What this guide covers: how the IESE MBA video essay works on Kira Talent, the exact timing for every question, the 2025/26 application deadlines, a full categorized bank of 42+ prompts reported across recent application cycles, the Assessment Day interview that follows shortlisting, the TOEFL score IESE requires, and the prep strategy that actually works. Written from 15 years of direct experience placing students at IESE, INSEAD, LBS, HEC Paris, Harvard, MIT, and universities across more than 20 countries.
In this guide
How the IESE video essay works
After you submit your written application and pay the application fee, you will receive an email from Kira Talent: in most cases within minutes, though the official window is 24 hours. The link is valid for 48 hours from the moment it arrives. Once you start the session, there are no retakes on any question. Plan carefully and do not leave this to the night before the round deadline.
The session has four questions in total. Questions 1 and 2 are always the same for every applicant. Questions 3 and 4 are drawn at random from a growing pool of behavioral prompts that has expanded across multiple application cycles.
Q1: Name Pronunciation
"Please tell us how we should pronounce your name." Keep it clear and direct. If there is a brief meaning behind the name worth sharing, you have a few seconds to add it. This is not the moment for a longer introduction.
Q2: Introduce Yourself
"Please introduce yourself to the IESE MBA Admissions Team." This is not a career summary. It is your chance to show who you are beyond what is already in your CV and essays. Think personal brand, not professional timeline.
Q3: Behavioral Question
Drawn from the pool. Could be about failure, leadership, values, diversity, or something as casual as what you like and dislike about your current job. Every category in this guide is fair game.
Q4: Behavioral Question
A second random prompt, typically from a different theme than Q3. This is why prepping by category is smarter than prepping by individual question. You cannot predict which two you will face.
Do not leave your screen between questions. Kira uploads your recording to the server after each answer. Depending on your connection this can take several minutes. If you step away you risk missing the next prompt entirely. Stay in front of your computer until the full session ends. Use a laptop or desktop: past applicants have reported technical issues on iPads and phones.
2025/26 application deadlines
IESE uses a four-round application process with firm deadlines. Round 1 is the best round for scholarship consideration and generally has the highest admission rates relative to the applicant pool.
2025/26 IESE MBA deadlines: Round 1 September 26 2025 (best for scholarships: approximately 45% of students receive aid). Round 2 January 9 2026 (most competitive). Round 3 March 20 2026. Round 4 May 6 2026. IESE is a 20-month program including a summer internship break. Total tuition is approximately $113,935 with living expenses in Barcelona estimated at $25,000 to $30,000 per year. IESE has campuses in Barcelona, Madrid, New York, Munich, and São Paulo. For a full comparison of IESE against other top programs, see the European MBA guide 2026.
The TOEFL requirement for IESE
If English is not your first language and you have not completed your university degree in English or lived in an English-speaking country for at least two consecutive years, IESE requires a minimum TOEFL score. On the old 0 to 120 scale that is 105. On the new 2026 band scale (1.0 to 6.0) that is approximately band 5.0, which corresponds to CEFR C1. IESE's TOEFL institution code is 7237.
Since January 21 2026, ETS replaced the 0 to 120 scale with the new 1.0 to 6.0 band system. Every score report during the transition period (2026 to 2028) shows both formats. Use the TOEFL 2026 score converter to check your equivalent band. If you are preparing now, your target is band 5.0 on the new scale. IESE also accepts IELTS 7.5, PTE Academic 68, and Cambridge CPE minimum level B.
Preparing for TOEFL alongside your IESE application? The PrepDrills TOEFL 2026 app is fully updated for the new 2026 format. Every question is written and calibrated by the teachers and educators at Epic Exam Prep: AI handles the grading of speaking and writing so you get instant, detailed feedback at any hour. Free to start at toefl.prepdrills.com. For one-to-one GMAT, GRE, or TOEFL tutoring visit epicexamprep.com.
The full question bank: 8 categories, 42+ prompts
The prompts below are drawn from multiple application cycles, compiled from applicant threads across MBA forums, direct applicant reports, and our own placement experience with IESE students since 2010. We have organized them by theme because that is how you should prepare: build flexible story banks per category rather than trying to memorize individual answers.
90 seconds goes faster than you think. The applicants who perform well are not the ones who memorized 30 answers. They are the ones who built six to eight strong stories and learned to adapt them under pressure. Use the 60-second prep time to choose your story and tailor the framing, not to create it from scratch.
Identity and personal brand
7 promptsWhat will your classmates be most surprised to learn about you?
Pick something real, not something designed to impress. Genuine surprise is more memorable than strategic surprise every time.
How would your teammates describe you?
Lead with one specific quality, then back it up with a single concrete example. Three adjectives with no evidence is not an answer.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why?
Self-awareness, not self-deprecation. The best answers name something real and show you are already working on it.
What is something you want to start doing, something you want to stop doing, and something you want to do more of?
Three distinct, specific things. "Be more present" is not a start, stop, or continue. Give each one a real answer.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Not a trick question, but what you say reveals what you value. Do not perform an interesting life. Just describe yours honestly.
What are your unique attributes, qualities, and capabilities?
Three qualities with one line of evidence each. Show, do not list. Anyone can call themselves results-driven.
Tell us about a time you were introduced to a new culture. What did you gain from this experience?
The gain matters more than the destination. Focus on how the experience changed how you think, not just where you went.
Leadership and teamwork
5 promptsWhat do you believe it takes to be a good leader?
IESE is a people-centered school. Answers that reduce leadership to strategy and vision without mentioning people miss the point entirely.
If you were a team leader and a member of the team consistently under-delivered, what would you do?
Walk through your actual process: understand first, act second. Avoid generic phrases about having honest conversations without describing what that actually means.
Tell us about a time a team member did not pull their weight. What happened?
Similar to above but past tense. What did you actually do? What was the outcome? The resolution is the most important part.
Tell us about a time you worked with a dysfunctional team. How did you manage the situation?
Focus on your own contribution and behavior, not on diagnosing everyone else's failures.
Tell us about a conflict you had with a boss or a team. How did you resolve it?
Pick a real conflict with a real resolution. "We eventually aligned" with no detail is not a resolution.
Values, ethics and service
5 promptsTell us about an organization or activity to which you have devoted significant time. Why was it meaningful to you?
The why matters more than the what. Connect it to something you genuinely care about, not something that looks good on a CV.
Describe an ethical dilemma you faced in your professional life. What did you do?
Do not sanitize it. A real dilemma has real tension. Show you sat with that tension before acting and explain what you weighed.
Describe an example demonstrating a spirit of service at work or outside of work.
Service does not have to mean formal volunteering. Any act of genuine contribution to others works here.
Tell us about a time you dedicated significant time to helping others outside of your professional life.
One real, concrete example will always outperform a general statement about caring for others.
Whose leadership style do you admire most and why?
The why is what reveals you, not the who. Anyone can name a famous leader. Your reasoning is the actual answer the committee is listening for.
Failure, risk and resilience
9 promptsTell us about a time you took a risk. What did you learn?
The risk needs to be real. What did you stand to lose? What actually happened? Calculated risk with a safety net is not the same as a genuine risk.
Tell us about a time you experienced a professional failure. What did you learn from it?
Do not frame a win as a failure. Admissions committees can tell immediately. Pick something that actually stung and tell the truth about it.
Tell us about a time you had to give bad news to a team or a client. What was their reaction?
How you delivered it matters as much as what you said. Walk through the actual moment in detail, not just the outcome.
Tell us about a time you had to make a decision without all the relevant information.
Show your reasoning process. How did you decide what was enough to act on? What did you do with the uncertainty that remained?
Tell us about something unexpected that happened in your professional experience. How did you deal with it?
Your response to the unexpected tells them everything about how you operate under pressure.
Tell us about a time you challenged the status quo.
Reported by multiple real applicants across recent cycles. Prep this one specifically.
Tell us about a time you had to process a significant amount of data or information quickly. How did you handle it?
Especially relevant for candidates with consulting, finance, or analytics backgrounds.
Tell us about a time you created an impact at work. What did you learn from it?
Reported by real IESE Class of 2026 applicants. Similar to the risk and accomplishment questions but specifically focused on measurable impact. Have a concrete result ready.
Tell us about a time you went beyond what was requested of you.
Reveals initiative and ownership mindset. Pick a moment where the extra effort was genuine, not performative.
Diversity and global mindset
4 promptsWhat is the most challenging aspect of working in an internationally diverse environment?
Be honest. "It is actually a gift" is not an answer. What is genuinely hard about it?
What is the importance of diversity in the workplace?
Do not recite a corporate diversity statement. Ground your answer in something you have actually experienced or observed firsthand.
Why do you think you would excel working in a global environment?
Specific evidence from your own background beats general enthusiasm. What have you actually navigated across cultures?
What, in your opinion, is most challenging about studying in a diverse study group?
Around 85% of each IESE class comes from outside Spain. Show you have genuinely thought about what that means in practice.
Reflection and future thinking
7 promptsWhat accomplishment are you proudest of?
Pick the one that still means something to you now, not the one that looks best on paper.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Say who gave it, what it was, and how it actually changed the way you operate. All three parts. Missing any one weakens the answer.
If you knew you could not fail, what would you do?
A values question disguised as a fantasy. What does your answer say about what you actually care about?
When you have a problem, who do you approach for advice and why?
The why matters more than the who. It reveals how you think about trust and expertise.
How would you define success in life? Do you think you have been successful so far?
The second question is where most people lose points. Do not deflect with false humility. Answer it directly.
Tell us about the last city or country you visited that surprised you. What surprised you about it?
The surprise is the story. Describe the moment of being caught off guard and what it made you reconsider.
At your IESE graduation, what would you be most disappointed about not having pursued during the program?
A school fit question in disguise. Know the IESE program specifically before you answer this. Generic answers are immediately obvious.
Current role and day-to-day experience
3 promptsThis category appeared in multiple real applicant reports from recent cycles and is absent from most prep guides. The questions sound casual but they reveal a lot about your self-awareness and professional maturity.
Tell me one thing you like and one thing you do not like about your current job.
The dislike is the harder part. Be honest without being bitter or disloyal to your employer. Balance matters here.
Give us a background of yourself and what abilities you can bring to the IESE MBA.
Similar to Q2 but with a deliberate forward lean. Know what IESE is actually looking for before you answer.
Tell us about a situation in which you were learning something new and how you applied it afterward.
Signals intellectual curiosity and growth mindset: both qualities IESE cares about deeply.
Wildcards and one-offs
4 promptsWhen was the last time you were creative?
Do not overthink this searching for an artistic moment. Creativity shows up in problem solving, communication, and everyday decisions. Pick something real and recent.
Tell us about a cause to which you are deeply committed.
This is not your LinkedIn summary. Be honest about why this cause matters to you personally.
If you were at IESE and on your graduation day, what is one thing you would regret not doing during the program?
A slight variation of the graduation question above. Same advice: know the program in detail before you answer.
Tell us about a time you had to process a lot of data. How did you approach it?
Reported by a real applicant. Works well if your background is in finance, consulting, research, or operations. Show method, not just outcome.
The IESE Assessment Day interview
The Kira video essay is only the first stage of the IESE admissions process. If your written application and Kira responses are shortlisted, IESE invites you to an Assessment Day: a separate and equally important stage of the evaluation.
Assessment Day takes place either in person at the IESE campus in Barcelona or virtually. It typically includes a personal interview with an IESE adcom member or alumni, group exercises, and in some cases a written component. The interviewer will have read your full application: unlike the blind HEC Paris interview. If you are also applying to INSEAD, see the INSEAD MBA video essay guide for a side-by-side comparison. This means you should be prepared to go several layers deeper on anything you wrote in your essays or mentioned in your Kira responses.
Real applicants report Assessment Day interview questions covering: Why MBA, why IESE specifically, short and long-term career goals, how you will contribute to the IESE class, and deep follow-up on specific items from your application. Prepare your IESE story in the same depth as your Kira responses: the interviewers have seen both. The Assessment Day is where many final admissions decisions are made.
How to prepare
Most candidates prepare by going through a list of questions and practicing each one in isolation. That is not the approach we use with our students and it is not what the evidence from actual IESE admitted candidates supports either.
The approach that works: build a story bank by theme, not by question. A strong story about a time you took a genuine risk can also answer a failure question, a decision-making question, and a status quo challenge question with slightly different framing. A story bank of six to eight well-chosen experiences, prepped by category, gives you far more coverage and flexibility than memorizing 42 individual answers.
What IESE is actually evaluating
IESE's core values are a global mindset, a general management approach, and a people-centered vision grounded in ethics and social responsibility. The video essay is specifically designed to surface those qualities in real time, under mild pressure, in a way a written essay cannot.
| What they are evaluating | What a strong answer looks like |
|---|---|
| Global mindset | You have genuinely navigated real cultural differences, not just traveled to interesting places |
| People-centered leadership | Your leadership stories mention the actual people involved and how they were affected, not just the outcomes |
| Ethical thinking | You can sit with moral tension, explain the competing considerations, and account for what you weighed before deciding |
| Communication under pressure | You are clear, warm, and present on camera: not robotic or over-rehearsed |
| Self-awareness | Your answers about failure, growth, and personal change sound honest and specific, not strategically framed |
The 90-second structure that works
For behavioral questions, a simple three-part structure keeps your answer tight and complete: situation in one sentence, what you did and why, what the outcome or learning was. You do not need a rigid framework, but you do need a point. Answers that meander through context and never arrive at a clear takeaway leave the committee with nothing to retain.
Frequently asked questions
Four in total. Q1 asks you to pronounce your name (15 seconds prep, 20 seconds to answer). Q2 asks you to introduce yourself to the admissions team (60 seconds prep, 90 seconds to answer). Q3 and Q4 are random behavioral prompts from a pool of 42+ questions (60 seconds prep, 90 seconds each).
In most cases within minutes of paying the application fee, though the official window is 24 hours. The link is valid for 48 hours from the moment it arrives. Once you start the session there are no retakes on any question.
Round 1: September 26 2025 (recommended for scholarship consideration). Round 2: January 9 2026. Round 3: March 20 2026. Round 4: May 6 2026. IESE awards scholarships to approximately 45% of students: applying in Round 1 maximises your chances of receiving aid.
IESE requires a minimum TOEFL of 105 on the old 0 to 120 scale, which is approximately band 5.0 on the new 2026 TOEFL scale (CEFR C1). IESE also accepts IELTS 7.5, PTE Academic 68, or Cambridge CPE minimum level B. The TOEFL institution code for IESE is 7237. The PrepDrills TOEFL 2026 app is free to start and fully updated for the new format.
If your written application and Kira video essay are shortlisted, IESE invites you to an Assessment Day: a separate admissions stage conducted in person in Barcelona or virtually. It typically includes a personal interview with an IESE adcom member or alumni, group exercises, and sometimes a written component. The interviewer has read your full application. This is not optional and not a formality: many final admissions decisions are made here.
IESE gives you 90 seconds to answer each random behavioral question, making it more generous than INSEAD (60 seconds) and similar to LBS (90 seconds). Unlike LBS, the IESE Kira comes at application stage rather than after shortlisting. Unlike INSEAD, IESE does not include a written fifth question. The IESE question pool is more traditional behavioral in style: INSEAD goes far deeper on cultural dexterity specifically. Read our INSEAD guide and LBS guide if you are applying to multiple schools.
Yes. The Epic Exam Prep team has been placing students at IESE since 2010. We work on Kira story bank development, timed mock practice, Assessment Day interview coaching, and GMAT Focus or GRE prep alongside the application. One-to-one sessions available online.
Master The IESE MBA Video Essay
Everything you need to win at IESE video essay and Assessment Day
42+ real Kira Talent prompts organized by category. Verified prep strategy from Epic Exam Prep, with 15+ years of placing students at IESE and top MBA programs worldwide.
Also targeting INSEAD, HEC Paris, or LBS? Explore the European MBA Guide 2026 for a full program comparison.