Johnson & Johnson HireVue Interview: Questions, Format, and a Worked Answer

Johnson & Johnson uses HireVue for many internship and co-op roles. Candidates report 3 questions, and sometimes 4. Each answer runs 1 to 3 minutes. Most candidates report 2 or 3 attempts per question, and some say the prep time had no timer. Read your own invite, because the settings change by role.

The questions are short and direct. Candidates report "Why Johnson & Johnson?", questions about relevant experience, and stories about leadership and hard problems. J&J runs on a one-page document called Our Credo, and its first line puts patients first. This page lists the reported questions, what each one tests, and a 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.

J&J's Credo says its first responsibility is to the patients, doctors and nurses, mothers and fathers, and all others who use its products and services. It then names its responsibility to employees, to communities, and to stockholders. Tie at least one answer to the people who use the products.

• Fit for the role. Experience from school, work, or a project that matches the job posting.
• Leadership. A time you took charge, with what you decided and what changed.
• Problem solving. A hard problem, the steps you took, and the result.
• Teamwork under strain. A hard moment on a team and how you moved it forward.
• Patient focus. A reason the work matters to the people who use J&J products.

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

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

1. Why Johnson & Johnson? (Motivation, research)
2. Describe your professional experience that relates to this position. (Role fit)
3. What makes you a good fit for this role? (Self-presentation)
4. What are your top three strengths for this position? (Self-awareness)
5. Tell me about a time you showed leadership. (Leadership)
6. Tell me about a time you worked on a difficult problem. (Problem solving)
7. Tell me about a difficult situation on a team. How did you get past it? (Teamwork, conflict)

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 time you worked on a difficult problem."

"In my operations class, my team worked with a local medical supply distributor. Their problem was late orders. About 18 percent of orders shipped a day late, and nobody knew why. Late orders meant clinics waited on gloves and bandages, so it mattered. I offered to dig into the data. I pulled three months of order records, about 2,400 lines, and sorted them by product, day, and picker. The pattern showed up fast. Most late orders came in after 2 p.m. on Mondays, when one person was picking alone. I wanted to check it before we said anything, so I spent a Monday afternoon at the warehouse and watched the backlog build. We suggested moving one part-time shift from Friday to Monday afternoon. The owner tried it for four weeks, and late orders dropped to 6 percent. What I learned is to find the pattern in the data, then go see it in person before I suggest a fix."

Why it scores: It gives a real number before and after, shows the steps in order, and ties the work to clinics waiting on supplies, which fits the Credo. About 60 seconds spoken.

Specific to Johnson & Johnson:

• Read your invite for the attempt count. Candidates report 2 or 3 tries per question. Record the first try as if it is the only one.
• Prepare a 90-second version of your relevant experience. One candidate reports a question that asked for it in exactly 90 seconds.
• Read Our Credo before you record. It is one page. In your "why J&J" answer, name the patients or customers your work would serve.

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)
• BlackRock HireVue (asset management)
• UBS HireVue (banking)
• United Airlines HireVue (airlines)
• Emirates HireVue (airlines)
• Marriott HireVue (hospitality)
• 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)