Goldman Sachs Video Interview Tips

Hirevue Interview Overview

This article will break down the different stages to cover when preparing for a video interview. It will provide an easy and effective approach to ace your Goldman Sachs Hirevue interview. The 5-main steps to consider are:  

1. The Hirevue Structure
2. The Pre-Interview Research
3. The Questions
4. The 30-second Preparation Time
5. The Answer

When applying for an internship or junior role at Goldman Sachs, the recruiting process starts with an application, then you will have a Hirevue video interview, then be invited to an assessment day (also known as Superday), and then finally, receive an offer for the position.

Video Breakdown: Ace your Goldman Sachs Video Interview

Are you a visual learner? If so, consider checking out our video breakdown of the Goldman Sachs video interview featuring sample questions, response methods, and general tips!

#1 Structure of Hirevue

The Hirevue stage can be thought of as a first-round interview where you respond to predefined interview questions. For Goldman Sachs, there are typically 3 to 6 questions. You’re given 30-seconds to prepare, and then around 2-minues to present your answer.

Important Notes

• You get one attempt. You can’t pause your video when recording the answer. Once the time is up, the Hirevue will automatically stop recording. Some companies will let you re-record your answer, but to be safe don’t expect that to be the case.
• You don't have to use the full 2 minutes. If you finish your answer early, you can click submit to cut off the recording.
• You can use the practice feature. Before the interview starts, Hirevue will give you the option to practice using one of their sample questions. For this part there is no time limit, so you can practice as long as you want.

Hirevue interviews are a popular recruitment method and are widely used across investment banking, other investment banks like JP Morgan or Bank of America also do Hirevues. Although, bear in mind that the number of questions and the time given varies by bank, the exact format will be explained to you in the starting instructions.

Hirevue Science

Hirevue claims they use artificial intelligence to detect things like body language, facial express, and subtle signals that indicate whether or not you’d perform well in the role, based on data from top performers. Knowing this can be a little unsettling, but the best approach is to try and not think about it and take it like any other in-person interview.

From previous experience, employees have reported that an actual person does see the video interviews, so it’s not entirely based on an algorithm, and typically, they’re an analyst from the division you’re applying to.

#2 Pre-Interview Research

In terms of preparation, ideally, you should do some research before the hirevue to understand the role of the position you’re applying to, to have a clear story of your motivations to apply, and to be aware of some recent financial news in case you get asked. I recommend the Wall Street Journal if you’re in the US, and the Financial Times if you’re outside the US.

Interview Tips

• Remember your body language. A good tip is to try doing the interview standing up, and have your computer placed higher up, that way you will be more energetic.
• Look at the camera. This helps you deliver a message that is much more powerful and engaging.
• Use hand gestures. This shows you're comfortable speaking and passionate about the position you're applying to.
• Follow basic dress code. Unless told otherwise, dress the same as for an in-person interview, so a shirt and blazer is best.

All you need to do the interview is a phone, tablet, or your computer. You don’t need a fancy camera or a microphone. It’s probably best to use a computer if you have access to one, because then you can use both hands to articulate, and it looks more professional overall.

#3 Questions

Generally, the Hirevue questions are behavioral and not technical. Essentially, a behavioral question is more generic, and designed to find out how you approach scenarios, and if you “fit” the company. Questions might be along the lines of “tell me about a time when…” or “what are your motivations to apply for this role”.

On the other hand, a technical question tests you on practical knowledge that is required for the job, for example “tell me how the three financial statements are linked”, or “how do you calculate the cost of equity”.

For Hirevues, expect the questions to typically be more behavioral or fit type, and maybe one question that’s more closely related to the role. Typically, the banks have a pool of questions, and depending on which division and location you apply to, you’re going to get different ones.

Goldman Sachs Hirevue Questions from Past Experience

• Why do you want to work for Goldman Sachs?
• Why this division?
• Tell me about a time you over came a difficulty?
• What would you do if somebody told you confidential information and your boss wanted to know about it?

#4 30-Second Preparation

After reading the question, a 30-second countdown will start. Whilst it’s not much time, if you’re well organized it should be enough. It’s useful to have a pen and paper handy, so you can make a couple of bullet points with the basic structure of your answer, or the main points you want to cover.

For behavioral questions, it’s recommended that you use the STAR method. This stands for: Situation, Task, Action, Result, and overall it’s a very tight, concise way to structure your answer. So, during the 30-seconds you could write a couple of words for each STAR letter.

For example, suppose the question is:

‍“Tell us about a time when you missed an important deadline”

• For Situation, you would give some context. Let’s say you worked as front of house staff in a hotel.
• For Task, you would say prepare birthday decorations for a guest.
• For Action, you could say order balloons, party decoration, and cake.
• For Result, you might say that the order didn’t come on time, so you missed the deadline, but had a Plan B.

In the next section, we will cover the full answer. Take note, that during these 30-seconds, it’s not worth going to the internet to look up an answer, as you will likely run out of time, and usually with behavioral questions there is no “right or wrong answer”.

#5 The Answer

For the answer you get 2 minutes, and you will want to keep the following main points in mind:

• Eye contact
• Body language
• Answer structure

You want to make sure that your answer is easy and clear to follow, give context, but present it in a structured order and don’t skip around so that it becomes confusing. Also, try not to use any filler words like “oh” or “uhm”, as you want to be as eloquent as possible.

Let’s go over the missed deadline scenario from the section above. A good answer might be along the lines of:

“The situation was during my internship two summers ago as a bellman at a Marriot Hotel, where I was given the task to prepare birthday decorations for a guest who’s child was celebrating a birthday that weekend at our Hotel.

The action I had to take was to first, get approval from the finance team to order balloons, decoration, and a cake. Secondly, I had to order these items from the internet. I placed the order, and it was set to arrive the night prior to the guests arrival.

However, although the guests came on time, the decorations didn’t, so we missed the deadline. I had called the company during the morning to ask the expected delivery time, so I knew that it would be delayed. I didn’t want to disappoint the little girl, so we let her know that the room wasn’t ready yet, and we gave them a drink and had them wait in the lobby.

Luckily, the decorations came quickly after, and we set up the room for them and let them know as soon as it was ready. They later came down to the lobby to thank us for the birthday decorations.

Overall, although we missed the initial deadline, the guest was happy in the end, which was our priority. Two main takeaways from the experience for me, were to communicate more clearly with the decoration providers, and follow up pre-delivery date, to make sure everything is going according to plan.”

Answer Breakdown

As you can see that answer has a clear structure, is easy to follow, concise and covers all the main points. It also finishes by summing up the main message, the “what you learned from the experience”, which you want to convey to the interviewer.

Even if you don’t cover the full two minutes, this is not a problem, as you can just press stop recording. Ideally, you don't want to do the opposite, where you’re cut off before you can finish.

The experience recounted above was not finance related. Whilst it would be even better if it was, many people don’t have much finance experience as a student, so a non-finance answer is completely fine as long as it answers the question.

#6 The Wait

Previous applicants have reported that the wait is around 1 week to 1 month, but this will vary by location and division, so just take that as an approximation.

Good luck!

Additional Resources

If you want to develop your technical skills to be a stronger job candidate at Goldman Sachs and other investment banks, take a look at our Excel for Business & Finance Course, our Complete Finance & Valuation Course and more using the get started button below.

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