MBA/MS Interview Questions to Expect, and How to Think About Them.

If you are planning to apply for an MBA/MS program this year, the interview may feel like a long way off, but keeping a few interview questions you’re likely to encounter in mind can help you focus on your key stories, and save you some time down the road.

In that vein, we have put together five questions that you are very likely to encounter in an interview, and a few thoughts about how to respond to them. Considering these questions may also assist you during the essay-writing process.

 

1. What are your career goals?

Whether you plan to pivot into a new sector, gain increased responsibility in your organization, or try to start your own business, you should have a very complete and thoughtful answer to this question.

Clearly explaining your future goals and convincing the interviewer you are serious is crucial to successfully answering to this question. If you want to try a new function or industry, explain how an MBA/MS from the school you are interviewing with will prepare you to thrive in that function/industry. If you want to start a new business, explain why the ecosystem in the area and the school’s network and entrepreneurial resources will help you launch your new idea.

Interviewers want to see that you have been thoughtful about your future goals, about why an MBA/MS helps you to accomplish them, and to start to understand you at a deeper level.

2. Why did you apply to our school/program?

It is critical that you can speak to the unique culture and environment of whatever school you are interviewing with. While you may begin with some research online, try to speak with students and/or alumni from the school to gain first-hand perspective on what their experiences were like there.

Marketing, accounting, management classes may cover similar content from school to school, but each school brings a unique perspective and style when presenting that content.

For example, Chicago Booth may bring a highly analytical and quantitative approach to most classes – why is that a fit for you? Berkeley may bring a more entrepreneurial lens to how they present learning materials, and maybe the various incubators and entrepreneurial communities around campus are attractive to you. Why, on a deep and personal level, is that community a fit for you?

Get a sense of any traditions at the school, any values that they emphasize, and get a sense of how students treat each other inside and outside of class while on campus. Be prepared to articulate exactly why these factors are a fit for your personality and your goals.

3. Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership

It’s perfectly OK if you haven’t managed a 30-person team before. It’s not a problem if you haven’t run a company, division, or had P&L statement responsibility.

Think about a time that you led others through a challenging situation, and motivated them to go beyond their normal work duties, even if you were not the official team leader. Think about a time when you had to take a bold stance in the face of disagreement, persuade others to support your point of view, and how you helped bring people together through a disagreement.

Nobody can do everything on their own, and schools want to see that you understand the value of teamwork, and that you have the ability to lead a group.

4. Tell me about a time you failed

Nobody likes to admit when they failed, right? Indeed, discussing failures can be emotional, stressful and unpleasant.

The trick is not to focus on the failure, but to show that you have the ability to learn from a failure. Everyone makes mistakes. All leaders make mistakes, and what sets them apart from everyone else is their ability to dissect a situation that didn’t go as well as they hoped, learn from it, communicate those lessons to other people, and to help everyone avoid committing the same mistake twice.

Framing a failure as a learning opportunity takes a negative and turns it into a positive. Try to show how you demonstrated grit, resolve and determination in overcoming a failure. Talk about how the lessons you learned from that one failure subsequently helped you, or others, to avoid similar mistakes.

5. What questions do you have?

This may seem like the least important question in an interview. The majority of interviewees don’t realize how important this question is. It is a great opportunity to differentiate yourself, and show that you are thoughtful, intelligent and observant. Most importantly, good questions can lead to more positive interaction between you and the interviewer.

This question is an opportunity to let the interviewer speak about their experience at the school. Did the interviewer mention something that seemed interesting you would like more information about? Do you want to know more about the culture or the values of the school? What has been the best part of being a part of the community after graduation? What is something they wish they had done differently as a student? What is one piece of advice they wish someone else had given to them before they started in their first year? What was the coolest, or most informative summer internship experience they heard about from their peer group when they were students?

Interview questions are often somewhat standard, but you should strive to offer unique answers to all questions that reflect who you are, what you care about, and how the school is a great fit for your personality and goals for the future. The more thoughtful you are in preparing for your interview, and in learning about the culture of the schools you are applying to, the better off you will be. If you need assistance in refining your interview strategy, of course we would be happy to work with you.