Mastering the Harvard Business School Interview

Next week, anxious Round 1 candidates to Harvard Business School will receive news of their fate when interview invites go out on September 30, 2024. HBS interviews about one in five applicants and admits just over half of those candidates. If you can successfully pass the Harvard Business School interview hurdle, your chances of admission skyrocket.

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What to expect in a Harvard Business School interview

Unfortunately, you can’t predict which questions will come up during your interview. But, you can expect the types of questions to fall into three broad categories representing your past, present, and future.

The interviewer will probe in great depth about your career goals, professional choices, and interest in the MBA program. They will be very familiar with your essays — so familiar it will seem that your interviewer is determined to find a “hole” in your story.

The Harvard Club of New York City is the setting of many HBS interviews.

The anecdotes you share about your past experiences — both successes and failures — will give the interviewer some insight into your self-awareness and maturity. Your story should reveal how you confront life choices, the values and principles that help you negotiate complex situations, your beliefs, and your worldview.

Expect to receive several questions during your Harvard Business School interview that help your interviewer gauge how life has tested you and how you responded.

Did you know SBC offers HBS interview prep? Learn more about this great resource to get you to the top of your interview game.

Prepare for Probing Questions

Because your HBS interviewer has already seen your application, many questions about past experiences will leverage what they know about you from your essays. Be prepared for specific questions, such as:

Why did you make a particular career choice?

If there’s a single characteristic that summarizes what the admissions team looks for in successful candidates, it would be leadership potential. Provide concrete examples and tangible evidence that you achieved something significant by leading others.

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Why do you want to go to HBS?

Show that you’ve done your homework on the program, whether you’ve interviewed students, alumni, and professors, sat in on classes, or regularly read several student and professor blogs.

Share how HBS can help you achieve your post-business-school goals. It is also important to give insights into your personal and unique motives for choosing HBS.

What books are you reading?

Don’t treat this one like a throw-away question. It offers your interviewer more insight into what you value and who you are — provided you present a thoughtful answer. It’s OK to diverge from being all business; it’s often better to reveal some other interests.

How to Get Into Harvard Business School

Why did you major in Art History (or your particular major)?

Questions like this allow you to reveal your motives, thought processes, and values.

Dress Rehearsal is a Must

Practicing your answers to potential interview questions aloud vastly differs from rehearsing them internally. Don’t let the interview be the first time you verbalize your stories. Do a mock interview with a trusted friend or even alone in front of a mirror, and record yourself. That way, you can assess your body language and see whether you overuse filler words such as “um” or “like.”

Rehearsing will make you feel calm and more polished during the interview, and the conversation will flow much more smoothly.

Ask Questions During Your Interview

Not all HBS interviewers leave time for candidates to ask questions at the end. However, you should be prepared in case they do. Come armed with a brief list of questions highlighting your knowledge of and interest in the school. If interviewing with an alum, engaging in a comfortable conversation about their experience at the school is easy.

Don’t Panic Over the Post-Interview Reflection

The “post-interview reflection” has no official word limit and is due within 24 hours of the interview. The admissions team wants to know how the interviewee perceives the interview experience. They want to see how you synthesize and digest the exchange. Additionally, they want to determine how well you can communicate without the luxury of extensive rewrites and time to polish your answer.

Though this assignment aims to demonstrate your ability to think and work quickly, you should plan what you might write about. Before the interview, list three or four aspects of your application that you want to highlight or reinforce in this post-interview reflection. But don’t spend a lot of time writing. While there’s no strict word limit, resist the temptation to recap every point and question.

Don’t use this essay to explain every negative moment from the interview. Likewise, don’t overload the reader with information you fear your interview didn’t convey. Again, keep the email model in mind. Corral the diverse points from the interview into a short, readable piece that helps emphasize your strengths.

Admissions professionals often say an MBA interview won’t get you in, but it might keep you out. Remember, HBS admits about half of the candidates it interviews. Use these tips to boost your chances.

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The SBC team wishes you luck with your HBS application and interview and would love to support your efforts. Contact one of our SBC Principals to request availability for HBS interview preparation by emailing hbs@stacyblackman.com ASAP. As a reminder, HBS interview prep support at SBC is available only after interview invites have been extended. Here’s an overview of SBC’s interview prep services.

Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team.

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Mastering the Harvard Business School Interview