Bain HireVue Interview: Questions, Answers & Preparation

Following BCG's approach to one-way video interviews, certain Bain offices have started to adopt this method to pre-screen candidates. If you are looking for more details about this interview, you've arrived at the right place.

In this article, we'll be giving you details on the Bain HireVue interview and how you can prepare for it!

About Bain HireVue interview

The Bain HireVue interview is a recorded video-based interview that allows Bain's recruiters to collect non-verbal cues (i.e facial expressions, eye and body movements, details of clothes, nuances of voice, etc.) as data points to draw meaningful conclusions about candidates. It is often conducted alongside 25 multiple-choice aptitude questions that have a time allowance of 50 minutes. This interview together with 25 aptitude questions is known as the Bain HireVue test.

Bain HireVue Interview (or sometimes Bain one-way interview) has been around for several years as part of the hiring procedure in some of the Bain offices. It is yet another testing method adopted by Bain in addition to its case and fit interviews.

This video interview is conducted through HireVue - a digital testing platform that is widely used by international companies and organizations, hence the name Bain HireVue Interview.

Read more: Bain HireVue Test

If you pass the interview, you will receive an email notification in around one or two weeks after taking it.

Bain HireVue interview structure

The interview lasts 20 minutes in total with 3 questions. For each question, you have 5 minutes for preparation and 3 minutes for answer delivery. It's important to keep in mind that you only have one answer attempt for each of these interview questions.

Prior to the real test, you will have a practice question where you can test the recording quality regarding your internet connection, microphone, and laptop camera. The time allowance for this practice question is 1 minute for preparing your answer and 3 minutes for recording it.

Bain HireVue interview structure

The interview lasts 20 minutes in total with 3 questions. For each question, you have 5 minutes for preparation and 3 minutes for answer delivery. It's important to keep in mind that you only have one answer attempt for each of these interview questions.

Prior to the real test, you will have a practice question where you can test the recording quality regarding your internet connection, microphone, and laptop camera. The time allowance for this practice question is 1 minute for preparing your answer and 3 minutes for recording it.

Bain HireVue interview questions

The interview consists of both fit questions and case questions. As the company has an extensive library of interview questions, it will pull 3 questions randomly from the resource to assign to each candidate taking the HireVue Interview.

Below is a list of sample questions that you may encounter in your Bain HireVue Interview:

• Tell us about yourself / Guide us through your resume / Explain why your background and experience would be a good fit for this job.
• Why do you want to work for Bain? / Why do you want to work in consulting?
• Tell us about a personal or professional failure of yours.
• Tell us what has been your best work achievement to this point in your career. What made this achievement important? / Tell us about a time you faced a challenging situation or achieved a challenging goal
• Tell us about a time when you had to make a difficult decision without having all the information you needed. How did you decide? What was the outcome and what have you learned from it?
• What are the key economic challenges of our times?

Bain HireVue interview preparation guides 

As the interview contains both fit questions and case questions, it's necessary that you prepare for both.

For fit questions, keeping your answer highly constructed while presenting three attributes of a consultant (leadership, achieving, and problem-solving) is important. You can apply story-telling techniques - which have been discussed in our guide for Bain Fit Interview for an effective answer delivery. This method is highly recommended for typical interview questions such as “why Bain/why consulting?”, “tell me about that one time you did [insert extraordinary feats]” or “how would you respond in [insert difficult situation]?”.

Read more: McKinsey PEI & BCG/Bain Fit interviews

For case interview questions, you should equip yourself with the basics of case interviews and take regular practice in advance. Thorough case interview preparation takes at least 1 to 2 months, therefore it only works if you start preparing early before the test, or best to prepare prior to your application. We have written an all-in-one guide for case interview preparation for you to take better and more effective practice!

Read more: Case interview 101 – The online guidebook

Bain HireVue interview preparation tips 

Apart from preparing core skills and knowledge for your Bain HireView Interview, here are some more tips that help!

Do proper interview setup

Since you'll be recording your answer for the online interview, it's important to make sure your Internet connection and devices work fine. This is to avoid bad-quality recording or connection interruption during the process. In the real interview, you are allowed to test your setup with one or two practice interview questions. Use these questions to double-check how you look and sound with your properties.

In addition, do go for a quiet place to take your Bain HireView Interview. Noise can have an adverse impact on your ability to focus and your recording quality.
Do consider lighting setup. Good lighting helps improve camera recording quality which enhances a better reviewing experience for hiring managers.

Keep your answer short and concise

You should keep your answer short and concise for the Bain HireVue Interview. You only have a maximum of 3 minutes to deliver your answer, and any words delivered outside that specific timeframe do not count.

It's recommended that your answer takes no longer than 2:55 minutes. You can aim for such an ideal length while you practice for the interview. Practice preparing your scripts in 5 minutes as in the actual interview, record samples of your speech, and take notes of where you often struggle under pressure. This gives you details on your performance and helps you adjust accordingly. For example, if you tend to drag on for 10-15 seconds under pressure, you can aim for 2:30 to 2:40 answers while practicing

Dress properly

You should prepare to look decent in your Bain HireVue Interview. Your answers are recorded for later evaluation by Bain's hiring managers and your unorganized looking is the most effective way to say “Don’t hire me”. During your practice, you can also work out where your eyes, hand, and your upper body should place. This can help with expressing your confidence. So, your appearance does matter!