The following INSEAD interview questions report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant who was accepted. Congratulations to them!
My first alumni interview went rather well – I called him in advance to schedule and he was very responsive. He even told me that it was ok to wear jeans and that it would be very casual. I went to his office in London around 15 min in advance. I printed out a copy of my CV and the first 12 page of the PDF just to show that I was ‘prepared.’
Questions, First Interview
- Describe my current job
- Your relationships with other departments (I am an internal auditor so he asked whether other departments hate us)
- Why INSEAD
- Post-MBA career goal
- Why I would like to return to Asia instead of staying in London
In general, he was super nice. He told me to keep in touch even if i do not get in and told me that he would put me in contact with another alumnus who works in the industry that I am interested in.
The second interview was a week after in the interviewer’s office at King’s cross in London. It was rather difficult to schedule a time with her – I had sent her no less than 4 emails and also tried calling her several times without success. I must say that she was much more tough and asked very very specific questions to test my understanding on the industry that I would like to develop my long term career in.
Questions, Second Interview
- Why INSEAD
- Why MBA
- What do you know about that industry? What is the return like in that industry? How do you think you will be able to do that in Asia? Why don’t just do that without an MBA?
- Why didn’t you apply for a front office role after graduation?
- Why don’t you apply a job in an NGO or set up a successful business and then set up a foundation?
- How are you going to finance your MBA?
She didn’t give me the impression that she liked me at all. During the one hour interview, she did not smile and constantly challenged what I said. I tried my best to keep calm but I guess this was a way for her to see how ‘passionate’ or ‘knowledgeable’ I was.
Anyways, I got an email from INSEAD on 23 May that I got admitted 🙂 Good luck to other people here!
Clear Admit Resources
Preparing for your INSEAD admissions interview? Check out Clear Admit’s other resources:
- Clear Admit INSEAD Interview Guide: Strategic tips for approaching INSEAD’s interview questions, and more.
- Interview Archive: More firsthand accounts from INSEAD MBA applicants themselves
- Understanding the MBA Admissions Interview: At INSEAD, Two Interviews are Better than One
- Podcast Episode 23: 5 Most Common MBA Interview Questions You Need to Ace
