The interview was application-based, very conversational, and lasted for about 1.5 hours. It was conducted virtually via Zoom by an alumnus based in my country. The experience was enjoyable as the conversation felt natural and amicable. They emphasised that the interview is merely a part of the process and not a decisive factor in the final decision. They told me of past examples when applicants they enjoyed interviewing weren’t accepted, while applicants they thought were “mediocre at best” were admitted. They believe the interviews aren’t playing a unique role compared to other elements of the application.
The interviewer was intelligent, open, direct, friendly, and practical. There were some random questions that I neither expected nor experienced in other interviews, but I tried handling them well. They were very intrigued by my story and profile, primarily due to my non-traditional and versatile professional background, activism, interests, the international academic institutions I attended, and modest upbringing. They read my application very thoroughly and mentioned parts of it during the conversation.
The interviewer asked me the following questions in approximately this order:
1. Walk me through your resume – Follow up – now summarise your resume in one minute instead of three.
2. Questions about my professional experience – some specific questions such as “what does a typical day look like?”, “what do the projects you lead and manage entail?”, “how do you manage your reportees?”
3. Questions about my upbringing, international experiences, academic background.
4. Post-MBA plans.
5. Why, LBS? Given your background and goals, why are you applying to an MBA and not a different degree?
6. Academics & student-life at LBS
7. Some very typical and straight-forward behavioural questions about working in and leading teams and some random thought-provoking questions.
8. More fit questions.
9. A case question (which was very enjoyable) – 5 minutes to prepare (ended up being 7), 5 minutes to present.
10. Which other schools did you apply to? Why is LBS your top priority? They were impressed by the number of people I talked to, clubs I connected with, events I attended, and generally by my engagement with the school over the past few months.
11. Any questions for me (I had time to ask three questions) – this part was my favourite part.
I sent them a thank-you note following the interview, and they offered to connect.
I hope this is helpful, and I wish you all good luck with your coming interview!
