Tesco HireVue interview questions

The Tesco Early Careers hiring process starts with an online application to a single scheme per cycle — you cannot apply to two — submitted with a CV and guided questions. Applications open in September and are handled on a rolling, first-come-first-served basis, so applying early matters more at Tesco than at employers with fixed sift dates. Tesco asks you to have a microphone and camera available at application time, and collects right-to-work evidence early. Candidates who declare a disability or long-term health condition under Tesco's guaranteed interview scheme skip the games and go straight to the video interview stage.

Step 2 is a HireVue game-based assessment: four games, about 15 minutes in total, playable on phone, laptop or desktop. Tesco says the games measure cognitive skills, behavioural preferences, and numerical and abstract reasoning — for example how you overcome challenges and make decisions — and that there are no right or wrong answers and you do not need to be a gamer to succeed. Feedback and an immediate progression decision arrive shortly after you finish, and Tesco links candidates to a HireVue practice run beforehand. Two candidates in the 2024/25 cycle report that selecting a "do not allow AI" consent option at application skipped the games entirely, after which a video interview link was issued manually a couple of days later; Tesco does not document this route, so treat it as reported rather than official.

Step 3 is the one-way video interview on HireVue. Questions are presented on screen, you get 30 seconds to think before recording starts and 3 minutes to answer each one, and Tesco explicitly says there is no need to fill the time. Unassessed practice questions come first so you can feel out the format, notes are allowed — Tesco's own guidance says "have your notes to hand, it's ok to refer to them" — and the dress code is smart casual rather than suited. Reasonable adjustments can be selected at the start of the interview to allocate additional time. Two independent candidate reports put the first interview at five questions; retake behaviour is reported inconsistently across schemes and Tesco publishes nothing on it, so assume you may get one committed take. Applicants to Technology graduate and internship schemes sit an additional technical video interview before the Discovery Centre, which one candidate describes as around three questions with a single attempt and no re-record.

After the video interview Tesco invites successful candidates to a short phone interview about motivations for Tesco and the chosen scheme, then to a virtual Discovery Centre built from three exercises: a group discussion, a one-to-one conversation on a real business scenario presented on the day, and a motivational interview that Tesco says has replaced the traditional competency interview. A prep video and group coaching call precede it. Passing the video and phone stages does not guarantee a Discovery Centre invite — candidates are shortlisted after that point. Finance graduate and apprenticeship schemes add a face-to-face interview after the Discovery Centre. Tesco stated in a November 2024 webinar that it aims for a roughly four-week process end to end, and everyone gets an outcome call plus a written coaching-style feedback report. Worth flagging: one Marketing-scheme candidate in the 2025/26 cycle reported no questions about Tesco or the role in the video interview and all competency questions, so do not bank on "Why Tesco?" appearing before the phone stage.