Category 4: Sample Questions and Answers for the MBA Personal Interview on Extracurricular Activities and Hobbies

Your MBA passions, such as sports, music, and social work, among others, are a significant topic for an MBA personal interview. Ensure that you are fully informed about the current advancements surrounding your hobbies. Please review the questions below and prepare your responses. 

Hobbies and Interests:

1. Reading: Recommended titles and writers
Cooking: What’s your go-to meal, recipe, and source of knowledge?
2. Why is volunteering cool these days, regardless of the cause? Are they genuinely motivated, or is it merely a matter of social pressure or being hip?
3. Concerning Kathak: Which gharana do you belong to? What number of gharanas exist? Give each an exponent of one.
4. What do you write for a living? Is it accessible online? Is it readable by us? What is your salary?
5. You said that you enjoy Carnatic music. Name a well-known
6. A charismatic vocalist from your state. Do you just hear him out?
7. List the Harry Potter instructors of dark arts.
8. You have taken part in theater. Tell us how togetherness is facilitated by drama.

Creative Activities:

Preparing for an MBA interview can be a daunting task, but incorporating creative activities into your preparation can make the process more engaging and effective. Here are five creative activities to help you get ready for your MBA interview:

1. Role-Playing with a Partner

Activity: Simulate the interview with a friend or mentor.

Description:  Have your partner act as the interviewer and ask you common MBA interview questions. Switch roles to gain perspective on both sides.

Benefits: This activity helps you practice your responses, improve your confidence, and receive constructive feedback.

2. Storyboarding Your Career Path
   Activity: Create a visual storyboard of your professional journey and future goals.

Description: Use a whiteboard or paper to draw a timeline of your career, highlighting key milestones, achievements, and future aspirations. Include images, symbols, and brief descriptions.

Benefits: This visual representation helps you articulate your story clearly and concisely during the interview.

3. Mind Mapping Strengths and Weaknesses

Activity: Develop a mind map to explore your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis).

Description: Place “Strengths” in the center of a sheet of paper and branch out with specific examples and related skills. Repeat for “Weaknesses,” “Opportunities,” and “Threats.”

Benefits: This exercise helps you understand and communicate your personal and professional attributes effectively.

4. Elevator Pitch Practice

Activity: Craft and practice your 60-second elevator pitch.

Description: Write a concise pitch that summarizes who you are, your background, and your career aspirations. Practice delivering it in various settings, like recording yourself or presenting to a small audience.

Benefits: A well-crafted elevator pitch ensures you can quickly and effectively introduce yourself during the interview.

5. Case Study Analysis and Presentation

Activity: Analyze a business case study and present your findings.
Description: Choose a relevant business case, analyze it, and prepare a brief presentation of your analysis and recommendations. Use slides or visual aids if necessary.
Benefits: This activity enhances your analytical and presentation skills, which are crucial for MBA interviews and business school success.

Education and Studying:

1. Do you enjoy taking part in debates? In what settings and on what frequency do you engage in them? What was the date of your most recent debate? Which topic was assigned? Did the debate go your way?
2. So you enjoy solving riddles. What sort of? Describe the obstacles you go into when trying to solve a Sudoku puzzle.
3. In addition to being one of your subjects, photography is also one of your hobbies. If you are in a 200 kmph train and you want to take a picture of a deer that is traveling in the opposite direction, what settings should your camera be in?
4. What life lessons can you draw from your hobbies?
5. Dancer: I was asked to put on an act based on a situation they gave me right away.

Sports and Games:

1. Leading table tennis players and equipment manufacturers.
2. Wrestling: What makes WWE such a big deal? Why is WWE the only successful promotion? TNA and WWE comparison! Sumo wrestling: what is it?
3. If you play kabaddi, what do you think of the pro league? What distinguishes kabaddi from other sports?4. The table tennis rules have undergone various modifications recently. Which ones are those?
5. Tennis: What is a serve?
6. The oldest and youngest cricket player to play in a test.
7. Which fiction novel is your favorite? Describe the reason why. How would reading books benefit you in the long run and while pursuing an MBA?
8. What is the purpose of a softball game?
9. How has Indian football profited from the ISL?