BlackRock HireVue Interview: Questions, Format, and a Worked Answer

BlackRock uses HireVue for its summer and full-time analyst programs. Candidates report a short screen: 2 to 5 questions, with prep time that runs from 30 seconds to a few minutes, and 90 seconds to 3 minutes to answer each one. Candidates describe one recording per question, with no retakes.

The questions are mostly about motivation and behavior. One theme comes up often: something in the world or the markets that you follow. BlackRock also publishes five principles, and the questions lean on them. This page lists the questions candidates report, what each tests, and one worked answer timed to the clock.

Want a run-through first? HireVue practice gives you the same timed format with your answers scored, free.

The clock and the format are the same HireVue product every employer uses. The timing guide covers what happens when the timer runs out, and how HireVue scoring works covers what the recording is scored on.

BlackRock publishes five principles: we are a fiduciary to our clients, we are One BlackRock, we are passionate about performance, we take emotional ownership, and we are committed to a better future. The teamwork question maps to One BlackRock, and the challenge question maps to emotional ownership.

• Market curiosity. A story in the world or the markets you follow, and why it matters to investors.
• Motivation. What drives you, shown through something you have actually done.
• Working with data. A decision you made because of numbers you gathered or checked.
• Teamwork. Solving a problem with others, with your part named.
• Ownership. A hard task you took on, how you approached it, and what you learned.

Build one story for each line above. Every question below is asking for one of them.

These are the questions candidates report from recent BlackRock screens, with the competency each one is built to test. Your set will be a mix of these and close variants.

1. Why BlackRock, and why did you apply to this division or program? (Motivation, research)
2. Tell us about something going on in the world that has interested you. (Market awareness, curiosity)
3. Tell me about a recent time you used data to make a decision. (Analytical judgment)
4. Tell us about a time you worked with others to solve a problem. (Teamwork)
5. Tell us about something you found really challenging. How did you approach it, and what did you learn? (Ownership, resilience)
6. What motivates you? What drives you? (Motivation)
7. Tell me something about yourself that is not on your resume. (Self-awareness)

For the shape of each answer type, see HireVue interview questions by format. For the answer structure itself, the STAR method guide has worked examples.

Question: "Tell me about a recent time you used data to make a decision."

"Last spring I ran the budget for my investment club's trip to a student finance conference. We had money for eight people, and fourteen wanted to go. The easy move was to send the most senior members. Instead I pulled our attendance records and the club's stock pitch scores from the past year and put them in one sheet. Two things stood out. Three of the seniors had missed most meetings, and two first-years had the best pitch scores in the club. I shared the sheet with the board and suggested we choose by a mix of attendance and pitch scores. They agreed. One senior was upset, so I walked him through the numbers in person. The group we sent placed second in the conference pitch round. The club now uses the same sheet every year, so the choice is about the work people put in."

Why it scores: A real choice, data the person gathered, a hard conversation handled in person, and a result. About 60 seconds spoken.

Specific to BlackRock:

• Candidates report a question about something in the world or the markets that interests you. Pick one story, know the numbers, and say why it matters to investors.
• Check the timer on your invite. Reported answer limits run from 90 seconds to 3 minutes by region and year, so time your stories to fit the shorter one.
• Build one story for each of the five principles. Candidates report that the live rounds come back to the principles too, so the work carries forward.

For any HireVue:

1. Day 1. Write one story per competency in the list above. Two or three sentences each: the situation, what you decided, what happened.
2. Day 2. Say each story out loud on a two-minute timer. Most people run long the first time. Cut until each one ends on the result with time to spare.
3. Day 3. Run the reported questions cold, in one sitting, no notes. Then set up the room: quiet, camera at eye level, light on your face, wired internet if you have it.

The full setup checklist and a five-day version of this plan are in the free HireVue practice guide.

After you submit, results often take a week or more. Here is how to follow up after an interview if the window passes, and a salary negotiation email for when the offer comes. Applying for a move up where you already work? See promotion interview questions.

Company guides in this series, each with the reported questions and a worked answer:

• Goldman Sachs HireVue (investment banking)
• JPMorgan Chase HireVue (investment banking)
• Morgan Stanley HireVue (investment banking)
• Citi HireVue (banking)
• Bank of America HireVue (banking)
• Barclays HireVue (banking)
• Deutsche Bank HireVue (banking)
• Bain & Company HireVue (consulting)
• Boston Consulting Group HireVue (consulting)
• Deloitte HireVue (consulting and professional services)
• EY HireVue (professional services)
• Unilever HireVue (consumer goods)
• PepsiCo HireVue (consumer goods)
• Amazon HireVue (technology and operations)
• IBM HireVue (technology)
• Boeing HireVue (aerospace and engineering)
• Hilton HireVue (hospitality)
• Delta Air Lines HireVue (airlines)
• McDonald's HireVue (restaurants)
• Shell HireVue (energy)
• PwC HireVue (accounting and professional services)
• Accenture HireVue (consulting and technology services)
• Vodafone HireVue (telecommunications)
• Kraft Heinz HireVue (consumer packaged goods)
• Wells Fargo HireVue (banking)
• UBS HireVue (banking)
• United Airlines HireVue (airlines)
• Emirates HireVue (airlines)
• Marriott HireVue (hospitality)
• Johnson & Johnson HireVue (health care)
• PNC HireVue (banking)
• Kaiser Permanente HireVue (health care)
• KKR HireVue (private equity)
• Keurig Dr Pepper HireVue (consumer goods)
• Target HireVue (retail)
• Walmart HireVue (retail)
• Nike HireVue (sportswear)
• Macy's HireVue (retail)