Nomura usually makes you clear AON assessments within five days before HireVue. The video is the second filter, and division choice is already locked from apply.
Nomura is easy to mishandle if you copy a US bulge-bracket HireVue plan. On the UK and wider EMEA campus path, assessments usually come first. Candidates who spent the week only polishing camera answers and ignored numerical and logical reasoning never see the video.
This guide is the Nomura-specific video stage: where HireVue sits after AON, what the one-programme lock means on camera, how IB and Global Markets answers should diverge, and how to practise so answers stay Nomura-specific rather than a pasted peer-bank script.
Why Nomura HireVue comes after AON, not instead of it
A common EMEA campus pattern is:
- Online application (division locked)
- AON / Cut-e style online assessments (often numerical and logical)
- HireVue or another recorded video
- Phone interview with the business area
- Final banker interviews
What HireVue is usually scoring once you pass tests:
- Clarity under a clock after a test filter
- Motivation that names Nomura and your division, not "a global bank"
- Consistency with the division you chose at apply
- Calm delivery that still matches your CV
What it is not scoring: a second chance to change from Global Markets to Investment Banking, a world-map speech, or a full technical case unless the prompt asks for one.
Our psychometric test investment banking guide covers the timed test layer. Do not skip it to "save energy for HireVue." Nomura can reject you on assessments and you will never see the camera.
The one-programme lock and what it means on camera
Nomura does not allow a second programme application in the same recruitment year if you are rejected from your first choice. That rule is operational, not motivational fluff.
On video it means:
- Your "why this division" answer must match the listing you submitted
- You cannot pivot mid-process if Markets felt safer after a hard AON week
- Interviewers will notice if your examples point at the other division
- Practising both IB and Markets scripts is wasted energy once you have applied
Decide IB versus Global Markets before portals open. The HireVue is a defence of that decision, not a discovery exercise. Full process detail sits in the Nomura summer internship application guide.
Investment Banking versus Global Markets before you record
Exact prompts change. The language should not.
| Division | What your video should emphasise |
|---|---|
| Investment Banking | Deal curiosity, accounting and valuation intuition, client work |
| Global Markets | Products, risk judgement, a simple market view you can defend |
An IB HireVue that only talks about trading screens is a miss. A Markets HireVue that only talks about elite M&A prestige is also a miss. Use the language on the live job description, not a generic finance essay.
If you are also running Americas Japanese-bank processes such as Mizuho or SMBC, keep motivation paragraphs separate. Nomura's EMEA path is assessment-fronted and one-slot. Those Americas Workday or careers paths are not the same funnel.
Trackr timing: EMEA rolling September path, US aside
This guide is honest about geography. The detailed HireVue-after-AON pattern is best documented on Nomura's UK / EMEA early careers path. That is the process most candidates mean when they search Nomura HireVue.
Trackr UK (as of 18 Aug 2026) listed Nomura's 2027 Summer Internship Programme as rolling, with last year's opening around 31 Aug 2025. Nomura's published early careers calendar typically points to September opens for the following summer. Competitive paths fill on rolling review, so treat the opening fortnight as your real deadline for both tests and camera prep.
Trackr US (as of 18 Aug 2026) listed a 2027 Summer Analyst Program opening around 1 Jan 2026 and closing around 30 Mar 2026 for New York and San Francisco. US invite language can differ by year and hub. If your US invite includes recorded video, reuse the division frameworks below. Do not invent an AON-then-HireVue order for Americas unless your email says so. Read the live invite.
Five days for tests, then a short video window
Nomura often asks you to complete AON assessments within five days of the invitation email. After that, the link may expire and the application can be withdrawn.
That creates a split week many candidates mishandle:
| Stage | Prep response |
|---|---|
| AON invite lands | Block calendar time within 48 hours if possible |
| Tests still ahead | Short numerical or logical practice; do not burn the whole evening |
| Tests clear | Switch to timed camera answers the same week |
| HireVue invite lands | You already have frameworks; refine, do not invent |
Test stamina and video stamina are not the same. A candidate who just finished a logical paper still needs a calm, specific "why Nomura" that does not sound exhausted.
Prompts that show up once you clear assessments
Expect some mix of:
- Why Nomura
- Why Investment Banking or Global Markets
- Tell me about yourself
- Teamwork, pressure, or integrity
- A market, deal, or commercial awareness prompt
- Occasional light technical or judgement questions (more common on IB)
Build frameworks, not scripts. Structure: answer first, one reason, one example, close.
"Why Nomura" fails when it is only "Japanese global bank." Better: one concrete franchise or regional fact tied to your division, plus one CV proof. Keep it to about 45 seconds. Save depth for phone and final rounds.
For IB paths, keep deal motivation honest and light on camera. For Markets paths, keep a simple product or market view ready. For delivery craft shared across banks, use our HireVue finance interview tips guide.
Structuring answers when you already sat Cut-e style tests
After AON, candidates often sound either depleted or over-scripted. Use a short reset before you open the camera tool:
- Name the ask in your head
- Choose the example you already practised for that division
- Speak in sections with one breath between them
- Stop when finished. Leftover time is fine
Look at the camera, not your notes. Glancing down reads as evasive on a one-way video. Answer the question first. Reviewers watching recorded answers are time-poor.
Do not reopen AON practice the night before HireVue unless a second test battery is still live. Switch skills.
Practise Nomura video answers with Finbound's Video Interview Prep
Finbound's Video Interview Prep lets you practise HireVue-length answers tied to Nomura on your list: firm-linked prompts, a countdown timer, a transcript of what you said, and Fintelligence scores on content, structure, and delivery.
After each take, Finbound keeps the recording, transcript, and feedback against that Nomura application so you can reopen weak answers later. Start for free, add the division you locked at apply, then open Finbound's Video Interview Prep (three practice runs included on the free plan). Full practice loop: HireVue practice for finance interviews.
A week that covers tests and camera
Day 1: Confirm division and hub. Write a why-Nomura paragraph that names that path.
Day 2: Timed AON-style numerical or logical practice if assessments are still ahead.
Day 3: Draft tell-me-about-yourself in ninety seconds with a clear endpoint (why this Nomura internship).
Day 4: Pick two behavioural examples, including one about working under time pressure.
Day 5: Record the video answers on camera with a timer. Review filler words and eye contact only.
Day 6: Re-record the weakest take. One short test set only if assessments are still open.
Day 7: Rest the scripts. Skim your CV so live follow-ups will not contradict the video.
If HireVue never arrives and you get a phone screen instead, the same examples still transfer.
Phone and final rounds after the recording
If you pass, many Nomura processes move to a phone interview and then final banker interviews. Competency and technical depth matter more than another polished video take. Update the stage the day the invite changes.
IB paths lean into accounting and valuation intuition. Markets paths lean into judgement and product curiosity. Pair technical refresh with our investment banking interview technical questions guide if you are on an IB track.
Do not keep rehearsing HireVue answers when the next round is a live call. That is how people look over-scripted when someone can interrupt.
Mistakes that waste a Nomura HireVue slot
| Mistake | Better approach |
|---|---|
| Ignoring AON to focus on video | Pass the test filter, and still record practice takes |
| Treating division as flexible after apply | Defend the one programme you locked |
| "Global Japanese bank" as the whole why Nomura | Name division fit plus one concrete proof |
| Waiting for the video invite to practise | Prep after you apply if Nomura is a real target |
| Same script as Mizuho or SMBC | Rewrite for Nomura's assessment-first EMEA path |
| Still rehearsing video after a phone invite | Switch to conversational live prep |
What to do after reading this
Expecting a Nomura HireVue after AON on a UK or EMEA path? Lock your division reasons, finish assessments inside the five-day window, then record timed why-Nomura and why-division answers before the camera invite.
Keep the one-programme rule, September rolling timing, and full stage ladder on the Nomura summer internship application guide. Keep shared camera craft on the HireVue finance interview tips guide.