HireVue Inter­view Tips: Prepare From Your Invitation

HireVue is a platform that some employers use for video interviews, which can be recorded or live. Your own invitation tells you what applies to you, so this guide focuses on checking it and preparing honestly. It is general preparation advice published by Muqabala. Follow the official HireVue and employer instructions you are given. HireVue publishes candidate help and candidate tips.

The practice suggestions here are optional, so adapt them to your invitation and to any limit or instruction the employer gives. Honesty, confidentiality, permission and the employer's assessment rules are not optional. All examples are fictional and are not claims for you to copy. This guide gives no legal advice and no guarantee about how any employer or platform handles your recording or assesses your answers.

Start with your invitation

Read your invitation and any instructions carefully. Check them and the official candidate help pages for answers to questions such as:

• Is the interview recorded or live?
• What is the deadline, and how can I ask for a different time?
• Which device and browser should I use?
• Is there a practice question or a setup check?
• Do any time limits or attempt limits apply?
• Who should I contact if something goes wrong?
• How do I ask for adjustments?
• How will my recording be used, and where is the privacy information?

If an answer is not stated, ask the recruiter instead of guessing. Settings and instructions can vary, so check your own invitation and the official help. This guide gives no time limits, attempt limits or settings.

Check your setup the way your invitation asks

Follow the technical requirements in your invitation or in the official candidate help pages. Check your camera, microphone and internet connection before the day, in the place where you plan to take part. If you can, choose a space where you are unlikely to be interrupted. Decide in advance how you would contact the recruiter if something failed.

If the platform offers a practice question or a setup check, you can use it to get familiar with the screen. It may not show you the real questions.

If you need adjustments

If you need adjustments, for example more time, a different format or support with a device, ask the recruiter before the interview and say what would help. This guide cannot say what an employer will provide.

Follow the assessment rules

Treat the instructions as the rules of the assessment. Follow what they say about notes, devices and support from other people. If you are unsure whether you may use notes, a second device or someone's help, ask the recruiter. Support you have arranged with the recruiter, such as an adjustment, is different from using a tool to write your answers. Never use a tool to generate answers in a real interview unless the organiser has explicitly allowed it. Do not record, screenshot or share the questions or the platform unless you are allowed to. Do not use leaked or confidential interview or assessment material, and do not try to get around the platform or the instructions. This guide does not cover how answers are assessed. It only helps you prepare to answer honestly, in your own words.

Prepare your answers

Recorded questions may ask about real past events, about imagined situations or about why you want the role.

• For a question about a past event, use a true example. Say what you did, what others did and what happened, including if you do not know the outcome. Our STAR examples guide shows one way to structure it.
• For an imagined scenario, explain your reasoning and state your assumptions. Our guide to situational interview questions covers this.
• If you do not know an answer, say so, and say how you would find out. Our guide on what to do when you don't know an answer covers this.

Answer the question that was asked, and follow any time limit the platform shows. Do not claim skills, tools or qualifications you do not have.

Practice in the same format

You can practice by recording yourself on your own device and listening back, or by asking someone to read you questions. Use questions you have made up or general ones, not leaked material. When you listen back, check whether you answered the question, whether your own part is clear and whether every statement is true. For a routine you can repeat, see our guide to behavioural interview practice.

If you practice with another person, agree with them before recording and before sharing any recording, and respect confidentiality. Do not use real employer, customer or personal data in your examples.

If something goes wrong

Follow the instructions you have been given. Contact the recruiter using the details in your invitation, say what happened and ask how to proceed. Do not assume that you will be able to repeat an answer or resubmit. Keep a note of what happened and when.

Fictional wording, a message to a recruiter: "My connection dropped while I was answering a question in my recorded interview. Could you let me know whether and how I can continue?"

Fictional examples of recorded answers

Each example below is invented. Do not present any of them as your own experience, and do not copy them.

Fictional example, a change of plan: "In a group project, our plan changed when a teammate left. I redrew the task list and told our tutor what had changed. I don't know how it affected our final grade." What to notice: the speaker says what they did, claims no result and says what they do not know.

Fictional example, a limitation: "The advert mentions a tool I haven't used. I've used a similar one in coursework, so I would need training before using yours at work."

Nerves

If nerves are a concern, our guide to interview anxiety strategies covers preparation and logistics. This guide gives no medical or mental-health advice.

This guide is published by Muqabala. You can visit our interview practice page for your next practice session. Use any method that suits you, and check how any tool handles your data first. Do not paste confidential employer, client or personal information into a practice tool.