What the Hilton HireVue looks like
Hilton uses HireVue for hotel roles and management programs. Candidates report 3 to 5 questions with 30 seconds to think and up to 2 minutes to answer. No retakes on the scored questions. For many hotel jobs it is the first time anyone at Hilton sees you.
Hilton's values spell its own name: hospitality, integrity, leadership, teamwork, ownership, now. The questions ask for a time you showed one. This page has the reported questions, what each tests, and a worked answer for the most common one.
| Questions | 3 to 5 |
|---|---|
| Time to think | 30 seconds |
| Time to answer | up to 2 minutes |
| Retakes | none on the scored questions |
| When it comes | after the online application, often before any call with a person |
| Who gets it | hotel roles from front desk and housekeeping to management programs, plus corporate early-career |
What candidates report for early-career screens. Hilton can change the bank by role and by year.
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.
What Hilton is screening for
Hilton's published values are hospitality, integrity, leadership, teamwork, ownership, and now. The reported questions test hospitality and ownership most often.
- Hospitality. A time you made someone feel welcome or cared for, in specifics.
- Ownership. Fixing a guest problem yourself instead of passing it on.
- Teamwork. Covering for or helping a coworker during a rush.
- Now. Acting fast when a guest needed something.
- Integrity. Being honest with a guest or a manager when it was hard.
Build one story for each line above. Every question below is asking for one of them.
Hilton HireVue questions candidates report
These are the questions candidates report from recent Hilton screens, with the competency each one is built to test. Your set will be a mix of these and close variants.
- Tell me about a time you went out of your way to help a guest or customer. (Hospitality)
- Why Hilton, and why this role? (Motivation)
- Describe a time a customer was upset. What did you do? (Ownership, service recovery)
- Tell me about a time you helped a coworker during a busy shift. (Teamwork)
- Describe a time you had to act quickly to solve a problem. (Now)
- Tell me about a time you were honest even when it was uncomfortable. (Integrity)
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.
A worked answer, timed to the clock
Question: "Describe a time a customer was upset. What did you do?"
"At the restaurant where I worked, a family came in for a birthday and their table was not ready, even though they had booked. The mother was upset, and the kids were tired. I did three things. I told her the truth, that we had seated another party in their spot by mistake and it would be about 15 minutes. I got the kids a table in the bar area with drinks and crayons so they were not standing in the doorway. And I told the manager before she had to come find him. When their table was ready I brought a dessert with a candle without being asked. She left a note on the receipt that said thank you for taking care of the kids. The apology mattered less than fixing the 15 minutes."
Why it scores: Honest, fast, specific, and the person owned the fix instead of waiting for a manager. About 60 seconds spoken.
How to prepare for the Hilton HireVue in three days
Specific to Hilton:
- Have a guest story even if you have never worked in a hotel. Restaurants, retail, and care work all count.
- Show ownership. Hilton wants to hear that you fixed it, not that you called someone.
- Smile on the first question. The video is your first impression, and for hotel roles the recruiter watches it.
For any HireVue:
- Day 1. Write one story per competency in the list above. Two or three sentences each: the situation, what you decided, what happened.
- 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.
- 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 main HireVue guide.
Other companies that use HireVue
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)
- Delta Air Lines HireVue (airlines)
- McDonald's HireVue (restaurants)
- Shell HireVue (energy)