The London Business School MiM Interview, Decoded

If London Business School invites you to interview, take it as good news. LBS doesn’t interview everyone — the interview comes only after a first review of your written application, so the invitation itself means the committee has seen enough to want to meet you. You’ve cleared a bar most applicants don’t. The interview exists to confirm, in conversation, the person the file describes.

That reframing matters, because it tells you what the interview is for. It is not a second exam designed to catch you out. By its own account, LBS uses the interview to judge whether a candidate “will genuinely contribute to the community and benefit from all that LBS has to offer.” The question underneath it is the same one every MiM admissions process is really asking — do you know why you’re here, and will you be good to have in the room? — only this time you answer it out loud.

Here is how LBS runs the conversation, and how to prepare for it without over-rehearsing. (Confirm the live process on the LBS application pages first — the School can adjust it between cycles — but the shape below has been stable.)

Who interviews you, and how

Two practical facts shape everything else:

• It’s currently virtual. LBS states that all interviews are held virtually at present, so you’ll meet your interviewer over video, not in London. Treat it like any high-stakes video call: tested connection, quiet room, camera at eye level, no distractions on screen.
• It’s an alumnus or an admissions-team member — and it doesn’t matter which. LBS matches many candidates with a member of its global alumni community; others are interviewed by recruitment staff. Both use the same assessment criteria, so your evaluation is identical either way. The upside of drawing an alumnus is that you also get a genuine window into the programme — use it.

Interviews typically run around 30 to 60 minutes (some go longer when the conversation flows). After it, the admissions committee does a final, holistic review of your whole file before deciding — so the interview is one weighted input, not a single pass/fail gate.

What the interview actually assesses

Strip away the wording and LBS is checking three things:

1. Motivation that’s real and specific — why a Masters in Management, why now, and why LBS in particular. “It’s a top-ranked school in London” is not an answer; a specific reason tied to your goals is.
2. Evidence of leadership and teamwork — the same qualities the essays probe, now in spoken form, ideally through short concrete stories rather than adjectives.
3. Fit and contribution — whether you’ll add to one of the most international MiM cohorts anywhere (LBS runs a class of roughly 400 from 65-plus countries) and thrive in it.

Notice what isn’t on that list: trick brain-teasers, or a quantitative test. Your transcript and GMAT/GRE already proved you can handle the work. The interview is about motivation, character and fit — the things a form can’t fully show.

The questions to expect

Because the interview is largely built around your own application, the single most useful preparation is to know that application cold. LBS interviewers may revisit points you made in the written form — one alumna noted her interviewer “asked me some questions that had already been included in the application form.” If your spoken answer contradicts or thinly echoes what you wrote, that’s a problem; if it expands and humanises it, that’s exactly what they want.

In practice the conversation tends to move through familiar territory — described here as themes, not a script of “real questions” to memorise:

• Why a MiM, why LBS, why now. Have a crisp, specific version ready.
• Short- and long-term goals. A clear direction beats a vague “consulting or finance or maybe tech.” You can change your mind later; they’re testing whether you can form a view.
• A leadership experience and a teamwork experience. Pick stories you can tell in two minutes, with a result. Prepare more than you think you’ll need.
• A challenge or setback, and what you did about it. Reflection matters more than the size of the obstacle.
• Commercial awareness. LBS ambassadors explicitly advise following current business events — be able to talk about something happening in business right now and what you make of it.

A reliable way to structure the story answers is to name the situation, the action you took, and the result — the same discipline that makes a good essay. (For the storytelling mechanics, our essay-writing tips transfer directly to spoken answers.)

The half people forget: your questions

The interview is a two-way conversation, and a meaningful chunk of it — often the back third — is yours to ask questions. LBS ambassadors list “prepare questions for the interviewer” as core advice. This is not a formality:

• It’s where you demonstrate genuine, researched interest — ask something you couldn’t have learned from the website.
• With an alumnus, it’s your best chance to assess fit honestly, from someone who has actually done the programme.
• Thin or absent questions read as thin interest. Have three or four real ones ready, and let the conversation surface more.

The one twist: the Kira waitlist video

Most candidates face only the live virtual interview. The exception worth knowing: some applicants placed on the waitlist are invited to submit a recorded video interview via the Kira platform for further evaluation. That’s a different format — asynchronous, timed, one take, no live interviewer. If you reach that stage, prepare for it on its own terms; our recorded video interview explainer covers how Kira-style assessments work across European MiMs and how to prepare without scripting.

How to prepare (LBS’s own advice, distilled)

The School’s ambassadors are unusually concrete about what works:

• Know your application cold. Be able to expand any line of it out loud. This is the highest-leverage prep there is.
• Be clear on what you offer and how LBS enhances it. Not generic strengths — your edge, mapped to this programme.
• Research LBS through people, not just pages. Talk to current students and alumni; bring what you learn into the conversation.
• Show commercial awareness. Follow business news so you can speak to something current.
• Prepare your questions. Three or four real ones, minimum.
• Practise out loud. Writing a great answer and saying one are different skills. Rehearse speaking, ideally with someone playing interviewer.

The mistakes that quietly cost candidates

• Treating it as a test instead of a conversation. Over-rehearsed, robotic answers undercut the very fit they’re assessing. Prepare your material, then talk like a person.
• An interview that contradicts the file. Your spoken story should be continuous with your essays and CV — one coherent person, not two. Re-read everything you submitted.
• Vague goals. “I’m open to lots of things” sounds unfocused. Commit to a direction on the call.
• No questions, or website questions. Ask things that show you’ve gone deeper than the brochure.
• Neglecting commercial awareness. Being unable to discuss anything happening in business right now is a missed, easily-avoided signal.

How the interview fits the rest of the application

The interview sits at the end of a file that includes your two essays, a one-page CV on the LBS template, one reference, a GMAT/GMAT Focus or GRE score (LBS recommends a minimum around 555, while the MiM class average runs near 690), an English test for non-native speakers, your transcripts, and the £125 fee. Because the written pieces have already done the heavy lifting on credentials and narrative, the interview’s job is narrow: confirm the person, test motivation and fit, and judge contribution.

That’s why preparation is really integration — the interview rewards an application that already tells one clean story. Before you get there, make sure the essays are doing their job: our LBS MiM essays guide decodes the two written questions, and how to build a competitive MiM profile covers positioning the whole file. For the full document checklist across European MiMs, see MiM application requirements in Europe, and read the full LBS Masters in Management profile so your “why LBS” is accurate. For a feel of how a MiM interview actually flows, our HEC Paris interview walk-through is from a different school, but the format and what evaluators reward translate directly.

Timing: the interview rewards applying early

LBS uses staged deadlines with the same selection bar throughout, but competition intensifies later in the cycle and the scholarship cut-off lands around early-to-mid March. Earlier rounds mean you reach the interview stage with more places and funding still available — and more margin if a test needs retaking. For the strategy behind round choice, see Round 1 vs Round 2, and map the live dates on our deadline tracker.

Common questions

Does the LBS MiM have an interview? Yes, by invitation only — after a first review of your written application. The invitation is a positive signal.

Is it online, and who conducts it? Currently virtual, with an alumnus or an admissions-team member; both use the same criteria.

What does it ask? Mostly motivation and fit, often drawn from your own application — why MiM/why LBS, goals, leadership and teamwork stories, and commercial awareness. Not a quantitative test.

Is there a case study or video? The standard interview is a conversation. Some waitlisted candidates are later invited to a recorded Kira video interview.

How do I prepare? Know your application cold, be clear on your edge and fit, research LBS through people, follow business news, and prepare real questions to ask.

Sources & how to confirm

The invitation-after-review sequence, the virtual format, the alumni/admissions-team conductors using identical criteria, the “final holistic review” after the interview, and the Kira waitlist video are drawn from the official LBS Masters in Management how-to-apply page and the LBS admissions blog’s interview article; the preparation advice is from LBS student ambassadors on that blog. Application components (two essays, one reference, GMAT/GRE recommendation, £125 fee) and class-profile/test figures are from the LBS application pages and our LBS profile. LBS can revise the process between cycles, so confirm the current details in your interview-invitation email and on the LBS application pages. Last checked June 2026.

• London Business School — Masters in Management: how to apply
• London Business School admissions blog — demystifying the graduate masters interview process
• Our full LBS Masters in Management profile