The following Harvard Business School interview questions and report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. Good luck to them!
I was interviewed by two admissions people — one who had read my app in full (who asked all the questions) and one who had only read my resume (who was less engaged but made a lot of facial expressions). The interview tone was VERY friendly overall, which caught me by surprise. I did a lot of smiling and laughing and it felt very natural.
Mix of super straightforward questions, like:
– why did you go into X industry, did you have a long-term plan for your career
– tell me about your industry
– tell me what happened at your company
– what would your friends say about you
as well as questions that weren’t TOTALLY curveballs but I didn’t expect and was caught off-guard:
– knowing what you know from your current job, how would you do your first job differently?
– if you had 6 months to do two very different things, what would you do?
– what is the solution to X huge industry problem
Toward the end it got very conversational where we were kind of bouncing ideas off of each other. I even challenged what one of the interviewer said about something and was concerned that might have been the wrong move but I think it probably just showed that I could hold an opinion and defend it.
I felt great coming out of the interview, and the person who walked me out gave me really strongly positive vibes. 24 hours later, I felt terrible and couldn’t believe what an idiot I was for my stupid answers. Advice is, don’t do that — a lot of wasted time and anxiety about something that you can’t control.
Clear Admit Resources
Preparing for your Harvard Business School interview? Check out Clear Admit’s other resources:
- Clear Admit Harvard Business School Interview Guide: Strategic tips for approaching Harvard’s post-interview reflection essay, interview questions, and more.
- Interview Tips: Top HBS MBA Interview Tips from Actual Interviewees
- Understanding the MBA Admissions Interview: Blind vs. Non-Blind
- Podcast Episode 22: HBS Admissions Director Chad Losee Dishes on the MBA Interview, Essays, Financial Aid, and More
- Podcast Episode 23: 5 Most Common MBA Interview Questions You Need to Ace
