have been a deer in the headlights 5 minutes into the conversation."

"I had my interview on campus this week! It was a good conversation lasting exactly 30 minutes. The first 15-20 minutes was spent about my current role, my employer and my industry. Later it moved to my post MBA goal (I want to start my company) and details about my business model, challenges, plans etc. We also spoke about my leadership style (what will be team mates say is my biggest leadership trait?). Overall it was a fun 30 minutes and passed by very quickly. I had prepared a lot and though it came handy, wasn't all that necessary. I am glad I did the interview on campus as I was able to participate in the full day of activities (campus tour, chat with faculty, chat with current students, "What's next" with Dee, etc.) and also sat in a class the next day. This has completely changed my impression of HBS and the value it provides. I had a great time!"

"My interview was a blur! Here are a few thinks I remember: 1. Know your resume well. You will be asked specific to your experience. 2. Know about how the recession affected your industry and your life. I know 2 other peeps who had the same exact question asked. 3. 1 other person and myself were asked about entrepreneurship and how often I thought about "getting rich quick" and what business ideas would allow that to happen. Keep in mind I am NOT an entrepreneur! 4. Would you still attend HBS if you won the lottery? 5. Where do you see yourself 30 years from now? 6. What do you think about the M&A market right now? I blanked out on this. 7. Is your job logical? Why or why not? I know of 2 other people who got this same question. Overall a very intense but friendly process. No time for questions at the end. Good luck to everybody! I know I will remember some questions here and there, so I will post more when I have a long enough list but they were fairly farfetched and unrelated to my profession!"

"I interviewed last week and have been meaning to post my thoughts on here. I enjoy lurking on the site so I try to be helpful every now and then. . . I would reiterate everything that has been said above by everyone else. My interviewer asked some pointed follow-ups, but overall it was very friendly, conversational and pleasant. I think it went well for me. Thinking back on what we focused on content-wise for my interview the only two things I would add, which have been stated above at various points, are: -Be able to discuss in detail any aspect of your resume (We spent way more time on my present and past than my future goals, etc.) -Be familiar with the macro issues at your company/within your industry. I was asked several questions relating to this and get a feeling that it's very common for us candidates coming from less-represented backgrounds. Good luck to everyone still waiting to interview. I enjoyed the day on campus, particularly meeting the other prospective students. Probably met some of you other gmatclubbers. . . ."

"I had my interview on Monday. 30 mins, about 15 questions. One interviewer who led the discussion, and one observer who was mostly silent taking notes, but asked me some probing questions. Both very friendly and kind, but very formal at the same time. Their last question was "is there anything you wish we'd asked", so I assume that we managed to go through all the questions they had prepared. It was a very intellectually stimulating conversation, and I think it went well. I enjoyed it. The whole application process is now finished and regardless of the outcome it has been a fantastic experience. Good luck to all applicants who are still to do their interview! EDIT - They asked me lots of probing questions to test my mental agility and, I assume, my capacity to contribute to case discussions. A few questions related to my industry, and obviously I knew the topic very well. Some other questions related to other industries, and I had to remain calm, quickly put thoughts together, and go ahead with a crispy and concise answer that I definitely had not rehearsed. I agree that it was exhilarating and not relaxing at all - but definitely a terrific experience!"