How To Ace Your Kira Talent Interview

More and more business schools are incorporating video interviews into their admissions process—and Kira Talent is one of the most popular platforms. 

Schools including INSEAD, Oxford’s Saïd Business School, Berkeley Haas, Rotman School of Management, Imperial College Business School, Northwestern Kellogg, and Yale School of Management have all adopted video interviews.

Unlike standard MBA admissions interviews, they are pre-recorded for an admissions committee to look over later. The process gives you an extra opportunity to put your best foot forward and make an impression, but interviewing with a computer rather than a human can be tricky.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Kira Talent interview:

What happens in a Kira Talent interview?

Business schools use Kira Talent to get a holistic view of candidates, to determine their fit with the school, and to assess their communication skills and English language proficiency. 

The platform is highly customizable so the experience varies depending on the school you are applying to. Each school decides what questions are asked, whether they are set or randomized between candidates, and how long your responses for each question should be. 

For spoken responses, you will get some time to think about your answer and some time to respond. For example, you may get 45 seconds to prepare and then have to talk for 60 seconds. You only have one chance to submit each response.

Although it’s usually a video interview, some schools may ask for one or two written answers. These must also be completed in the timeframe provided, and only once.

Some schools use Kira Talent to screen candidates before the face-to-face interview stage, whereas others use it to replace the traditional interview altogether.

Kira Talent interview questions

Some common Kira Talent interview questions include:

1. Why do you want to attend our program?

2. How do you work under pressure?

3. How do you define leadership?

4. Tell us about yourself.

5. Tell us about a person or event that has been  influential in your personal development.

6. Tell us about a time when you had to make a quick decision.

7. Tell us about a time when you overcame a difficult challenge.

8. Describe one of your favorite hobbies and why it’s important to you.

Read: Answering MBA Interview Questions: 4 Mistakes To Avoid

5 Kira Talent interview prep tips

Here are five tips to get you ready for your Kira Talent interview:

1. Get the basics right

Before you start to worry about interview content, make sure you are technically prepared. Check that your internet connection is stable, and that your microphone and camera are in working order.

When you complete the interview, dress to the same standard as you would for an in-person meeting. Make sure the lighting where you’re sitting is good and do everything you can to prevent interruptions and minimize background noise.  

2. Practice 

In a Kira Talent interview there are no second chances, so be prepared. Practice preparing and delivering your answers in the same time frame you will have during the interview to get used to the process, while recording yourself.

You could even watch your answers back to look for areas where you could improve.

Although questions vary from school to school, you can find plenty of examples online. Each question is designed to assess your motivation and competency.

3. Articulate your plans and motivations 

Schools want to know why their particular program makes sense for you, so practice articulating this earnestly.

Be sure to think through why you are pursuing the program at this stage of your career, what your career goals are, and how this particular program will help you achieve them. 

You should do your research into the program to demonstrate that you understand what makes it unique.

4. Use the STAR method to answer competency-based questions 

This strategy will help you answer open-ended interview questions designed to get you talking about how you have demonstrated a desirable skill or trait in the past.

STAR—which stands for situation, task, action, result—is a step-by-step guide to turning your experience into a coherent story.

Start by describing the situation, then explain what your task was. What were you responsible for? What outcome were you aiming for?

Next, walk through the actions you took to achieve your goal, before finally describing the result you achieved and the lessons you learned.

5. Avoid reading or memorizing your answers

Interviews help recruiters find out what it’s like to interact with you as a person—and a pre-recorded interview is no different. 

Unlike live interviews, Kira interviews allow time to prepare your answer, so it can be tempting to write down what you want to say and simply read it aloud. 

Likewise, even if you’ve practiced a question a dozen times, it should never sound like you have a prefabricated answer ready to go. 

Rather than composing an essay and reciting it, note down the points you want to make and talk about them ad lib.

Personal interviews can be one of the most intimidating parts of the admissions process, but a little bit of preparation makes all the difference. Good luck!