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HireVue Mock Interview

To help you prepare for your next HireVue interview, here are 30 interview questions and answer examples.

HireVue was updated by on August 17th, 2023. Learn more here.

Question 1 of 30

Tell us about yourself.

This question serves as an icebreaker to get you out of interview mode. The company hopes that asking a more informal question will result in a sincere answer, which the assessment model can use to establish a baseline they can use later to determine whether you are answering honestly. It will then contrast this to your more reserved and performative answers. You'll want to maintain a sincere and consistently professional tone throughout your interview.

When looking at the defining structure of HireVue's interview builder, they break a candidate's experience level into five categories: novice, developing, intermediate, advanced, and expert. For example, when they assess dependability, they define a novice as unlikely to be successful in situations requiring this competency. They describe a developing candidate as having a limited capacity but likely to be dependable in simple situations. A candidate with an intermediate skill level is likely to be dependable but needs assistance in more difficult situations. An advanced candidate would very likely be dependable in moderate to complex situations. And lastly, a candidate who is extremely dependable in moderate to complex situations is considered an expert.

Here are some of HireVue's other behavioral definitions for a novice, intermediate, and expert: A novice they define as "Disorganized and unable to pay the attention required to deliver accurate and high-quality work. Willing to 'bend the rules to deliver in their job role. Dismisses the importance of their responsibilities and fails to take ownership of their performance. Tends to be lazy and careless when delivering in their job role. An intermediate they define as "Attentive, meticulous, and careful in how they operate, delivering a thorough and high-quality job. Consistently holds themselves accountable for making principled decisions when working to meet the demand. Takes pride and accountability in delivering a high-quality output of work. Identifies and admits limitations, needed adjustments, and mistakes." an expert they defined as someone who is "aware of other's needs and feelings, is attentive, meticulous, and careful in how they operate, delivering a thorough and high-quality job, and evaluates the impact of their work to improve future delivery. Holds self and others accountable for making principled decisions and addresses unethical behaviors when working to meet the demand. Take pride in delivering a high-quality output of work.

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30 HireVue Interview Questions & Answers

Table of Contents

HireVue describes itself as a talent experience platform designed to automate the hiring process and make recruiting easier for its clients by improving how a company engages with, screens, and hires talent. They promise to help their clients battle “the ebbs and flows of the hiring landscape” by increasing their company growth with less turnover and by recruiting more top performers while saving them “the thousands of dollars that one bad hire costs” and “thousands of payroll hours” by streamlining their recruiting process.

Their product offerings range from a wide variety of AI assessment models, on-demand (one-way) interviewing, live video interviewing, chatbots, text-to-apply features, application tracking software (ATS), and automated scheduling. Aside from their AI assessment models, they also employ Industrial and Organizational (IO) psychologists who help them build out a company’s employee culture branding, interview guides, and IO-validated content. They claim this approach enables their algorithms to better assess candidates, identify top performers, and recruit those most suited to the company’s goals and culture.

Most importantly, HireVue uses proprietary machine learning algorithms to predict future job performance by analyzing data points found in their video interviews. They’ll use those data points to assess a candidate’s expertise, skills, personality, and integrity by studying their verbal and non-verbal cues, such as tone, body language, the consistency of their answers, their surroundings, and grooming and clothing details. The algorithm will then compile this information into “candidates insights reports.” Other assessments may go into these reports, such as HireVue’s game challenge assessments, where the algorithm will evaluate how a candidate interacts with and processes information.

The AI assessment models will categorize their findings in several ways. One category is how well a candidate works with others. This consists of how the algorithm rates the candidate’s emotional intelligence based on their answers. This is done by how empathetic it thinks they are, whether they possess impulse control, as well as their communication, negotiation, and persuasion skills. It will also evaluate their relationship-building skills, how collaborative and team-orientated they are while coordinating with others, and whether they invest in developing their coworkers and teams. Lastly, they evaluate how service oriented and responsible they are with their company’s reputation and resources. 

Another category they’ll evaluate a candidate for is their personality, work style, and ethics. They’ll do this by classifying the candidate’s personality according to the “big five personality traits.” The algorithm will study the candidate’s composure, compassion, dependability, adaptability, willingness to learn, drive for results and initiative, and safety and compliance. It will determine this by evaluating “the content of your message, the meaning in your message, and the emotion you express.” Lastly, depending on the assessments one takes, one may also evaluate a candidate’s problem-solving skills and cognitive ability: “reasoning, visuospatial, ability, mental agility, numerical ability, coding proficiency, job-specific knowledge, language proficiency, writing skills.”

The hiring manager will review the recorded interviews, often watching several comparable candidates side by side. They may also receive the candidate’s insights reports, but it’s ultimately up to the recruiter whether they take the algorithm’s recommendations or not. It’s also worth mentioning that there is no way for a candidate to know in advance which of HireVue’s products and services a company has signed up for.

For example, HireVue advertises two packages. Their corporate pricing package is recommended for business sizes of 2500-5000 employees, and this package is customizable, with several add-ons, and starts at $35,000. These add-ons consist of their interview options and a variety of other assessments: Video assessments, game-based assessments, agile mindset assessments, role-based assessments, coding assessments, adverse impact assessments, as well as their IO-validated content, job analysis, candidate transparency language, automated scheduling, chatbot, text-to-apply, and pre-built ATS (applicant tracking software) integrations. The Enterprise package they advertise is for companies with 5000+ employees and includes all of their services, but this doesn’t necessarily mean the company will take advantage of them.

HireVue argues that “unstructured interviews create opportunities for unconscious bias and poor hiring decisions.” But they suggest using the results of their services in “structured interviews that ensure consistent talent assessment for fairer hiring.” Yet as much as HireVue claims to mitigate bias while screening and assessing candidates, the decision will ultimately fall upon the hiring authority. So it’s important to look at HireVue as what it is, a hiring platform service that helps screen, evaluate, classify, and categorize candidates for their clients to avoid making “poor hiring decisions” and for finding “top performers” and “qualified talent.” Therefore, it’s important to take the interview advice and tips HireVue offers candidates with a grain of salt.

For example, while they repeatedly suggest that you should avoid being backlit since it will be more difficult for the algorithm to see your face, this likely has less to do with how you appear on camera and more to do with the algorithm potentially misinterpreting your facial expressions or incorrectly categorizing you, even if you are a top performer. They also offer conflicting advice. On one webpage, they recommend finding a quiet and professional space to perform your interview. But another webpage suggests, “If your dog barks or kid runs across the screen–relax. It’s okay.” They recommend you find a location free of distractions, and they offer a feature that blurs out your background if you can’t find one. However, most recruiters may find that blurred background distracting and wonder what that hidden background says about how organized or professional you are, ultimately resulting in unconscious bias. Even though they claim their algorithm is bias-free, the recruiter makes the final call.

So throughout this MockQuestions interview set, from question to question we’ll give you a step-by-step guide on how to hack what their algorithms are on the lookout for. With the knowledge of how it evaluates and interprets your verbal and non-verbal cues, the brief 30 seconds they give you to prepare for each question will feel like more than enough time to get ready. We’ll help you build confidence, giving you a stronger chance of being categorized as one of their recommended candidates while appealing to the sensibilities of the recruiter who makes the final call when they review the recorded on-demand videos.

  • Accomplishment

    1. Tell us about yourself.

  • Stress

    2. Talk about a time you succeeded despite being under intense pressure. Describe the situation, the actions you took, and the result.

  • Teamwork

    3. Talk about a time you successfully contributed to a team goal. Describe the situation, the steps you took, and the outcome.

  • Communication

    4. Tell us about a time you disagreed with a coworker. Describe the situation, your approach, and the outcome.

  • EQ

    5. Tell us about a time you failed. Describe what happened, your approach, and the outcome.

  • Behavioral

    6. How would you react if you knew a team member was being dishonest? What actions would you take?

  • Career Goals

    7. Why are you looking for a new position?

  • Career Goals

    8. Talk to us about your short-term career goals.

  • Career Goals

    9. Tell us about your long-term career plans.

  • Accomplishment

    10. Talk to us about your proudest achievement. Why was this achievement important?

  • Competency

    11. What are your greatest strengths, and how will they be a fit for our company?

  • Competency

    12. What is your greatest weakness?

  • Compatibility

    13. Why should we hire you?

  • Diligence

    14. Describe your work ethic.

  • Education

    15. Walk us through your education.

  • Salary

    16. What are your salary expectations?

  • Conflict

    17. Describe a time you faced a conflict at work. Describe how you addressed it and the outcome of your actions.

  • Diversity

    18. Please provide a brief overview of your understanding of diversity and inclusion, and explain why you believe they are important in the workplace.

  • Discovery

    19. Are you applying to work for any of our competitors?

  • Problem Solving

    20. Describe a time you had to make a time-sensitive decision without all the information you required. What steps did you take, and what was the outcome?

  • Stress

    21. When facing a difficult situation, how do you react? Describe your approach and the course of action you would take.

  • Compatibility

    22. What makes our company different from others in this industry?

  • EQ

    23. Talk about a time you received critical feedback from a leader or peer. Describe the situation, how you felt about it, and your response.

  • Career Goals

    24. Why did you apply to work for our company?

  • Behavioral

    25. How would your most recent leader describe you?

  • Leadership

    26. Describe your leadership style.

  • Problem Solving

    27. Talk about a time you used logic and common sense to solve a problem at work. Describe the situation, the steps you took, and the outcome.

  • Leadership

    28. Talk about a time you showed initiative at work. Describe the situation, your actions, and the outcome.

  • Behavioral

    29. Talk about the most difficult decision you have had to make recently. Describe the situation, your logic, and the outcome.

  • Adaptability

    30. Please describe a time you had to change your course of action while working on an assignment. Describe the situation, your actions, and the result.

    • About the Author

    Kevin Downey

    In both high school and college, I served on the school newspaper. I loved those playful journalism days, especially thriving on the research, the sleuthing, and conducting interviews. Many years later, in my management career, one of my favorite aspects of the job was conducting interviews and recruiting. I developed a strong track record for finding the right person for the job and building top-performing teams.

    Anytime I interviewed a candidate, I’d put my combined journalism and leadership skills to work. I examined every detail, beginning with how well-groomed and presentable the candidate was. I’d ask myself if they fit into the culture of our company. I’d examine how prepared they seemed for the interview. Did they bring any materials, and was it just for show?

    But before the interview started, I’d do what I could to make sure they were comfortable. I’d give them the most comfortable chair, even if it was my own. I’d offer them water, a coffee, or a snack. Since there was the potential to work side by side with this person, I needed to build rapport and develop a professional relationship with them right then and there. To get them to relax, I needed to establish trust, and I had to get the banter going. The more trusting they were, the more they’d lower their guard and be honest about who they were as a candidate and as a person. The goal was to make them feel like a person. When someone feels like you, they normally like you back and feel more confident and at ease.

    So, to create a reciprocal atmosphere, I’d open things up by volunteering a little anecdote about me, my workday, a coworker, or something that might make them laugh or smile and put them more at ease. I’d trust them with a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes work-life or culture and what it’s like to be on the inside looking out. This didn’t mean I would hire them, but it aided me in making a more informed decision. Typically, once a person feels more at ease and less guarded, their true colors shine through, and the better of an idea you’ll have of their conduct as a professional. Once the interview was underway, I would put my attention to detail to work. I would listen carefully to what they were saying, how consistent their answers were from question to question. I paid equal attention to what they weren’t saying. If I felt they were holding something back, my curiosity would be piqued, and I’d get more creative with my questions. I’d pay attention to their body language as well. If they felt heard, they’d smile, tilt their head, and scratch behind their ear. If they felt exposed, they’d ride up their shoulders and rub the back of their neck to protect themselves.

    Now, as things come full circle, and I manage my own business as a professional writer, I regularly perform the same kind of research as from my journalism days. And as luck would have it, I still enjoy composing interviews as a regularly contributing writer to MockQuestion.com. When I first became familiar with assessment vendors through my work here, such as HireVue and Modern Hire, my initial assumption of the technology was that it served a similar purpose as AI-driven Resume and CV software, which parses, eliminates, matches, and tracks applicants. Yet, I learned firsthand long ago that this type of software has a margin of error. Many “misplace” resumes when encountering unusual characters, uncommon formatting, and separating bars or graphics on a document. They frequently misidentify them as inconsistencies or grammatical errors and eliminate those candidates from the pool. This translates to talent never getting in front of the hiring authority.

    So, when I started learning more about assessment vendors, I wondered how effective these algorithms were and if they had similar design flaws. So, I started asking questions. I learned more about how these AI models assessed each candidate. Understanding that AI is imperfect and just as capable of making mistakes as the people it is learning from, I wondered how it determined which candidates are eliminated from being passed onto the hiring authority. What was its margin of error?

    From my research, I learned that HireVue’s interview guides consist of a preset system on their platform, where each company can choose from categorized interview questions that best apply to them and narrow them down from several sub-categories. I learned their behavioral interview questions were developed by their IO Psychologists. These typically consist of the following uniform situational judgment structure: “Tell me about a time when you faced this situation. What were the steps you took? What was the impact of your decision?” I deduced that this structure assists the algorithm in making its decisions on classification.

    HireVue advertises that their assessment models are trained to mitigate bias, only evaluating skills, experience, and company culture fit. I learned that the algorithm not only studies the recorded interview for the consistency of a candidate’s answers from question to question but also examines behavioral cues, vocal cues, professional appearance, surroundings, and the consistency of a candidate’s body language with what they verbalize.

    Then, I questioned why they offered advice to candidates taking a HireVue Interview. Advice such as to relax, be more comfortable, lower your guard, and tell all. Or to enjoy the convenience of taking your interview anytime, anywhere. Or suggesting that if you can’t find a professional setting, use the background blur feature.

    When you look at the advice they offer, it serves the same purpose as the methods I employed when interviewing a candidate. Which then circled me back to what I looked for in a candidate when I performed an interview. Based on that information, I was able to separate HireVue’s good advice from the bad. I determined its margin for error - how it might eliminate you as a candidate if you’re backlit and it’s unable to read your expressions, or how it might misinterpret you looking at yourself on your computer screen as looking at your feet, signaling a lack of confidence.

    So, your goal as a candidate is to convince the algorithm to graduate you to the next stage and to get you in front of the right person. The way to do this is by understanding how it works and giving it what it wants. You want to come across as a confident and experienced professional. And lastly, you want to stand out and come across as a perfect candidate for the hiring manager who reviews the recorded video later because their opinion is the only one that matters.

    Your goal is to deliver a great interview with sincerity while putting your best foot forward. HireVue’s goal is to increase its profit margin through its platform, product development, and marketing. They aim to protect their reputation for having effective AI that will help their clients screen “unqualified candidates” from “top performers.”

    Think of HireVue as a bouncer at a club. You just want to get inside and be seen. But first, you have to stand in line, and you have the right look to get in the door. So, avoid giving HireVue’s algorithm any information it can use to parse and eliminate you from being passed onto the hiring authority. Your goal is to work the HireVue system while delivering a strong interview. This is the key to getting an in-person interview in the next round.

    Learn more about Kevin Downey