Shell HireVue Interview Questions and How to Answer Them

Shell’s On-Demand Video Interview (ODVI) is a recorded interview, reported as run on HireVue, for graduate and internship applicants. These are the questions candidates report, grouped by type, with how to answer them.

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 Shell HireVue works

Where it sits

Reported as part of stage one, after the online assessments (a virtual job tryout with game-based, reasoning and personality questions). The final stage follows: a live online session with two senior Shell staff, or an assessment centre with a case study, presentation and interview.

Programmes

Reported for the Shell Graduate Programme and the Assessed Internship. Experienced hires report a video or telephone interview instead.

Length

Not published.

Questions

Not published. Reported as five, or three to five.

Thinking time

Reported as 30 seconds per question.

Answer time

Reported as up to three minutes per question.

Retakes

Reported as allowed, with no limit on re-recording.

Deadline

Reported as ten days from the invitation, with five days recommended. Other reports say seven days.

Practice questions

Reported as available in the HireVue app and before the interview starts. Shell does not see these answers.

Shell HireVue questions candidates report

13 questions from Shell HireVue interviews. Prepare a story for each type rather than a script for each question.

Motivation and fit

Why did you choose to work at Shell?
Why Shell and why this role?
Tell me about yourself and your leadership skills.
How do you put “powering progress” into practice in your own life?

Working with people

Tell me about a time you had a different opinion from someone.
Tell me about a time when you changed someone’s opinion.
Tell me about a time when you resolved a conflict.
Tell me about a time you worked in a team.
Describe an experience where you showed leadership to help a team reach its goal.

Feedback, learning and challenge

Describe a time when you needed to ask for feedback.
Tell us about a time when you used feedback from someone to your benefit.
Tell me about a time when you had to learn something fast.
Give an example of a project where you faced a challenge and successfully tackled it.

How to answer Shell HireVue questions

Build your stories around Capacity, Achievement and Relationships

Shell assesses applicants against its CAR criteria. Capacity is your ability to “absorb information, analyse problems” and make decisions on the facts. Achievement is “how well you get things done”, including drive and resilience. Relationships is how well you work in a team, communicate and treat others with respect. Before recording, make sure you have at least two stories for each.

Show respect when opinions differ

Three of the reported questions are about disagreement: a different opinion, changing someone’s mind and resolving a conflict. Shell names honesty, integrity and respect for people as its core values. Show that you listened first, used facts rather than pressure, and kept the working relationship intact, whichever way it ended.

Prepare both sides of the feedback question

Candidates report two versions: asking for feedback, and using feedback to your benefit. Have one story where you went looking for advice before it was offered, and one where criticism changed what you did next. Name the specific change, since that is the evidence of drive and resilience Achievement looks for.

Make “learn something fast” about Capacity

For the learning question, describe how you took in new information under time pressure: what you read or asked, how you checked you had it right, and the decision you then made. A technical subject, a new tool or an unfamiliar role at a society all work.

Give separate answers to why Shell and why this role

Both are reported, sometimes in the same interview. Keep “why Shell” on the company and what you have learned about its work, and “why this role” on the programme area you applied to and the skills you bring to it. For the “powering progress” question, give one concrete thing you have done, not a statement of belief.

Tips for recording your answers

Try the practice questions in the HireVue app first. They are reported as not seen by Shell, so use them to check your timing.
Book it early. The reported deadline is ten days from the invitation, with five days recommended.
Use the 30 seconds of thinking time to note the situation, your action and the result.
Three minutes is long. Plan a result and a lesson so the answer does not run out straight after the action.
Re-recording is reported as allowed, but use it for real mistakes rather than polishing a good answer.
Look at the camera rather than the screen. If your connection drops, reopen the browser and you are reported to resume at the last unanswered question.

Frequently asked questions

Does Shell use HireVue?

Yes. Candidates report that Shell’s On-Demand Video Interview runs on HireVue, as part of stage one for graduate and internship applicants.

How many questions are in the Shell video interview?

Shell does not publish a number. Candidates report five questions, and some report three to five.

How long do you get to answer Shell HireVue questions?

Candidates report 30 seconds to think and up to three minutes to record each answer.

Can you re-record answers in the Shell HireVue?

Candidates report that you can re-record answers, with no fixed limit.

What happens after the Shell video interview?

Candidates report a final stage next: a live online session with two senior Shell staff, or an assessment centre with a case study, presentation and interview.

Practise for the Shell 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 Shell’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.