The following INSEAD MBA interview questions & report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 2 applicant who was admitted. Congratulations to them!
Both of my alumni interviews took place in cafés (or as they are called in French, brasseries). At first, I was apprehensive that the interviews would be in French, as it is not my native language and I had prepared my application in English. In the end, it did not make any difference, but I was psychologically prepared.
Usually people report having a younger and a more experienced interviewer, or having some from your background and someone in your post-MBA industry. This was not true for me: both were engineers (like me) and had done their MBA 10-12 years ago. The fact that I am located in a smaller city, with fewer alumni available, might have had an impact on the choice of interviewers.
First Interview
The first interview was 100% in the local language, the alum has been doing interviews for some time so he was straight to the point: I want to hear about your story, career path leading to an MBA and career goals, and see that everything makes sense. After that, he asked a few questions because he needed to fill the form. Those were about culture shock, extracurricular activities, etc. After that, he said my story was coherent and that now he was there for any questions and to help me make this very important decision that is doing an MBA. He said the his career would be very different had he not gone to INSEAD. We spent some time on that and he offered some good advice.
Total duration: 90 minutes
Second Interview
The second interview was half in English and half in the local language. The alum asked many more questions this time. As I was explaining my trajectory from university until my current job, he stopped to ask questions and really understand my motivations. Lots of questions on soft skills, I think he covered everything: leadership story and style, culture shock, weaknesses, etc. During the interview we would go back and forth between these questions and him telling about his experience. He always had a smile when talking about his time at INSEAD and you could tell that he enjoyed it. He said my story made perfect sense and that he was in a very similar place when he did his MBA.
Total duration: almost 2 hours
Final result: accepted
My final advice is to know your story very well and be confident for the interviews.
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
