5 (More) of the Hardest MBA Interview Questions

In your MBA interview, you’ll be asked a series of motivation and behavioral questions.

But you may also face some curveballs - the questions you didn’t expect. In a previous blog, we wrote about the 5 hardest MBA interview questions you'll be asked. In this blog, we’re showing you how to answer 5 more difficult interview questions that our clients have been asked in 2024 - 2025.  

1. Tell me about a time you failed.

Failure can serve as a valuable learning opportunity. So while you may not see it as a moment you are particularly keen to share with the AdCom, it is an important indicator of your self-awareness and resilience. 

Choose a specific anecdote that showcases your ability to learn and grow from your mistakes. Frame it in the SCAR format to keep a steady flow and give your story a clear structure. When you discuss your failure, be upfront about your involvement, explain how you reacted and why, and what lessons you learned from the experience or what you wish you did differently. Don’t blame others; your overall tone should come across as positive. Avoid sharing pseudo-failures or blaming others, instead emphasizing how the experience contributed to your personal growth and improvement. 

Remember that in the eyes of AdCom, if you’re never making mistakes, you’re not working hard enough! By crafting a compelling failure story that shows growth and vulnerability, you can differentiate yourself from other candidates and make a lasting impression on the admissions committee.

2. Which trends are affecting your current industry?

A strong foundation in business and current affairs is essential for success in the MBA classroom. Interviewers often note a candidate’s awareness of global economic trends, company performance, and disruptions in their industry.

Point-of-view questions like this help show the AdCom that you are informed about relevant challenges and opportunities in the business world. This is also a good opportunity for you to bring up an issue that you can connect to your own career goals. Before your interview, ensure that you’re up to date on global trends in your industry by doing your research via trusted business news sources like Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, or The Economist. If you are asked this question in your interview, don’t jump into something you are only half-informed about. Take your time and avoid a topic that’s too lofty or complex. 

3. What do you dislike about your job?

This is one of the most challenging MBA interview questions. Your interviewer uses it to judge your interpersonal skills and your ability to manage and resolve conflict, considering that you will meet and work with classmates and colleagues that you may not get along with. The more emotionally intelligent and articulate your answer is, the better your fit with the school. 

If you are asked this question, remember to be diplomatic. You don’t want to assign blame to your team or your management entirely. Take a moment to measure your words. It’s best to briefly explain your concerns with your role (without sounding resentful), and moving on to the positive aspects of your job. Focus on how you adapted to this challenge, communicated your needs with empathy, and reached a mutual solution. 

4. What 3 words would your colleagues use to describe you?

When interviewers ask this question, they really seek to clarify any gaps in the information they already have about you. Most programs emphasize teamwork and community values. Understanding more about your relationships with your colleagues aids in assessing your collaborative and interpersonal skills.

To answer this question effectively, consider the information provided by your recommenders, particularly if they are a manager or colleague. Familiarize yourself with their letters of recommendation and highlight relevant details. If your recommenders are not suitable, look to other individuals you’ve worked with, volunteered with, or partnered with for your extracurriculars.  

You may want to back these traits up with specific examples of positive feedback to justify why your colleagues describe you that way. This approach helps the admissions committee predict your behavior in a class setting and assess your fit within the cohort.

5. What's a question I didn't ask, but you wish I had?

Interviewers sometimes end an interview by asking this “safety” question, that lets an interviewee raise an important topic that has not naturally come up in the interview. Interviewers are human after all, and they may have missed an important or valuable aspect of your resume. Also, note that many MBA interviews are blind, which means the interviewer has not read your essays and doesn’t have that insight about you.

We recommend using this question to highlight a positive or impactful experience that raises the quality of your profile. For example, maybe the interviewer missed an important internship that changed the direction of your career. Or maybe they forgot to ask about an extracurricular which has been fundamental to forging your leadership style. Now is your opportunity to raise that.

Finally, this should go without saying: be polite. If an interviewer missed something about your profile, it wasn’t deliberate by them! Don’t be sassy when you raise something they have missed.

Bonus: What if the interview asks a question I haven’t prepared?

During your interview, the interviewer might throw you a question that you didn't see coming. Don't panic! Your default reaction if you don’t have an answer to a question should be to say “Can I have a moment to think about that?”

No interviewer will begrudge giving you 5 seconds to think of a solid answer. In fact, they’d much prefer that than having to listen to a bad answer. So, take a moment to think about your answer if you need it. To mitigate the risk of not having an answer prepared, we always recommend interviewees to prepare a bank of 5-6 stories that they can tell that demonstrate the main MBA interview traits. Achievement/strength, failure/weakness, team story, leadership story, moral dilemma, DEI story. If you have a solid story prepared for each of those, you can be confident!

Lastly, remember to keep your body language under control, especially when you're answering a question you weren't prepared for. Avoid touching your face, staring at the sky or running your hands through your hair.

Good luck!

Preparing for your MBA interview? Get in touch to book a mock interview session with our team.