Before you ever speak to a human, most finance applications route you through an online test and a recorded video interview. Both are genuinely learnable — here's what they actually involve.
Online tests: what's actually being measured
Most banks and firms use numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, and situational judgement tests (SJTs), often from providers like SHL, Pymetrics, or Cappfinity. Numerical tests involve interpreting graphs, tables and percentages under time pressure — the maths itself is rarely hard, the clock is the real challenge. Situational judgement tests present workplace scenarios and ask you to rank responses — there's rarely one "correct" answer, but banks are looking for professionalism, teamwork and good judgement over aggression or passivity.
How to actually prepare
- Practice numerical reasoning tests under timed conditions — free practice tests exist from most test providers and prep sites
- For SJTs, favour collaborative, professional responses over dramatic or overly individualistic ones
- Do a practice run in a quiet space with no interruptions — environment affects timed test performance more than people expect
HireVue and recorded video interviews
You'll typically get a question on screen, a short prep time (often 30 seconds), then a fixed recording window (often 1–2 minutes) with no do-overs. It feels unnatural at first — that's normal, and it gets easier with practice.
How to actually prepare for HireVue
- Practice out loud, not just in your head — the gap between "I know what I'd say" and actually saying it fluently is bigger than people expect
- Look at the camera lens, not the screen — it reads as eye contact on the other end
- Keep answers structured: situation, action, result — rambling reads worse on video than in person
- Do at least one full practice recording on your own phone and watch it back — uncomfortable, but genuinely useful
The most common mistake
Treating either stage as a formality. Both have real drop-off rates — firms use them specifically to filter before investing in in-person time, so treating them casually is the single most avoidable way to get filtered out early.