HSBC Assessment Tests

Careers at HSBC

Candidates at HSBC can apply for internships, work placements and apprenticeships, local and global graduate programmes, entry-level jobs and more senior positions.

And they can choose to work in a range of areas including Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets, Retail Banking and Wealth Management, and Global Private Banking.

However, competition for every position is fierce. HSBC receives tens of thousands of applications every year and only has a limited number of vacancies.

To secure a job, candidates must make sure they stand out from the other applicants. The best way to do this is to go into the process fully prepared.

The application process for a job with HSBC involves a number of steps, including online tests and a final assessment centre.

Throughout, HSBC will be looking for evidence of the core values it requires in every candidate. These are:

• Dependable

• Open to different ideas and cultures

• Connected to customers, communities, regulators and each other

You should make sure you are familiar with these values and look for any opportunity to demonstrate them.

Online application form

The first step is to complete an application form and submit a CV. Make sure your CV clearly sets out your key qualities, achievements and experience, linking these to the job you are applying for wherever possible.

You may also be asked to answer a series of multiple-choice questions asking you to rate your skills and experience in relation to the specific role, as well as some competency-based questions.

HSBC Online Immersive Assessment

If your application is accepted you will be invited to complete two online assessments. The first is the immersive assessment.

This includes a situational judgement test, where you will be presented with scenarios you may come across during a typical day working at HSBC. You must select the best course of action from a choice of possible responses.

The answers you choose will help HSBC to confirm whether your behaviours align with its core values. The assessment also includes a numerical reasoning test, where you will be asked questions based on numerical data presented in graphs and tables.

And you will need to take a verbal reasoning test, which assesses your spelling and grammar, your ability to understand and interpret written information, and your skill at adapting your verbal communication style.

The assessment is about an hour long in total. The tests are provided by Cappfinity and you can find some practice questions on its website or try some free online tests.

HSBC Job Simulation

If you pass the online immersive assessment stage, you will then move on to the job simulation.

This is an automated video assessment provided by Hirevue. It is based on the specific business area you have applied to; you will be presented with fictitious information related to the kind of work you would be doing in the role.

Questions might involve analysing numerical data and providing a summary for a colleague, ranking responses to hypothetical work situations, or providing a video response detailing how you would approach a particular task.

You will also need to answer some multiple-choice numerical reasoning questions. There is a practice video response question before you start the assessed questions.

The whole test will take you around 50 minutes. You can sit both the online immersive assessment and the job simulation at any time within a set number of days, which will be specified in the email invitation.

HSBC Super Day

Depending on the programme you have applied for, you could be invited to a half-day assessment centre (called a Super Day).

Here you will be assessed by senior members of the relevant business area via a series of individual and group exercises, along with strengths-based interviews.

The exercises include a case study, where you will be provided with a large pack of information about a bank. You must use the data and other information included in these documents to answer questions and make recommendations.

You will also be asked to prepare a five-minute presentation setting out your recommendations.

The group exercise assesses how you respond to a workplace scenario. You will be split into groups of four to six people and observed by two HSBC assessors while you discuss the task.

You should make sure you demonstrate your strengths and make a positive contribution while taking care not to dominate the conversation.

You will also be interviewed during the Super Day. Questions are likely to focus on your motivation for applying to HSBC and the specific role, and how your own strengths and qualities are aligned with HSBC’s core values.

Before the Super Day you should do some thorough research into HSBC and the business area you are applying to. Think carefully about why you want the job and prepare some examples demonstrating relevant achievements.