Investment banking HireVue interview questions

Candidates applying for investment banking summer internships, off-cycle internships, and full-time analyst roles commonly report a one-way video interview after the application, sometimes after an online test, and before a first-round or superday conversation. Not every bank uses one, and not every office or year. HireVue is the platform people in this process commonly name. Some employers use a different one. Your invitation is the list of questions and the clock.

Do not treat a forum thread as this year's process. Banks change the questions, the timers, and whether you get a retake. If the email does not list prep time and answer time, you will see both on the interview screen before you record.

The set people commonly describe is motivation and behavior, plus something that shows you follow events. Practice examples include: why investment banking and why this firm, tell us about yourself, a recent deal or market story you understand, a time you worked under a deadline, a time you analyzed a problem and made a recommendation, how you take feedback, and why you should get the internship or the analyst seat.

A short technical question sometimes appears. Candidates also commonly report that the heavier technicals wait for the live interview. Practice a clean definition in case it shows up, and do not skip the motivation and story questions to drill a model you cannot finish on camera. More practice prompts are on the banking video interview questions page. They are examples, not a leaked bank list.

Keep the industry and the firm separate. One or two sentences on the work: you like turning a messy set of information into a recommendation someone can use. Then one specific reason for this firm that you could defend. A coverage area you have been reading, a product group, or a publicly described part of the program. Then stop. A list of adjectives about working hard does not answer the question.

Example answer: I want investment banking because I like getting from a pile of information to a recommendation with a reason attached. I did a small version of that in a student investment club, writing a one-page note on a retailer and arguing the margin point. I am applying to this firm because of the industry group I have been following, and I can name why that group is the one I want. The intern or analyst seat is where I would learn the work, rather than talk about it.

That is an example for practice. Swap in the group you mean. If you cannot explain the why-this-firm sentence without the careers site in front of you, it is not ready.

Pick one story you understand. Say what happened, who it affects, and what you think has to be true for it to make sense. You do not need a price, a multiple, or a figure you are not sure of. Reciting a headline is obvious on a recording because it has no point of view.

Example answer: A large retailer agreed to buy a smaller one. I paid attention because the buyer talked about stores and cost savings, and the smaller company's margins were thinner. The part I would want to test is whether those savings depend on closing shops, because that is what customers and regulators both notice. I do not have a view on the price. I have a view on what has to be true for the logic to hold.

That example answer is a sketch for practice. It is not a real pitch, and it is not a claim about any announced deal. Use a story you have actually followed. If you do not know a number, do not invent one.

You do not need a live transaction on your resume to answer these. A coursework deadline, a part-time job, a student fund, or a team project is a valid story if it has your actions and a result. Spend most of the time on what you did. Saying that everyone was busy is not an answer to a pressure question.

Example answer: I had a problem set due at 9 and a shift that ended at 8. I was the one who had left the problem set until that night. I did the two questions I was least sure of first, while I could still think, and checked the arithmetic after the shift instead of starting from scratch. I handed it in complete. The grade was ordinary. The useful part was the order: the hard work before I was tired.

That is an example, not a story from an interview. Use one you were actually in.

Define the thing, give the step the question asked for, and stop. A timed video is a poor place to rebuild a full model from memory, and rushing one is how people say something they cannot stand behind.

Example answer: Enterprise value is a way of talking about the value of the operations, broadly equity value plus net debt. You reach for it when you want a price that is not just the shares. If the question stopped there, I would stop there too, rather than reciting a formula I might garble.

That example is a sketch of the shape. It is not a technical lesson, and it is not a question from any bank. If you are not solid on the definition, practice it out loud before the interview. Do not learn it for the first time on the recording.

Answer limits are set by the employer. A common range on one-way interviews is 1 to 3 minutes. Aim to land the last sentence before zero. Many invites are one take. Practice one take even if you hope for a retake, because you will not know until the screen says so.

OneShot can run a countdown so you find out whether the answer actually fits. Your video stays in the browser. The transcript text, not the video, is sent so the answer can be scored. Close the practice tab before you start the real HireVue, or whichever platform the email names. Do not use a second screen during the recording.

HireVue is a trademark of its owner. OneShot Interview is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by HireVue or by any bank or employer. This page does not describe any bank's current process. The questions and sample answers are examples for practice. They are not taken from any interview.

Run one free practice session before you open the real link. You get a question, a countdown, and a single take, then a look at whether the answer had a point and a result. Close this site before the employer's interview starts.