MBA Interviews

Not all universities in the UK will require an interview however the majority of the high ranked universities will. Students who use SI-UKs application service will be entitled to a free 20 minute practice interview. This is available at our London, Osaka and Tokyo office.

The practice interview covers the essentials of interview technique, but the following example questions may be especially relevant to MBA students and graduates.

Questions you may be asked at interview

Questions about yourself: your background and your ambitions:

Tell me about yourself
Why did you decide to do an MBA?
What do you feel you have gained from the course?
How would the experiences you describe be useful in this company?
What are your main strengths and weaknesses?
What other jobs/careers are you applying for?
Where do you see yourself in five years time?
What were you doing between these dates? (asking you to explain any gaps in your career history, such as time out, travel or unemployment);
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
What do you do in your spare time?
How would you describe yourself?
How would your friends/colleagues describe you?

Questions about your knowledge of the employer, or career area:

Why do you want to work for us?
Why have you chosen to apply for this job function?
What would you bring to the job?
Who do you think are, or will be, our main competitors?
What do you think makes you suitable for this job?
What do you see as the main threats or opportunities facing the company?
What impression do you have of this company?
What was our share price this morning?

Questions designed to put you on the spot and/or test your ability to think fast, reason under pressure and keep calm:

Why should we choose you rather than one of the other candidates?
Which business man or woman do you most admire?
What makes you angry?
How many piano tuners are there in the UK? (A serious question but not one where they are looking for a precise figure! Questions like these want you to logically arrive at a guesstimate breaking down the answer into a series of steps, e.g. number of households in the UK; percentage which have a piano; number of other pianos in schools, concert halls etc; how often does a piano need tuning and so on). This is a scoping question
If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?