HSBC is one of the top institutions offering banking and financial services to around 38 million customers worldwide. Every year University leavers can join the organisation through a range of graduate programmes which are held at HSBC departments all over the world. At HSBC you can take your first steps into a career in Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets, Retail Banking and Wealth Management, and Global Private Banking.

Applications are open on the rolling basis, so the sooner you apply the better. Below you can learn about HSBC Graduate Scheme, along with details on the application process and the various steps involved. However, you should be aware that the application procedures will differ according to the role of your choice and the country you wish to be based in.
 

HSBC Application Process

There are 4 stages to the HSBC Application Process:

Stage 1: Application Form

Stage 2: Online Immersive Assessment / Psychometric Tests

  • Situational Judgement Test
  • Behavioural Test
  • Verbal Reasoning Test
  • Numerical Reasoning Test
  • Diagrammatic / Logical Reasoning Test
  • Case Study / Online Simulation

Stage 3: Telephone Interview (optional)

Stage 4: Assessment Centre/ Super Day (steps will differ depending on the route)

  • Strength Base Interview
  • Group and Individual Exercises

 

HSBC Psychometric Tests

Psychometric tests are a key component of HSBC ’s Application Process. Candidate applying for the HSBC Graduate Programme are typically required to take Situational Judgement Test, Verbal Reasoning Test, Numerical Reasoning Test, Diagrammatic/ Logical Reasoning Test and Online Simulation Case Study. Details on HSBC ’s psychometric tests can be found below.

 

HSBC Situational Judgement Test

The HSBC Situational Judgment Test is a set of questions assessing how you might react to hypothetical events and situations that might be encountered in the HSBC ’s workplace environment. Based on your answers to these questions it will be verified how aligned you are with HSBC’s values and behaviors. So do your research and try to memorize them by heart ( might come in handy in the future!).

Whilst Situational Judgement Tests 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.

These tests concentrate on your ‘ people skills’ so, good communication and networking abilities should earn you a few points. However, their quite straightforward and simplistic formula of can be misleading.

Some questions in Situational Judgement Test are to trick you. The catch is in the high probability of any of the presented answers. So thinking in accordance with the promoted values outlined in the company’s profile is a good point of start but to really ace your performance you might want to work on your situational- judgment muscles while taking the practice version of Situational Judgment Tests.

 

HSBC Behavioural Test

The HSBC Behavioural Test is designed to find out what guides your moral decisions, what values are important in your life, and if any. Essentially, this is how the employers find out your true colors.You will be presented with a number of possible scenarios that might occur in any of the HSBC departments and expected to provide sound, written responses.

To find out more, how to pass HSBC Behavioural Test you can take the mock assessment now . A good work ethic can be learned too!

 

HSBC Verbal Reasoning Test

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

The HSBC 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 HSBC Online Verbal Reasoning Tests, people from HSBC 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. To understand, why you actually need to pass this test, please take a moment and imagine a pile of emails residing in your future Inbox, waiting to be read, replied and acted accordingly. Not easy, huh?

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

 

HSBC Numerical Reasoning Test

The multiple – choice HSBC Numerical Test assesses your ability to evaluate, analyze, and interpret numerical information that will be 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 HSBC Numerical Test – it can be easily learned through our online tests and video tutorials available on the website.

 

HSBC 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 be careful – 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 HSBC 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.

 

HSBC Case Study/ Online Simulation

Should you be successful with the HSBC aptitude tests, you will be presented with a work simulated task related to the specific business area you have applied to. The case study would involve a fictitious information on HSBC, and some numerical data to which you will need to provide written or video recorded interpretation.

 

HSBC Telephone Interview

A telephone interview can be daunting. Especially, when someone lacks the confidence to talk to strangers on the phone. And your awareness of this conversation being the first interaction with someone from the HSBC only makes it even more stressful. So it’s important to know how to snap out of that nervousness.

It’s a blunt thing to say, but as you may know the only way to overcome is to rehearse it beforehand. Thus, we do recommend you to take the advantage of the time given to prepare, rather than approaching this as a casual conversation. You don’t want to fail, a phone interview right?

 

HSBC Assessment Centre / Super Day

Congratulations, you made it to the last level! The HSBC Assessment Centers are usually a mix of individual and group activities. The exercises will differ depending on the job position you are applying for, but it is recommended to be well prepared for both scenarios in order to stand out from the crowd.

Strength Based Interview – this will be a typical face- to – face interview validating your skills and detecting strengths necessary for the job and will be assessed by the key – member of the relevant business area.

Group and Individual Exercises – these exercises will vary, but the general skills that the assessors are looking for is a good balance between teamwork and leadership skills. You might want everyone in the room to see your great leadership skills, but approach the group exercise rather as a test of your collaborative and teamwork abilities than a show of a directorship. The recurring way of verifying these skills is through a group discussion on a divisive nature of the disputed subject or a scenario of hypothetical difficulties the company is facing.

 

Application Process

Stage 1: Application Form
Stage 2: Online Immersive Assessment / Psychometric Tests
Stage 3: Telephone Interview
Stage 4: Assessment Centre/ Super Day

 

Links

http://www.hsbc.com/careers/studentsandgraduates/faq

 

Prepare for your HSBC tests

  • Practice Numerical Reasoning Tests

  • Practice Verbal Reasoning Tests

  • Practice Diagrammatic Reasoning Tests

  • Practice Situational Judgement Tests

  • Practice Assessment Centre Tests

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HSBC offers placements to graduates (as well as students) all over the world and offer a range of sectors which include; Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets, Global Private Banking and Retail Banking and Wealth Management.

Commercial Banking; Commercial Banking helps businesses (from all over the world) grow and this area offers a number of roles for people interested in this aspect. This focuses specifically on companies who wish to grow internationally offering roles including general management and strategy, business development, analysis, support and administration. This global programme offers graduates the chance to get involved in areas such as Payments and Cash Management (helping business customers to make payments quickly internationally and between different currencies and jurisdictions), Global Trade and Receivables Finance (whereby HSBC provides the services and financing that exporters and importers need throughout the trade cycle) and Relationship Management (providing solutions to many different types of clients to meet their needs). You’ll receive on the job training which provide you with a solid foundation and understanding of this area and once the programmes have been complete you will progress into your chosen area with exceptional knowledge and experience. Some of these roles include business development or portfolio manager, expert analyst, product or sales manager all with the prospect of progressing to senior levels in each area.

Global Banking and Markets; this area focuses on growing partnerships and relations with corporate, government and institutional clients in order to help them achieve consistent performance. The services offered include advisory, financing, research and analysis, trading and sales and securities services to name a few. The area offers a variety of different career opportunities including roles in the following areas – banking, capital financing, markets, global research, HSBC securities services and markets operations.

Banking – banking relationship managers specialise in business sectors using global expertise and local knowledge to connect clients to the products and services that they need.

Capital Financing – this area provides clients with a single integrated financing service based on their capital structures and requirements. Within this area HSBC has sub specialisms in equity and debt capital markets, mergers and acquisitions and relationship-based credit and lending.

Markets ­– this specialises in foreign exchange, credits and rates, structured derivatives, equities and debt and equity-linked capital markets.

Global Research – this team provides high quality research and analysis to investors around the world, covering economics, currencies, equities, fixed income and climate change.

HSBC Securities Services ­– this area provides a number of different services to institutional investors, banks, insurance companies and multinational corporations. These include fund administration, global custody, sub-custody and clearing and corporate trust and loan agency services.

Market Operations – this team manages settlement activity, risk and control after the completion of trades.

Global Private Banking; this area helps high-net-worth individuals and their families grow, manage and maintain their wealth. This will help you develop your skills in private banking, investment and wealth management services. HSBC provides tailored services to their clients which include business owners, entrepreneurs, senior executives and their families. The scope of the private banking sector means that there is a wide range of careers – including accountants, lawyers, trust officers and investment advisers along with relationship managers. These individuals work closely with the clients helping them to manage their personal finances. The relationship management teams are vital and work closely with clients. They are supported by specialist teams in areas including Investment (they help advise clients on the appropriate strategies and products); Wealth Planning (aid in analysing clients’ wealth planning needs, guiding them in the establishment of appropriate holding structures for their assets); Credit Advisory (advisors who help clients identify and obtain borrowing facilities that meet their needs); Product Development (a team that works on development, due diligence and distribution of suitable financial products for private clients).

Retail Banking and Wealth Management; this area serves millions of customers worldwide through branch networks, call centres and digital and mobile banking. This area will help you develop into a retail banking leader or asset management specialist. This area provides customers with a range of banking services from current accounts to mortgages to savings. There are many different career opportunities within this sector of HSBC banking ranging from relationship management to product development to asset management. There are also specialist teams who support these numerous employees, working in Products and Propositions (they ensure the bank has the best product range and pricing and delivers high quality customer service); Strategy and Planning (they analyse markets and opportunities to identify potential sources of competitive advantage as well as reviewing performance); and Digital Banking (they are responsible for managing the internet banking service and mobile apps). This area also has operations in three other areas offering a wide range of roles. This includes Wealth Management, Global Asset Management and HSBC Insurance.

Wealth Management – this area helps the retail and private clients grow, manage and maintain their wealth. The team provides financial planning and advice as well as market updates and products in areas such as investment, deposits, insurance and more. They have relationship managers working who understand the needs of the clients and help to create strategies to for support.

Global Asset Management – this team is responsible for the investment of funds and the design of investment products across the HSBC Group. As well as investment management, the team includes roles in areas such as business and product development, client strategy and transaction and settlement options.

HSBC Insurance – this team manages the design and pricing of insurance products, which includes life assurance and pension schemes as well as vehicle, home, health and income protection cover.