Harvard Business School

Tips for the Harvard Business School Interview

Harvard Business School has long been known for its leadership development and tight-knit community.

If you’re lucky enough to land an interview at HBS, it’s important to familiarize yourself with what admissions officers are looking for and be able to speak to what makes HBS a great fit for you. Stacy Blackman, founder of Stacy Blackman Consulting, recently gave insight into the HBS interview experience and offered some helpful tips for success.

HAVE A POINT OF VIEW

Perspective is key to leadership. And HBS specifically seeks out applicants who can demonstrate a unique point of view.

“The single most important element of the interview is demonstrating deep intellectual curiosity with the ability to develop a point of view or perspective,” Andrea, a consultant at Stacy Blackman Consulting and former Associate Director of MBA Admissions Marketing at Harvard Business School, says. “HBS continues to assess leadership and academic and quantitative capabilities during the interview. Now, the focus turns toward personal qualities that are hard to assess in a deep way on paper.”

“You cannot let even the smallest question seem surface level,” she adds. “Demonstrating depth of insight and the ability to cross-correlate are so important.”

KNOW YOUR RESUME

Your resume will serve as the foundation of the interview conversation. Thus, it’s critical to know your resume, inside-and-out, and be able to speak to your experiences thoroughly.

“Prepare to answer questions ranging from major industry headlines to hobbies and interests,” Blackman says. “For example, if you’ve said you’re a historical fiction buff, be ready to discuss it. This interview will also cover the nuances of several of your life choices. Make sure your answers show character and introspection. You won’t have any notes in front of you, so become well-versed in your own experiences, both professional and personal.”

SHARE CONTEXT AND HAVE DEPTH

While it’s important to know your resume, you’ll want to share context that goes beyond the bulleted skills and experiences.

“The interviewer has already read a lot about you,” Blackman says. “Now, it’s your job to make them excited about you—something you fully control with how you shape your answers. Motivations, learnings, anomalies, growth, hesitations, and realizations are all ways to show depth of character and genuinely connect with the interviewer beyond the facts they have already read.”

Sources: Stacy Blackman Consulting, P&Q