MockQuestions

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 4 of 30

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

How you interpret and answer this question will help the assessment model classify your experience level as a novice, intermediate, or expert. Therefore you want your definition of a disagreement to not pertain to conflict but rather a difference of opinion. Consider this an opportunity to showcase your collaboration and adept communication skills, mediation, negotiation, and compromise.

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How to Answer: Tell us about a time you disagreed with a coworker. Describe the situation, your approach, and the outcome.

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

      The Goal

      How you interpret and answer this question will help the assessment model classify your experience level as a novice, intermediate, or expert. Therefore you want your definition of a disagreement to not pertain to conflict but rather a difference of opinion. Consider this an opportunity to showcase your collaboration and adept communication skills, mediation, negotiation, and compromise.

      Written by Kevin Downey on August 12th, 2023

      How to Answer

      When describing your example, detail your approach to employing every communication skill that will present you as an expert. Relay how you actively listened to what the other individual had to offer, the lengths you went to understand their perspective, and where they were coming from emotionally. Describe how you mirrored and validated what they had to offer and how you empathized with their position. Then detail the steps you took to achieve your mutual goals on behalf of the teams, workplace, or bigger picture. Be sure to mention how any aspect of this exchange led to any coaching or further developmental opportunities.

      Written by Kevin Downey on August 12th, 2023

      How to Prep

      The assessment vendor will screen you for how well you communicate. So keep an ear out for any stutters, awkward pauses, or your use of any speech crutch words such as "uh," "like," "um," "you know," "so on and so forth," "and," "well," "but," "so," "ah," "er," and "Etcetera." Record your voice while answering some of these questions to identify your tics so you can better practice answering these questions without relying on such words. Also, pay close attention to your choice of words and what they might suggest beyond your intended meaning. Doing so will aid in presenting yourself as a clearer communicator and more of a professional.

      Written by Kevin Downey on August 6th, 2023

      STAR method Example

      "(Situation) Last year, my Sales Director and I disagreed on the pending termination of one of my team members. (Task) As a manager, my philosophy is to ensure that I have trained and coached my team members to the best of my ability before I consider terminating them. (Action) I expressed my desire to spend additional time training this team member. I mentioned that it would be more costly for the company to replace this person than invest in additional training. The Sales Director finally agreed that if the team member missed their targets for another 30 days, we would move forward with termination. After coming to a middle ground, I created a plan to spend five additional hours per week training this team member for three weeks. (Result) Remarkably, his performance improved by over 40%! This team member is still with us and often lands on our divisions' monthly Top 10 list for client satisfaction and performance. Because I respectfully disagreed with the Sales Director and stated my case with facts rather than emotion, we were able to move past the disagreement with ease."

      Written by Rachelle Enns on May 10th, 2022

      Anonymous Interview Answers with Professional Feedback

      Anonymous Answer

      "One time when I worked in Stockholm, I noticed that our co-worker was insufficient and doesn't pull his weight. I decided to talk to him, but my team member said it was not our business. I am not conflictive, so I decided to use as good communication skills as possible to solve this issue. I explained that his nonproductiveness has an inappropriate effect on our work and project. Apart from this, maybe he has personal problems, which need to be solved. After hearing this, my colleague agreed with me. We decided that if our discussion wouldn't give any result, we we'll talk with our PM."

      Jaymie's Feedback

      This is a good start as it demonstrates your ability to critically think and to work through conflict. You may also consider offering to coach or train that employee if they are underperforming because of a lack of skills.
      Show More Answers
  • About the Author

    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