Introduction
Some time ago, BP (formerly known as British Petroleum) changed their hiring procedures to include something called a “HireVue interview”.
The purpose of these video or one-way interviews is to save everyone time. You don’t have to travel to an office for an in-person interview if the BP hiring manager has already made up their mind on another applicant. And the hiring manager doesn’t have to sit through an interview with someone that clearly isn’t interested in the job.
So it’s a win-win right?
Sort of.
HireVue interviews can be very stressful for applicants since there is no live interviewer asking questions. Many applicants have told us this gives them anxiety since there is no way to know if your answers were solid or could be improved.
You can gain some confidence before your interview by practicing for BP’s HireVue interview on a platform like Voomer, where you can practice on BP sample questions and get instant, AI-powered feedback on your answers.
Let’s walk you through the BP HireVue interview and at the end of this article you can take a look at a few sample BP HireVue interview questions.
What happens in a BP HireVue interview?
In a HireVue interview, you’ll record yourself answering questions.
Those questions might be shown to you as a couple of lines of text or they might be displayed as a pre-recorded video by someone at BP asking you that question.
Then, you’ll get around 30 seconds to prepare your answer and around two minutes to answer.
The number of questions varies, so be ready to answer anything from 2 to 5 questions.
You can answer on your cell phone, laptop, or desktop computer – as long as it has a camera.
BP’s HireVue interview specifics
The questions asked will be mostly behavioral ones, so make sure you are brushed up on how to answer those. The best way to answer them is via the STAR method – if you aren’t familiar with how to ace every question using that method, check out the video below.
You also want to be aware of BP’s corporate values. You want to answer the behavioral questions on HireVue through the lens of those values. This will make the hiring manager’s life very easy as they are looking for those values in every person they evaluate.
You can find BP’s corporate values on its website. Also take a look at their website to familiarize yourself with BP’s history and corporate goals, because knowledge of those can be extremely helpful in an interview.
How to prepare for BP’s HireVue
Start with what you can control.
Start your interview in a place that is quiet – away from kids, pets, lawnmowers, etc. Not only will the person viewing your video have a hard time understanding you, loud noises right when you are about to answer a question might sap your confidence.
Even though you might be at home, dress as if you were at an in-person interview. People viewing your answers appreciate the professionalism of someone that took the time to think about this issue and record using appropriate clothing.
Lighting is absolutely key. If you record in an environment with low light, you’ll come across as a blurry, barely recognizable mess on video – which does not help your chances of getting hired. Open your curtains to let in lots of natural light or turn on lights to brighten up the environment. When it comes to lighting, more is always better – as long as the lights aren’t pointed at your camera!
Pro-tip & conclusion
Practice makes perfect – boost your confidence before the interview by practicing for your BP HireVue interview on a tool like Voomer.
You can browse our question database with company-specific questions and practice for them in an environment that is extremely similar to Hirevue’s.
You can also get AI-powered feedback on your answers to help you land that dream job!
Good luck with your interview!