Home Viewpoints B-School Sample MBA Interview Questions Friday, 05 December 2008
             
Sample MBA Interview Questions PDF Print E-mail
Written by ASK   
Saturday, 15 March 2008 21:58

Personal
  • Discuss yourself/ Walk me through your resume and explain your roles and responsibilities.
  • Name three words or phrases to describe yourself to others
  • What is an activity you are involved in? Why is it important to you?
  • What contributions would you make to a group?
  • What do you do to relieve stress?
  • What are your hobbies outside of school and work?
  • What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
  • Please discuss the factors, both professional and personal, influencing the career decisions you have made so far.

Goals
  • Why the MBA? Why now?
  • Why are you interested in a general MBA program?
  • What do you expect from this program?
  • What can you contribute to our program and into our classrooms? What makes you unique among other candidates and why should we accept you?
  • What would you do if not accepted?
  • What are your long- and short-term goals? Why?
  • Where do you see yourself in ten years?
  • Which other schools are you applying to? How did you choose these schools? Why so many/few? Which school is your first choice?
  • How do you plan to use your MBA in your career and your community?
  • Why does this school appeal to you?

Undergrad Experience
  • Why did you choose your undergraduate major?
  • Which school did you attend and why that one"?
  • What was your major and why?
  • Would you choose the same studies again if you could do it over again?
  • What overall grades did you get? What is Honours?
  • Which courses were you best at? Why?
  • Did you work as an undergrad?
  • Do you think your grades are an accurate reflection of your ability?
  • What did you like most about this part of your education?
  • What did you least like about this part of your education?

Professional Experience
  • What was your first job out of undergrad?
  • Have you been promoted?
  • Talk about experiences you have had at work. Can you briefly describe the key responsibilities of your current job?
  • Describe a typical work day.
  • Discuss your career progression
  • Give examples of how you have demonstrated leadership inside and outside the work environment
  • Discuss any experience you have had abroad
  • How does your performance compare with that of your peers at a similar level?
  • What specifically have you done to help your company change?
  • What have you done to develop those under your responsibility?
  • What could you do to be an even more effective member of your organization?
  • Describe your most successful accomplishment at work.
  • Describe a failure on the job.
  • Why did you choose this profession? Why this company?
  • What do you like best/about your current job?
  • What are the key challenges of your job?
  • Have you ever supervised employees?
  • Have you switched firms? If so, why?
  • What is most frustrating at work?
  • Describe your relationship with your boss. What is good and bad about it"
  • Where is your industry heading in the next five years? (all the more important if your interviewer works in the same domain)
  • How would co-workers describe you?

General
  • Discuss a time when you successfully supervised a diverse group of people toward a difficult goal. Give an example of when you accomplished something significant that wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t been there.
  • Tell me about a situation where you had to persuade someone to agree with your point of view
  • Describe a time when you had to gain upper management’s support for an idea/proposal
  • Name a time when you had to convince someone who didn’t report directly to you to do something they didn’t want to do
  • Describe a time when you had a conflict with another person in a corporate or school setting
  • Describe a situation in which you identified key problems early on in a project and were able to avert a crisis
  • Tell me about a time when you led a team to a goal even though the individual team members were sceptical that it could be accomplished
  • Tell me about a time when you worked with someone who didn’t follow through. What did you do?
  • How have you dealt with a person who was difficult to work with?
  • Discuss a time when you had to make an unpopular decision
  • Tell me about the toughest group that you ever worked in. What made it so tough, and how did you handle it?
  • Describe an ethical dilemma that you faced in your career. How did you resolve it?
  • Give me an example of when you pushed back against doing something
  • What is the hardest decision you have ever had to make on the job? Outside of your job?
  • Tell me about a time when you took a smart risk
  • Name a time when you developed a unique and resourceful solution to a problem
  • Describe a situation when you had to make an important decision without having all of the necessary information at hand
  • Tell me about a time when you had to analyze facts quickly, identify the issues, and develop an action plan
  • Give me an example of when you thought out of the box
  • Have you ever had to bend a rule to get your work done more efficiently?
  • Discuss a time when you didn’t succeed on the first try.
  • What is the worst professional decision you have ever made?
  • Tell me about a time when you weren’t very pleased with your performance.
  • Describe a situation in which you wish you had acted differently with someone in your group.
  • Describe a time when you inspired someone to work harder.
  • Discuss a project that required the use of your analytical skills.
  • Tell me about a time when you led a team to success despite opposition from others.
  • Describe a situation where you brought an idea forward, and it failed.

Spontaneous
  • Tell me about a topic you just read?
  • What trait you possess that I would not get by reading your file?"
  • To test your communication skills: Pick a subject from the current news, assume I don"t know anything about it and give me a brief synopsis.
  • Describe a time when you had to convince an antagonistic group of the merits of your proposal. Explain the process.
  • What team skills will you learn in MBA program?
  • What are three major challenges that your industry is currently facing?
  • Who do you admire most as a leader, and why?
  • What was your greatest accomplishment?
  • How do you define success?
  • What would you do if a team member wasn"t pulling his own weight?
  • Who are your heroes? Why?
  • What have you done that you are proud of?
  • Define teamwork
  • Define leadership
  • What is your favorite sport? What aspect of it appeals to you"?
  • What is the last book you read? What did you think of it?
Comments
Discuss Viewpoint
Title: (optional)
[b] [i] [u] [url] [quote] [code] [img] 
 
Receive update notifications?

3.23 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."
 

MBAA Poll

Via the Interest Rate, what can the Federal Reserve Affect?
 

Quotes

I have found no greater satisfaction than achieving success through honest dealing and strict adherence to the view that, for you to gain, those you deal with should gain as well. - Alan Greenspan

Visit Sponsors

Your are currently browsing this site with Internet Explorer 6 (IE6).

Your current web browser must be updated to version 7 of Internet Explorer (IE7) to take advantage of all of template's capabilities.

Why should I upgrade to Internet Explorer 7? Microsoft has redesigned Internet Explorer from the ground up, with better security, new capabilities, and a whole new interface. Many changes resulted from the feedback of millions of users who tested prerelease versions of the new browser. The most compelling reason to upgrade is the improved security. The Internet of today is not the Internet of five years ago. There are dangers that simply didn't exist back in 2001, when Internet Explorer 6 was released to the world. Internet Explorer 7 makes surfing the web fundamentally safer by offering greater protection against viruses, spyware, and other online risks.

Get free downloads for Internet Explorer 7, including recommended updates as they become available. To download Internet Explorer 7 in the language of your choice, please visit the Internet Explorer 7 worldwide page.