I get asked this a lot by people who made it past the first cut so I thought I'd make a post for the benefit of prospective candidates:
An Oxford interview invite generally translates into an acceptance for most candidates (see stats
here) and much of the profile assessment is complete by this stage. In the interview you will likely be tested on you ability to fluently convey the same ideas you mentioned in your essays and the facts you listed in your CV. Also, the interview is usually conducted by a senior sector consultant (someone with knowledge of your professional background and working at/with Oxford).
Some general tips:
1. Know you essays and CV inside-out.
2. Prepare for the essential questions:
- Why MBA
- Why Oxford
- Why now?
- What future plans?
- Future plan B
- Strengths/Weaknesses
- Challenges/Difficult co-workers
3. Some key things that the AdCom might be concerned about when looking at potential candidates are:
- The ability to get employed post MBA - their rankings and reputation depend on this. So have a firm plan of action (revise your job essays) and prepare for a solid plan B, that assures them that you will get employed after completing the course.
- Ability to not get flustered in the face of a surprise question - I was asked about a weakness that my referee had mentioned, for example.
- Ability to communicate thoughts/ideas clearly. Don't be unnecessarily verbose and don't talk too fast. Make sure your answers are crisp but not too short and that you speak slowly, loudly and clearly.
4. Standard interview tips apply here as well:
- Wear a suit
- Sit with a good posture
- Sit in a quiet, well lit room with a plain background preferably (only applicable if you opt for a Skype interview of course)
- Don't fiddle around with your legs and hands if you are nervous
- And, most importantly, smile!
As far as I am aware, the Oxford MBA interview usually does not turn into a stress test. The interviewer will be extremely polite and try to put you at ease. If cross-questioned, it is only to probe further about something that he/she wants to understand better. Don't complicate this, just give them the answer.
As for a list of questions, someone else posted a similar list on the aforementioned GMATclub thread before, and it was pretty much exactly what I was asked, so here you go:
- Why MBA, Why Now, Why Oxford
- An instance of handling a disruptive team and what I did
- Few questions on my resume
- Few questions on the go based on the answers I gave to previous questions
- And where else I am applying to, which school would I choose if I got admits from more than one
PS: Don't forget to write a short thank you note to your interviewer.
Good luck to all Oxford MBA applicants and let me know if you need any further inputs!