Ivey Business School

"Before I talk about what I learned from my interview, I’d like to say that it’s important to keep the tone of the interview conversational. This is something I learned from many failed interviews. Be ready with stories from your work life. Took off with 1) Tell me about yourself? 2) Why MBA? Why MBA in Canada? 3) Why Ivey? 4) Tell me about a project where you helped your team to success. What did you learn from doing it? Is there anything you wish you could have changed? 5) Can you tell me about another project in which you led a team to success in a cross-collaboration setting? 6) Tell me about a time when you made a team fail. 7) Since you want to be a consultant, tell me about a recent event in Canada that would make a good case study. 8) Tell me about your start-up project experience? Did you learn anything important? 9) What will you do for Ivey both in and out of the classroom? 10) What steps will you take to make sure you do well in the program? Then, in a 60-minute interview, he gave me close to 20 minutes to ask him questions. I had a list of about five questions that I asked. You should be ready with five or six questions to ask the interviewer. Try to have at least two layers of answers - for counter question-and two examples for each of the above questions."

"Had an interview with one of the Career services members. It was very conversational and standard MBA interview. Lasted approx 50 min. 1- Tell me about yourself 2- Why MBA? Why Ivey? 3- Leadership opportunities? 4- Any initiative and what was the impact? 5- Conflict within the team 6- Ever worked in a dysfunctional team? How did you ease the experience? 7- Experience with a bad manager 8- Tell me about one strength and one weakness 9- What kind of a leader you want to be after MBA? Couple of more behavioral questions and then I asked the interviewer 3-4 questions. Prepare well on the leadership stories looking back upon your experience and do think of couple of questions to ask the interviewer."

"Duration of interview - 50mins Very conversational interview with Robyn from the careers team 1. Tell me about yourself 2. Why MBA, Why Ivey 3. Short term and Long term goals. Follow up question on alternate career path 4. Incident where you did something innovative or were a catalyst of change. How did you get others on board 5. Recent news/incidence which can be a good topic for a case 6. Quality that people misjudge about you. How did you feel when you got to know about it? What did you do to address it? 7. Situation when there was conflict in the team 8. Questions for me"

"Interview Date-2/5/22 Admit offer- 11/5/22 Duration of interview- 61mins 1.Tell me about yourself 2. Why MBA , WHY now , WHY IVEY 3. CFT team example 4. Failure & its learning 5.Motivation behind Personal & Professional paths 6.Quality that people misjudge about you 7.Examples of work ethics/performance under pressure 8.Decision making on limited Data 9.Challenges in my professional life - follow up questions 10.What is leadership according to you 11.questions for me (I asked 5 questions)"

"Application submitted: 8th April 2022 Interviewed on: 18th April 2022 Accepted on: 27th April 2022 My interview lasted 60 minutes and mainly consisted of questions from the debriefs posted here. It was extremely conversational. I did not follow very rigid structures (like STAR or CAR) and wasn't perfect while answering behavioural questions, but I still got in! So it's super important to be honest about who you are and not try to hide your weaknesses. These are some of the questions I was asked: 1. Tell me something about yourself/tell me your story. 2. Tell me about a project you worked on with a team. Follow-up questions here on the challenges I faced during this project. 3. Why MBA? 3. Why Ivey? 4. Tell me about a setback you faced. Follow-up questions on what happened after the setback and how I handled it. 5. Question on handling conflict in a team. Again a follow-up question on what's happening now? What is the team dynamic like in the present. 6. What is one thing/quality that people misunderstand about you? 7. What are your strengths and weaknesses from the POV of a supervisor. 8. Tell me about a time you had to make a decision without having access to complete information. How did you later adapt as you had more data? 9. Do you have any questions for me. Biggest advice: Be yourself, and try to build a connection with the interviewer. Good luck!"

"Very conversational interview with Robyn from the careers team. Typical "walk me through your resume" question, and of course, why Ivey/why MBA. Like you would expect from any school. A couple of behavioural questions too which aimed to test things such as self-awareness and ability to create change. I think these are pretty linked to success in the case method of learning because you need to be able to be open to other perspectives, and make your case/support your viewpoints. Ahead of time, I would recommend applicants to do the following: 1. Understand the case method and if possible, participate in a class. If not possible, there are some examples of Harvard business school case classes on youtube. 2. Understand why you want to do an MBA and why at Ivey - what are Ivey's differentiators? Ivey uses career coaches to conduct the admissions interview, because they want to only accept those that they believe can: a) successfully find employment post-MBA b) have experience that is strong enough to provide good insights into the case discussions, but also not require an internship. Therefore, being very cognisant of your current skill set, the skill set needed where you want to go, and how an MBA can fill those gaps, would be key. Overall, I have been extremely impressed by the professionalism and touchpoints from the school throughout. I hope this debrief helps some prospective applicants!"

"Hi all , Interviewed with Prateek Malhotra, he first made me comfortable asking about my family and the Covid situation and then he started by telling me about his details and journey and then asked me about myself. He made me really comfortable. The interview went about for 80 mins; the scheduled time was 60 mins. The interview was very conversational. - He asked me about myself and then asked me the why MBA question. - He then followed it up with why Ivey question and then asked me, in addition to education, what really, I was looking to get out of from the MBA experience. After this he told me that the Behavioural questions would start : - The time when I did something Innovative, what was the Impact? He asked a follow up question to that to clarify a detail. - Then he asked me about a conflict situation and my learnings out of it , what I learnt from that? - He asked me about a time when something did not go as per plan, or you had a major roadblock in our project, asked a follow-up about my learnings. - Tell me a time when I was given feedback, what did I do and how I handled it? That was it, it was very conversational, I had a great time. Then I got the opportunity to ask him questions and that lasted about 20 mins. Overall a very pleasant experience."

"I had my interview with Brenda Pearson, a member of Ivey's Career Management team. I was a bit worried at first because I've never met her, but she was truly lovely and made me feel at ease throughout the interview. Having talked with the alums/current students, listening to the podcast Julia shared, and going through the questions here were definitely helpful! As most have already mentioned, it was very conversational and tailor-fit to my experience (e.g. she asked how the selection and evaluation process was for my first job as a Management Trainee). Here are just some that I remember: 1. Walk me through your resume 2. Why an MBA and why now? 3. Why do you want to work in that industry? 4. What specific companies have you looked into, particularly in Canada? 5. What do you know about Canada? What sources do you follow? 6. Do you have any hesitations about the Ivey MBA? 7. Tell me about a time you had a conflict at work? How did you handle it? 8. Tell me about a time that you had plans and it didn't pan out? What did you do and what could you have done differently? 9. Is there anything you were hoping I would ask and prepared an answer for? 10. Do you have any questions for me? That's it! I thought I was prepared for the post-MBA employment goals questions, but I still thought my answers could have been better. I suggest to research more on this."

"My interview took place September 16. The questions were the traditional MBA interview questions but were posed a bit differently. For example, instead of directly asking "Why Ivey?" my interviewer would say "How did you decide on the business schools you applied to?" Generally, the interview went well and I was not asked a question I had not prepared for. I guess this was expected though as I had prepared with a list of approx 100 interview questions that I found from the resources on this forum including the different interview debriefs. Based on my experience, I believe what is going on the interviewer's mind as you're been interviewed is, "does the candidate have a clearly defined post-MBA career path as well as the relevant experience and skillset to successfully recruit for these roles?" So you need to have know your post MBA role(s) and the list of companies you would be recruiting for. Also, have an idea of your plan B companies if plan A doesn't work out as you may be asked. One more thing I would say if you have been invited for an interview is to expect your interviewer to dig deeper when you answer the behavioural questions so ensure you have thought about your stories from different angles."

"Had the interview on the fourth of August.The interview lasted about an hour. Prior to the interview-Went through the Ivey interview podcast and a few debriefs. The interview itself was very conversational with questions related to 3 main categories 1)Your journey and achievements thus far.2)Your Goals post MBA and how Ivey will help achieve those.3)Behavioural questions . Got a call and an email with an offer on the 13th of August. The best advice i can give is keep it genuine and practice how you tell your story.Your story is personal and nobody can tell it better. Hope this helps.Best of luck cheers."

"The interview was very conversational and supportive like everyone else has said, they are really there to help you express yourself and your underlying motives for wanting to do an MBA. To prepare, I made sure to have an answer for all of the questions from the interview debriefs as well as a clear, logical explanation of my background, why MBA, and future aspirations. Ivey is one of the only schools that has a member of the career management team do the admission interview, so be sure to tailor your questions at the end!"

"Prior to application + interview: - Talked to a person on the recruitment team - Connected to a current candidate in the program Interview process: fairly quick at 40-45 minutes. I got asked the following: - Why MBA? - Why now? -> for me I included professional reasons and also personal reasons (woman, wants to start a family in the future so it's time to do MBA now). - How did you resolve a conflict? -> I described a situation at work, which was followed up with "So how is your relationship with that co-worker now?" - Tell me of a time you take an initiative, or demonstrate leadership? - Tell me of a time you receive feedback at work and what did you do about it? - Why did you choose to attend college in the US? -> I decided to pursue undergraduate degree in the US myself (didn't get support from friends/family at first) so it was easy for me to explain my decision making process: I chose my alma mater because of xyz factors including location, financial reasons, etc. In the admit call, they said they were impressed that I take that initiative to find success and that shows determination, which I was pleasantly surprised because to me that's just a thing I did :) This question is not applicable to everyone but I guess it shows that they were looking to see a peak of who you are and your life story. - How did you learn/seek more information? -> I said I usually get a story from the news, and then when I want to delve deeper into a topic I go to books. - What do you know about Canada? -> I got into troubles with this question since I'm not too well-versed. I said I got some information from my favorite Youtubers who are Canadians, which are straight facts. I also brought up racial inequality/BLM situation in Canada. Don't think I gave the most convincing answers though. I think what they were looking for is more current economics news, etc. Looking back, I could've said things about Canadian economy but my brain farted. Other questions I'd prepare for before your interview: - A time when you make mistake/failure - What value do you bring to the program? - A time you make decision with lack of info - Any good idea for a case study? - Describe your style of leadership/communication? - What would you do if someone doesn't pull the weight? - Achievement inside/outside of work you are most proud of? Good luck!"

"I had my interview on March 18th, 2020 with a member of the career management team. Fortunately, because I had done an in-person class visit, I had already met this individual before and had built some rapport with her. It was a very friendly, conversational interview, beginning with overview questions such as 'tell me about yourself', 'why Ivey, why MBA, why now', and 'what do you like to do outside of work'. Overall it was approximately 45 minutes long. To note: I had a coffee chat with a recruiter in December 2019, did an in-class visit January 2020, attended a prospective student dinner downtown in Toronto and an International Women's Day event with prospective students in February 2020. If you can, do as much in person networking as you can. They will remember you and remember your face! I tried to show my personality and authentic self as much as possible. Here are a few questions I was asked: - Describe a difficult project that you worked on and why was it difficult? - What gaps would the MBA fill in your career? - Tell me of a time you have changed a process at work, or a time you demonstrated leadership - If plan A doesn't work out, what's your plan B? - Describe a conflict that you had with someone at work. Tips: - Create a running doc of potential questions and prepare using the 'CAR' method (context, action, result or STAR = situation, task, action, result). That way you have an idea of what you'll say when asked a question - Tell a compelling story - practice in front of a mirror, practice on your friends/family members; they are as human as you are, so make the conversation exciting and interesting - They will ask follow up questions - don't take that as a bad sign. They are asking to dig deeper into your answers and get a sense of how you felt and how your experiences transformed you. - Don't give the canned answer of 'case studies' when they ask you 'why Ivey?'. Put some real thought and research, this is probably one of the most important questions that you will be asked, and what you say will set you apart - When you talk about yourself, mention something that will make them remember you (i.e. a unique hobby, your personal experience with the Ivey admission team) Good luck! And to anyone else in the Ivey class of 2022, I look forward to meeting and working with you :)"

"Hello Everyone, I went through the interview Yesterday, it was about 35 mins long. Career-related or school questions were very less. The interview was more so about the behavior related question such feedback from ur superior, the time when u worked on a project with limited information, etc. The interview went OK but wasn't completely happy with my performance. I thought the examples that I was giving she was not able to get them completely as they were core manufacturing situations. None the less will see what happens. Will inform you accordingly. Regards"

"Had my interview with a member of the career management team - it was about 10 am in the morning in Ontario and the interview lasted 60 mins, including Q&A. Overall, the session was quite pleasant and enjoyable. Consolidating all the lists of interview questions I could find for Ivey online, I had prepared for 3-4 "tough" questions but I only had to answer 1 from this group I anticipated and I didn't get drilled for that one either. The focus was on my planning post-MBA, work experience (touching briefly on my role then more heavily on decision-making or challenges), and behavior. List of questions, as best as I can recall: 1. Tell me about yourself 2. Why Canada? 3. What do you do in your current role? 4. Why Ivey and why an MBA 5. What are your goals post-MBA, long-term and short-term? 6. What sectors are you interested in? 7. Related to post-MBA goal plan B: What companies are you interested in? 8. What value do you think you would bring to Ivey 9. Tell me about a time you received feedback during work and what you did about it 10. Tell me about a time you had to make a decision with a lack of information 11. Would you be able to give me an idea for a good case study? 12. Q&A session General tips: 1. Try to generate rapport with your interviewer. If the university discloses the interviewer's name ahead of time, do some research (LinkedIn, etc) to see if there might be something worth mentioning, such as experience in a sector you are interested in. Throw in some relevant jokes, if you are able to do so naturally. 2. Ask at least 3 questions that you've thought about beforehand that communicate that you are thinking about things long-term or trying to make decisions about the program strategically."

"Had the interview via Skype late night (because of the time difference). Almost all the questions were behavioral, mostly focusing on my leadership experiences, style and how I would fine tune it to fit the Ivey classroom and learning teams. The interview lasted about 45 minutes excluding my questions about the program. Some of the questions I can remember are: 1. How would you describe your style of leadership? Example 2. How would you use that style of leadership to lead a team at Ivey? 3. Feedback that has helped you become the leader you are today? 4. Some questions on my career progression and the rationale behind changing my job at one point in time 5. What kind of teams do you enjoy working with? 6. How do you handle conflicts within a team? Example 7. Why I've selected my Post-MBA career path. 8. What makes you stand out from other applicants?"

"The interview was fairly conversational. - It started off with questions specific to my industry (healthcare) and touched upon points I discussed in my essays. - It then went into behavioural questions - my strengths, weaknesses, how I work in teams, etc. - The final question was whether I had any hesitations about studying at Ivey. I had a few takeaways from the interview: 1) Know as much about your industry as possible, 2) Be prepared to thoroughly explain points from your essays and resume, 3) The interview is just one data point. Do your best, but it probably won't be perfect. I didn't feel all that great about my interview, but everything still worked out okay."

"I had my interview this morning and I think it went very well. It was with a career management member. As others said before it is not to trick you but to test your interest. We went over the regular questions : why MBA now ? Why Ivey ? How can you contribute ? Talk to me about yourself and your resume ? What do you do in your current role ? How did you move the ladders in your job ? Why your teammates would recommend you ? etc So as long as you're prepared for these questions and can come up with examples it should be fine, it's really not to trick you. Beside there were a lot of personal questions like why did I study for the CFA, etc. Good luck for all of those who will be interviewing soon, I hope it goes well!"

"I interviewed with IVEY on the 9th of March with a member of the Career Management Team. I would like to share my experience, so that people who are yet to interview may get a fair idea of what to expect. I have interviewed with quite a few schools , and have admit offers from a couple of them. Most other interviews were fairly similar, and the experience in each of them was fairly similar as well, however the interview that I had with IVEY was quite unlike any other MBA admission interviews I have ever had. Even though I was not happy with my performance in the interview, I can say I am extremely impressed by the quality of the interview and the entire interview process. The questions asked were very personalised and tailored specific to my profile and to the application I had submitted. I had expected a lot of questions outside of work since I have significant community and other experiences outside of work. However 95%, or possibly even 100%, of the questions were related to my professional and work experience. A lot of the questions were cases related to my work. Almost all of the questions were behavioural-like questions; none of the questions was generic. Although it might not be much helpful to list out the questions, especially since the interview is very personalised, still below are a few questions I remember. The interview lasted a little less than 1 hour. 1. Run me through your resume in 2-3 mins. 2. What do you currently do in your role? 3. Why MBA? Why now and why Ivey? 4. A time when you did something unpopular. Looking back would you have changed anything if you got a chance to do it again? 5. A time you felt frustrated. Looking back would you have changed anything? 6. Which other schools did you apply to and why? Have you applied to any other Canadian school? 7. How would you contribute to the Ivey experience? 8. What clubs would you like to participate in at Ivey? 9. A time when you made a decision with limited data. Looking back would you have changed anything? 10. A time when you had to deal with an extremely difficult employee. How did you deal with the situation? 11. If you were the CEO of your company, what are the three things that would keep you awake? 12. Why did you choose the list of organization you want to work with post-MBA? How do you plan to land a job with them? 13. Why did you choose the role/profile that you want to work in post-MBA? 14. How do you plan to find a job post IVEY in Canada? What research have you done? 15. What would be your primary concerns in relocating to Canada, and in studying at IVEY? 16. Do you know how your target organization hire? Are you a good fit? 17. Do you have a Plan B a. If you did not get accepted at IVEY? b. If you do not find a job post IVEY? 18. Any questions for the interviewer? Please note that this is not a master list, and the questions will be very specific to the applicant and the application he/she submits. Also, there were a lot other questions that I do not remember."