Commonwealth Bank Assessment Tests

Careers at Commonwealth Bank

In 2020, Commonwealth Bank was recognised as the top graduate employer in Australia and the second-best place to work in the financial sector across Australia and New Zealand. Even if you are not looking for a career in banking, there are opportunities in sectors such as retail, HR, digital, technology and engineering.

Each year the graduate programme takes 150–250 graduates and the summer intern programme takes on 120–150 interns, so joining is highly competitive. While the bank operates internationally, these programmes are only available in Australia, the majority of which are based at the Sydney headquarters.

The application process varies slightly for each role, but there are standard steps that apply to all graduate and internship roles. Currently, all interviews and assessments are conducted remotely.

Online application

Your online application is where you show Commonwealth why you want to join the programme and what makes you a strong candidate. It looks for well rounded people who have a balance of strong academics, work experience and other interests, so show what makes you unique and where your passions lie.

You are only allowed to apply for one business area per application cycle. Therefore it is important to thoroughly research the different streams to identify the one that you are best suited for. There are eleven streams, including:

• Analytics
• Legal
• Cyber
• Corporate affairs
• Global markets

It is important to be as prepared as possible to show your interest in Commonwealth and forging a career in your chosen area of business. Research the company and demonstrate how your experience and skills are relevant.

Commonwealth Bank Aptitude Tests

If Commonwealth likes your application, then you will be invited to take online assessments to further determine your suitability. The assessment includes both a personality questionnaire and ability tests to gauge technical skills, working style, and preferences. The test provider is SHL and it takes 1–2 hours to complete the full assessment, since each test has a 30-minute limit.

Commonwealth Bank numerical reasoning

Competency when working with numbers and numerical information is an important skill for financial careers, but it is also key for a range of other roles such as retail, HR, and managerial. Numerical reasoning tests assess your ability to analyse and draw conclusions from numerical data, particularly in work-related tasks such as interpreting graphs and charts, which shows how you will perform on the job.

Generally, you are allowed to use a calculator, but you should check the given instructions carefully.

Commonwealth Bank logical reasoning

Logical reasoning is also known as abstract reasoning or non-verbal reasoning. It assesses your problem-solving and creative thinking skills by asking you to identify rules in a pattern and follow them.

The most common question structure will present you with a sequence of shapes or images, and will then ask you to identify the continuation or mistake in the pattern.

Commonwealth Bank verbal reasoning

A verbal reasoning test assesses your level of written communication and how well you process text-based information.

Depending on the test and role you are applying for, it may include questions on basic comprehension, spelling, grammar, long written answers, and more complex analysis.

Commonwealth Bank Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ)

The Occupational Personality Questionnaire is one of SHL’s hiring personality assessments, designed to give hiring staff an accurate understanding of your workplace behaviours and motivations.

It measures 32 characteristics that can be mapped against the required competencies for a specific role or workplace culture. These are separated into three main categories:

• Relationships
• Thinking Style
• Feelings and Emotions

Digital interview

Digital interviews are rapidly increasing in popularity, especially for larger companies like Commonwealth, which have high volumes of promising candidates. Instead of talking to someone live, you will have to record yourself answering interview questions on the recruitment platform.

Commonwealth interview questions are mostly behavioural, also known as STAR (situation, task, action, result) interviews. This means that they focus on past experiences and how you handled them to predict how you will perform in the future. Common questions include:

• Tell me about a difficult situation at work and how you handled it.
• Talk about a time you felt you failed. What would you do differently now?
• What do you hope to achieve with Commonwealth Bank?
• What is something you have learnt from a past job that makes you feel prepared for this one?

When answering interview questions, remember to keep in mind Commonwealth’s five core values: integrity, excellence, collaboration, service, and accountability. Your answers will be matched against how well you understand and demonstrate these.

Assessment centre

Assessment centres are used as the final stage of the recruitment process, to put your skills to the test in a more realistic setting. There are three activities to complete:

Commonwealth Individual Task

This is a short presentation on a topic given to you on the day, usually on a business-relevant issue or trend. You will have ten minutes to prepare and then two minutes to present.

This will show the hiring managers how well you process and relay information, your willingness to learn, and your public-speaking skills.

Commonwealth Group Task

The group task is particularly important as it is where your ability to work with others is demonstrated to the managers. You will be put in a group and asked to innovate a product or service according to the data that you are given, working as a team to process the information, delegate tasks, and collaborate ideas.

For this task, Commonwealth gives the advice of showing leadership by encouraging and listening to others. Do not try to dominate the task or push your own ideas over others, make sure to show your respect for everyone’s opinions and integrate different perspectives into the final solution.

Commonwealth Interview

The assessment centre interview is with two staff, usually managers in the area of business that you have applied for. The questions asked will be similar to the digital interview and pertain to how your experiences are relevant to the job, what your future goals are, and how you demonstrate alignment with the core values of the company.

While the interview is about finding out more about you, an important part of that is asking questions back. In your research of the role and the industry, try to show your interest and motivations by asking the managers to give you more information on what their day-to-day lives are like and how your career development could take shape.