The most common HireVue questions, from 646 questions across 40 employers
The most common HireVue question is "Tell me about yourself". After that come questions about teamwork, conflict, deadlines and why you want to join. We grouped all 646 questions in forge's HireVue practice bank by what they actually ask. Those five question types come up at between 25 and 30 of the 40 employers in the bank. Below is the full ranking, what each question is testing, and a free drill you can run right now. For model answers, read HireVue sample answers; for the format itself, see the HireVue interview guide.
- "Tell me about yourself" appears at 30 of 40 employers in our bank.
- Teamwork, conflict and deadlines each appear at 26 of 40; "Why us?" at 25.
- The classic weakness question is rare: 5 of 40.
- Ethics and compliance questions appear only at banks and payments firms (8 employers).
- Seven stories cover most of what you'll be asked. Prepare by question type, not wording.
Free HireVue drill
Question 1 of 8 · 30s prep · 2 min answerTell me about yourself.
- The top five HireVue question types appear at 25 to 30 of the 40 employers we looked at.
- Most questions are behavioural ("tell me about a time…"), so a bank of real stories beats memorised answers.
- Motivation questions ("why us?", "why this role?") are nearly as common as behavioural ones.
- Banks add compliance, ethics and market-awareness questions; trading and tech firms add technical ones.
- The weakness question appears far less often than most prep guides suggest.
How we worked this out
forge's HireVue practice bank holds 646 questions across 40 employers: global banks (HSBC, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, UBS, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered), Singapore banks and investors (DBS, OCBC, UOB, GIC, Temasek), trading firms (Jane Street, Optiver, DRW, Jump Trading, Two Sigma), consulting and Big 4 firms (Bain, Oliver Wyman, Accenture, Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG) and consumer and tech companies (Unilever, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, Amazon, PayPal, Visa).
The same question is worded differently from company to company. "Describe a time you disagreed with a teammate" and "Tell me about a conflict in your team" test the same thing. So we grouped every question by what it asks, then counted how many employers ask each type at least once. Counting employers rather than questions stops one company with a long list from skewing the result.
The full ranking: which HireVue questions come up most
| Question type | Employers (of 40) | Where it shows up |
|---|---|---|
| Tell me about yourself / walk me through your CV | 30 | Almost everywhere |
| Deadlines, pressure and prioritising | 26 | Banks, Big 4, consulting |
| Teamwork | 26 | Almost everywhere |
| Conflict or disagreement | 26 | Almost everywhere |
| Why this company? | 25 | Almost everywhere |
| A challenge you overcame | 23 | Almost everywhere |
| Why this role, division or industry? | 23 | Banks, trading, PE |
| Leadership | 23 | Banks, consulting, Big 4 |
| What do you know about us? / values fit | 22 | Banks, consumer goods |
| Problem solving or using data | 21 | Consulting, trading, tech |
| Why should we hire you? | 17 | Banks, Big 4 |
| Failure or setback | 16 | Banks, consulting |
| Strengths | 16 | Banks, trading |
| Where do you see yourself in five years? | 16 | Banks, insurers |
| Customer or client service | 15 | Payments, insurers, consulting |
| Adaptability and ambiguity | 14 | Consulting, investment firms |
| Innovation or improving a process | 14 | Tech, trading, consumer goods |
| Commercial awareness (news, markets) | 13 | Banks, investment firms |
| Explain something complex simply | 12 | Banks, payments |
| Weaknesses | 5 | Rare |
Source: forge HireVue practice bank, 646 questions, 40 employers, grouped by intent on 1 October 2026. Counts are approximate because some questions cover two types.
The top 10 HireVue questions and what each one tests
1. "Tell me about yourself" (30 of 40)
This is usually the first question, and it sets the tone. It tests whether you can give a short, relevant summary of yourself. Some employers combine it with motivation: Accenture's version is "Tell me about yourself and why Accenture". Aim for about 90 seconds: what you do now, two experiences that point to this job, and why this role comes next.
2. Deadlines and prioritising (26 of 40)
"How do you handle tight deadlines or multiple projects?" tests how you organise your time and work. Interviewers want a method, not a claim that you work well under pressure. Describe how you ranked the tasks, what you moved or delegated, and the result.
3. Teamwork (26 of 40)
Weak answers say "we" all the way through. Strong ones make your contribution visible: the part you owned, the moment you helped someone else, and the team's result.
4. Conflict and disagreement (26 of 40)
16 employers in the bank ask about both teamwork and conflict, so expect them together. Pick a disagreement about the work itself, show you listened first, and explain how evidence settled it.
5. "Why us?" (25 of 40)
HSBC asks "Why do you want to work at HSBC instead of other banks?" and Allianz asks "Why Allianz over competitors like AXA or Zurich?". Both are asking for reasons that only fit that employer. Our sample answers guide shows how to build one.
6–10. Challenge, why this role, leadership, company knowledge, problem solving
Each of these appears at 21 to 23 employers. Two of them are often underprepared:
- Company knowledge and values (22 employers). Barclays, for example, asks how your values match its own values, which it lists by name in the question. Learn the employer's stated values and have one example for one of them.
- Problem solving with data (about 21 employers). Accenture asks you to "describe using data/analytics for a decision". Bring an example with a number in it.
Practise the top HireVue questions on forge
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Open HireVue practiceWhat changes by industry
Banks: compliance, ethics and the news
All 8 employers in our bank that ask about ethics or compliance are banks, investors or payments firms: BNP Paribas, DBS, HSBC, OCBC, Standard Chartered, Temasek, UOB and Visa. Questions like "Can you explain the importance of compliance in banking?" and "How would you escalate an issue such as an anti-money-laundering red flag?" reward a clear, calm answer: follow the process, escalate early, and don't try to handle it alone. Banks also ask commercial-awareness questions. Barclays asks for "a recent financial news story and its potential impact on Barclays", and several banks ask what challenges the industry faces.
Trading firms and tech: technical questions in the video round
DRW, Jump Trading, Two Sigma and PayPal include technical prompts in the video round, such as explaining concurrency, how you debug a complex issue or a time you optimised code. These still get scored on how clearly you explain, so practise saying technical answers out loud. Writing them down isn't the same skill.
Finance and ratings: technical finance questions
Moody's, MUFG, Allianz and Fidelity ask finance questions on video, for example how the three financial statements connect or which ratios show whether a company can repay its debt. If you're applying for these roles, prepare short, structured technical answers as well as your stories.
The questions people over-prepare (and under-prepare)
The weakness question appears at only 5 of the 40 employers, yet it gets a lot of attention in prep guides. Explaining something complex simply appears at 12 employers, including Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, HSBC, Standard Chartered and UBS, and is rarely practised. "Tell us something not on your CV" appears at 10. Have a 30-second answer ready for each.
How to turn this into a preparation plan
- Write seven stories that between them cover teamwork, conflict, a deadline, a challenge, leadership, a failure and a time you used data. One story can cover two questions.
- Write two motivation answers per employer: why this company, and why this role. These can't be reused across employers.
- Add your industry's extras: compliance and news for banks, technical explanations for trading and tech, financial statements for finance roles.
- Practise out loud against a timer. Use the drill above, then rewatch your answers.
Related HireVue guides
- Video interviews: the complete guide
- HireVue sample answers for the top questions
- How HireVue scores your interview
- HireVue interview guide: format and preparation
- HireVue games: what they measure
- Best HireVue practice tools compared
- By employer: JP Morgan, UBS, Unilever, Haleon
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common HireVue question?
"Tell me about yourself" (or "walk me through your CV"). In forge's HireVue practice bank of 646 questions across 40 employers, 30 of the 40 employers include a version of it. Prepare a 90-second answer that covers what you do now, two relevant experiences and why this role is the next step.
How many questions are in a HireVue interview?
HireVue says most video assessments include between five and eight questions and take under 20 to 30 minutes. HireVue's own example of an AI-scored assessment has 4 to 6 video questions plus 2 to 3 short games. The employer sets the exact number, so check your invitation.
Do employers ask the weakness question in HireVue?
Less often than people expect. Only 5 of the 40 employers in forge's HireVue bank ask about weaknesses, compared with 26 that ask about teamwork, conflict and deadlines. Prepare an answer, but spend more time on your behavioural stories.
Are HireVue questions the same for every company?
No. Each employer chooses or configures its own questions. But the same question types repeat: about two-thirds of the employers in forge's bank ask about teamwork, conflict and deadlines, and most ask why you want to join. Prepare stories by question type, not by exact wording.
How long do you get to answer a HireVue question?
The employer sets the preparation and answer times. A common setup is around 30 seconds to prepare and up to 2 to 3 minutes to answer, but your invitation or the on-screen instructions are the only reliable source. HireVue recommends employers give at least one minute of preparation time.
Can I practise HireVue questions for free?
Yes. The drill on this page uses the most common question types with a 30-second prep countdown and a 2-minute answer timer. You can record yourself and play it back; the video stays on your device. For AI feedback on your answers, use forge's HireVue practice.
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