Nationwide Assessment Tests

Careers at Nationwide

As with other financial institutions, there are a range of career paths and entry points for roles. Competition for graduate and experienced roles is stiff, so understanding what to expect through the application process will help to make you more prepared and give you a better chance of success.

Nationwide roles can be divided into entry points, with slightly different options for early careers like apprenticeships, industrial placements, graduates and technology development programmes.

The business areas that are open for applications include:

• Channel Support
• Customer Support
• Digital Banking
• Data and Analytics
• Internal Audit
• Finance and Treasury
• IT Engineering
• IT Operations
• Legal
• Marketing
• Risk Management
• Social Investment
• Cloud Computing
• Product and Proposition
• Human Resources

Employees at Nationwide benefit from flexible working patterns and generous holiday allowance. The perks associated with the role include career development, private healthcare and dental plans, and discounted gym membership. The family-friendly policies make this a perfect career option for those who are looking to work while raising a family.

The application process begins with an account created on the careers portal. Once you have found the right role to suit your experience, qualifications and aspirations, you complete and submit the online application form.

If you meet the required standards, then the next stage is a series of online aptitude tests, followed by interviews and a virtual assessment centre.

Throughout the process, it’s important to remember that Nationwide has a series of values that are known by the acronym PRIDE, which informs both the recruitment process and the way it recognises good performance. As you reach each stage of the application process, keep these values in mind and look for ways to demonstrate them:

• Putting members and their money first
• Rising to the challenge
• Inspiring trust
• Doing the right thing in the right way
• Excelling at relationships

Nationwide online application form

The online application form is an extension of the basic information that you will need to give to create an account on the career page – with the simple addition of your CV and cover letter.

In the job description, there will be information about the characteristics, experience and qualifications of the ideal candidate. Use this to highlight relevant information in your CV and ensure that you meet the criteria to move on to the next stage.

Nationwide Aptitude Tests

The specific tests that you will need to take to progress will depend on the role that you have applied for. As an example, you will be expected to take a numerical reasoning assessment if you have applied for one of the finance-based roles or schemes.

The aptitude tests used by Nationwide are published by Sova, and there are practice tests available on the Sova website.

The results of the tests that you take will be assessed against a norm group, and you will be provided with detailed feedback from Sova on your performance, including any areas that you might need to improve. This report is used by Nationwide to decide whether to take you further in the recruitment process; you will generally hear from the recruitment team within 10 days of completing the assessments.

Nationwide numerical reasoning test

If you have applied for a finance scheme, you will be required to take a numerical reasoning assessment. This is not a maths test; rather it is assessing your ability to read, understand and analyse numerical data presented in tables or graphs, and perform simple operations to find the right answer.

Each question is multiple choice, and you will be marked on how quickly you answer, as well as how many correct answers you give.

Nationwide situational judgement test

In the situational judgement assessment, you will be provided with a number of work-related scenarios. These might be presented in text, video, animation or other imagery. Following these scenarios, you will be given a choice of three or four possible courses of action, and will need to choose which is the most effective and which would be the least effective.

This test has no right or wrong answers; it is an assessment of your decision-making skills and how you behave at work. To be successful, use the information that you are given and answer honestly. Remember that there might be more than one option that seems to be correct.

Nationwide cognitive ability test

Cognitive ability is considered one of the most reliable indicators of job success. In this test, you will face a combination of questions that are designed to test your intelligence when it comes to problem-solving, logic and learning abilities.

Each question will have multiple-choice answers, and you will be marked on how many you get correct and how long you take to answer.

Nationwide Personality Questionnaire

The personality questionnaire is a self-assessment tool that looks at your preferred working style and the way you behave at work. You will be presented with a group of four statements and will have to rate them on a five-point scale from ‘most like me’ to ‘least like me’.

Again, there are no right or wrong answers. It is important to be honest, however.

Nationwide interviews

If you are successful in the aptitude tests, you will be invited to interviews. The first of these is likely to be a quick telephone interview: you can consider this a ‘getting to know you’ discussion, with some questions about your CV, qualifications and experience, as well as an opportunity for you to ask questions.

Nationwide video Interview

The video interview is usually completed through Microsoft Teams. You may be interviewed by one or more of the recruitment team, and can expect both situational and competency-based questions.

You can find out more about the 15 competencies that Nationwide looks for in employees on its website, but here is a basic idea:

• Learning
• Self-Awareness
• Relationships
• Judgement
• Risk Management
• Communication
• Development
• Planning
• Agility
• Integrity
• Negotiation
• Service
• Strategy
• Commercial awareness
• Research
• Collaboration

Through the video interview, you will be asked to give examples of times when you have demonstrated these competencies.

Nationwide virtual assessment centre

In some cases, if you are successful in the video interview you will be invited to a virtual assessment centre. Much the same as a physical assessment centre, this is a gathering of several applicants to take part in further interviews and activities.

In the virtual assessment centre, you can expect to have interview time with senior managers from the business area that you have applied for and/or other leaders. You are also likely to be asked to complete a group exercise with a presentation to assess your communication, teamwork and listening skills.