HEC Paris MBA Interview Questions

HEC Paris MBA Interview Questions

The HEC Paris MBA interview is conducted by two or more panel members including HEC Paris MBA alumni. Mentioned below is the interview experience of one of GyanOne HEC Paris MBA applicant (who successfully made it through). The interview process comprised of a series of two interviews listed in detail below. Note that HEC Paris MBA interview questions are both goals and career related, and behavioral. Fit with HEC is an important component of the process, and it is gauged through behavioral questions.

Interview 1:

The interview happened in a coffee shop that was close to the interviewer’s office. He was a principal consultant working with PwC who had graduated very recently from HEC.

The applicant had expressed the ambition to become a Management Consultant in his HEC Paris MBA application, which possibly influenced the adcom’s decision to select the specific interviewer (refer Mr. A).
Mr. A was very warm and arrived a little late. He briefed me about the process and then we went straight into it. The interview lasted about 30-40 minutes.

1. Why MBA?
2. Why HEC?
3. Why now?
4. He then asked a few questions pertaining to my field of work. I was able to answer them swiftly. He stressed on trying to understand my line of thinking. This process took around 10-15 minutes.
   What are your strengths and weaknesses?
5. What value would you add to the classroom?
6. Why should HEC chose me over somebody else with greater years of experience?
   Was asked to present the presentation we were asked to prepare for the interview.
7. Any questions for us? (Enquired about the GCP program, HEC football team’s performance on the MBAT and the Fieldwork projects – their conversion rate to jobs etc.)

Interview 2

The second interview happened in a coffee parlor. The place was a little uncomfortable and the outdoor seating was not helping at all. It was not a very pleasant weather to have a grilling talk with an alum of over 20 years experience.

The interviewer (refer Mr. B) was a Director with UBS and had graduated over 10 years ago from HEC. He asked me to carry a hard copy of my resume and slides which we used during the interview. He briefly explained to me the layout of the interview and we dived into it.

1. Speak about yourself – family background – siblings – schooling etc.
2. Why MBA? Why Now? (He did not seem totally convinced and felt I am too young to pursue an MBA. He was fairly rooted to the fact that I haven’t thought through my future.)
3. Why HEC? Why NOT INSEAD? What Next?
   (No matter what I said, he didn’t seem convinced on Why NOT INSEAD or Why HEC when I dont know French and dont have a British passport.)
4. What is your GMAT score and what do you expected out of HEC?
5. Details about finances and how do you expect to repay the loan (In general, he was testing if I have though about my alternatives and if I genuinely feel HEC is the answer for me or not. He was only looking at my clarity of thought, whether I have assessed my worst case scenarios and If i have enough information about the school, visa process and constraints etc.)
6. Questions on strengths and weaknesses.
7. Any question for us? (I asked a few questions on the Management Consulting Presence in HEC, the GCP program and the fieldwork assignments. Mr. B kept stating that He is playing the Devil’s advocate and there were some questions which he didn’t let me answer. Also, there wasn’t enough time devoted to the presentation – he went through 2 slides and also repeatedly questioned me if I have copied this from somewhere – I found this offending but at the end he took the slides and said I have some good material in them.)

GyanOne provides comprehensive help on interview preparation for all top MBA programs. Our proprietary interview support methodology, IntOne™, helps you to prepare yourself for the interview in a disciplined and professional manner. For more info on the service, visit GyanOne Premium Interview Preparation Service.

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