The Top 3 Pitfalls to Avoid in Your Business School Interview

Originally published on January 25, 2024. Updated on January 30, 2025.

With Round 2 interview invitations going out, many applicants are shifting their focus to interview preparation. This is a smart move—interviews can be a deciding factor in the admissions process.

At Vantage Point MBA, we love conducting mock interviews with our clients in the weeks leading up to the real thing. Many of our team members have also served as admissions interviewers, so we’ve seen firsthand the common mistakes even the most impressive candidates can make.

Here are three pitfalls to watch out for—and how to avoid them.

MBA Interview Pitfall #1: Mixing up the chronology of your resume walk-through.

One of the most common opening questions is “Walk me through your resume” or “Tell me about yourself.” These are essentially the same question, and your goal is to provide a clear, engaging overview of your background—focusing primarily on your college years and professional experience.

A mistake we often see? Candidates start with their current role (the top of their resume) and work backward. This can be confusing and feel disjointed. Instead, start with college and walk through your experiences chronologically up to the present day. This approach is much more coherent and naturally leads into the likely follow-up question: “Why an MBA?”

The interviewer wants to hear about your career progression and accomplishments, but they also want to understand the ‘why’ behind each of your choices—why you chose your major, why you made certain job changes, and what motivated you along the way.

For each ‘section’ of your resume (college and each job you’ve held), cover three key points:

• What – A high-level description of your role, company, and function.
• Why – The reason you pursued that opportunity.
• How – A key accomplishment that “brings to life” your impact and contributions.

An example could sound like this: “I joined ABC Consulting in their healthcare practice where I focused specifically on operations improvement projects. A defining moment for me was when I partnered with an RN to develop a new process for X hospital to materially reduce the risk of sepsis, a possibly deadly infection. This project gave me a taste of the deep impact I could have through a career in healthcare, but it also made me curious about other questions such as XYZ. So that’s why I took my next role at ABC company, to explore the issue of access…”

After covering your work experience, briefly mention your extracurricular involvements or interests outside of work. This helps round out your story and can create a natural connection with your interviewer.

If you need help refining your story, structuring your answers, and building confidence for your interview, we can help you prepare.

MBA Interview Pitfall #2: Jumping into ‘Why MBA’ without sharing your career goals

Another key thing your interviewer wants to understand is why you want an MBA and why their school is the right fit. When asked, “Why do you want to attend X school?” we often see candidates immediately start listing specific classes, clubs, or resources they find appealing.

While this isn’t wrong, it lacks context. The interviewer first needs to understand your post-MBA career goals before they can appreciate why certain aspects of their program are valuable to you.

A better approach:

• Start with your short- and long-term career goals.
• Then, explain how this specific MBA program will help you achieve them.

It might feel like you’re dodging their question at first, but this structure makes your answer much more compelling. Once you’ve set the stage, you can confidently discuss the unique aspects of their program that align with your aspirations.

MBA Interview Pitfall #3: Telling stories that are too complex

Behavioral questions (‘tell me about a time when…’) are a staple of MBA interviews. One of the biggest mistakes candidates make is choosing stories that require too much setup or context.

If your story is overly complicated, you risk losing your interviewer’s attention—or worse, confusing them. Keep your answers clear and structured so they are easy to follow and remember when the interviewer submits their evaluation.

A simple rule of thumb:

• Keep the setup of your story to 30–45 seconds max.
• Your entire response should be around two minutes.

This ensures you have enough time to emphasize your actions—the part that truly demonstrates your leadership, problem-solving skills, and impact.

Your MBA interview is a critical opportunity to bring your application to life. Practicing your responses—and avoiding these common pitfalls—will help you approach it with confidence.

Mock interviews can be one of the most effective ways to refine your answers and ensure you’re presenting yourself in the best possible way. We offer mock interview sessions with detailed feedback to help you prepare. Reach out to learn more.

For additional interview prep, you may also find these resources helpful:

Exit Polls: Interview Reports for Stanford, Haas, Sloan, Columbia, Booth and Fuqua

Prepare for These Three Questions Before Your MBA Interview