5 commonly asked questions in B-School Interviews

It is not exactly possible to predict what gets asked in B-School Interviews will exactly . But there are a set of standard questions that have a good chance of being asked during your Interview. This blog will go over that set of commonly asked questions during B-School Interviews, and will help you understand how to handle them.

Scope of B-School Interviews

To start with, it is important to know what exactly do you get asked during a B-School Interview? It is not possible to cover an exhaustive list of questions here, so I will classify them into three broad boxes:

1. Academics and/or Work Experience: If you have less than 2 years of work experience, you have every chance of being asked questions from your Undergraduation.
2. Basic HR Questions: The more generic questions like “Tell me about yourself”, “Why MBA”, “Why MBA now, why not two years later, or two years earlier”, What are your strengths and weaknesses, etc would form part of “HR Questions”. It is preferred to have a script for these questions but it is also very important that you don’t sound like you have memorized your answer. 
3. Current Affairs: All topics that are currently hot, like Donald Trump’s Impeachment, or his meeting with Mr. Modi in India, or about CoronaVirus and its effect on different economies, the current year’s Budget, CAA-NRC, US-China Trade War, Ayodhya Dispute Verdict, etc would come under this blanket. In short, know about what is happening in your City/State. Also be up to date on National news and International news.
   Click here to get a comprehensive list of current affairs topics.

B-School Interviews: Common Questions

This is a list of 5 commonly asked questions in B-School Interviews – in no particular order! Keep in mind, you might not definitely be asked these questions. But it is very embarrassing to not have a neat & well thought-out reply to these questions.

Tell me about yourself

This is probably one of the most important questions you’ve got to be prepared for. First off, remember that this is your pitch. You get to give the interviewers a set of questions to ask about you. Don’t talk about facts from your resume, your scores or where you work. They have all that in your CV. 

To put this in just one sentence, assume you’re meeting someone on a long flight and they ask you what you do. The answer to that question is more or less the same as “Tell me about yourself”. The only difference is that in B-School Interviews, the answer has to be formal.

A male general category candidate with an Engineering degree is the most common, so we have a video with an example of how a “Tell me about yourself” question should be presented by such a candidate. 

Working in a Small company? How to explain Work ex?

If you are working in your family business, make sure that you have a valid job profile, payment slips & an employment letter.  Make it as formal as possible. And your job should be clearly defined with a title and a role.
1. Have a clear understanding of how the business works.
2. Don’t lie, be honest. There’s every chance that you get caught for a lie.

If you are working in a small company, know the ins and outs about the company and the industry and about the future plans of the company. And be prepared to answer the question “Do you have plans to come back to your company post MBA?”.

Finally, ensure that all your documents are as formal as possible.

Why MBA? For Engineers or Non-Engineers, etc.

This Video will comprehensively go over different versions of the answer “Why MBA”, for both Engineering Background and Non-Engineering Background candidates and for a bunch of different imaginary profiles. Watch both Videos to get an idea of how to deal with the question “Why MBA”.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

It is very important to know how to establish your strengths without sounding over-confident or cocky. It is also important to not come off as someone that lacks confidence or has a weak stomach or is leaning towards unethical when you’re stating your weaknesses. Watch the Video to know how to handle this question.

How to Justify Poor or Average Academics and Gap Year during B-School Interviews

First thing you’ve to keep in mind is that you will not come out of this question smelling like roses. There is no use in putting the blame on someone else – There’s no point in blaming your professors, your friends, your parents, so on so forth. A good answer is going to be about how much responsibility you’re willing to take on yourself.

This is not a confessional or an essay of self pity – But in your answer to this question, you will have to take responsibility for your Gap, or your Average/Poor academics. Watch this video to get an idea of how to spin this question around and looking good at the end of it.

Extra: Here’s a bonus — This video just talks about Gap Year and how to explain Gap year(s) in your profile:

Prep for B-School Interviews: 2IIM’s Playlist

The above list is not going to exhaustively going to help you with every question you might be asked during your Interview. So go through this Playlist – It has ~70 videos in it covering various aspects of PI & WAT, and also has a lot of Videos covering hot topics from Current affairs –

Cheers & Best of luck with your Interview Preparation!

Article written by Praveen Thankasala – A perpetual mis-match between what I want to do and what I actually do. Aahh.. I’ve got to go sleep again.