Morgan Stanley HireVue Interview Questions and How to Answer Them
A recorded HireVue interview is reported as the first interview for many Morgan Stanley campus programmes. These are the questions candidates report, grouped by type, with how to answer them.
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How the Morgan Stanley HireVue works
Morgan Stanley HireVue questions candidates report
20 questions from Morgan Stanley HireVue interviews. Prepare a story for each type rather than a script for each question.
Motivation and fit
Why Morgan Stanley, and not one of its competitors?
Tell me about yourself.
Why investment banking? (Or why wealth management, depending on your division.)
Why are you a good fit for this role?
Walk me through your resume.
If you do not land a role in investment banking, what alternative would you pursue?
Investment banking
You know you will not get enough sleep or exercise as much as you should. Why is this role still worth it to you?
Behavioural
Tell me about a time you faced and overcame a challenge.
Tell me about a time you had a disagreement with a coworker.
Tell me about a time you led a challenging project.
Tell us about a problem you’ve dealt with recently.
Integrity and inclusion
Tell me about a time you felt that something was not right.
Tell us about a time you witnessed someone doing something wrong. How did you react?
How do you foster inclusive environments?
What perspective do you bring to the team?
Markets and technical
What business, finance or technology trends do you predict over the next 12 months?
What is happening in the credit markets right now?
Investment banking
Pitch a stock.
Investment banking
Why would two companies in the same industry, with the same growth and risk profile, have different trading multiples?
Investment banking
Walk me through how you would analyse a company using its financial statements.
Investment banking
How to answer Morgan Stanley HireVue questions
Build “Why Morgan Stanley” on one core value
Morgan Stanley names five core values: Do the Right Thing, Put Clients First, Lead with Exceptional Ideas, Commit to Diversity and Inclusion, and Give Back. Pick the one you can back with something you have done, and say why it matters in the division you applied to. Under Put Clients First, the firm says to “listen to what the client is saying and needs”; a story about doing that is stronger than praise for the brand.
Answer “something was not right” with action
Two reported questions ask what you did when something was wrong. Do the Right Thing starts with “Act with integrity” and says the firm values “honesty and character”. Say what you noticed, who you raised it with and when, and what changed. Do not make the story about catching someone out; make it about fixing the problem.
Give a real example for inclusion and perspective
The questions on inclusive environments and the perspective you bring map to two values: Commit to Diversity and Inclusion, which asks people to value “individual and cultural differences as a defining strength”, and Lead with Exceptional Ideas, which talks of using “different perspectives to gain new insight”. Describe one time you drew in a quieter voice or brought a different view, and what the team did better as a result.
Be ready to defend your division choice
Expect “why investment banking” or “why wealth management” for your division, and in banking possibly what you would do if you did not land the role. Name what the division does and what a summer analyst there works on. For the alternative, give a related path and the same reason you chose banking, so the answer still shows commitment.
Prepare one 12-month trend
The trend question comes up across divisions, and Technology candidates report it at the centre of their HireVue. Lead with Exceptional Ideas asks staff to “drive innovation” and be “vigilant about what we can do better”. Pick one trend, say what you expect to happen in the next 12 months, and how it could affect Morgan Stanley’s clients or its own work.
Investment banking: short answer, then reasoning
Banking candidates report light technical questions, such as pitching a stock, trading multiples or reading financial statements. Give the answer in one sentence first, then two or three reasons. For a stock pitch, cover the company, why it is mispriced, and the risk that would prove you wrong.
Tips for recording your answers
- Use the 30 seconds to note three words: the situation, what you did and the result.
- Aim to finish in about 75 seconds of the 90. A complete answer beats one the timer cuts off.
- Treat the retry as a backup. Using it deletes your first attempt, so only retry when the first clearly went wrong.
- Look at the lens, not your own picture, with the camera at eye level and the light in front of you.
- Set aside 45 minutes somewhere quiet. The interview is reported as about 30 minutes, plus set-up.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are in the Morgan Stanley HireVue?
Morgan Stanley does not publish a number. Candidates report three to five questions, taking about 30 minutes in all.
How long do you get to answer Morgan Stanley HireVue questions?
Candidates report 30 seconds to think and 90 seconds to answer each question.
Can you retake answers in the Morgan Stanley HireVue?
Candidates report one retry per question. Retrying deletes your first attempt, so you cannot go back to it.
Does the Morgan Stanley HireVue have technical questions?
Most questions are about motivation and behaviour. Investment banking candidates also report light technical questions, such as pitching a stock or explaining why similar companies trade on different multiples.
What happens after the Morgan Stanley HireVue?
If you pass, candidates report moving on to live interviews with the team.
Practise for the Morgan Stanley 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 Morgan Stanley’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.
Your first session is free with a free account. After that, Interview Access is £5 once for up to 20 sessions, with no subscription.