Investment Banking HireVue: Format and Prep
Learn how employer-configured banking video interviews work and prepare without assuming one bank-wide format.
On this page
An investment-banking HireVue is an employer-configured OnDemand video interview. The platform presents prompts and records your responses, but each employer controls the question count, timing, competencies, and later stages. Your invitation is the authority for the exact format.
TL;DR
- Read the invitation before using any general guide.
- Test your camera, microphone, connection, lighting, and background early.
- Prepare flexible answer structures instead of memorized scripts.
- Expect motivation, past-behavior, scenario, presentation, and job-related prompts.
- IB Offer does not simulate HireVue video recording or delivery scoring.
How does an investment-banking HireVue work?
HireVue describes OnDemand interviews as prompts presented through the platform with recorded candidate responses. The employer configures the assessment. That means a question count, timer, retake rule, or competency list from one bank cannot be applied to every other bank.
| Stage | Candidate action | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Invitation | Confirm deadline and technical requirements | Assuming a rumored format |
| Device check | Test camera, microphone, and connection | Waiting until the deadline |
| Preparation | Build evidence and answer structures | Memorizing a full script |
| Recording | Answer directly and use one example | Spending too long on context |
| Review | Note weak areas for later rounds | Treating silence as an outcome signal |
Set up a quiet space with stable light in front of you, not behind you. Put the camera near eye level. Close notifications. Test the browser and connection on the same device you will use. If the invitation offers a practice prompt, use it to check sound, framing, and pace.
What timings do candidates actually report?
Your invitation is the authority, but you should not walk in with no expectation at all. Published prep guidance describes a banking HireVue as 3 to 5 questions, roughly 30 seconds of preparation per prompt, and about 90 seconds to answer, with the session taking 10 to 15 minutes end to end. Some banks give longer answer windows, up to two or three minutes, and some allow a single re-record per question while others allow none.
Two practical consequences follow. First, at a normal speaking pace of 100 to 125 words per minute, a 90-second answer is roughly 150 to 190 words. That is one story with a result on the end, not three examples. Second, the deadline in the invitation email is usually short, often a few days. Open the link the day it arrives, even if you only read the instructions and close it again.
Which bank are you actually preparing for?
The platform is the same. What each bank puts on it is not, and the mix of behavioural, market and technical prompts shifts by firm and by programme. Prepare against the bank in front of you.
| Bank | Our question guide | Recorded-interview guide |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs | Goldman Sachs interview questions | None yet |
| J.P. Morgan | J.P. Morgan interview questions | None yet |
| Morgan Stanley | Morgan Stanley interview questions | None yet |
| Bank of America | Bank of America interview questions | Bank of America HireVue |
| Citi | Citi interview questions | Citi HireVue |
| Barclays | Barclays interview questions | Barclays HireVue |
| UBS | UBS interview questions | UBS HireVue |
| Deutsche Bank | Deutsche Bank HireVue questions | Deutsche Bank HireVue |
| BlackRock | None yet | BlackRock HireVue |
| Wells Fargo | None yet | Wells Fargo HireVue |
| Santander | None yet | Santander HireVue |
| BNP Paribas | None yet | BNP Paribas HireVue |
| RBC | None yet | RBC HireVue |
| Standard Chartered | None yet | Standard Chartered HireVue |
| Fidelity | None yet | Fidelity HireVue |
| HSBC | None yet | HSBC HireVue |
| Vanguard | None yet | Vanguard HireVue |
| Rothschild | None yet | Rothschild HireVue |
| Lazard | Lazard interview questions | None yet |
| Evercore | Evercore interview questions | None yet |
What is actually being assessed?
This is the part candidates get wrong, and it changes how you should spend your preparation time. HireVue states that it removed the visual analysis component from all new assessments early in 2020, announced in January 2021. Rehearsing your expression is wasted effort.
A recruiter still watches the recording, so being audible, looking at the lens rather than your own thumbnail, and finishing your sentences all matter. But the thing being judged is whether your answer answered the question, whether it contained one concrete piece of evidence, and whether it fitted the time. Practise those three things and the delivery follows.
Use HireVue questions and answers for banking for reusable prompt families. Use a firm owner, such as Goldman Sachs questions or J.P. Morgan questions, for bank-specific evidence.
To rehearse the one-way format, HireVue Practice offers a timed mock interview. Use your bank’s invitation for its exact settings.
Practice inside this guide
Recorded interview practice
Question 1 of 3
You have 90 seconds in a recorded interview. Why do you want to work in investment banking?
What question families should you prepare?
Prepare five families instead of trying to predict exact wording.
- Motivation. Why banking, this firm, this division, and this role?
- Past behavior. When did you lead, solve a conflict, recover from failure, or improve a result?
- Scenario judgment. How would you prioritize, communicate, or escalate?
- Presentation. Can you explain a view in a clear sequence?
- Job knowledge. Can you explain relevant finance concepts and business context?
Create an evidence bank with two or three experiences. One strong internship or project can support several prompts when you change the focus. A teamwork question emphasizes collaboration. A leadership question emphasizes the decision you made. A setback question emphasizes what changed afterward.
Formats differ by bank. Deutsche Bank's recorded round is reported with its own timings and question mix, which our Deutsche Bank HireVue guide covers, and the question families page works through answer skeletons family by family.
How should you structure your answers?
Start with the answer. Then give evidence. Finish with the result or implication. This structure works across motivation, behavior, and technical prompts.
For motivation, use firm reason, role reason, personal proof, and contribution. For behavior, use situation, action, result, and lesson. For a scenario, state the goal, stakeholders, options, decision, and escalation point. For a technical response, use definition, mechanism, and business meaning.
Avoid long openings. If a question asks why the role fits you, do not spend half the answer summarizing the entire firm. State the fit, prove it, and stop.
How should you prepare without sounding scripted?
Write bullet points, not paragraphs. Each bullet should be a fact or decision. Practice the same answer with different wording. Record yourself on your own camera and review clarity, pace, filler words, and whether the first sentence answers the prompt.
Do not chase a perfect performance. A natural answer can include a brief pause. The goal is clear thinking and credible evidence. Employer guidance from Morgan Stanley also tells candidates to practice without sounding rehearsed.
What does IB Offer practice simulate?
The practice on this page checks answer structure through authored prompts and worked comparisons. It does not reproduce the HireVue recorder, employer timer, camera interface, or delivery-scoring system. Practice your video setup separately on the device you will use.
That boundary is deliberate. Content structure and device delivery are different jobs. Use the in-page practice for what to say. Use your own camera for how you look and sound.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many questions are in a banking HireVue?
There is no universal number. HireVue says employers configure their assessments.
Are all investment-banking video interviews HireVue?
No. A bank may use another vendor or describe the stage simply as a recorded video interview.
Can I use a memorized script?
You can prepare structure and evidence, but a word-for-word script often sounds rigid. Flexible bullet points work better.
Does IB Offer simulate HireVue video recording?
No. It does not simulate the recorder or delivery scoring. It helps you practice answer content and structure.
Sources
- HireVue Candidate FAQ (checked September 2026)
- Goldman Sachs: Prepare (checked September 2026)
- JPMorganChase: How We Hire (checked September 2026)
- Bank of America Student Application Process (checked September 2026)
- HireVue: removing visual analysis from assessments (checked September 2026)
- Mergers & Inquisitions: HireVue interview guide (checked September 2026)