B-School Interview Strategy & Prep
Nothing prepares you for an interview better than the real thing. Having conducted interviews and having trained interviewers for Stanford, I can help you understand the mindset and goals behind the interview, prepare for relevant questions and question formats, depending on the school, and avoid common mistakes. Common coaching activities in this package include, but are not limited to: - Interview Strategy: Collaborate with your coach to build a tailored interview approach that highlights your strengths and key differentiators. - Mock Interviews: Practice in realistic interview settings to build confidence, improve delivery, and refine your storytelling. - Feedback and Improvement: Receive detailed feedback after each mock session to sharpen your responses. - Behavioral Questions Preparation: Prepare for common behavioral questions, ensuring your answers are thoughtful and reflective of your experiences. - Strengthening Weak Areas: Identify areas for improvement and work strategically with your coach to enhance those aspects ahead of your interviews. This package is flexible and personalized to your goals. I will provide honest, actionable guidance to help you walk into your interviews feeling not only prepared and confident, but excited.
What's included
- A clear strategy for important interview questions for each school you are preparing for
- Constructive feedback coming out of mock interviews that leaves you with things to practice and emphasize on interview day
- Review of and understanding behind the interview format and choice of interviewer for your program/school
- The basics of how to nail virtual and in-person interviews, navigating the differences of each interview type
Meet your expert
Mike H.
Former Director of Programs and Admissions at Stanford GSB
Because I've been an educator (lecturer, coach, consultant, facilitator, program and admissions director) on the topic of leadership', I primarily think of myself as a student. I recognize great leadership takes many forms, and I believe leadership development starts with who you are, what you have to offer, and where you want to go, rather than an abstract idea of what a leader should look or sound like. As we said at the Stanford GSB, it begins not by asking, "what makes a great leader?," but by asking, "why would anybody follow me?" Keep this in mind when applying to school. Maybe there's an archetype of what the perfect applicant looks like, and there are obvious elements that strengthen any application, but the best schools want to recruit people of diverse backgrounds, talents, and perspectives. Rather than trying to fit a particular mold, show how much you would add to the overall mix--intellectually, socially, personally and professionally. In your application, you need to demonstrate why the faculty would value your unique input, why your classmates would learn from your unique experiences, and why the school would be uniquely proud to call you an alum. Having read many applications, I know that what most often stands out are the unexpected things, making an applicant memorable and authentic. Cookie cutter approaches rarely work. Half my career was spent at the Stanford GSB--first as an MBA student, later as Executive Director of the GSB's Center for Leadership Development and Research, and then Director of the Stanford MSx Program and Director of Admissions. I was brought in to the GSB to help oversee the launch of its MBA core leadership curriculum (Leadership Labs, Arbuckle Leadership Fellows, GSB Executive Challenge). Later, I helped revamp the Stanford MSx Program and oversaw admissions. Outside my academic and admissions work, I've had diverse roles: coached and facilitated leadership programs with community leaders and CEOs, worked as a strategy consultant, co-founded a microbrewery, served as a Peace Corps volunteer, been angel investor and advisor to startups. But while I've worn different hats, my approach to making an impact has generally been to help people with great potential to become better leaders. (...OK, maybe the microbrewery had different goals). My recent personal work is focused on the impact that AI is having on leaders, teams, and ...applicants. After writing a book, "Leading Teams in the Era of AI," I became fascinated with the learning and personal development processes that LLMs could support, and turned some of that learning on the admissions process. These experiments led to the launch of MBAI (mbai.app), a platform that uses agentic AI workflows to help MBA applicants develop richer narratives, focused goals, and stronger applications. Sign up and try out some of our tools for free.
