Interviews and video
Daily interview question
One commercial-awareness question a day, built from Kvanta's morning brief.
Example prompt
Pick one business or economy story from today's news. Explain it in 60 seconds: what happened, who it affects, and one thing you would watch next.
- Think time
- 10 seconds
- Answer time
- 60 seconds
- Re-records
- Unlimited
Until 8am UK time the previous day's question is shown.
Practise this format
Need extra time or a different format? Every timed practice has 1.25x and 1.5x options. See reasonable adjustments.
Your video is recorded and kept on your own device. Kvanta never receives it. If you ask for written feedback, only the audio is uploaded to our server. It waits in the server's memory for its turn, which is usually a few minutes, and is deleted as soon as it has been turned into text. The text of your answer is then scored by Cloudflare, a provider headquartered in the US that may process it outside the UK, and you are asked to agree before your first review. The transcript and feedback are deleted from our server 30 days after you ask, or sooner if you delete them, but we cannot delete a copy held by Cloudflare. Our database backups can hold a copy for up to 31 days more. Eye and head tracking runs on your device, and its results stay on your device.
About this test
Commercial awareness is what interviewers mean when they ask what is going on in the markets, or how a news story might affect a business. This page gives you one question a day, built from the story in Kvanta's morning brief, for you to explain in about 60 seconds.
Questions are built from a template using the latest story, with a block on sensitive subjects. The aim is to build the habit of explaining a story simply and clearly: what happened, why it matters, who is affected and what you would watch next. Feedback covers structure, not merit, and nothing here is financial advice.
What we know about this format
Each point carries a badge showing where it comes from. Where only candidates have reported something, the badge says so.
What do the confidence badges mean?
- Vendor-published Stated in the test publisher's own document or practice site.
- Academic From peer-reviewed research.
- Official employer Stated on the employer's own page.
- Near-official Near-official: an employer-run practice portal, or a vendor or employer-quoted press release naming the employer.
- Candidate-reported Reported by candidates. Treat as likely but unconfirmed.
- Third-party From prep sites, press or forums. Not confirmed by the employer or publisher.
- Academic
Structured interviews are the top-ranked selection method in a 2022 review, so a repeatable structure is worth practising.
Source · Sackett et al. 2022.
- Official employer
The Bank of England asks for answers in STARR form: Situation, Task, Action, Result, Reflection.
- Official employer
Employers publish competency frameworks. Barclays' analyst guide lists five competencies and says candidates are assessed against three to five of them.
Daily commercial awareness question
- Third-party
Recruiters ask candidates to show commercial awareness; the explain-it-in-60-seconds format is Kvanta's own
Kvanta's own format. The feedback is about structure and reasoning, never whether a view on a company or market is right, and is not investment advice.
- Third-party
10 seconds to think, 60 seconds to answer, unlimited re-records
Kvanta default.
Questions people ask
What is commercial awareness?
It is understanding how businesses and markets work and what is currently affecting them, enough to discuss a news story and its likely consequences.
How do I answer in 60 seconds?
Say what happened in one sentence, why it matters in one or two, who gains or loses, and what you would watch next. Practise out loud.
Where do the questions come from?
A template built from the top story in Kvanta's morning brief, with a block on sensitive stories. Until 8am UK time the previous day's question is shown.
Will you tell me if my view is right?
No. Feedback covers structure only. Kvanta is not authorised by the FCA and gives no investment advice.
Do I need an account?
You can practise without one. A free account saves your history and lets you ask for written feedback.
What happens to my recording?
Your video stays on your device. If you ask for written feedback, only the audio (or the text, if you typed your answer) is uploaded to our server. Audio is deleted as soon as it has been turned into text. The text of your answer is then scored by Cloudflare, a provider headquartered in the US that may process it outside the UK, and you are asked to agree before your first review. The transcript or text and the feedback are deleted from our server 30 days after you ask, or sooner if you delete them, but we cannot delete a copy held by Cloudflare. Our backups can hold a copy for up to 31 days more.
Is this an interview question list from real firms?
No. Questions are original. We never copy candidate-reported lists.
Where this appears in firm processes
- PwC UK Official employer
- Deloitte UK Official employer
- Goldman Sachs Official employer
- J.P. Morgan Official employer
- Morgan Stanley Official employer
- Barclays Official employer
- HSBC Official employer
- Citi Official employer
- UBS Official employer
- Aviva Official employer
- Bank of America Official employer
- BDO UK Official employer
- BlackRock Official employer
- Forvis Mazars (UK) Official employer
- Grant Thornton UK Official employer
- Jefferies Official employer
- Lazard Official employer
- Legal & General (L&G) Official employer
- M&G Official employer
- Macquarie Group Official employer
- Nomura Official employer
- Rothschild & Co Official employer
- RSM UK Official employer
- Schroders Official employer
See all firm pages. Check your own invitation, because processes change each cycle.
Independent practice. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any test publisher or employer.
Practice builds familiarity. Better structure and clearer delivery come with practice, but no employer shares its scoring, and our feedback is not a prediction of one.
Use Kvanta to practise and learn. In a live assessment, do not use AI tools, notes or another person unless the employer says you may. Read our approach to integrity.