A Real INSEAD Interview Experience

The INSEAD interview differs from other top business schools. Understanding this difference is crucial for your preparation. Here’s what makes the INSEAD MBA interview unique—and how to succeed.

All INSEAD interviews are conducted by alumni. You’ll have two interviews. Alumni are selected based on their backgrounds. INSEAD interviews can last over one hour. They are not blind.

Applicants describe the INSEAD interview process as more in-depth. Below, we share a real example. This applicant interviewed last year and shared their experience. As you will see, the INSEAD interview focuses on several things. How will you contribute? What’s your leadership potential? Who are you really? What drives you?

I had two INSEAD interviews. The first was with a senior guy. He completed INSEAD 20 years ago. He spent nine years at McKinsey. Now he works in PE. My second INSEAD interview was with a recent alumna. She graduated five years ago. She worked in Telecom in Brazil. Now she’s in Pharma in Switzerland. Overall, my INSEAD interview with the senior person was more challenging. It could have gone better.

I expected the senior interviewer to assess leadership potential. I expected the recent alum to assess “fit.” That was exactly my INSEAD interview experience.

The interview with the more senior alum started with him asking me to present my story and who I am, which I did very high level. Then he started going through my CV and asking questions about my university experiences such as why I majored in biology; why I attended Harvard for undergrad, and why I had served in the military. He then moved on to my current role at (a large technology firm) where he phrased his questions like a mini-case-study. He wanted to know more details about a recent project that I had led including detail surrounding our customers, our model, and why we approached the project like we did.

Finally, he ended with a big question. What actions would I take immediately? What if I were named CEO of my company?

My second INSEAD interviewer came prepared. She had 10 questions ready. She wanted to understand my reasons for choosing INSEAD. Why an MBA? Why now? How would I contribute to the class? During my answers to the final part, she stopped me to do a slight deep dive on my travel (where have I traveled, why, what did I do there, etc). She then shifted gears to discuss my goals in-depth. We talked about my plan to go into consulting and then to a strategy role in tech. She gave me feedback on my goals since she pursued an internship in consulting, and that part of the interview was very conversational. After discussing my goals, she opened it up to my questions, which lasted another 10-15 minutes. The total time for my second interview was approximately an hour and a half.

Overall, I felt that the INSEAD interviewers were very well prepared to speak with me and that they seemed to have an opinion that they wanted to validate.

Jonathan’s experience is similar to other INSEAD applicants. Of course, alumni interviews will always vary – there is no strict guidebook – but you should expect a similar lay-out with deep dives on your experience, personal interests and your goals and rationale for an MBA. Ensure that you know the program inside and out. Alumni are very passionate about their alma maters and showing that you are equally as passionate can win you bonus points! And of course, ensure that you know what makes INSEAD “the business school for the world”! INSEAD’s unique diversity and culture are near and dear to your interviewer’s hearts, so you cannot research enough to prepare.

As always, we are here if you have any questions about your INSEAD applications!