United Airlines HireVue Interview: Questions, Format, and a Worked Answer

United uses HireVue for its pre-recorded flight attendant interview, and candidates report it for some airport and customer service roles too. Candidates report 5 to 8 questions with about 30 seconds to think and up to 2 minutes to answer. Practice questions come first, and you can repeat those as often as you want.

United trains its front-line staff on four priorities in a set order: safe, caring, dependable, efficient. The questions ask how you treat customers, how you handle hard tasks, and how you own your mistakes. This page has the questions candidates report, what each one tests, and a worked answer for the one most people skip.

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.

United calls its service priorities Core4: safe, caring, dependable, and efficient, ranked in that order. Safety comes first and caring comes second. Build at least one story for each of those two.

• Safety. Following a rule or procedure when it was not the easy choice.
• Caring. A time you noticed what a customer needed and acted on it.
• Dependability. Finishing the job when the plan changed under you.
• Owning mistakes. A situation you would handle differently, and what you changed after.
• Brand fit. A clear idea of how United wants customers to feel, and how you would show 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 United Airlines screens, with the competency each one is built to test. Your set will be a mix of these and close variants.

1. Why do you want to be part of United? (Motivation)
2. Describe a time you went above and beyond for a customer. (Caring, service)
3. What is a situation you wish you had handled differently? (Self-awareness, learning)
4. Describe a difficult task you were faced with and how you addressed it. (Problem solving, dependability)
5. How would you describe the United Airlines brand, and how would you represent it? (Research, brand fit)
6. How would customers and coworkers describe you? (Self-awareness, teamwork)
7. Explain why your background and experience make you a good fit for this job. (Fit, communication)

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: "What is a situation you wish you had handled differently?"

"Last year I was a shift lead at a coffee shop. During a rush, a regular told me his drink was wrong. I remade it fast and moved on without asking what the problem was. He came back ten minutes later. He had ordered oat milk because of a dairy allergy, and my remake had the same mistake. He caught it before he drank it, but it could have gone badly. I wish I had stopped for ten seconds and asked one question. Since then I always ask what was wrong before I remake anything. I trained the two newer people on my shift to do the same, and we added an allergy note to the order screen for regulars who told us about one. I learned that speed only helps a customer when it is the right fix. Slowing down for a safety question is part of caring for someone."

Why it scores: It owns a real mistake, names what could have happened, and shows a change that stuck. It also lands on safety and caring, the top two of United's Core4. About 60 seconds spoken.

Specific to United Airlines:

• Use the practice questions. Candidates report you can repeat them as often as you like, and they show you the timer before anything counts.
• Learn the Core4 order. Safe comes before caring, so a story where you chose safety over a happy customer fits United well.
• Start early. Candidates report about 5 days to finish once the invite arrives. Do it in the first two days so a camera or Wi-Fi problem does not cost you the slot.

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)
• 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)