Interviews and video
Video interview practice
Record an answer to a timed question, then get structure and delivery feedback.
Example commercial-awareness question
A central bank raises its main interest rate by half a percentage point. Walk me through how that could affect the housebuilding sector.
- Think time
- 30 seconds
- Answer time
- 2 minutes
Short think time, about two minutes per answer, behavioural questions. Timings come from candidate reports.
Practise this format
Choose a format
- Bank of England-style video interviewA short think time, a hard time limit per question, no re-records, and answers in STARR form.
- Cappfinity-style short video tasksShort strengths-style questions answered on video. Feedback rates what you say, not how energetic you sound.
- Daily commercial awareness questionExplain today's story in 60 seconds. One question a day, built from the Kvanta daily brief.
- Goldman Sachs-style video interviewShort think time, about two minutes per answer, behavioural questions. Timings come from candidate reports.
- HireVue-style on-demand video interviewRecord your answers to set questions, with a short think time and a time limit. Every setting can be changed to match your invitation.
- HSBC-style on-demand video interviewPre-set questions on video, no live interviewer. A mix of values-based, motivation and commercial questions.
- KPMG-style video interviewSix recorded questions in about 40 minutes, asked by an AI interviewer. Here Kai asks them and can read each one aloud.
- Presentation practice (video)A short written brief, time to prepare, then record a presentation of about three minutes. Replay it and get feedback on structure.
- SHL-style on-demand video interviewPre-set questions answered on video in your own time. Think time, a time limit and a limited number of re-records.
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
In a one-way video interview you read or hear a question, get a short preparation time, then record an answer to a time limit, with no one live on the other side. Banks and Big 4 firms use them early in the process. Settings vary by employer: prep time, number of re-records and answer length are chosen by the firm, and the official examples below show how different they can be.
You record in your own browser. If you ask for written feedback you get two separate reports. 'Your answer' covers structure, evidence from your own words, and delivery measures such as pace and pauses. 'Your camera habits' covers where you looked and for how long, never how you seemed. We do not blend the two, because no employer in our sources scores gaze, and neither report predicts any employer's score.
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.
- Official employer
KPMG: six pre-recorded questions asked by an AI avatar, with a set time to prepare and record each, scored by a member of the Student Recruitment team. Allow about 40 minutes.
- Official employer
Standard Chartered: four workplace scenarios, each with one question. 1 minute to prepare, 2 minutes to record, one re-record allowed. An Early Careers team member reviews the recordings, and AI only checks your camera and microphone.
- Official employer
NatWest: six questions asked by a pre-recorded colleague, a set time to prepare and answer, about 20 minutes in all.
Source · The page blocked automated access, so it was read from an archived copy.
- Official employer
Bank of England: a short think time after each question, a time limit per question, no re-records. The Bank asks for STARR answers (Situation, Task, Action, Result, Reflection) in interviews.
- Official employer
Lloyds: video is human-reviewed with no AI scoring. UBS: its pre-recorded interview is judged by people, not AI.
Source · UBS: https://www.ubs.com/global/en/careers/early-careers/faq.html
- Official employer
PwC UK: an on-demand video interview on the SHL platform, about an hour, with one week to complete it.
Source · Read from an archived copy because the live page blocked automated access.
- Official employer
Goldman Sachs: a video interview of approximately 30 minutes, which its own page calls a HireVue interview. Preparation time and answer length are not stated by the firm; candidates report about 30 seconds and 2 minutes.
Source · The candidate-reported timings are C-level.
- Academic
Structured interviews are the top-ranked selection method in a 2022 review.
Source · Sackett et al. 2022.
- Academic
Looking away while thinking is normal and helps recall, so we only flag sustained or repeated look-aways in the same direction.
Source · Glenberg et al. 1998.
Bank of England-style video interview
- Official employer
Each response is recorded and reviewed later; you get a short period to think before recording starts
Source · Read on 2026-10-09.
- Official employer
Every question has a set time limit and recording stops when it ends
Source · The length of the limit is not published.
- Official employer
You cannot re-record an answer
- Official employer
Answers use the STARR method: situation, task, action, result, reflection
- Third-party
30 seconds think and 2 minutes per answer, 4 questions
The lengths are not published. Kvanta default.
Cappfinity-style short video tasks
- Vendor-published
Video interviews use structured questions and scoring criteria, with AI-assisted or human scoring
Source · Read on 2026-10-09.
- Official employer
One employer describes a recorded response to an interview-style question reviewed by a person, with no AI scoring
Source · Read on 2026-10-09.
- Candidate-reported
Careers services say energy and authenticity are judged; there is no public evidence energy is formally scored, so Kvanta rates content only
Kvanta rates specificity and checkable detail, not enthusiasm.
- Third-party
4 short questions, 20 seconds think, 90 seconds to answer
Not published. Kvanta default.
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.
Goldman Sachs-style video interview
- Candidate-reported
30 seconds to prepare and about 2 minutes to answer each question
Candidate reports. The firm has not published these timings.
- Near-official
Questions are scored against the firm's published values in Kvanta's own rubric
Source · Kvanta's rubric, not the firm's scoring.
- Third-party
3 questions per practice run, no re-records
Kvanta default. Employers set their own, so adjust it to match your invitation.
HireVue-style on-demand video interview
- Vendor-published
The employer chooses the think time per question, from 0 seconds to 5 minutes or unlimited
Source · The vendor's 2025 AI explainability statement lists this as a main configuration decision.
- Vendor-published
The employer chooses whether candidates can retry a question
Source · A yes or no setting. Many employers allow none.
- Vendor-published
An example assessment has 4 to 6 video interview questions answered asynchronously
Source · We use 5.
- Vendor-published
Older guidance: think time 1 to 59 seconds, answer time 1 to 10 minutes; suggested 30 seconds to read and 3 minutes to answer
Source · A 2016 university guide to the same platform.
- Vendor-published
Answers are scored from the transcript only, on a 5-level behaviourally anchored scale per competency; no face, body, background or tone of voice
Source · Kvanta's AI feedback copies this method. It is not the vendor's scoring.
- Third-party
Defaults of 30 seconds think and 2 minutes to answer, with no re-records
Kvanta default. Employers set their own, so adjust it to match your invitation.
HSBC-style on-demand video interview
- Official employer
On-demand video interviews contain pre-set questions answered by video, with no interviewer listening live
Source · Read on 2026-10-09. The firm uses a video interviewing technology partner for these.
- Official employer
Interviews ask about specific occasions you showed an ability; answers follow situation, task, action, result
- Near-official
The real stage takes about 40 minutes and includes other task types
Stated in the research brief; not found on the hints page when re-checked. This practice covers the recorded-answer part only.
- Third-party
5 questions, 30 seconds think, 2 minutes per answer, no re-records
Not published. Kvanta default.
KPMG-style video interview
- Official employer
Video interview: record answers to six interview questions, 40 minutes to complete
Source · Read on the applying page on 2026-10-09.
- Near-official
Questions are asked by an AI avatar and the answers are scored by the recruitment team
Stated in the research brief. The avatar and human-scoring details were not on the applying page when re-checked on 2026-10-09.
- Third-party
30 seconds think and 2 minutes per answer
Not published. Kvanta default; adjust it to match your invitation.
- Official employer
Questions mapped to the firm's published skills list, scored with Kvanta's own rubric
Source · Not the firm's scoring.
Presentation practice (video)
- Third-party
Briefs are fictional, with invented figures; the feedback covers structure, use of the facts given, recommendation and risks
Kvanta's own format.
- Third-party
120 seconds to prepare and 3 minutes to present; unlimited re-records
Kvanta default. Real presentation exercises vary; adjust it to match yours.
SHL-style on-demand video interview
- Official employer
PwC UK says it does not use AI to assess candidates' performance in its video assessments
Source · Taken from the research brief. The page returned an error to our automated check on 2026-10-09, so re-check it by hand.
- Third-party
Pre-set questions answered on video, with no live interviewer, is the general on-demand pattern; format specifics for this platform are not published
Kvanta follows the general pattern.
- Third-party
4 questions, 30 seconds think, 2 minutes per answer, one re-record
Not published for this platform. Kvanta default.
Questions people ask
What is a one-way video interview?
It is an interview you record on your own. You see or hear each question, get a set preparation time and record an answer to a time limit. People at the employer, and sometimes software, review it later.
How long are the answers?
It varies by employer. Standard Chartered gives 1 minute to prepare and 2 minutes to record with one re-record. The Bank of England allows no re-records. KPMG's six questions take about 40 minutes, and NatWest's six take about 20. Your invitation states yours.
Is my video uploaded?
No. Your video stays on your device and Kvanta never receives it. If you ask for written feedback, only the audio is uploaded to our server for transcription 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 backups can hold a copy for up to 31 days more.
What does the written feedback check?
Your answer is checked against a behaviourally anchored rubric on structure and evidence, with every rating tied to a quote from your own words. Separate delivery measures cover pace, pauses, ownership words and figures. It is feedback for practice and it does not predict any employer's score.
What is the camera-habits report?
Eye and head tracking run on your device and report where you looked and for how long. It flags sustained look-aways, such as to notes, and tab switches. The results stay on your device and are never uploaded. It never infers emotion, confidence or fit. You can turn it off with one tap.
Do employers score my face or voice?
The publisher with the most detailed public statement says its scoring uses the transcript only, and that facial analysis was removed from new assessments in 2020 to 2021. Employer settings vary, and some interviews are scored by people.
Can I use notes or AI during a real interview?
Read the instructions, and see our integrity page. Employers have reported undisclosed AI use in interviews as the most common misconduct they see. Practise here, and keep to the rules in the live one.
What if I stammer or find eye contact hard?
There is a stammer-friendly mode that hides filler and pause measures, and a one-tap switch to turn eye-contact feedback off. Employers make adjustments, and our adjustments page has email templates.
Where this appears in firm processes
- PwC UK Official employer
- Deloitte UK Official employer
- EY UK Official employer
- KPMG UK Official employer
- Goldman Sachs Official employer
- J.P. Morgan Official employer
- HSBC Official employer
- NatWest Group Official employer
- Lloyds Banking Group Official employer
- UBS Official employer
- Standard Chartered Official employer
- Bank of England Official employer
- Aviva Official employer
- Bank of America Official employer
- BDO UK Official employer
- BlackRock Official employer
- Deutsche Bank Official employer
- Grant Thornton UK Official employer
- Lazard Official employer
- Legal & General (L&G) Official employer
- M&G Official employer
- Macquarie Group Official employer
- Nationwide Building Society 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 the Bank of England, Cappfinity, Goldman Sachs, HireVue, HSBC, KPMG and SHL.
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.