HSBC HireVue Interview Questions and How to Answer Them

HSBC asks early careers applicants for short, time-limited video answers during its online assessment stage, and candidates report this video interview running on HireVue before the assessment centre.

Practise a HireVue-style interview

Your first session is free with a free account. After that, Interview Access is £5 once for up to 20 sessions, with no subscription.

How the HSBC HireVue works

Where it sits

HSBC’s stages are an application form, an online assessment of one or two parts with short written and video responses, then an assessment centre. Candidates report the HireVue video interview after the immersive job simulation and before the assessment centre.

Programmes

Graduate and internship programmes. For insight and work experience programmes, HSBC says stage three is usually an online interview. Reported for Global Markets and graduate engineering.

Length

HSBC says each online assessment takes around 40 minutes. The video interview alone is not published.

Questions

Not published. Reported as three to five.

Thinking time

Not published. Reported as 30 seconds to two minutes.

Answer time

HSBC describes time-limited video responses. Reported as two to three minutes.

Retakes

Not published. Reported as up to three re-records per answer on some tracks.

Practice questions

HSBC offers a Practice Zone for its assessments, and its platform runs a system check on your video and sound before the video questions.

HSBC HireVue questions candidates report

7 questions from HSBC HireVue interviews. Prepare a story for each type rather than a script for each question.

Motivation and fit

Why HSBC, and why this specific programme?
Tell me about yourself and how you would contribute to the bank.
Why do you want to do engineering?
Graduate engineering, London

Behavioural

Tell me about a time you adapted to change.
Tell me about a time you took responsibility for a result.
Tell me about a time you worked across difference toward a shared outcome.

Markets

Tell me about a piece of market news you followed, and give your view on it.
Global Markets

How to answer HSBC HireVue questions

Give each value its own story

HSBC has four values: we value difference, we succeed together, we take responsibility, and we get it done. The reported behavioural questions line up with them closely, so prepare one story for each: working across difference, collaborating across boundaries, holding yourself accountable, and moving at pace to make something happen.

Take “we take responsibility” literally

HSBC describes this value as “holding ourselves accountable and taking the long view”. For the question on taking responsibility for a result, pick a result that was yours to own, say what you did when it was at risk, and finish with what you would keep doing next time.

Show difference, not just diversity

“We value difference” means “seeking out different perspectives” in HSBC’s words, and its own recruiters tell applicants to think about how they embody the values and to be themselves. When asked about working across difference, show how a view unlike yours changed the outcome, not only that the team was mixed.

Make “Why HSBC” about the programme

HSBC tells candidates to research the bank and their chosen programme so they can clearly explain why they want to join. Tie your answer to the programme you applied for and to HSBC’s purpose, “opening up a world of opportunity”, through something concrete such as its international network or the clients that programme serves.

Have a view ready for Global Markets

Global Markets candidates report a question on market news they followed. Choose one story from the last few weeks, explain what moved and why, and say what you think happens next and how it would matter to HSBC’s clients.

Tips for recording your answers

Use a laptop or tablet with a webcam and a strong connection, as HSBC recommends.
Run the platform’s system check on video and sound before the first question.
Try the Practice Zone first so the question formats are familiar.
Keep pen and paper to hand, as HSBC suggests, and note three words per answer: situation, action, result.
Check your invitation for the number of re-records; some tracks report up to three, so do not count on any.

Frequently asked questions

Does HSBC use HireVue?

HSBC does not name its video tool. Candidates report a HireVue video interview after the online job simulation for graduate, internship and Global Markets programmes.

How many questions are in the HSBC HireVue?

HSBC does not publish a number. Candidates report three to five questions.

How long do you get to answer HSBC video interview questions?

HSBC describes its video responses as time-limited. Candidates report 30 seconds to two minutes to prepare and two to three minutes to answer.

What happens after the HSBC video interview?

An assessment centre of about three hours, mostly virtual, with interviews and exercises. HSBC says it gives the online assessment outcome within a couple of days and that the interview shortlist can take a couple of weeks or longer.

Practise for the HSBC HireVue

Our AI interview practice uses the same one-way format: five questions on screen, 60 seconds to prepare, then up to a minute to answer on camera. Choose the finance focus and the questions lean towards finance, with feedback on relevance, clarity and structure and on what finance assessors look for, such as commercial awareness and integrity. You also get a model answer to your weakest question.

The questions are ours, not HSBC’s. Start answering before the 60 seconds are up to match a shorter thinking time, and since practice lets you re-record, do one session in a single take.