HireVue and one-way video interviews at UK graduate schemes: what to expect, firm by firm

A one-way video interview is a recorded interview with nobody on the call: questions appear on screen, you get a short time to think, then your webcam records a timed answer that someone at the employer reviews later. HireVue is the best-known platform, but UK graduate employers also use SHL and others, and each employer sets its own timings and retake rules. This guide explains how the format works, what HireVue says its AI does and does not score, your rights under UK law, and what nine big graduate employers publish about their own video stage, checked on 7 October 2026.

How does a one-way video interview work?

You get an email with a link and a deadline, usually a few days. You sit it when you like, on a laptop or phone.

1. System check. The platform tests your camera, microphone and connection.
2. Practice questions. Most platforms let you try unscored questions first. Use them.
3. Question and preparation time. Each question appears as text, sometimes read out by a recorded person or an avatar. A timer counts down your thinking time.
4. Recording. When the timer ends, recording starts automatically and stops at the limit, even mid-sentence.
5. Retakes, if allowed. Some employers allow none, some a fixed number, some unlimited. Submitting is final.

HireVue's own candidate FAQ says "most video-based assessments include between five and eight questions" (HireVue candidate FAQ). Everything else is set by the employer. Among the firms in the table below that publish timings, preparation runs from 2 to 3 minutes and answers from 90 seconds to 2 minutes.

Is HireVue scored by AI?

Sometimes, and only on your words. HireVue's 2025 AI Explainability Statement says its AI "relies only on what is said by the candidate" and "does not use any video analysis or other audio characteristics", meaning it does not assess "facial expressions, body language, their background and surroundings, or tone-of-voice" (HireVue, 2025). Your speech is transcribed, and language models score the transcript against competencies.

Facial analysis was dropped years ago. SHRM reported that HireVue stopped using facial analysis after its own research found visual analysis "no longer significantly added value" (SHRM).

Many interviews are not AI-scored at all. In a 2021 Q&A, HireVue's chief executive said "only about 1 in 5 HireVue interviews actually use an algorithm" (HireVue blog, September 2021). HireVue also says the employer, not HireVue, makes the hiring decision.

The UK picture matches that. The Institute of Student Employers found that while 53% of employers fully automate situational judgement tests, interviews and assessment centres are 94 to 100% fully human-led (ISE, 12 November 2025).

What employers worry about: AI on your side of the camera

The same ISE survey found suspected misconduct more than doubled, from 7% to 15% of employers, and the most common form, reported by 61%, was candidates using AI during interviews "without disclosure or permission". Deutsche Bank's FAQ discourages AI-generated responses and says it wants "authenticity", and Deloitte asks applicants to read its Integrity and AI guidance before assessments. Reading a generated script on camera is easy for a reviewer to spot: flat delivery, eyes off the lens, and answers that sound like everyone else's.

Using AI to prepare (generating practice questions, rehearsing) is a different thing from using it during the interview. Check each employer's rules.

Your rights if a decision is automated

From 5 February 2026, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 replaced UK GDPR Article 22 with Articles 22A to 22D. The ICO describes the change as moving "from a prohibition with exceptions to a right of challenge with safeguards" (ICO, Recruitment rewired).

Where a significant decision about you is made solely by automated means, the organisation must give you information about it and let you obtain human intervention, express your point of view and contest the decision. The ICO says a significant effect "is likely to include recruitment decisions". If an employer tells you a person reviews every video, the decision is not solely automated, but you can still ask for feedback.

Firm by firm: what UK graduate employers publish

These employers each describe a recorded video stage on their own careers pages. We read each page on 7 October 2026 and list only what the employer itself states. Where a cell says "not stated", the employer does not publish it.

Sources: KPMG, PwC, Deloitte, Aldi, Unilever, Deutsche Bank, BlackRock, Diageo, Standard Chartered. Unilever's page still describes its 2026 intake.

This is not a complete list. Of the 689 UK early-careers programmes whose recruitment stages we have researched from employers' own pages, 171 list a recorded video interview, across 115 employers (GoRizzume data, 7 October 2026). If you are an international student, check sponsorship before you spend an evening on a video stage: our pages for KPMG, PwC and Deloitte set out what each firm publishes.

A seven-day practice plan

• Day 1: research. Read the employer's values or skills page and its description of the video stage. Note the timings.
• Day 2: stories. Write five short examples (teamwork, a setback, a deadline, influencing someone, learning fast). Use STAR for "tell me about a time" questions.
• Day 3: motivation. Draft "why this programme, why this firm" with two facts specific to that employer.
• Day 4: record under the real timers. Answer five questions you have not seen, one take each.
• Day 5: review. Watch back. Did you make your point in the first sentence? Did you finish before the limit?
• Day 6: fix one thing. Usually pace, filler words or a buried answer. Record again.
• Day 7: do the platform's practice questions, then sit the real one in a quiet slot.

Tech set-up checklist

• Laptop on mains power, Chrome or a current browser, other apps closed
• Camera at eye level; look at the lens, not your own face
• Light in front of you, not a window behind
• Wired or strong wifi; tell housemates you are recording
• A few keywords on paper, not a script
• Check whether retakes are allowed before the first question

Frequently asked questions

Does HireVue use AI to score your interview? Only some HireVue interviews are AI-scored; HireVue's chief executive said in 2021 that about 1 in 5 use an algorithm. Where AI scoring is used, HireVue says it scores only the transcript of what you say, not your face, background or tone of voice, and the employer makes the decision.

Can you retake answers in a HireVue interview? It depends on the employer, who sets the number of retakes. Deutsche Bank, for example, allows one attempt per question. Assume one take unless the instructions on screen say otherwise, and remember that submitting an answer is final.

What questions come up in a PwC video interview? PwC says its on-demand video interview runs on the SHL platform, with questions on screen asking you to describe your experience and how you typically approach your work. A PwC assessor reviews the recordings afterwards.

What is the Aldi video interview? It is stage two of the Aldi Graduate Area Manager Programme. Aldi describes it as a short "Who am I?" video where you show your knowledge of Aldi and your leadership skills, before an online psychometric test and later assessments.

Can I challenge a rejection made by AI? If the decision was made solely by automated means, UK law since 5 February 2026 lets you ask for human intervention, give your view and contest it. Many employers say a person reviews video interviews, in which case ask for feedback instead.

How long should a video interview answer be? Use most of the time you are given and finish a few seconds before the limit, because recording stops at zero. Make your main point in the first sentence, then give one specific example.