Harvard Interview Guide Clear Admit 2015

Harvard Business
School
About This Guide
The Clear Admit team has prepared this guide for your refer-
ence in learning about the interview process at Harvard Busi-
ness School (“HBS” or “Harvard”). The details offered here
come from our historical knowledge of the Harvard admissions
process, as well as our ongoing interaction and work with
applicants who have recently interviewed at the school. This
information should be used in tandem with all of the other
preparatory materials that you have, including information
from the school, sample questions from Clear Admit Interview
Archive and background from the Clear Admit School Guides.
www.clearadmit.com
© 2006-2015 Clear Admit, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents | v
Contents
1 Introduction to HBS 1
Interview Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Interviewer Background . . . . . . . . . . 1
Weighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Information from the HBS Website. . . . . . 2
Post Interview Reflection. . . . . . . . . 3
2 Firsthand Insight 6
Typical Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Leadership & General Professional . . . . . 6
Goals, Education & Career Choices . . . . . 7
Situational . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Application Issues & Potential Contributions . 9
Personal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Sample Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3 Tips & Analysis 15

HBS Interview Strategy . . . . . . . . . 15
Analysis of Common Questions . . . . . . 16
Post Interview Reflection. . . . . . . . . 19
4 Engaging HBS 22
Interviewing on Campus . . . . . . . . . 22
Visiting Harvard . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Outreach Events . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Where to Stay . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Related Resources . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5 Final Thoughts 26
6 Appendix: General Interview Guide 27

General Information . . . . . . . . . . 27
Basic Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Sample Questions . . . . . . . . . . . 30
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vi | Table of Contents
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Introduction | 1
1 Introduction to HBS
Interview Type
HBS conducts “non-blind” interviews. This means that your
interviewer will have carefully reviewed your entire applica-
tion, and be very familiar with the content of your résumé, es-
say, recommendations and data forms. The Harvard interview
process is known for being somewhat more challenging than
those of most other schools, as the interviewer often requests
for clarification or elaboration on a certain aspect of one’s
candidacy. Be prepared to elaborate upon–and even defend–
“I didn’t get much affirmation the stories and examples you mentioned in your essay, as
from the two interviewers I well as to discuss experiences and provide examples that you
had. They do a pretty good haven’t yet shared. The interviewer will be assessing your
job at maintaining a blank face ability to think on your feet and project confidence in the face
throughout the interview.” of skepticism and questioning, as these are essential qualities
- HBS Candidate for performance in HBS case discussions and as a successful
business leader.
First introduced in the 2012-2013 admissions season, the HBS

adcom now requires applicants to submit a “post interview
reflection.” Candidates will need to submit a written reflec-
tion within 24 hours of completing their interview in response
to a question, which was “You’ve just had your HBS interview.
Tell us about it. How well did we get to know you?” HBS has
historically not set a word limit on applicants’ replies to this
question, and HBS Admissions Director Dee Leopold stressed
that the exercise is not just another essay.
Interviewer Background
Your interview will be conducted by an admissions officer on
campus, at a hub or via Skype. Hub locations have included
New York City, Palo Alto, London, Paris, Shanghai, Tokyo,
Dubai, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, and Santiago, depending on the
admissions round. Alumni may conduct interviews in obscure
locations, but rarely. Keep in mind that admissions officers
know a good amount about the school–most are HBS MBA
graduates–and clearly have expertise in the admissions pro-
cess. Most have conducted hundreds–if not thousands–of
interviews over the years and are very adept at ensuring that
applicants are subject to a consistent and typically stringent
interview. Though Harvard prefers that applicants travel to
campus for their interviews–and absolutely expects U.S. ap-
plicants living relatively nearby to make the trip–there is of-
ficially no preference given to applicants who choose one type
of interview over another if an option is offered.
www.clearadmit.com
2 | Clear Admit Interview Guide: Harvard Business School
Weighting
Harvard interviews just under 25% of applicants each year (or
roughly 1,800 candidates per year), whereas most other MBA
programs interview up to half of their applicant pools. Since
the school admits 10-15% of applicants each year–12% of ap-
plicants to the Class of 2016–this means that, strictly statisti-
cally, one stands an approximately 1 in 2 chance of admission
if invited for an interview.
An interview is required for admission, indicating that Har-

vard considers this element of the admissions process to be a
crucial data point. Because Harvard invites a relatively small
percentage of applicants to interview after close consideration
and evaluation of their applications, this stage of the process
is really the final hurdle in the process and can make or break
one’s candidacy. If you’ve been invited to interview, rest as-
sured that you’ve already created a positive impression and
have been prescreened for admission–all you need to do now
is prove that you’re just as impressive in person as you are on
paper.
Information from the HBS

Website
The Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Dee Leopold
has made efforts to increase the transparency of the timing-
related elements of the admissions process through her blog.
Here are some of her comments about the interview process
for Round 1 candidates for the Class of 2017:
Interview invitations will be sent out via email on October 8

and October 15. Candidates invited to interview will receive
detailed instructions about the sign-up procedure. The inter-
view scheduler will go live the following day.
On October 15, candidates who will not be invited to interview

will be notified of their release.
A group of Round 1 applicants, possibly 100-150, will be

placed under “Further Consideration.” These candidates will
be reviewed in Round 2 and either be invited to interview or
released on the Round 2 timetable.
Round 1 interviews will be conducted between October 20 and

November 21. Not all dates will be available in all locations.
In addition to on-campus interviews, we will be interviewing
in New York City, Palo Alto, London, Paris, Shanghai, Tokyo,
Dubai, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, and Santiago. Candidates who
cannot travel may be accommodated via Skype.
I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: We love having

interviewees visit campus and will have a full day of get-to-
know HBS activities, but the location of your interview plays
no part in the selection process.
www.clearadmit.com
Introduction | 3
The school’s website has this posted concerning candidate

interviews and the post interview reflection:
After your written application has been submitted and re-

viewed, you may be invited to an interview. The interview is a
positive indicator of interest, but is not a guarantee of admis-
sion; it serves as one element among many that are con-
sidered as we complete a final review of your candidacy. All
interviews are conducted by invitation only, at the discretion
of the Admissions Board. If invited, however, you must par-
ticipate in order to complete the application process.
Interviews may be scheduled on campus, in domestic or in-

ternational hub cities or via Skype. Neither the timing of your
interview invitation nor its format, whether in-person or via
Skype, implies anything about the status of your application
or affects your candidacy.
Interviews are 30 minutes and are conducted by an MBA Ad-

missions Board member who has reviewed your application.
Your interview will be tailored to you and is designed for us to
learn more about you in the context of a conversation. Candi-
dates will be required to submit a written reflection after their
interview.
Post Interview Reflection

Within 24 hours of the interview, candidates are required to
submit a written reflection through our online application sys-
tem. Detailed instructions will be provided to those applicants
who are invited to the interview process.
A bit more information can be found in the school’s general

FAQs and those under Admissions & Financial Aid:
What does it mean to receive an invitation to interview?

The invitation to interview is a positive indication of the MBA
Admissions Board’s interest in your application to the MBA
program. We interview applicants whom we believe are viable
candidates for our program. Roughly half of the candidates
interviewed are admitted.
Is the timing of my interview or interview invitation

significant?
No. The timing of your interview does not imply anything
about the status of your application nor does it impact your
candidacy. We use a rolling process for extending interview in-
vitations so that we can expedite the decision-making process
for all candidates.
Who conducts the interviews?

All interviews are conducted by a member of the MBA Admis-
sions Board.
Am I at a disadvantage if I interview off-campus?

No. Please choose the interview location that is most con-
venient for you. Whether you interview on-campus or off-
campus, you will always interview with a member of the
www.clearadmit.com
Admissions Board and you are not at a disadvantage in the

admissions process. No matter where you interview, we en-
courage you to take part in the activities offered in that loca-
tion.
What is the dress code for interviews?

For your interview, the dress is business formal. For the rest
of the activities, business formal or business casual is appro-
priate. Some of the on-campus activities offered will require
you to walk throughout the campus so please bring comfort-
able shoes.
Do I have to register to attend any of the on-campus

activities?
Advance registration is required for all on-campus activities.
To register for these events, please visit the View and Register
for On-Campus Activities and Class Visit Sign-up Instructions
sections on the webpage.
Does participating in on-campus activities affect my

candidacy?
The only required and evaluative portion of your visit to cam-
pus or to an off-site interview location will be the interview.
We encourage candidates to participate in the activities being
offered in order to gain a better understanding of HBS.
What if I cannot spend the whole day at HBS?

All the interview day activities offered are optional, but you
are encouraged to participate in as many activities as your
schedule allows. You may choose to participate in the activi-
ties offered on the day you interview, or any other day the
activities are offered.
Will I have time to write my Post-Interview Reflection

if I participate in the On-Campus Interview Day activi-
ties?
Yes. You will have 24 hours to submit your Post-Interview
Reflection. While on-campus, you will have access to the guest
Wi-Fi network.
Can I attend more than one On-Campus Interview Day?

Yes. You may choose to participate in activities offered on the
day you interview, or any day the activities are offered. Appli-
cants are limited to one class visit due to space constraints.
I am interviewing off-campus, but will be at HBS on a

later date. Can I participate in the On-Campus Inter-
view Day activities if I already interviewed in another
location?
Yes. No matter where you are interviewing you are welcome
to participate in the on-campus activities while they are of-
fered. You will need to pre-register for the activities and for
the class visit.
Can I bring a guest to the on-campus activities?

Yes. Guests are welcome to attend all on-campus activities
except for the class visit where we have space constraints.
Will I still have free time to see friends who are current
www.clearadmit.com
Firsthand Insight | 5
students?
Yes. You are free to schedule your day as you wish.
Can I leave the hospitality suite and explore campus?

Yes. We encourage you to gain a better understanding of HBS
in whatever way you wish. The grounds of the campus are
beautiful and the COOP, located in the Spangler Center fea-
tures all things HBS.
When will I get my final decision?

You will be notified by email on the notification date that your
decision will be available.
What if I have to change my interview date and/or

time?
Once your interview has been scheduled, we strongly discour-
age changes. However, should you need to make a change,
please call Christina Malanga at 617-495-6213. We will do our
best to accommodate your change, but we do not guarantee
the availability of interview slots. Email requests for interview
changes will not be accommodated.
www.clearadmit.com
2 Firsthand Insight
Typical Questions
In addition to the array of standard MBA interview questions
found in the General Interview Guide in the Appendix, we’ve
compiled a list of questions that Harvard has consistently
asked applicants in recent years.
Leadership & General Professional

• What do you do in your job?
• What’s a company outside your industry that you admire?
• Have you every managed other individuals? Has that been
difficult?
• If I were to get all the junior people you work with in a
room, what would they say about you? Strengths? Weak-
nesses?
• What’s the next big brand in your industry?
• Can you give me an example of a time that you demon-
strated leadership?
• What are your main strengths?
• What are your main weaknesses?
• How has your leadership style evolved?
• Do you have a leadership style? What is your leadership
style?
• Have you had the experience of managing difficult person-
alities? How have you handled that?
• What is the work environment in your current job like?
• Your recommender mentioned that you are a top perform-
er; why do you think that is?
• What would your supervisor say is a weakness?
• Tell me about a company you admire.
• Tell me how your organization is run as if I didn’t know
anything about X industry.
• What do you think has made you so successful?
• What does the CEO in your company worry about?
• What areas of business interest you outside of your field?
• Do you segment your customers into different buckets
based on demographics etc. to be able to provide a par-
ticular type of service?
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Goals, Education & Career Choices

• What were your school / job options at different stages?
• Tell me about your undergraduate college – why there?
What did you like/dislike about it?
• Grad school – why? What was your favorite class? What
kind of job were you expecting after school? How did you
find your job?
• Why did you choose to work at a consulting firm?
• A lot of Silicon Valley types don’t want to go to business
school. Why do you want to go?
• What would be your ideal internship?
• How did you become interested in [INDUSTRY] and how
did you find out about [COMPANY X]? Why that industry
after college?
• Where do you see yourself in ten years?
• How did you end up at your current company? How have
you navigated through your career since then?
• What have you learned from your current manager?
• Tell us about something you still find difficult at your job.
• What are the best and worst things about your current
job? How is this job different from your previous ones? Did
you pursue this job or were you assigned to it?
• What would you say is the biggest difference between the
two jobs you’ve had?
• How would you compare the culture between [IBank 1]
and [IBank 2] during your two internships? What did you
do during each internship?
• What was the most surprising aspect about this company
when you first joined? 
• What is the key challenge you see that Charity A [the
charity you are involved with] is currently struggling with?
• How and why did you choose your undergraduate school
and major? Where else did you apply?
• Given what you know now, if you could go back to univer-
sity and pick your subjects, which ones would you do?
• You didn’t get to visit [your college] right? So what did
you find about [your college] that was different than what
you were expecting?
• Tell me about your involvement in your family business.
• What motivates you to work hard every day?
• How did you know you wanted to be a Marine?
• What about your experiences made you want to get out of
the Marine Corps? When did you know you wanted to get
out?
• Why do you want to go to Wall Street?
• How did you decide to move from career A to career B?
Was it a tough decision to give up what you had worked so
hard and so many years for?
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• Break down the marketing strategy of a company in your

industry.
• How are you dealing with this current work situation (com-
pany had been in the news)?
Situational
• Tell me about a challenge at your current job.
• Tell us about something you still find difficult at your job.
• What could you have done better at previous job?
• Explain your role and relationship to your founder/em-
ployer.
• Tell me more about the retail transaction that you wrote
your essay about. What did you learn about the retail mar-
ket?
• Seems like you’ve co-founded a lot of things. Is that
something you like to do? Why?
• What is your startup? What do you do at this startup?
• How was the culture different between the consulting firm
and the startup?
• What would you do differently as CEO?
• Tell me about your current job, what do you do at [COM-
PANY X]?
• Follow up on whether you do all the [FUNCTION WORK] for
[COMPANY X].
• What does your average day look like?
• What have you learned from your current manager?
• How do you react to feedback?
• Explain something complicated you’re working on right
now in simple words.
• In your professional experience, what was your biggest ac-
complishment?
• Devise an impromptu marketing strategy for a product you
consume.
• Tell me about a time when you raised an unpopular idea.
• What do you think of the US Fed quantitative easing?
• Tell me something that is not in your application, a situa-
tion where someone who’s senior to you let you down.
• What do you plan to do before business school?
• How do you stay connected to what’s going on in the busi-
ness world (applicant served overseas)?
• Have you encountered a situation in which your recom-
mendations have not been accepted by the client, and
they just refuse to follow them?
• What do you look for when you conduct candidate screen-
ings? How do you make sure that the candidates selected
by you can be presented in front of the client?
• You mentioned that you had some really great mentors.
www.clearadmit.com
Tell me about one.

• When did you have to tell a peer something difficult?
• What do you know now that you wish you’d known earlier
at your job?
• What would you cut out of your job if you could cut out
one aspect?
• What’s a piece of constructive criticism that you’ve been
given that you didn’t agree with?
• How did you begin traveling?
• How would you explain an income statement to a non-
finance person?
Application Issues & Potential Contributions

• How did you form your opinion about Harvard and what is
it?
• How many current HBS students do you know and have
you talked to?
• How many HBS alumni do you know and have you talked
to?
• What do you see yourself doing after HBS? [Gave my
answer]. What if that doesn’t work out? What else will you
consider?
• Have you ever been to an HBS class? What class are you
going to?
• What was your favorite case? Why was it so interesting?
• Lets talk about HBS. How have you gotten to know us?
What have you heard that you hope is true? What have
you heard that you hope is not true?
• What is your opinion of the HBS application process? Any-
thing that we should change?
• How will you contribute to the case method?
• Will you thrive in the case method?
• In your essay you said (repeated three sentences word-
for-word), what did you mean?
• If we said there is only one seat left in the class and 10
candidates remaining, what would you say differentiates
you?
• What experiences outside the curriculum are you looking
forward to at HBS?
• How did you find the application process? Did any part of it
surprise you?
• How would you be different from your other classmates at
HBS?
• Where do you think you might struggle at HBS?
• How did you prepare for the interview?
• What is one criticism you have of Harvard?
• How would you introduce yourself to your new classmates
www.clearadmit.com
in 2-3 sentences?
• What would be your dream internship during the summer?
• You write about this story in your essay, can you give me
more detail about this aspect.
Personal
• What is the biggest misperception people have about you
when first meeting you?
• Do you read business news? What’s a story that interested
you?
• Was moving to the United States hard? Did you experience
cultural shock?
• Tell me some more about your siblings.
• What do you like to do for fun?
• Pretend that we were sitting together on the flight over
here. Tell me about yourself.
• Tell me about something you’re interested in outside of
work.
• What books do you read?
• What’s an issue in the news you always follow?
• What would you like to mention that hasn’t been asked?
• Can you give me an example of a time when people’s first
impression of you turned out to be wrong?
• What’s the last book you read? (gave non-fiction book)
What’s the last FICTION book you read? What did you
think the author was saying about society?
• If (current employer) were to replace you tomorrow, what
should they look for? I’m referring to personal skills, not
professional skills.
• Tell me something about you that would surprise me.
• What’s most important to you that you do outside of work?
• What would your 5 best friends say about you?
• Why did you enjoy your varsity sport from college?
• What do you do when you have a really bad day?
• What TV shows do you watch? Can you recommend one?
• What is something outside of the curriculum that you re-
ally enjoyed at [college]?
• What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?
• What is something you want to start doing, stop doing,
and continue doing?
• Tell me about your hobbies. What’s the most interesting
experience you had while doing xyz.
• What do you think makes you unique?
• If you have one year break where everything else (school,
job, etc.) is taken care of, what would you want to do?
• What have been your favorite places to visit?
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• Let’s go back to high school. What would your best friend

from high school say your strengths are? How about weak-
nesses?
• If your closest five friends were in the room without the
pressure of talking to the adcom, how would they describe
you?
• What would your college friends have said about your
strengths and weaknesses?
• What would your high school friends have said about your
strengths and weaknesses?
• What makes for a good day for you?
• What makes for a bad day for you?
• If you were an instrument, what would you be?
• How do you think you have changed?
• Why did you join X volunteer organization? How do you
get people to join? How do you vet them?
• What do you do with volunteers who are not performing?
• What is your favorite question to ask as an alumni inter-
viewer?
• Tell me about your foray into theatre. Who is your favorite
actor? Why?
• What was your favorite Broadway play in New York? Why?
• What’s a spontaneous decision you made?
In addition to thinking about how you might respond to the
questions above, it would also be prudent to prepare two or
three informed questions to ask your interviewer and a three-
bullet-point summary of your candidacy, and to have a team-
work story and a failure example fresh in your mind. See the
General Interview Guide in the Appendix for more b-school
interview prep best practices.
Sample Accounts
The above questions, of course, might be posed in any order
or combination. The following interview reports, provided by
contributors to the Clear Admit Interview Archive, offer a rep-
resentative picture of the tone and focus of the standard HBS
interview. The first candidate was interviewed at an off-cam-
pus hub by a couple of members of the admissions committee
for Round 1:
My interview was very standard. It lasted for 30 minutes, I

interviewed with two members of the Adcom, who were very
nice and tried to make me feel comfortable during the whole
process.
The questions I was asked were:
• Tell me about yourself.
• You want to work in sector A--why?
• You did an internship in sector B, was it related to sector
www.clearadmit.com
A?
• What was your other internship about? Can you explain a
technical aspect of your job?
• You wrote about this story in your essay, can you give us
more details about this aspect?
• What does a typical day at your current job look like?
• What does the CEO of your company worry about?
• Tell me about a time when you received a piece of con-
structive feedback.
• Who is a leader you admire? (She added that it could be
either a leader that I had worked with and that I know
professionally or a well-known business leader)
• What are your future goals?
• We have two minutes left, is there a question that you
wished I asked?
• Recommend me something, anything. (There was 30 sec-
onds left in the interview)
• Overall, the interview was very pleasant, and time flew
by very quickly. I’d definitely recommend that you pre-
pare using all the interview reports that you can find, and
focusing on the specific questions that are related to your
application.
Another accepted Round 1 applicant shared the following ex-

perience being interviewed by an adcom member:
I applied in Round 1 and interviewed in November. I am happy

to report I was accepted in December! The interview process
at HBS is extremely well organized. There are activities all day
with various candidates interviewing at different times. I made
my trip two days and would recommend others do the same.
I had not formally toured the campus before being invited to
interview, so I did a two day visit to get a better feeling for
the school. I signed up for all of the activities on the first day
and had my interview the second day in the morning. This
provided me with many potential anecdotes that were fresh
in my mind about the program that could be discussed in the
interview.
As for the interview, it was with one adcom member and an-
other observer who did not speak. The interviewer was very
nice and friendly and the environment was not meant to be
tense (of course I was naturally a little nervous). Most of my
questions were focused on the industry I work in, however
there were a few pointed questions about things I did not ex-
pect (know every point on your resume!). Here are the ques-
tions I was asked:
• Tell me more about X senior design project I worked on in

college (5 years ago).
• Why did you decide to go to college at X?
• How did you get your first job at X company?
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• Why did you transition from job 1 to job 2 (both were in-
vestment banks)?
• Why did you decide to transition into current company
and why did you choose this industry (now in a corporate
role)?
• Tell me more about what you do in your current role?
• What do you think got you promoted so quickly (I an-
swered this as a what are your strengths question)?
• What are some challenges your industry faces?
• How is your company tackling these challenges?
• What do you make of X new competitors in your industry
(interviewer was knowledgeable of the industry)?
• What makes X person at your company such a good
leader?
• What could this person do better?
Overall, the entire experience was very pleasant. The key is to
stay calm and think clearly. The interview process really made
a great impression on me and made me want to get in even
more!
A Round 2 applicant shared the following experience being

interviewed by an adcom member on campus:
I had my interview with an AdCom committee member and

one observer on campus. The interview was 30 minutes long
and was a very good conversation rather than an interview in
a strict sense. The interview member comes to fetch you and
then told me that there are no right answers and its just a
conversation to get to know me better. We dove right in and
was asked a lot of questions
Quick background: I work for a technology company and want

to start my own company post-MBA.
• Explain what your role means and what you do.

• Why has this become so important for your company (the
specific department I work in)?
• There are many companies which do this very well and in
fact pitch this in their marketing material to generate more
revenue. Do you see your company doing the same?
• [In response to my answer] Can you explain more about
how you plan to do this?
• Do you segment your customers into different buckets
based on demographics etc. to be able to provide a par-
ticular type of service? (I was surprised by this level of
detail)
• What is the biggest threat to your company and what is
your strategy to mitigate it?
• Working for your company is considered very cool, do you
agree?
• Do you think your company will be cool in the years to
come, what are they doing to keep it so?
www.clearadmit.com
• If I talk to your team mates ( I lead a team), what kind of

a leader will they tell me you are?
• [In response to my answer] Why will they say that?
• What is your plan for the company you plan to launch —
as in will you launch right after your MBA or work some-
where else before?
• How will your company make money?
• Will it be like [Company A] or [Company B]? (Mentioned
2 companies and asked if my company would follow which
business model)
• What will be the challenges to launching your company?
• Is there anything you wanted me to ask you?
Overall the interview was fun and very fast paced. Did not
realize how quickly the 30 minutes went by.
www.clearadmit.com
Tips & Analysis | 15
3 Tips & Analysis
HBS Interview Strategy

First and foremost, it is crucial that you read over your es-
say, data forms and résumé in preparation for the interview.
Because the interviewer will have reviewed your application
“I had my interview with an materials at length and the details of your candidacy will be
AdCom committee member fresh in his or her mind, you will need to ensure that your
and one observer on campus. responses are quick and that your comments in the interview
The interview was 30 minutes are consistent with your written materials. Another important
long and was a very good step for preparation will be to think about what other anec-
conversation rather than an dotes and experiences you have to work with beyond what
interview in a strict sense.” you’ve already told the school. Harvard takes a hard line
- HBS Candidate against accepting supplemental materials after the application
deadline, so an interview is a great opportunity to introduce
new developments at work or other recent improvements in
your candidacy.
Keep in mind that the interview is important not only because

it gives the HBS admissions team a chance to learn more
about your background and develop a more complete picture
of your candidacy, but because it also allows them to assess
a critical aspect that is vital for success in the HBS program:
your basic communications skills. While this may sound obvi-
ous, Harvard’s extensive use of the case method requires that
students drive discussion in class and are comfortable ex-
pressing themselves with the eyes of 90 or so “section-mates”
on them. When it comes to communications skills, there are
several important elements to keep in mind:
1. Confidence without arrogance. Some applicants go

into their HBS interview with too aggressive of an approach
in hopes of projecting a high degree of confidence and polish.
These applicants often presume that HBS is drawn to hyper-
confident individuals and end up crossing the line and over-
promoting. HBS looks for highly accomplished, yet somewhat
humble candidates who have made an impact on the orga-
nizations of which they have been a part. As such, you will
need to walk the fine line between confidence and arrogance.
2. Understanding your audience. Many applicants come

across perfectly well in terms of their personality (confident,
yet humble) only to fail miserably when it comes to shar-
ing details of their work or industry in a language that the
average, intelligent person can understand. Be careful about
delving into industry jargon, overloading your comments with
unintelligible acronyms or making assumptions about the level
of understanding your interview might have of your field.
3. Expressing yourself clearly in English. For non-native
www.clearadmit.com
English speakers, please note that HBS is particularly con-

cerned with your ability to speak up in class–and to be un-
derstood. You may be perfectly confident (yet humble) and
speak about your industry in layman’s terms, but if your
accent or poor English precludes the interviewer from under-
standing you, it’s a deal breaker. Be sure to slow things down
if you know that you have a fairly strong accent when speak-
ing English and do your best to enunciate.
Analysis of Common Questions

The Clear Admit team has combined their years of business
school expertise to analyze a select, popular set of Harvard’s
interview questions and help applicants determine how to
craft effective responses to these likely inquiries.
What is your career vision?

In line with the brief explanation about pursuing an MBA in
your data form, the interviewer will be looking for goals that
make sense in light of the interests and skills evident in your
work history and/or community involvement. If you are aim-
ing to make a shift in industry or function, this is a great time
to unpack your reasoning and explain how you will make the
transition in the long term. It will be important to present a
very clear post-MBA goal, as schools prefer to admit students
who are able to explain exactly what sort of position they will
pursue upon graduation, as well as how this will set them on
the course toward their ultimate professional objectives. As
you address these points, keep in mind that it’s essential for
your discussion to be consistent with the message you have
outlined in your application.
Why MBA?
As you make the case for your need for an MBA there are
three aspects to a business school education you might touch
on. The first and most obvious is the academic element, and
your need to learn more about certain disciplines and the way
they work together in order to make a career shift, start a
company and/or become an effective manager and business
leader. This kind of argument is a great start, but it’s wise to
shore up your argument; after all, one could arguably learn
about finance, for example, by reading a book rather than at-
tending business school. Therefore, a second point you might
raise is the benefit of learning alongside others and benefiting
from classmates’ perspectives and anecdotes about their own
experiences. A final point you might raise involves the benefit
of taking two years to immerse yourself in management study
and put your past experiences in context, thus orienting your-
self as you prepare to take the next step in your career. By
stressing the social elements of an MBA program, you’ll dem-
onstrate that you appreciate the merits of full-time education
and solidify your ‘why MBA’ argument.
Why now?
In addressing the timing of your application, it’s important to
convey a sense of urgency or stress that you are approach-
ing a natural breaking point in your current career trajectory.
www.clearadmit.com
Providing an unconvincing response to this question could

undermine your candidacy, as the interviewer might note in
his or her report that it sounds like you would benefit from
an additional year of work or could achieve your goals just as
easily if you attended school in a year’s time. It is generally
effective to frame a response in terms of a present or a future
need, so long as your reasoning is sound; perhaps your learn-
ing curve has flattened in your current position, or you see an
entrepreneurial opportunity that you absolutely need to act on
within two years.
Provide an example of your leadership.

A question about leadership can come in various forms, from
describing your most notable leadership experience in a
professional or community setting to broadly discussing your
general leadership style. It’s important to keep in mind that
this is different from describing your greatest accomplishment.
Answers about accomplishments should emphasize output and
what you actually accomplished as opposed to the process to
reach the accomplishment.
No matter the interviewer’s choice of words or context, there

are a few basic principles to keep in mind about leadership.
A leader is someone who has a strong vision or point of view
and is able to see things others do not. Good communica-
tion skills are also important for demonstrating leadership, as
you will likely have had to negotiate with and persuade key
stakeholders, such as supervisors and clients, to buy into your
vision. Once you have secured the approval and support of
your superiors, you then need to account for delegating the
work and how you managed your colleagues or juniors. Re-
flect on how you motivated others to overcome any obstacles,
complete the given work and achieve the goal.
It is also important to conclude with elements of success.

Note whether you concluded a project on time, under budget
or with high quality. Quantified results, in particular, will give
the interviewer a sense of scope of your work and impact.
Emphasis, however, should be on your growth. Therefore, be
sure to describe your lessons about communication, persua-
sion or motivation, or any other skills you may have honed
along the way.
What’s the biggest risk you have taken recently?

While there are several elements to this question, one key
word here is “recently.” HBS wants to see that you are consis-
tently trying to make an impact on the organizations of which
you are a part (employers, community activities, extracurricu-
lar involvements). Usually, to make an impact, you need to
take a risk that has the potential for a reward. Further, given
the phrasing, it is likely the admissions committee is looking
for a risk you took in your place of employment or in some
outside activity, e.g., volunteering or starting your own busi-
ness. A strong example is unlikely to come from your college
days, unless you are an HBS 2+2 candidate or current under-
graduate student.
Responding to this question is not just a matter of describ-
www.clearadmit.com
ing the actual risk you took, but also how you persuaded and
influenced those around you to follow you down this path. In
many cases, taking a risk requires bringing an idea to some-
one senior to you–and this is exactly what you should high-
light for the admissions committee. Let the adcom in on your
thought process; explain how you came up with the idea,
how you weighed the risk vs. reward and how you were able
to persuade others to buy into your idea. Ideally, the risk
would have produced positive results, so be sure to note those
briefly as well.
What is a company you admire and why?

When thinking about a company to discuss, keep in mind
that you can likely cite any number of companies that have
done something you admire, or whose interests or industry fit
with your own background. Of course, with this in mind, you
want to avoid clichés, e.g., Apple, Google, SpaceX, and oth-
ers. Keep in mind that the admissions interviewer will have
heard many similar responses to this question; therefore, to
keep things interesting, try picking something slightly more
esoteric.
Use this question as an opportunity to color the interviewer’s

perception of what your leadership style is like. Take this
chance to position yourself. For instance, if your career goals
are in healthcare management, perhaps you admire a com-
pany that has revolutionized the way hospitals have handled
patient care. No matter the example, be sure to relate in
terms of leadership style. Do not just blindly pick a popular
company; choose a firm with parallels to your candidacy, fu-
ture or goals.
To address the “why” element of this prompt, talk about spe-

cific qualities the company has. You need to be familiar with
the company’s impact and mission–not just its reputation.
What concrete results have they achieved? What changes in
the given industry have they made? Did they have vision?
What is it about them that you like? Ideally, this will all relate
to your candidacy in some way.
What was the last book you read?

This is another opportunity for the admissions committee to
get to know you as a person. Most people read for pleasure,
so the committee will likely not want to hear about an em-
ployee handbook or a corporate publication; instead, they
hope to get a sense of how you are spending your spare time,
particularly outside the work place.
Ideally, the book you choose will be one that is interesting to

your interviewer. Keep in mind that a lot of candidates will
already have chosen to talk about classic business books such
as Getting to Yes, Good to Great, or The Age of Turbulence.
It would, therefore, be best to avoid identifying a book that a
large percentage of the applicant pool will already have cited.
Do not assume that you need to talk about a business book;
remember that schools look for applicants with diverse inter-
ests. If the last book you read was The Brothers Karamazov
by Dostoevsky, you should not shy away from that–it will
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show that there is something outside of work that interests

you, and that you are not limited to one-dimensional choices
relating to your career or goals. Ideally, the book will have
taught you or reminded you of a lesson that you have put into
practice in your life or career. Perhaps the book changed your
perspective about a certain situation you faced or inspired you
to take on a new extracurricular commitment.
Post Interview Reflection

Following your interview, you will need to submit a written
response via the online application system. In the 2014-
2015 admissions season, the question was, “You’ve just had
your HBS interview. How well did we get to know you?” The
adcom expects this to be like a follow-up email–a summary of
your experience and quick reaction to your recent meeting.
It is worth noting that Dee Leopold has compared this exercise

to something that takes place all the time in the professional
world: a business development meeting or client pitch.
“We want your response to be
much more like an email. In In other words, professionals often fly somewhere for an im-
the Real World, it is almost a portant meeting (the “interview”) and then look to get a pitch
sure thing that you will be asked or written proposal off to the client (“the admissions board”)
to write emails summarizing as a follow-up. While some applicants have complained about
meetings and giving your opinion the 24-hour turnaround on this assignment, Dee Leopold has
in a short time frame.” - HBS been quick to point out that the real world moves at that sort
Admissions Director, Dee Leopold of pace and that it’s not unusual to deliver a proposal to a cli-
ent or business development partner within a day of meeting.
It is also important to note that the admissions board has

called this reflection a “closing argument” or “last word.” This
means it’s your last chance to make your case–all while sum-
marizing your view on the interview itself and offering ad-
ditional details. In light of this nuance of the HBS interview
process and the 24-hour deadline, we suggest taking the fol-
lowing approach:
Step 1: Immediately after the interview, go somewhere quiet

and take down notes about what you were asked and what
you said in response. This should be a summary of how the
interview went and what you were able to cover. Note that it
is critical to do this as soon as possible, while the experience
is still fresh in your mind.
Step 2: Think about what you wanted to promote to HBS

when you applied. In other words, go back to the roots of
your candidacy. What was your overall positioning to HBS?
What did you want the adcom to walk away from the process
knowing about you? What interesting or impressive traits
have set you apart?
Step 3: Compare what your messaging was ultimately sup-

posed to be and how that ended up coming out in the inter-
view. Did you hit on your main points–the interesting details
that set you apart? Were these points touched upon in the
interview (or even your written materials as well)?
www.clearadmit.com
Step 4: Consider whether there were responses in the inter-

view where you did not feel that you fully explained some-
thing. Or more broadly, did you fail to effectively answer a
question?
Step 5: With all of these thoughts in mind, begin crafting your

post-interview reflection. Open with an introductory para-
graph thanking the adcom for their time and expressing your
excitement about the interview process. Then, follow with
two or three body paragraphs covering items discussed in the
interview as well as elements you wanted the adcom to know
about that did not come up. Overall, the goal is to thank your
interviewer, offer a brief take on how well they got to know
you and then move into an elaboration on some of the inter-
view discussion as well as items you had hoped to share that
did not come up.
If you had a subpar interview, this exercise does offer you a

chance to try and salvage it. Be humble and put the onus on
yourself to convey new material — it would be a real mistake
to claim that you did not click with the interviewer or that the
interview went poorly because of the interviewer. Instead,
you need to be subtle and polite about any setbacks in your
interview.
Conclude the letter with a short paragraph thanking the ad-

missions board for the opportunity and encouraging them to
reach out with any further questions.
Step 6: Proof read the correspondence and submit! While

Dee Leopold has mentioned publicly that punctuation and
grammar are not important in this essay, submitting some-
thing that is sloppy and riddled with grammatical errors would
not reflect well on you. To return to the metaphor of the
“client pitch” following a meeting, it certainly wouldn’t help
your case to submit something that suggests you do not have
proper attention to detail or a firm grasp of basic grammar.
A Note On Length
While there is technically no word limit for this exercise, we
encourage applicants to target a word count in the 400-600
word range. The reason for this is three-fold:
1. HBS has historically set 400-600 word limits for their es-
says, so they clearly view that amount of space as being suf-
ficient to share one’s thoughts on a topic.
2. Thinking about Dee Leopold’s business proposal analogy,

most cover letters or follow-up business correspondence are
about one-page in length, and that equates to about 500
words.
3. Your admissions readers are busy individuals. Sending

them a 2,000-word reflection might suggest poor judgment on
your part–just as sending them a 150-word response might
suggest a lack of interest in the exercise or lack of effort on
your part.
www.clearadmit.com
www.clearadmit.com
4 Engaging HBS
Interviewing on Campus
If you have scheduled an on-campus interview and will be
traveling to Cambridge, you will want to get the most mileage
out of your time there. Because you need to express enthusi-
asm for the school and demonstrate that you have conducted
extensive research on Harvard’s program, it would be ideal for
you to arrange to tour the school, sit in on a class and have
lunch with current students beforehand.
Visiting Harvard
The Harvard Business School Admissions office is open year-
round, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Due to
the high level of interest in its MBA program, HBS devotes sig-
nificant resources to accommodating visitors, providing infor-
mation about the program, and offering channels for deeper
exploration of life in and out of the classroom. Because of the
volume of visitors, the office may not be able to accommodate
individualized requests; applicants who are visiting campus
and hope to speak with admissions staff about specific ques-
tions would do well to arrange this in advance.
The HBS Admissions Office conducts on-campus information

sessions for prospective students typically at 4:00 p.m. on
most Mondays and Thursdays starting in September. The ses-
sions, which require advance registration, provide a general
introduction to the school, the academic program and applica-
tion process, as well as an opportunity to ask individual ques-
tions of admissions representatives and student ambassadors.
Organized information sessions often provide insight into how
the school perceives and presents itself and can therefore be
helpful in researching the character and culture of a school.
Prospective students may also tour the campus at 3:15 p.m.
most Mondays and Thursdays, and these student-led tours do
not require registration either.
Prospective students are encouraged to sit in on a class during

their stay at HBS; due to the program’s emphasis on the case
method, this is a particularly good idea for applicants who
are unfamiliar with this mode of instruction. Although classes
start in September, HBS does not permit prospective students
to begin visiting first-year classes until a month later, to allow
first-year students a chance to become familiar with their sec-
tion and with the class environment. Applicants may arrange
to attend a class with a student host through the MBA Admis-
sions Office’s Class Visit Program. Visits begin in October and
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Engaging HBS | 23
may not be scheduled more than one month in advance of the

visit. Though prospective students may choose one of three
“The rest of the day was spent class times–9:10 a.m., 10:50 a.m. and 1:25 p.m.–they may
with the planned on-campus not choose which course to attend.
activities. They were incredibly
insightful about HBS and it was On days when classes are held, visitors may also join current
very fun to spend the day with students for lunch to ask questions and learn more about life
potential future classmates.” at HBS. The Women’s Student Association in particular hosts
- HBS Candidate a Women’s Lunch Program on Fridays for female prospective
students; students must register for these lunches ahead of
time. Depending on the candor of the HBS students in at-
tendance, a lunch could provide a great opportunity to dig
beneath the well-polished veneer that many business schools
present and develop a more three-dimensional sense of stu-
dent life.
For the most accurate impression of a program’s campus and

culture, it is best to visit a school during the normal academic
year; this also affords the most opportunities to attend infor-
mation sessions, visit classes, or mingle with students and
faculty. To get the most out of their trips, applicants would be
well-advised to visit on a weekday between October and April,
and prospective students should be sure to check the HBS
website to ensure that lunches, class visits and information
sessions will all be available on their chosen day.
Outreach Events
In addition to opportunities to explore the HBS experience
while on campus, representatives from the MBA program trav-
el extensively, hosting events designed to allow prospective
students to learn about the school without leaving their home
cities. Approximately 50 events are held during the admis-
sions season; all are open to all applicants, though some are
intended to address the specific concerns of particular groups.
For instance, LGBT events, for students who identify as lesbi-
an, gay, bisexual or transgender, are typically held in Boston,
New York and San Francisco. Women’s events, most of which
are sponsored by the Forté Foundation and led by students
and admissions staff, are held in Boston, Washington, D.C.,
New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, while conferences
for minorities are often held in Los Angeles and Chicago, as
well as on the HBS campus.
Where to Stay
There are a wide range of accommodations available in the
Boston/Cambridge area; below is a list of hotels located par-
ticularly close to the Harvard Business School campus.
Doubletree Guest Suites

Distance from HBS campus: 0.8 miles
400 Soldiers Field Rd
Boston, MA 02134-1893
Ask for Harvard rate
Phone: (617) 783-0090
www.clearadmit.com
Fax: (617) 783-0897

Website: www.doubletree.com
The Charles Hotel at Harvard Square

One Bennett Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Ask for Harvard rate
Phone: (617) 864-1200
Fax: (617) 661-5715
Website: www.charleshotel.com
Courtyard Boston Cambridge

777 Memorial Dr.
Cambridge, MA 02139-4614
Phone: (617) 492-7777
Fax: (617) 492-6038
Website: www.marriott.com
Harvard Square Hotel

Distance from HBS campus: .4 miles
110 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: (617) 864-5200
Fax: (617) 864-2409
Website: www.harvardsquarehotel.com/
Sheraton Commander Hotel

16 Garden Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: (617) 547-4800
Fax: (617) 868-8322
Website: www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/
Boston Marriott Cambridge

2 Cambridge Center, 50 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: (617) 494-6600
Fax: (617) 494-0036
Website: www.marriott.com
Hyatt Regency
575 Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA 02139
Phone: (617) 492-1234
Fax: (617) 491-6906
Website: www.hyatt.com
Related Resources
Though applicants will have presumably conducted a fair
amount of research on Harvard’s program by the interview
www.clearadmit.com
Engaging HBS | 25
stage of the admissions process, below are links to some key

resources that will be helpful to those wanting to brush up on
the school’s course offerings, on-campus opportunities and
news items.
MBA Course Catalog:

http://www.hbs.edu/coursecatalog/
Initiatives:
http://www.hbs.edu/mba/academic-experience/Pages/initia-
tives.aspx
Student Activities, Government & Clubs:

http://www.hbs.edu/mba/student-life/activities-government-
and-clubs/Pages/default.aspx
Harbus (Student-run paper):

http://www.harbus.org/
www.clearadmit.com
5 Final Thoughts
While your experience may be rather challenging and it might

seem as though your interviewer is questioning or belittling
your accomplishments, remember that you would not be there
if the adcom had not found your application very impres-
sive. Your HBS interviewer will be trying to gauge your overall
leadership abilities and ascertain whether you are as good a
fit with the school’s image in person as you appeared to be on
paper.
In order to prepare effectively, it is essential that you do your

homework and practice your answers to the typical interview
questions. Once again, you should also review the Clear
Admit Interview Archive for information from applicants who
have already interviewed with Harvard, and familiarize your-
self with the questions in this interview guide. Finally, the
Clear Admit School Guide to Harvard offers a comprehensive
overview of the MBA program’s student demographics, aca-
demics, career services, campus experience and more.
As to the post-interview reflection, this is actually a welcome

addition to the HBS process as it finally gives applicants a
chance to have the last word. By taking the right steps post-
interview, you should be able to produce a solid closing argu-
ment that provides the admissions team with a great sum-
mary of who you are and why you would be an asset to the
HBS community.
Best of luck!
www.clearadmit.com
Appendix | 27
6 Appendix: General
Interview Guide
General Information
To assist you in preparing for any other business school in-
terviews you might have this season, and to enhance your
understanding of general interview strategy, we have included
this general guide to complement the Harvard-specific content
above.
The following is a list of questions for you to consider as you

prepare for an MBA interview, as the answers will determine
the best way for you to approach the meeting:
Who will interview you?

Depending on the school, you might meet with an admissions
representative (campus interviews, hub interviews, phone
interviews), an alumnus or alumna (off-campus interviews), a
current student, or a faculty member.
What will your interviewer know about you?

It will be important to determine whether a school conducts
non-blind interviews, meaning that your interviewer will have
read your entire file, made notes and prepared tailored ques-
tions, or blind interviews, which are based on your résumé
alone. Alternatively, your interviewer may have only read
notes on your file, compiled by the initial readers.
What will they know about the program and the admis-
sions process?
• The backgrounds of admissions officers vary. Some have
backgrounds in education and limited for-profit work expe-
rience, while others hold an MBA from the school at which
they now work. Either way, full-time admissions staff will
know a good deal about the admissions process and the
MBA program itself. Just because an admissions officer
holds an MBA, however, does not mean that he or she is a
business expert who lives and dies by the Wall Street Jour-
nal or Financial Times. Do not assume that you are sitting
down with someone who is familiar with your industry.
• Alumni interviews will be similar to interviews with admis-
sions officers, although the structure of the interview will
be less formal and typically more relaxed.
• Current students are usually familiar with the general prin-
ciples of the admissions process, and are more likely to be
immersed in the business world than admissions officers
might be.
• Professors will be somewhat familiar with the admissions
process and the broad structure of their schools’ curricula,
and will be more focused on industry-specific and academ-
www.clearadmit.com
ic questions.
What questions will they ask?

While there is no set script, you will almost always be asked
to discuss your career to date, plans for the future, and rea-
sons for seeking an MBA from the school in question. Beyond
these, you should be familiar with the types of questions that
the school tends to ask with respect to your team skills, per-
sonal interests, and application in general.
How much weight is given to the interview?

Some schools ask that all applicants schedule their own
interviews, sometimes before they submit the rest of their
application, while others only invite a certain percentage of
applicants to interview. This means that at some schools,
the interview is informational and just another component of
your file, but at others, the interview can be considered a final
hurdle to clear on the way to acceptance.
How can I prepare?

For a non-blind interview, the best way to prepare is to:
• Review what you said in your application.
• Prepare concise answers to typical interview questions
(see our sample questions below).
• Be prepared for requests for professional or extracurricular
examples that you have not already presented in your ma-
terials, and for probing questions that seek further detail
on the items you discussed in your application.
• Know your weaknesses and be prepared to address them.
Your interviewer may try to identify weaknesses or areas
of the application that lacked clarity and then go after
them with pointed questions.
Meanwhile, for a blind, résumé-based interview, you should

simply:
• Know your application and résumé quite well.
• Be prepared to walk the interviewer through your experi-
ences to date and cover all of the most important points of
your candidacy in the allotted time.
• Think of a few stories from the professional and commu-
nity realms that you could tailor to a range of situational
questions. In particular, keeping examples of a leadership
success, a leadership failure, a team success and a team
failure fresh in your mind will help you call up quick re-
sponses to certain types of focused questions.
How will they evaluate you?

The interviewer will be evaluating both the content and the
delivery of your responses to his or her questions on the fol-
lowing dimensions:
Personal qualities
• Leadership ability and general charisma
• Confidence (not to be confused with cockiness)
• Team orientation
• Sense of humor
• Maturity
www.clearadmit.com
Appendix | 29
• Social concern
Professional development and goal articulation

• Career path/progression
• Industry knowledge
• Interest in general management
• Reasons for career choices to date
• Reasons for seeking an MBA
• Level of research on and interest in their program
Communication and Interpersonal Skills

• Extemporaneous speaking ability and poise
• Work in teams
• Interactions with subordinates and supervisors
• English skills (for international applicants only)
What questions should you ask the interviewer?

Most MBA applicants are very well-researched when it comes
to their target programs, having spoken with students and
alumni and combed through the school’s website and other
marketing materials before even submitting their applications.
Though it might be tempting to say “no” when your interview-
er asks if you have any questions for him or her, it would be
unwise to dismiss this opportunity to get another perspective
on the program and demonstrate that you value your inter-
viewer’s time and insight.
That said, it should be noted that some inquiries will go over

better than others.
DO ask questions that:

• Focus on your career goals and the studies you might pur-
sue.
• Concern extracurricular activities (such as conferences,
speakers, business treks).
• Give the interviewer a chance to offer his or her opinion or
insight.
• Demonstrate that you are knowledgeable about the pro-
gram and have been in touch with students and alums.
DON’T ask questions that:

• Have an obvious answer that you could have found by
reading the website.
• Are antagonistic or skeptical about the program or the
MBA in general.
• Are obscure and difficult to answer (the last thing you
want to do is stump your interviewer or damage your rap-
port).
• Focus on issues of post-graduate employment or network-
ing.
Basic Tips
Dress formally – remember the charisma element mentioned
above, and keep in mind that it’s always best to err on the
conservative side.
www.clearadmit.com
Be polite – not just to your interviewer, but to admissions

support staff and anyone else you encounter during your visit.
You want to make a positive impression on as many people as
possible.
Speak clearly – don’t rush your answers or mumble. Your

delivery is just as important as the content of your answers
to the interviewer’s questions. Be sure to take your time and
sound confident in your responses.
Speak concisely – avoid rambling or repeating yourself. You

want your answers to sound thoughtful and well-constructed,
so practice will be important in this regard. Given the time
constraints and the amount of information you need to con-
vey, you have an added incentive to make your point quickly
and move on. Don’t be afraid to take a few seconds to collect
your thoughts before answering.
Follow up – be sure to let your interviewer know that you

appreciate his or her time and attention. Ask your interviewer
for a business card or contact information and send a ‘thank
you’ email within 24 hours.
Sample Questions
The following is an extensive list of questions you might be
asked over the course of your business school interviews:
Leadership
• Tell me about a leadership experience you have had since
submitting your application (i.e. something not covered in
your essays).
• Tell me about a leadership experience with a college or
community activity.
• What is your leadership style?
• What qualities should a good leader possess?
• What is your best example of leadership?
• What have you learned from good leaders?
• Who is your hero?
• Talk about a bad manager. Why was s/he bad? What did
you do about it?
• Talk about a passion of yours and how it contributes to
your leadership skills.
• What elements of your leadership style could be improved?
What constructive criticism would you get from people you
supervise?
• What is your definition of a leader?
Career to Date & Goals

• Explain what you do at work and how your company fits
into your industry as a whole.
• What is your biggest success? Your biggest failure? What
did you learn from that failure?
• Are you good at what you do?
• What’s the biggest risk you have taken recently?
• What will you be doing over the next six months?
• Flesh out your career goals some more (long-term, medi-
www.clearadmit.com
Appendix | 31
um-term, short-term).
• What makes you get out of bed every morning?
• Why [your field of interest]? What is your vision for [your
industry]?
• Where do you want to be in 5, 10, and 30 years?
• Where do you want to intern next summer?
• Describe what you would do if you had to choose a new
profession.
Situational Questions
• Tell me about how you make decisions.
• Talk about a recent project/experience at work.
• Describe a situation where people have relied on you.
Why?
• Describe something you have fixed or want to fix at work.
• Describe an incident where you disagreed with a superior/
subordinate. How was the disagreement settled? How
have you handled a difficult situation?
• Describe a situation where you successfully responded to
change.
• Describe something you would do differently if given the
opportunity.
• Describe an epiphany you have had. How did it change
the way you look at something?
• What is the single most important lesson you have learned
over the past few years?
• If you were running the company you work for, what would
you change?
• If you were the CEO of a company and had to do a down-
sizing, what people would you lay off and how would you
implement it?
• Name a time when you had to make a decision between
two appealing alternatives. What was your thought pro-
cess and how did you decide? Do you think you made the
right decision?
Application Issues & Potential Contribution

• If you were an admissions officer, what would be the ‘red
flags’ and ‘green flags’ in your application package?
• What is your story? What is unique about it? What will
you contribute to class?
• What do you know about [this school] and how have you
learned it?
• How would you describe [this school]?
• Why an MBA now? Why [this school]? What do you want
to accomplish at business school?
• What would you do if not accepted?
• What other schools are you applying to?
• Why is [this school] the best fit for you?
• How did you begin investigating the MBA?
Personal
• What are your strengths/weaknesses?
• What are some misperceptions about you?
• What was your most creative idea that failed?
• How do you define success?
• Who was your favorite college professor and why?
www.clearadmit.com
• Try to persuade or dissuade me from applying to your un-

dergraduate college.
• If you could title a book about you, what would the title
be?
• If you were to be featured in a publication, what publica-
tion would it be and what would the headline say?
• What is a clever thing you have done?
• Argue a case. Your interviewer may ask a question or
make a statement, then ask you to respond or react. The
interviewer may then rebut your response. A sample
question might be, “Do companies need to pursue inno-
vative strategies?” Be prepared for a rebuttal, no mat-
ter what your answer, and be ready to create a carefully
reasoned response to each rebuttal.
www.clearadmit.com
“THE RESPECT OF DIVERSITY IS
THE ONLY WAY TO STAY RELEVANT IN
OUR GLOBALIZING WORLD.”
Jean-Paul Agon, HEC class of 1978

CEO of L’Oréal, world leader in cosmetics and beauty
By gathering more than 95 nationalities on campus, HEC Paris MBA teaches current
and future leaders to embrace diversity and to connect with the entire world.
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3 Tips & Analysis 15

6 Appendix: General Interview Guide 27

First introduced in the 2012-2013 admissions season, the HBS

An interview is required for admission, indicating that Har-

Information from the HBS

Interview invitations will be sent out via email on October 8

On October 15, candidates who will not be invited to interview

A group of Round 1 applicants, possibly 100-150, will be

Round 1 interviews will be conducted between October 20 and

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: We love having

The school’s website has this posted concerning candidate

After your written application has been submitted and re-

Interviews may be scheduled on campus, in domestic or in-

Interviews are 30 minutes and are conducted by an MBA Ad-

Post Interview Reflection

A bit more information can be found in the school’s general

What does it mean to receive an invitation to interview?

Is the timing of my interview or interview invitation

Who conducts the interviews?

Am I at a disadvantage if I interview off-campus?

Admissions Board and you are not at a disadvantage in the

What is the dress code for interviews?

Do I have to register to attend any of the on-campus

Does participating in on-campus activities affect my

What if I cannot spend the whole day at HBS?

Will I have time to write my Post-Interview Reflection

Can I attend more than one On-Campus Interview Day?

I am interviewing off-campus, but will be at HBS on a

Can I bring a guest to the on-campus activities?

Can I leave the hospitality suite and explore campus?

When will I get my final decision?

What if I have to change my interview date and/or

Leadership & General Professional

Goals, Education & Career Choices

• Break down the marketing strategy of a company in your

Tell me about one.

Application Issues & Potential Contributions

• Let’s go back to high school. What would your best friend

My interview was very standard. It lasted for 30 minutes, I

Another accepted Round 1 applicant shared the following ex-

I applied in Round 1 and interviewed in November. I am happy

• Tell me more about X senior design project I worked on in

A Round 2 applicant shared the following experience being

I had my interview with an AdCom committee member and

Quick background: I work for a technology company and want

• Explain what your role means and what you do.

• If I talk to your team mates ( I lead a team), what kind of

3 Tips & Analysis

HBS Interview Strategy

Keep in mind that the interview is important not only because

1. Confidence without arrogance. Some applicants go

2. Understanding your audience. Many applicants come

3. Expressing yourself clearly in English. For non-native

English speakers, please note that HBS is particularly con-

Analysis of Common Questions

What is your career vision?

Providing an unconvincing response to this question could