Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management
Full-time MBA program – Video Essay Questions
Kellogg asks you to submit a “video essay” within a week of submitting your completed application. This is essentially a short Q&A (two questions), and can be recorded at your convenience. One question will be about the your interest in Kellogg and the other will be a “getting to know you” type of question. You will have 20 seconds to think and plan and up to 1 minute to respond.
Before the interview:
- Infrastructure: Make sure your equipment works – mic, camera, speakers, Internet.
- Rehearse: Rehearse into the camera and then watch the recording to improve. Spend 2-3 recordings just rehearsing and reviewing.
- Dress: Dress neatly. Light formals are ok.
- Clarity: Ensure there is no background noise: visual or aural. Try to find a quiet, well-lit place, with a flat, light-coloured background.
- Height: Ensure the aperture of the camera is at eye-height for you. If it’s not, then adjust the height. Also zoom in enough so that there aren’t lots of distracting objects in the background.
- Lighting: Ensure your face is properly lit. If you have to, then use a table lamp in addition to the room lighting.
- Relax: Relax – you will come across better if you are relaxed.
- Smile: Don’t need to have a plastic smile pasted on throughout. But do smile from time to time appropriately.
- Time: Use your 20 sec thinking/prep time well to structure your thoughts. Practice timing yourself. Get a good sense (by practising sample questions below) of what 60 seconds feel like.
- Scope: In your thinking time, identify 2 (max 3) items you want to talk about. What kills most people in general questions is that they try to be exhaustive and talk about lots of things.
- No fillers: Think for a few seconds before you reply and then minimize pauses that we tend to fill with “ums” and “uhs.”
Some commonly asked questions are:
Question 1
What path are you interested in pursuing, how will you get there, and why is this program right for you?”
Question 2
- What possession or memento do you treasure most and why?
- If you had an extra hour every day, what would you do with it?
- What piece of technology could you not live without and why?
- What word describes you best and why?
- Tell us about the first job you ever had?
- What’s the best book you have ever read and why?
- When you have a problem, whom do you approach for advice and why?
- What accomplishment are you really proud of?
- What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?
- If you could witness any event..past present or future-what would it be?
- What one interesting or fun fact would you want your future Kellogg classmates to know about you?
- If you could teach a class on any topic. What would it be and why?
- If you were given a chance to meet anyone, current or historical, who would you meet and why?
- What was the most interesting class you took at University?
- Tell us about an organization or activity in which you have dedicated significant time. Why was it meaningful to you?
- What have anyone done good for you and how did you felt about it?
- Tell us about the most interesting place to which you have travelled. What did you enjoy most about it?
- What invention during your lifetime has had the biggest impact on you and why?
- If money was not a concern, then what would you do?
- Why did you choose your college major?
- What is the most meaningful thing anyone has done for you in your life?
- If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
- What food do you like? Will you be able to eat that food everyday?
- How have you changed in the last 5 years?
- Whom do you respect most, and why?
- What is your favourite motto or quote? why?
- What is the biggest risk you have taken and what did you learn?
- What impact do you have on your co-workers?
- What inspires you?
We can help with your interview prep. Contact us:
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