What Is a HireVue?
HireVue is the software most large banks use to run first-round interviews at scale. Instead of a phone call with a banker, the candidate logs in, reads a question on screen, gets a short preparation window, and records an answer to the camera. The recording is reviewed later by recruiters or bankers, and a subset of candidates is invited to a live interview or superday.
The name has become the generic term. Some banks use a different vendor, but candidates still call it the HireVue.
The Format
Most banking HireVues run four to six questions. Each gives around thirty seconds to think and two or three minutes to record, with one attempt. Questions are almost entirely behavioral: why this bank, why banking, tell me about a time you led a team, describe a situation where you disagreed with someone. Technical questions appear occasionally, usually at the level of walking through a discounted cash flow.
How to Prepare
Treat it as an interview with a slow reviewer. Recruiters watch dozens in a sitting, so the first fifteen seconds of each answer decide whether they keep paying attention. Prepare a two-minute story for each common prompt in advance, and record practice answers until the timing is automatic. Look at the camera rather than the screen. Lighting and a quiet room matter more than people expect, because the reviewer is comparing you against everyone else recorded that week.
