MBA Interview Prep – How to Plan for the Unexpected

MBA interview prep seems straightforward at first. Just practice standard questions, right? Hopefully yes, but not always. Effective MBA interview preparation requires more than standard practice, though.

Adcom interviews may follow consistent patterns” (remove “across candidates, this rarely applies universally (especially for places like HBS where interviews are highly personalized). Alumni and current student interviews vary more. These interviewers enjoy latitude to ask what they’d like. They must still assess you using the school’s criteria.   

So, how do you prepare for the dreaded oddball question that you never thought an interviewer would ask? At the end of the day, you cannot anticipate every question and that’s exactly why the interview helps assess your candidacy. Great leaders shine because they think on their feet and respond well to an unexpected challenge. Reacting well to unexpected questions demonstrates your leadership potential.

That’s not to say that your MBA interviewer is trying to stump you, as nine times out of ten they aren’t. They might phrase a question unexpectedly. Or they might request an example you already used. (Argh!).

As I said earlier, you cannot anticipate every question but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do what you can. Spend most of your time on the ‘biggies’: resume walkthrough, post-MBA goals, etc. But also scan less common questions. Consider how you’d answer them. Even 30 seconds of thought produces stronger answers than improvising on the spot.

With that in mind, here is a list of somewhat surprising questions compiled from past clients and publicly available sources like ClearAdmit:

• What are some challenges you would face in your MBA?
• What’s your plan B if you can’t get the role you want after graduation?
• What are the three attributes a good team needs?
• Tell me about a time you showed resilience.
• What does equality and diversity in the workplace mean to you?
• Share your proudest accomplishment, either personal or professional.
• What are the top three factors that led to your success?
• What would you like your legacy to be at [X school]?
• What is trust and how important is trust in our society? 
• Please tell me about three failures you have had.
• If you could change one thing about your current company, what would it be?
• Do you read for fun? What was the last book you read?

Clearly this list is far from comprehensive, but it is a start. Another place to focus your preparation is on any school-specific principles, concepts, etc. For instance, Fuqua is known to ask about ‘DQ’ or ‘decency quotient’, Haas may question how you’ve demonstrated its four ‘leadership principles’, and Tuck may ask whether you exhibit the ‘four characteristics’ that form the basis of its admissions criteria. These programs will expect you to be familiar with these concepts if you have done an appropriate amount of research.

At the end of the day, please don’t stress if you get stumped. Your interviewer knows you’re human – and likely faced similar challenges! It is totally fine to take a pause to gather your thoughts, even if it means an uncomfortably long silence. Worst case, if you end up blurting out a jumbled answer, you can always address the situation in a thank you note and offer more cohesive thoughts (briefly, of course).  

Need help with your MBA interview prep? Schedule a free consultation to practice with our team or anything else related to your MBA admissions journey.