The recruitment process for investment banks is known to be particularly rigorous And competitive. Among the tools increasingly used by recruiters, HireVues stand out. This type of asynchronous video interview allows candidates to answer recorded questions without real-time interaction with a recruiter. Here’s everything you need to know to prepare for and succeed in your HireVue.
What is HireVue?
HireVue is a video interview platform used by many companies, particularly investment banks, to screen candidates. It allows recruiters to ask predefined questions, which candidates respond to via video at their convenience, usually within a set time limit. This format makes it possible to quickly evaluate a large number of candidates while providing some flexibility.
The final decision whether or not to accept your application will always be made by a human being. If many fear being judged solely by an AI, rest assured, this is almost never the case.
How does the HireVue take place?
Here is some information that will help you familiarize yourself with the format of the test. We can distinguish 3 characteristics common to all HireVues of investment banks:
- A specific number of pre-recorded questions: the questions are recorded by the employer, and you will usually have between 30 seconds and 2 minutes to respond to each of them from the moment they appear on the screen;
- Preparation time: before each question, you will often have a short time (between 30 seconds and 2 minutes) to think about your answer;
- The number of attempts: Some HireVues allow several attempts for every question, but many don’t allow it.
It is important to pay attention to the format that awaits you. There is a real difference between a HireVue where you have a single registration attempt and one where you have several.
Some tips for preparing your HireVue
Here are the 3 key points to take into account before even starting your HireVue.
- In general, you will find testimonials from other candidates and the questions asked of them. Prepare them in advance! This will allow you to be more confident and at ease, and above all to avoid being surprised by questions to which you do not have the answer.
- Practice speaking English in front of your computer. To avoid prolonged “huhs”, you need to speak at length to get used to not taking pauses during your speech. Always aim to give clear, concise and organized answers.
- Make sure everything is formally prepared:
- Dress professionally;
- Take care to have a stable connection and powerful enough to download your recordings;
- Check that the settings of your computer do not block certain features of the HireVue. For example, on Mac, you must authorize “Pop-up windows” and the “Readers” section in Safari settings so that HireVue can launch;
- Be careful not to have extraneous noise around you;
- Settle in a place bright with a white background;
- Pay attention to your posturestand up straight (sitting or standing);
- Be framed and secure the camera.
All these details may seem trivial, but a careful appearance and video can give you an advantage in your application.
How to properly structure your answers
The method STAR is a very effective technique for structuring your answers during an interview, especially when it comes to behavioral questions. This is a very useful method to avoid having a response that is too long and poorly structured because it allows you to give a guiding thread to your speech.
STAR is the acronym for Situation, Task, Action, Result. Using this method, you start by:
Describe the Situation you were in, providing clear context.
Then, you detail the Stain that you had to accomplish, specifying your responsibilities.
You then move on to theActionexplaining the specific steps you took to handle the situation or complete the task.
Finally, you conclude with the Resultshowing the impact of your actions and quantifying the benefits where possible.
This approach allows present your experiences in a structured and convincing waythus demonstrating your skills and your ability to obtain concrete results.
Conclusion
Investment bank HireVues are often the first or even second step in a long recruitment process. Successfully completing this stage is therefore essential for any student who wishes to work in a large bank. This is a test that should not be neglected and which requires a lot of preparation.
