Goldman Sachs HireVue Interview: Questions, Format, and a Worked Answer

Goldman Sachs sends a HireVue link to most campus and early-career applicants after the resume screen. Candidates report 3 to 5 questions. You get about 30 seconds to think and up to 2 minutes to answer each one. There are no retakes on the scored questions.

The bank runs the same screen for every applicant to a program so the answers can be compared. That is good news. The questions do not change much from year to year, and the themes are public. This page lists the questions candidates report, what each one is testing, and one worked answer timed to the clock.

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.

Goldman publishes four core values: partnership, client service, integrity, and excellence. Its HireVue questions map onto those four almost one to one, so build one story for each.

• Teamwork. A story where you made a group better, with your part named.
• Motivation for the firm. A reason for Goldman and the division that is about the work, backed by something you read or did.
• Resilience under pressure. A hard stretch, what you decided, and what happened after.
• Integrity. A moment you did the right thing when it cost you something.
• Market awareness. A company, deal, or trend you follow and a view on it.

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

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

1. Why Goldman Sachs, and why this division? (Motivation, research)
2. Tell me about a time you worked on a team and something went wrong. What did you do? (Teamwork, accountability)
3. Describe a time you had to handle several deadlines at once. How did you decide what came first? (Prioritization, pressure)
4. Tell me about a time you had to make a decision with incomplete information. (Judgment)
5. What is a news story or market event you have followed recently, and what is your view on it? (Market awareness, communication)
6. Describe a time you received tough feedback. What did you change? (Coachability)
7. Tell me about a time you had to persuade someone senior to you. (Influence, confidence)

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: "Why Goldman Sachs, and why this division?"

"Two reasons. First, the work. I want to be in a seat where I build the model and sit in the room when the client asks about it, and the analyst program here puts first-years on live deals from the start. I followed the firm's work on a mid-cap industrials sale last spring and read the coverage, and the way the team framed the buyer list is the kind of thinking I want to learn. Second, how the firm works. Every person I spoke with at the campus event described the same thing: small deal teams, direct feedback, and a lot of trust early. I did best in school when the feedback was fast and specific. That is the environment I want for my first job."

Why it scores: It names a specific piece of work, shows research without reciting a press release, and gives a reason that is about how the person learns. About 65 seconds spoken.

Specific to Goldman Sachs:

• Have one market view ready. Pick a company or a deal from the last month, know the numbers, and hold a position on it.
• Know the division. "Investment banking" is not an answer. Name the group and why its work fits you.
• Keep the teamwork story about a failure or a conflict, not a success. Goldman asks for the hard version.

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.

On Day 3, run it as the real thing: a live interviewer on video who asks Goldman-style questions and follows up.

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

Still need the resume for the application? Build it on your phone, free to preview. 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:

• 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)
• BlackRock HireVue (asset management)
• 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)