The HBS Interview – What to Expect, How to Prepare & Sample Questions   

If you’ve been invited to interview at Harvard Business School, congratulations —  you’ve cleared one of the most competitive hurdles in MBA admissions. Only about 20% of applicants are invited to interview and from this point, 50-60% of interviewees will be admitted. The HBS interview is an important component of the evaluation process and a final opportunity to show who you are beyond your written application. 

Two things make HBS interviews distinctive and unlike that of other MBA programs: 1) The interviews are not behavioral in the traditional sense, and 2) They are not blind. To the latter point, your interviewer will have read and analyzed your entire application (including essays, recommendations, resume, and application form) and tailored their interview questions to get to know you more. The interview is a structured, fast-moving conversation meant to understand how you think, lead, and reflect.

What to Expect in the HBS Interview

• Length: 30-45 minutes
• Interviewer: A member of the HBS Admissions Board
• Observer: Often one additional observer (not a second interviewer)
• Format: In-person or virtual (treated equally by admissions)

Your interview begins before the door opens. Every interaction around the HBS Interview, from your demeanor in the waiting room to conversations with other candidates during events, contributes to the overall impression you make.

Within 24 hours of the interview, all candidates must submit a post-interview written reflection through the HBS application system. This reflection is considered an official and meaningful part of the process.

While the interview does not override the rest of your application, it is reviewed carefully as part of the holistic admissions decision.

Interview Day Experience

For candidates interviewing in person, the HBS interview day often includes optional activities such as:

• Class visits (as observers only)
• Student coffee chats or information sessions

Recent candidates consistently report that attending a class visit is helpful as interviewers frequently ask how you spent your day. Reflecting on a class visit or on-campus experience provides a natural, authentic entry point into the conversation.

The waiting room experience is typically shared with other candidates and is generally collegial rather than tense. Many candidates describe it as grounding – an opportunity to meet peers from a wide range of professional and personal backgrounds.

Tone & Structure of the Interview

While HBS interviews were once known for being intense and adversarial, recent cycles reflect a clear shift. Interviews today are collegial and conversational while typically also being fast-paced and highly personalized to your background.

Candidates report that interviews often begin with light conversation – how your day is going, whether you attended a class – before quickly moving into substantive professional and leadership topics. The interviewer typically drives the conversation with a series of questions, each with one or two follow-ups.

This is not a traditional “tell me about a time” interview. Expect fewer behavioral prompts and more probing, reflective questions.

What HBS is Evaluating

1. How you think: Can you articulate your reasoning clearly? Do you consider tradeoffs and broader implications?
2. Leadership and impact: How have you influenced others? How do you define success, responsibility, and legacy?
3. Self-awareness: Do you understand your motivations, growth areas, and decision-making patterns?
4. Fit with the HBS classroom and community: Will you contribute meaningfully in a case-based, discussion-driven environment?
   

Interviewers are less focused on “right answers” and more focused on how you process, reflect, and engage.

Sample HBS Interview Questions

While every interview is different, most questions fall into the following categories:

1. Professional Experience & Career Choices
   • Tell me about your role and specific contributions on a recent project. 
   • Why did you choose this firm / role / industry over other options?
   • Walk me through a pivotal decision in your career.
2. Industry Insight & Thought Leadership
   • What trends should people outside your industry understand?
   • What companies or strategies do you find compelling and why?
   • How does your experience shape your perspective on the future of the field?
3. Leadership & Teamwork
   • What kind of leader do you want to be?
   • How have you developed or supported others?
   • What legacy do you hope to leave at your current organization?
4. Extracurricular & Community Involvement
   • How did you get involved with this organization?
   • What role did you play in this program?
5. Lighter, casual questions
   • What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
   • What sports team do you root for in your hometown?
   • What excites you about life at HBS?

How to Prepare for the HBS Interview

1. Know your application cold. Interviewers expect you to discuss anything you wrote – resume bullets, essays, extracurriculars – with depth and clarity. Re-read your application multiple times and identify areas where you may need sharper articulation or have more to say.
2. Think deeply about your career journey. Most of the interview questions will deal with your professional life, career goals, and learnings. As such, if you were to allocate your preparation time efficiently, you should be spending the majority of your time anticipating and reflecting on questions in this category. Be prepared to go beyond surface-level descriptions. The interviewers want to know your takeaways, judgment calls, and second-order effects.
3. Practice thinking on your feet and communicating clearly. We recommend doing several mock interviews before your actual interview to build confidence and receive constructive feedback on HBS’s evaluation criteria. While mock interviews are extremely helpful, it is also important that your actual interview does not feel performative or overly-rehearsed. Candidates consistently report that interviews felt more like intellectual conversations than evaluations. Authenticity, curiosity, and presence matter more than polish.

The Post-Interview Reflection

The post-interview reflection is not optional and not a formality. It is reviewed by the admissions committee and should be taken seriously. Think of it as a chance to have the last word and leave a strong final impression. 

Our advice on how to approach it:

• Write it as soon as possible while the interview is fresh. Nearly all candidates begin drafting immediately after the interview — often on their phones.
• Focus on highlights and insights, not a summary or question-by-question recap. 
• Clarify or expand on points that mattered to you. It might be tempting to backtrack on something you said. Instead of doing so, it is better to share something you want to add as an additional point of nuance or clarity.
• Be concise. We recommend sticking to a page (300-400 words max). 

Your consultant can provide an additional layer of review for your post-interview reflection.

Final Advice from HBS interviewees:

• The interview is far more conversational than expected
• Interviewers are genuinely trying to understand how you think
• Leadership, industry insight, and self-awareness matter more than rehearsed answers
• Preparation builds confidence, but presence wins the day

The strongest candidates approach the interview not as a test to pass, but as a conversation to engage in – grounded in reflection, curiosity, and clarity of purpose.

If you are looking for an even clearer picture of what that actually looks like on interview day, we have shared two in-depth HBS interview stories from clients who experienced the process firsthand.

HBS Interview Experience – A Candid Look at James’s Story

HBS Interview Experience- Daniel’s Perspective

Recommended Reading: 

HBS Interview – Two Real Life Experiences | Vantage Point MBA

MBA Interview Prep 101 | Vantage Point MBA

Questions to Ask MBA Admissions Officers | Vantage Point MBA