MBA admission Interview Tips and Sample Questions

MBA interviews are definitely important, but its importance varies dramatically from school to school. At some schools, interviews can make the difference between being accepted and rejected. And at some others, it is just a formality and a chance for you to know the school better.

 MBA interview Tips :

• Make it a habit to practice speaking in front of a mirror till you encounter the real one.
• Try going for an interview with someone of the opposite sex.
• Dress formally unless your interview is with an alumnus and the situation calls for casual clothes.
• Relax! Don`t appear stiff and overly formal. You want your interviewer to like you, so treat him or her like a friend.
• Prepare your answers ahead of time. 
• Prepare for the interview extensively: review your application and essays in detail, learn about the school thoroughly.
• Speak proudly about your accomplishments, but do not sound arrogant.
• Address your weaknesses and justify how you have overcome them or planning to overcome them.
• The interviewers should be able to sense honesty in your speech.
• Be ready to go into greater depth than you have mentioned in your essays.
• Prepare two or three points about yourself that you want the interviewer to remember about you.
• Do not interrupt your interviewer in between, wait till you get the chance to explain.
• Come prepared with plenty of examples, or even a portfolio of your work, to showcase your achievements.
• Limit your use of business/domain specific language. Maintain a decent tongue.
• Finally, be prepared to give a well-built and convincing answer to the interviewer’s inevitable question, “Why here?”
• Prepare answers for the typical questions. Practice answering questions aloud before the interview until you can handle all questions confidently. At the bottom, we have included a list of questions asked in various business school admission interviews.
• Keep your answers short, but informative. Be prepared to offer a 4 to 6 line answer to every question. This is enough to share a few thoughts and to stimulate further discussion if the interviewer desires. Try to avoid simple yes and no answers or responding in monosyllables. Show interest in the questions and sincere thought in your responses.
• Be ready to provide examples and specifics and to elaborate information presented in resume and application.
• Listen carefully to the questions and answer accordingly. If you do not understand the question do not hesitate to request for repetition or clarification.
• Be open and honest. You shouldn’t give any ambiguous or inconsistent statements. Don`t send out any unnecessary warning signs.
• Follow proper business decorum. Watch your nonverbal clues, such as eye contact, posture, and fidgeting.
• Your success will ultimately depend on your ability to sell yourself to the interviewer. Schools are seeking the following traits such as Maturity, Communication Skills, Honesty, Motivation, High Energy Level, Confidence, Pride, Initiative, Listening Skills, Sense of Humor, Analytical Skills, Leadership Potential
• At the end of the interview you will get an opportunity to ask question. Follow the following guidelines while asking questions.
• Only ask questions those you genuinely care about. You should appear sincere and interested, not desperate for something to say.
• Make sure the answer isn’t obvious or hasn’t already been answered or mentioned on the schools website or brochure.
• Ask the appropriate person. Faculty members can offer a better perspective on certain issues than business students and vice versa. Asking a faculty about the social life on campus will be fruitless and embarrassing.
• Be gracious and diplomatic in how you phrase your questions and reply to responses.
• Avoid sounding self-centered. Cite your achievements, but demonstrate an appropriate level of humility. When discussing professional accomplishments, acknowledge the help and support of your teammates, mentors, teachers and role models.
• Don’t reveal insecurities. Accentuate the positive and don’t dwell on the weaknesses in your background or application. Don’t give any indication that you aren`t willing and able to meet the rigors of business school. Your job on the interview is to convince them you are the right candidate: they won’t believe it if you don’t sound sure of yourself.
• Watch your tone. You may be asked a few odd ball questions that are designed to test your ability to handle conflict. Don’t get defensive. Your tone can be revealed in both the words you choose and your voice. Practice responding to difficult questions with someone before the D-day. It will help.
• Be courteous to the administrative staffs, since how you treat them will create an overall image about your personality. 
• Walk into the interview with an air of confidence and professionalism. Offer a firm handshake and a professional demeanor.

Interviews are admittedly difficult, and every applicant has got some extent of uneasiness going through it, but getting prepared thoroughly will help your confidence level to boost up. If the MBA admission interview is optional and you think you are not confident about it, better stay home. Let your application do the talking for you. 

MBA Interview Questions:

Here we have presented all the major questions asked in the MBA admission interviews. Please prepare answers for these questions. Try to present anecdotes or examples where ever possible to substantiate your answer. 

• Discuss your career progression.
• Describe a typical work day.
• Tell us about your current job responsibility. (Company, industry, no of subordinates/team members, funds you handle)
• Why do you want to do an MBA? 
• Why do you think this is the right time for an MBA?
• Why do you think our school is the right school for you?
• How do you hear about our school?
• What are your post MBA short-term and long-term term career goals? Where do you see yourself in five years?
• What do you want to do (in regard to business function, industry, location)?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses? How do you plan to overcome your weaknesses?
• Describe an ethical dilemma faced at work? How you handled that?
• What do you consider as your most significant achievement?
• What is the latest challenge for you in your work? How are you planning to overcome that?
• What are the main challenges your company is facing?
• What are the current threats and opportunities in your industry?
• What makes you unique as compared to other applicants?
• If you are admitted to our school, what attributes will you bring to the program? How will you contribute to the class?
• Name three words or phrases to describe you to others.
• Imagine it is your first day at the business school; introduce yourself to your classmates and tell them what you hope to achieve during the MBA and how would you enrich their MBA experience.
• What is most frustrating at work?
• What are your hobbies / extra-curricular activities?/Are you involved in any community services?
• How would co-workers describe you?
• Evaluate your teamwork and leadership abilities. Give examples of how you have demonstrated leadership inside and outside the work environment.
• Do you have any international/cross-cultural experience?
• Describe a situation where you brought an idea forward, and it failed.
• How do you understand the current economic crisis?
• How is your country affected by the global economic slowdown? What are the steps your govt. has taken to ease this slowdown? What is your remark on them?
• What are the other schools you have applied?
• What would you do if not accepted? What is your Plan-B?
• How are you planning to fund your expenses?
• Is there anything you would like to ask me?