Barclays offers a wide range of career opportunities across its four distinct graduate development Programs in Retail and Business Banking, Investment Bank, Corporate Banking, Wealth and Investment Management sectors.

The Barclays Application Process comprises of series of assessments and interviews, that will not only test if you are ready to work for Barclays, but also demonstrate what is happening behind the scenes of one of the biggest, British Bank and financial services company. From the very first steps of your Barclays Application Process, the objective is to enrich you with the inside knowledge, that will be applicable to your new job position. And if things don’t go according to the plan – knowledge that will put you a step ahead in your next Barclays application.

The innovative Barclays Application Process is designed with all the University leavers in mind. The assessment, in total should take from four to seven hours, plus preparation time, but minus however long you would spend on writing CVs and covering letters – as there is none.

Recruitment time: Barclays recruits its graduates on a rolling basis, so it means applications are filed as successful applications are received.

 

Barclays Application Process

There are 4 compulsory stages of the Barclays Application Process:

Stage 1 – Online Application
Stage 2 – Business Insight Stage 1 (tests will vary according to the Graduate Program specialisation)

• Numerical Reasoning Test
• Diagrammatic / Logical Reasoning Test
• Situational Judgement Test
• Personality Test

Stage 3 – Business Insight Stage 2 (tests will vary according to the Graduate Program specialisation)

• Verbal Reasoning Test
• Video Interview
• E- tray

Stage 4 – Telephone Interview (optional)
Stage 5 – Barclays Business Meeting ( Assessment Centre)

• Case Study
• Face-to- face Interview

 

Barclays Psychometric Tests

Psychometric tests are a key component of Barclays ’s Application Process. Depending on the Graduate Program route the candidates are taking, they might be required to sit Numerical Reasoning Tests, Diagrammatic/ Logical Reasoning Tests, Situational Judgement Tests, and Personality Tests. Details on Barclays’s psychometric tests can be found below.

 

Barclays Numerical Reasoning Test

The multiple – choice Barclays Numerical Reasoning Test assesses your ability to evaluate, analyse, and interpret numerical information that is provided to you in charts, graphs, and tables. You will have limited time to find a correct answer, so all the calculations like percentages, ratios, and basic arithmetic should be executed quickly and accurately. We know that you can do it, but If you really want to master the Barclays Numerical Reasoning Test – it can be easily learned through our online tests and video tutorials available on the website.

 

Barclays Diagrammatic / Logical Reasoning Test

These tests will assess your sequence and pattern identification skills, logical thinking and ability to approach a problem and how good you are at solving it. But it’s easier said than done. You have a limited time to do it – a minute or less per question. The difficulty of questions is also likely to increase gradually.
Therefore, good timing is vital.

Questions are comprised of numbers, figures, and shapes arranged in a particular pattern. Your task as the brainy Barclays employee -to – be, is to deduce the underlying logic of patterns presented to you in an exercise and guess what is next to follow.

To know how to correctly identify the missing steps, you need to practice these tests like a demon – so try now, to avoid regrets in the future.

 

Barclays Situational Judgement Test

The Barclays ’s Situational Judgement Test is a set of questions assessing how you might react to hypothetical events and situations that might be encountered in the Barclay’ s workplace environment. This will be a litmus test for your values, assessing if they match with the company’s culture. So do your research and try to memorise them by heart (might come in handy in the future!).

These tests also concentrate on your ‘ people skills’ so, good communication and networking abilities should earn you a few points. Whilst they vary in form, usually, you will be presented with a number of descriptions to which you are obliged to provide an appropriate response from a multiple choice list. So, try to be as sensible as you can and use the full capacity of your emotional intelligence.

The catch in any Situational Judgement Test is the high probability of any of the presented answers. We recommend you to think in accordance with the promoted values outlined in the company’s profile, but to really ace it you might want to work on your situational- judgement muscles while taking the mocking Situational Judgement Tests mirroring the exact Barclays’s psychometric test.

 

Barclays Personality Test

In essence, Barclays Personality Test will assess if you fit the specific role you are applying for and the work culture at Barclays. But other than that, it also aims to decipher your mind and see what kind of person you are, what motivates you, and where your weakness lies. We don’t need you remind you, that the answers should be honest as these tests are designed to point out any discrepancies, however, it’s also important to remember that some qualities for a specific job might be worth stressing more than others.

 

Barclays Verbal Reasoning Test

The Barclays Verbal Reasoning Test comprises of a series of paragraphs which you will be required to read and a set of questions matching the information provided in paragraphs. Your answer options will be True, False or Cannot Tell.

The Barclays Verbal Reasoning Test is a timed assessment aimed at checking your comprehension and understanding skills during which you will be required to do a fair amount of reading, so make sure you will be sitting them in a place where you can focus.

By presenting you with the Verbal Reasoning Tests, people from Barclays want to verify your understanding of the written word, as well as your dexterity when it comes to filtering out the key information from a bulk of the text. Here, please take a moment and imagine a pile of emails residing in your future Inbox, waiting to be read and replied. Not easy, huh?

To get the necessary confidence and speed up things, practice some Verbal Reasoning Tests now.

 

Barclays Video Interview

If you are invited for the Barclays Video Interview you will be provided with an access to a platform that will record your responses.

Stating the obvious, you will need a PC equipped with a front-facing webcam, microphone, and good Internet connection to upload your answers on time. You also should consider sitting the test in a quiet environment to avoid any interruptions in your recording.

Questions will be asked in a text format and appear on the device on your screen. At the time, there will be no human being present listening to your answers, so you might find it a bit more easy-going than a regular interview, however, don’t get too comfortable as there will be not only competency but also numerical, verbal, and situational questions asked.

 

E- tray

Before you skip this section, we have to clarify – it’s not just the ‘e-mail skills’, so you might want to consider preparing yourself for this exercise as well. In fact, rather than checking your e-mail literacy Barclays ’s E-Tray exercise is another simulated work task measuring your probable performance in the company’s workplace.

The exercise is usually integrated with other selection procedures ( might pop up during Business Insight Stage or the actually assessment center), and correspond with your future day- to- day responsibilities, as it is tailored to the company, but also to the role you are applying for.

One of the possible scenarios might be a situation when you receive a bunch of e-mails which you are expected to read and respond to while proving ability to prioritize and process information. Bur rather than just checking if you can get a hold of your inbox, it is your multitasking skills and ability to be organized under pressure that is being verified.

This has to be done in a manner as if you have been an employed already. Since you pictured yourself joining the company, this should not be too complicated, however, to get that confidence you might want to consider practising a little bit before.

 

Barclays Business Meeting – Assessment Centre

Congratulations, you made it to the last level! This will be a one-shot meeting, that might last from 3.5 to 5 hours. Barclays Business Meeting is made up of two parts – a case study and one-to-one interview.

Case Study – Usually the task is sent to the candidates in advance to prepare and present during the Barclays Business Meeting and varies depending on the area you have chosen. The exercise not only verifies if you fit the role but also gets you ready to dive straight in into one of the Barclays Graduate Programs. Most likely this will be a simulation of a problem encountered by the company, for instance – you might be asked to deal with customers’ s and clients complaints in a faulty banking app scenario.

Interview –  It’s all about you and your knowledge now, both the accumulated over time and the fresh knowledge that you have just gained through the multi-staged application process.

The interviews will include both aspirations and standard competency based questions such as ‘give an example of a time you worked in a difficult team’. You can find more real life Barclays interview questions and answers on Glassdoor.

If you’d like to apply for the Barclays 2017 Graduate Program, you can do so on the Barclays careers site.

 

Application Process

 

Links

http://jobs.barclays.co.uk/more-about-joining/tips-advice/