The (Sorta) Ultimate MBA Interview Prep Guide

Question

https://gmatclub.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/interview-guide-header.jpg Well hello there! With interviews around the corner at B-Schools across the world, this guide will attempt to guide you to the most common questions at interviews and potential answers using certain frameworks that I think will help you craft excellent responses. Each sample response contains some optional material (highlighted in red) that you MAY choose to include in your response. However, don’t feel pressured to do so if you feel that you can’t incorporate these suggestions. So let’s begin! Each interview (alum or adcom) typically begins with some small talk to help you ease into the interview. Just stay calm, talk about about the weather and wait till you ease into the first question that is typically asked: Q-1. Walk me through your resume/ Tell me about yourself. Think of this as a story you’re telling - you’re the lead actor. There are 3 main aspects that you should cover while answering this question: 1. The Personal 2. The Professional 3. The Hobbies/ Interests (Bonus: tie it to an activity/ club at your target school) Now let us break down each of these three: 1. The Personal Every response begins with something about yourself. Talk about where you're from, where you went to college and what you studied. You typically want to spend 20-30 seconds on this part- nothing more. SAMPLE RESPONSE: Hi there! My name is ABC and I grew up in Dubrovnik in Croatia. Fun fact: Many of the iconic scenes in Game of Thrones were shot in Dubrovnik! Moving on, I attended XYZ University at Zagreb where I majored in ABC. OPTIONAL: You could mention a cool fact about your childhood/ where you grew up/ your undergrad to make this response a bit more interesting. 2. The Professional This is where the majority of your time should be allocated. When you’re talking about your work, begin with a broad summary of what you’ve done. Next, talk about the major roles/ organizations you've worked in and include what you accomplished (don’t brag) AND learnt in each role. Too many people miss the second part, i.e. what you learnt. This is where you should tie in the essential skills B-Schools are looking for- leadership, team management, empathy. SAMPLE RESPONSE: After graduating from XYZ University, I joined Dunder Mifflin where I’ve worked in three major roles- project management, sales and finally marketing, the role I’m currently heading at Dunder Mifflin. In my first role as a project manager, I set up three major manufacturing facilities, including Dunder Mifflin’s first ever foray into laminated paper products, managing a diverse project team of over 50 people. Here, I learnt how to manage large and diverse teams, ensure that all voices of stakeholders in the project are respected and to influence my team members/ peers who didn’t report to me. Next, I was promoted to the sales manager of my firm, where I was responsible for leading the sales teams in the 10 cities that we operate in in the midwest and achieved a 30% growth in revenues and 18 new clients. With this opportunity I learnt the challenges of operating in the XYZ market and to ensure growth opportunities for people I directly manage. Finally, in my current role as the marketing manager……… By now you know the drill. The idea is to keep this short and simple. I’ve highlighted the ‘accomplishments’ in blue and ‘learnings’ in green. While the response may feel shallow to you (since you don’t explain how you learnt those key skills), resist the urge to add more details. Remember, in most interviews you will be posed situational questions later on (eg. Tell me about a time you managed a difficult team member/ a time when you challenged the status quo etc.), so you will have a chance to elaborate on these stories. Your response here alludes to the stories you will tell later on in the interview. You don’t want to spend more than a minute or a minute and a half on this part of your response. 3. The Hobbies/ Interests Here is a chance to add some personality to your response. While optional, you should try to tie in something about your school here. You can possibily talk about three things here: 1. Hobbies: Anything you love doing absolutely fits the bill here- reading/ yoga/ salsa/ competitive beatboxing. SAMPLE RESPONSE: On the side, I love playing the guitar and have been doing so the past 10 years. At Kellogg, I’d love to be a part of the Special K program! I watched a few videos of past events on Youtube and loved the creativity of the students there. 2. Extra-curriculars: You could talk about non-profits you’re involved with or other organizations you’re a part of. SAMPLE RESPONSE: Education is a cause I’m truly passionate about. I’ve also been involved with the non-profit ABC for the past 4 years helping teach kids from underserved communities around Dubrovnik. I absolutely love teaching math using fun games I find online. At Kellogg, I’d love to continue doing this via the Mentoring Kids for Success program. 3. Other Interests: SAMPLE RESPONSE: I also love catching up to the latest news in fintech startups. I have been following two startups ABC and XYZ who’ve recently come with this exciting new feature on Forex transactions. (I don’t know anything about forex, sorry about this example) You should spend a maximum of 20-30 seconds on this part. Phew, with that done, you should have a good response prepared. Let’s have one final look at the sample response: ---- Hi there! My name is ABC and I grew up in Dubrovnik in Croatia. Fun fact: Many of the iconic scenes in Game of Thrones were shot in Dubrovnik! Moving on, I attended XYZ University at Zagreb where I majored in ABC. After graduating from XYZ University, I joined Dunder Mifflin where I’ve worked in three major roles- project management, sales and finally marketing, the role I’m currently heading at Dunder Mifflin. In my first role as a project manager, I set up three major manufacturing facilities, including Dunder Mifflin’s first ever foray into laminated paper products, managing a diverse project team of over 50 people. Here, I learnt how to manage large and diverse teams, ensure that all voices of stakeholders in the project are respected and to influence my team members/ peers who didn’t report to me. Next, I was promoted to the sales manager of my firm, where I was responsible for leading the sales teams in the 10 cities that we operate in in the midwest and achieved a 30% growth in revenues and 18 new clients. With this opportunity I learnt the challenges of operating in the XYZ market and to ensure growth opportunities for people I directly manage. Finally, in my current role as the marketing manager……… Outside of work, I’m involved in two activities. I love playing the guitar and have been doing so the past 10 years. At Kellogg, I’d love to be a part of the Special K program! I watched a few videos of past events on Youtube and loved the creativity of the students there. Education is a cause I’m truly passionate about. I’ve also been involved with the non-profit ABC for the past 4 years helping teach kids from underserved communities around Dubrovnik. I absolutely love teaching math using fun games I find online. At Kellogg, I’d love to continue doing this via the Mentoring Kids for Success program. ---- If there’s any question you want to spend the maximum time preparing for, it’s this question. Nailing the first question gives you the confidence you need through the interview and most importantly, ensures that you’re in flow. Now the interview begins to feel more like a conversation. Q-2. What are your post MBA goals? You typically want to structure this response beginning with the long term goal, then explain your motivation behind this goal and why you’re equipped to achieve it. Then you talk about your short term goal and how it will help you achieve your long term goal- that is the logical flow the answer takes. Here’s the structure: 1. Long term goal 2. Why this goal? 3. Short-term goal 4. How will this help you achieve your long term goal? It is possible that the interviewer decides to ask about your short and long term goals separately- in that case, you should answer the relevant question appropriately. SAMPLE RESPONSE: Long Term Goal: In the long term, I see myself leading the strategy at a CSO level position at a major paper based consumer goods firm such as Dunder Mifflin. Why this goal: After spending 5 years at Dunder Mifflin, I have worked across the operations, sales and marketing side of the business which has helped me learn.. XYZ, ABC and QWERTY, which gives me a unique perspective towards the challenges in the paper based consumer goods sector. Short Term Goal: However, I feel that the best way for me to achieve this vision is by pursuing consulting in the consumer goods practice of an established firm such as ABC or XYZ in the short term. Why this goal: This way I will get to learn in a much more holistic manner the challenges faced by the consumer goods industry and help me come back to Dunder Mifflin with a broader perspective. While this may be a no brainer, stick to the goals you’ve mentioned in the application or essays. However, the interview is an opportunity for you to explain the motivation behind these goals (The WHYs), so that is where you should focus your response. At this point, the conversation flows towards.. Q-3. Why MBA? Why Now? If you laid down your goals well, the Why MBA question should get tied in pretty neatly by now. The easiest way to answer why you need an MBA is to frame a response along how it will help you make a career switch+ achieve your long term vision. In case you’re returning to the same industry and role, you could talk about what you want to learn (gaps in knowledge?) and the essential leadership development each school talks about. You’re trying to address how the MBA will help you: 1. Achieve your goals 2. Address any gaps in knowledge 3. Develop Leadership Skills SAMPLE RESPONSE: The primary reason why I want to pursue an MBA is so that I can make a switch to consulting in the short term. Additionally, while I’ve worked in marketing, sales and operations (Convey that you’re ready- that answers the Why Now aspect), corporate finance is an area that I’ve not had exposure to. That is an area I intend to focus on during the MBA through courses such as ABC and XYZ. And since in the long term, my vision is to lead the strategy of a firm such as Dunder Mifflin, I especially look forward to the leadership development opportunities at XYZ school. I spoke to a current student ABC and she spoke highly of the leadership labs at XYZ school- something I think I will benefit greatly from too since I’ve often struggled with negotiations and influencing members in a diverse team. The part in blue is where you briefly talk about your goals to lay the context. Next, highlighted in green is where you address any gaps in knowledge and finally in purple, the leadership skills. Q-4. Why OUR SCHOOL? There might be some overlap between the Why MBA and Why OUR SCHOOL response, but don’t worry if you have to repeat certain parts while answering this question. There are three main areas I like to cover while answering this question: 1. The Community & Culture 2. Learning inside the classroom: Typically involves courses, experiential learning etc. 3. Learning outside the classroom: Clubs/ activities/ events/ the network I like to lead this response talking about the community and culture, since this is an aspect that is often unique to each school. Every school has similar courses and clubs and it’s hard to find something that stands out. That said, if your school has unique courses or clubs that you’re interested in, you should mention those! However, be careful to not say something cliched or stereotypical about the school- Kellogg is not all about marketing, Booth isn’t all about finance. SAMPLE RESPONSE: I’ve been in touch with two students from XYZ School- ABC and DEF, and they speak volumes about the collaborative culture and team based approach to learning. What surprised me the most was how much one could learn from their learning group- one with each student from a completely different background and industry. I’m really looking forward to the ABC and XYZ courses at this school, which will help me learn more about marketing and entrepreneurship- crucial to my long term goals (Go in depth on HOW this course will help). I’m also looking forward to Professor ABC’s XYZ course- I’ve heard so much about it and everyone at this school seems to love it! Apart from that, I’m looking forward to connecting with the Marketing club and the New Ventures club…. (You should add how the club will help you and how you will contribute to the club too) I’m also looking forward to the exclusive exchange program with ABC that XYZ School offers! This will help me understand the paper based consumer goods market in an emerging economy and the exchange program provides this exact opportunity! The idea here is to convey your fit with the school’s culture (in blue), how the learning in class will help (in green) and the learning outside class typically at clubs (in purple). Optionally, you can talk about some unique programs that your school offers (in red). Tip: Try to get excited about the school in your head. It will help you with the research and with the interview itself - you will come off more genuine and knowledgeable, signaling it is your top choice program. Q-5 How will you contribute to OUR SCHOOL? You MIGHT not be asked this question if you tied in the contributions in the previous question, but still, you should prepare an independent response in case you’re asked about this. There are five main areas where you can contribute to a school: 1. Clubs - Be specific about the club and how you will contribute. Ideally, you should have gotten this checked with a current student to ensure that this is feasible 2. Academics - If you’ve had a VERY unique experience at work/ a volunteer experience, there MIGHT be certain courses where your experience can help. Tread carefully on this front and skip if you don’t have something substantial to talk about. 3. Recruiting - You could help your peers with interview prep for their target industries (if you come with significant experience in a sector) 4. Student Body/ Events- Certain schools have mentorship programs and other student bodies dedicated to improving student life 5. Something fun - This might be club that is NOT about careers, eg. wine club/ yoga club or an event at the school (eg. Special K event at Kellogg) While you can talk about any of the 5 ways to contribute to your school, your response will be strong only if you back it up with examples of how you’ve done it in the past/ are specifically equipped to help with. SAMPLE RESPONSE: During my undergraduate studies, I was a part of the Student Counseling group, helping mentor first and second year undergraduates. At XYZ school I would love to be a part of the Academic Fellows program, where I can see myself…. I’ve also heard a great deal about XYZ’s Culinary Club! While I enjoy eating more than baking, I think my peers at the club would adore my sea-salt sprinkled and choco-filled muffins. (Professional bakers, please don’t laugh at my response- I do not know how baking works) A good response would include both aspects- the serious (in blue) and the fun parts (in green) ! Q-6 What is the weakest part of your application? While this may seem like a trick question, my take is that you should always go with a genuine response, but be diplomatic. Also, it might help if you mention what you’ve done to overcome the weakness. Common weaknesses in applications: 1. Low GPA/ GMAT 2. Lack of international experience (some schools value it) 3. Age (Older/ younger) 4. Frequent Career Switches (especially if in unrelated industries) 5. Lack of extracurricular activities This is actually a perfect opportunity to explain your weakness or what may be perceived as a weakness. Remember - if you believe something and you are convincing, you can convince the interviewer that perhaps all those unrelated jobs were actually a strength since that allowed you to zero in on your target and now you have 100% certainty you want to be a Tech PM. Q-7 Tell me about a time… (Situational questions) This question takes several forms. The most common ones take the form of: Tell me about a time when you.. 1. Dealt with a difficult teammate 2. Dealt with a difficult situation/ ethical dilemma 3. Failed at something 4. Did something innovative/ challenged status quo 5. Achieved a goal via teamwork 6. Took a brave decision And so the list goes on. While you may be tempted to prepare a story for each of these prompts, it is far more practical to select three or four good stories and highlight the traits that each story contains. That way, you can adapt the story to the prompt you’re faced with! I prefer creating a matrix assigning each story with suitable prompts: https://i.ibb.co/3hGDt2H/matrix.png Now comes the part where you frame the actual story. You might have heard of the STAR framework for doing just that. I highly recommend that you frame your response along those lines so that the interviewer can follow your story and it isn’t all over the place. I’d recommend that you convey the story in about 2 minutes, 3 is the maximum you could go for. The STAR Framework: 1. Situation: Here is where you set the background to your story, spend the least amount of time here- say 20 seconds. 2. Task: This is where the challenges are laid out clearly for the audience- make sure you narrate the issue briefly and sharply. Another 20 seconds here at max. 3. Actions: You will spend the majority of your time here (a minute or more)- details matter here. 4. Result: Apart from the obvious results while talking about your achievements, you should add what you’ve learnt (especially when dealing with stories about failure, where it might help to also add how you addressed that in the future) At this point, if something in the story piqued your interviewer’s interest, you might be asked follow-up questions. You need to ensure that you know your story inside and out and there are no loopholes- always narrate your story to a friend (a mock interview) to ensure that the story makes sense. Q-8 What other schools have you applied to? This is a question you must manage with a bit more ‘finesse’. No school wants to feel that they’re your safety school. You could mention two or three other schools that fall under the following criteria: 1. Similar Rankings 2. Similar Culture 3. Similar Recruiting Strengths/ Post MBA opportunities 4. Similar Location Your choice of schools must be logical. But above all, mention that you absolutely love the school you’re applying to and they are your number one choice. The School will not know which programs you are applying to but on average people apply to 5 or 6 schools. If you already have admits, you can say that but reiterate that this School is your first choice. If this is your safety school, you can position others as your moon shots. Q- 9 What are your strengths and weaknesses? While most people have no problem at all talking about their strengths (or maybe you do, if you are a bit on the modest side), the answers to these questions must be genuine and introspective. You would want to prepare two examples each that convey your strengths and weaknesses. Sample Strengths: 1. Strategic Thinking 2. Great with people 3. Resilience 4. Innovative Sample Weaknesses- You might be: 1. Risk averse 2. Conflict averse Note that when you talk about your weaknesses, be sure to convey that you’re on the path to ‘fix’ them- you’re either actively trying to overcome them or you could also potentially tie in how the MBA will help you. SAMPLE RESPONSE: To be honest, I have a tough time confronting my teammates about problems we’re having with our clients. For example, I’ve often struggled with finding the right balance between assertive and encouraging when dealing with my after-sales team. I think I could really benefit from the Negotiations class at XYZ school. It’s okay to talk about weaknesses as mentioned above. Remember, nobody is perfect- if they were, what would they need a B-School for? Q-10 What is your leadership style? Before we get into the right response, let us look at a few ways you should NOT approach this question: 1. I lead by example/ I do it myself 2. Ensure strict adherence/ rules The right way to approach this is to highlight a set of traits that convey that you’re on the path to being an L5 leader (This is something you could google- should give you insights on how to frame a response). A few examples of leading by: 1. Empowering others 2. Inspiring innovation Additionally, you should highlight an example (a story) where you displayed the traits you talk about. While what I’ve mentioned so far is a more standard response- another great way to approach this question is to show the evolution of your leadership style: talk about how you’ve grown as a leader. Maybe your leadership style wasn’t perfect to begin with, but you’ve grown to better understand people around you. This is a perfectly acceptable response and shows that you are mature and can reflect and grow. SAMPLE RESPONSE: When I started off my career in Dunder Mifflin, I thought of myself more of an authority figure while managing projects. It was a lot more of making to-do lists and ensuring that people comply. Over time, I realized that I could assign people roles based on their strengths, helping them develop their capabilities in the firm. However, in my current role as the operations manager, I began to notice that a few members of my team could not maintain their level of enthusiasm with time. They felt stifled in their roles- that is when I realized that I need to let my team evolve beyond their strengths and provide them with work that was challenging and gave them an opportunity to grow. Sometimes, that also meant letting go of my best people to other roles in the organization. Therefore, I think my leadership style right now is based on helping people around me become better- I see myself more as a coach than a manager. Notice how you portray your growth as a leader. You start off as someone imperfect ( highlighted in orange ), become better ( highlighted in blue ) and finally show the traits of a great leader ( highlighted in green )! FAQs: 1. How do I prepare for MBA interviews? Here are a few points that I think will help you prepare- 1. Scope out the entire list of possible questions you might be asked (Check interview debriefs, videos on Youtube) 2. Write down the responses to each common question (YES, WRITE. Stories sound great in our head but often don’t come out so well when we communicate. Write only in bullet points though- you don’t want to sound like you’re reading off a script.) 3. Practice with a friend: mock interviews are essential. This helps you understand whether the interviewer understands your story and helps you find potential loopholes in stories that may not be apparent to you. 4. Be confident once you’re prepared. The interviewer does not know your story. Most interviews are blind (they have access only to your resume), so don’t panic if you leave out any detail when answering questions- the interviewer won’t even notice. 2. What should I wear to the interview? Most schools suggest business casuals, but this varies from school to school. You should check with current students/ the school website for guidelines. You can’t go wrong with business formals either but make sure you aren’t uncomfortable and stuffy (especially if you’re somewhere warm) 3. What should I bring to the interview? Assuming that the interview is online, you might want to keep a notepad and a glass of water around. You can take a sip each time you want to buy a few seconds before embarking on a response or just in general if you want a small break. The notepad is NOT to write down prepared notes that you can glance at during the interview. Honestly, the interview can tell if you’ve written stuff down and keep looking sideways. Use the notepad to take notes in case the interviewer talks about some of their favourite courses and professors and activities- they can sometimes go on for a while talking about things they love! 4. What is the difference between an alum and an adcom led interview? While you should not treat either interview differently, one key difference between these two types of interviews (or even interviews conducted by current students), is when it comes to the last part of the interview- asking questions to the interviewer. While asking a current student/ alum about their experience/ professors and clubs they were a part of is acceptable, that may not work for the adcom. You could talk about trends in the MBA world, how schools are dealing with the pandemic, etc. Also, do not ask anything that could be answered on the school website- that just shows you haven’t researched enough. Other than that, alum/ student interviews MIGHT seem more relaxed, and go easy on the scheduled time but don’t be fooled into taking the interview lightly. You are being judged during every minute of the interview. 5. Awkward Situations Sometimes the Interviewer and you just don’t get along. This happens. Sometimes people don’t get along and there is not a whole lot you can do once the interview goes into a death spiral. There are a few things you can do to prevent it however - research your interviewer. Spend a few hours looking them up on LinkedIn and other places but be respectful so they don’t feel threatened. Your goal is not to find dirt on them but rather anticipate their interests, touchpoints where you may connect, etc. 6. Curveball Questions In almost every interview, you will face a question or two that you haven’t prepared for. Most often, this takes the form of follow-up questions on stories you talk about. So how do you prepare for these? Always remember, you know your story better than anyone else. So if you miss a few details, you can always fix them here. In case you get a question you know absolutely nothing about, just admit that you don’t! Be honest and hopefully, the interviewer will move on. .... We're finally at the end! There are many ways to answer the questions I’ve covered here. Let me know if you think there is a better way to frame a response- I’ll try to incorporate those into this post too! Please also let me know if you have any questions or feedback. I will keep revising this post with more common questions/ FAQs. Special thanks to bb and Nikhil for the edits, review and feedback!

bb · Answer

Awesome Post! 
Thanks so much for putting together all the wisdom and taking the time to format it nicely!!!!

Jaidude · Answer

This is awesome Mervyn! Thanks for putting this together definitely gonna be coming back to this one

romil666 · Answer

Mervyn, you had me at Dunder Mifflin

Anyways, thanks for putting this together at the right time! Much needed. Bookmarked!! - R

bb · Answer

One of the resources to recommend is interview debriefs and an interview question collection we have. I would caution though about the question collection since it has over 100 questions. It can be overwhelming and you really don’t need to worry for your HBS interview about the questions asked at Oxford or vice versa. That is the reason I recommend reading interview debriefs Instead.

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

catinabox · Answer

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I was also wondering if you think there are any other questions we should cover?

MBAbot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club MBAbot: 

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

 This post was generated automatically.

The (Sorta) Ultimate MBA Interview Prep Guide

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards