NatWest Group is a British banking and insurance company, headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland. Formerly The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, it offers personal and business banking as well as corporate finance. NatWest, the retail and commercial bank, is one of the Big Four clearing banks in the UK.
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You have 13 minutes to answer 10 questions. Each question describes a workplace situation and four possible responses. For every question, select the response you believe would be MOST effective and the response you believe would be LEAST effective. There are no trick questions; judge each response on how well it would work in the situation described.
About this test: this is one of a set of practice tests covering the areas Natwest’s assessment process typically includes. It is written by us: it is not Natwest’s own assessment and these are not Natwest’s questions.
Question 1 of 10
You are a purchase ledger clerk. A batch of supplier invoices has sat unapproved for a week: you thought a colleague was chasing the approvals and they thought you were. Two suppliers have now called about late payment. Your colleague is out for the rest of the week and the month closes on Friday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: A. Chase the approvals yourself today, call both suppliers back with a date, and agree with your colleague next week which of you owns this batch in future.
Least effective: D. Send the batch over to your colleague's manager to allocate and take it off your own list, since the confusion about who owns the chasing is really a question about how the team is organised.
B: Leaves the callers waiting: both suppliers rang about being paid late, and a week of silence while the invoices move is the part they will notice.
C: Spends a day waiting on somebody who is away: the approvals move a day later than they need to, with month end on Friday.
D: Passes the problem to somebody else to sort: the approvals still need chasing today, the suppliers are still waiting, and Friday does not move while the ownership question is answered.
The most effective response is to chase the approvals yourself today, call both suppliers back with a date, and agree with your colleague next week which of you owns this batch: both are today’s problem, you are the one here, and the ownership question is real but can wait. It beats chasing the approvals and leaving the suppliers until your colleague is back, because they rang about being paid and a week of silence is the failure they experience. It beats emailing your colleague and waiting until tomorrow for a reply, because waiting on somebody who is out all week runs the batch into month end. The least effective response is sending the batch to your colleague’s manager to allocate and taking it off your list: it goes upwards as an organisational question while the invoices, the suppliers and Friday stay exactly where they were. That is passing it on rather than working through it in the wrong order. The principle: fix the thing that is late now, and fix the ownership afterwards.
Question 2 of 10
You are a risk assistant. Three weeks ago your team leader ruled that a colleague’s risk rating should be overridden by yours. Since then he has declined to attend the weekly session you both run, sending apologies each time. The session is thinner without him and nobody has said anything. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: C. Ask him directly for ten minutes, say the session needs him and that you would rather clear the air about the rating than keep working around it.
Least effective: A. Stop inviting him to the session altogether so that you do not have to deal with him each week, and leave your team leader to notice the change herself.
A: Answers a withdrawal with a withdrawal: the invitation is removed so the awkwardness goes away, and a working relationship the team needs is quietly ended.
B: Waits out a pattern three weeks old: nothing about the situation is changing on its own and the session keeps degrading.
D: Escalates before speaking to him: he has not been asked, and being ordered back by the person who ruled against him makes it worse.
The most effective response is to ask him directly for ten minutes, say the session needs him and that you would rather clear the air about the rating: it is direct, it separates the ruling from the working relationship, and it is the only response that gives him a way back without losing face. It beats carrying on sending the invitation and never mentioning the absences, because three weeks of apologies is a pattern, not a mood. It beats telling your team leader he has missed three sessions and asking her to require attendance, because an instruction from the person who ruled against him hardens it. The least effective response is dropping him from the session so you do not have to deal with him each week: it ends the working relationship to avoid the discomfort and hides the whole thing from the person who could help. That is answering payback with payback rather than under-reacting or over-escalating. The principle: ask him directly, and keep the door you control wide open.
Question 3 of 10
You are a relationship support assistant. You disagreed with a colleague about how a client’s paperwork should be split, and your manager decided in their favour. Since then the colleague has been short with you. You have been sending them a weekly summary that nobody asked you to produce, and which their Monday call depends on. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: D. Keep sending the summary, and find a quiet moment to say that the paperwork decision is settled as far as you are concerned and you would rather not have it sitting between you.
Least effective: C. Stop sending the weekly summary now that the paperwork has been decided their way, and let them work out for themselves what their Monday call is missing.
A: Avoids the difficult conversation: the work continues and the colleague is left guessing whether you are still aggrieved.
B: Escalates before speaking to the person: a two-minute conversation has not been tried, and involving the manager who just decided it raises the stakes considerably.
C: Withdraws help after losing an argument: the summary was never owed, which is exactly what makes stopping it now read as payback rather than as a change of workload.
The most effective response is to keep sending the summary, and find a quiet moment to say the paperwork decision is settled as far as you are concerned and you would rather not have it sitting between you: it protects work somebody relies on, separates the decision from the relationship, and says the one thing that lets them drop it too. It beats keeping the summary going and saying nothing about the disagreement, because silence leaves them guessing and the atmosphere is what is actually in the way. It beats telling your manager they have been short with you since the decision, because the manager is the last resort, not the first, and has just ruled on this. The least effective response is stopping the weekly summary now the paperwork has been decided their way: a Monday call quietly loses what it depends on, the person affected is left to discover it, and a settled disagreement is reopened as a grievance. That is retaliation rather than a poor way of moving on. The principle: a decision that went against you does not license withdrawing what other people depend on.
Question 4 of 10
You are a branch adviser. You realise you gave a customer the wrong overdraft rate last week: you said 19% and it is 24%. He has since applied for it. The paperwork he signed shows the correct rate and he may never notice the difference. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: B. Telephone him today, tell him you quoted the wrong rate, confirm what the real one is, and check that he still wants to go ahead on that basis.
Least effective: A. Let your own mistake stand now that the paperwork is signed, since nobody has queried the rate and raising it would only unsettle a customer who is perfectly happy.
A: Hides your own error behind his signature: he agreed to something on a figure you gave him, and the only person who knows the two do not match has decided he does not need to.
C: Corrects without owning: a highlighted rate card does not tell him he was given a wrong figure or invite him to change his mind.
D: Escalates a decision you can make: telephoning a customer to correct your own quote is within your gift, and it delays a call he should get today.
The most effective response is to telephone him today, tell him you quoted the wrong rate, confirm the real one, and check that he still wants to go ahead: he made a decision on a number you gave him, the gap is five points, and only a direct call lets him reconsider. It beats posting him a rate card with the correct figure highlighted, because that does not tell him he was misinformed. It beats telling your manager and asking her to decide whether he needs contacting, because correcting your own quote does not need authorising. The least effective response is letting the mistake stand now that the paperwork is signed: he keeps a product he agreed to on a wrong figure, and the paperwork is used as the reason he need not be told. That is concealment rather than an incomplete or slow correction. The principle: he decided on your number, so he is owed the correction directly.
Question 5 of 10
You are a research assistant. A chart you produced last month has a scale error that makes a decline look like growth. It was used in a pitch to a client three weeks ago, which the firm won. Nobody has questioned it. The same chart is in the pack for a second client next week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: D. Tell your manager today about the error, both where it has already been used and where it is about to be used again, and correct next week's pack now.
Least effective: B. Correct the chart quietly in next week's pack, without telling anybody that the version used in the pitch three weeks ago showed a decline as though it were growth.
A: Gives the decision to the person with most reason to bury it: he presented the wrong chart to a client he won.
B: Withholds where the error has already been: a client made a decision on a chart that pointed the wrong way, and the only person who knows has fixed the future and left the past.
C: Delays the half that matters most: the client who has already acted is the exposure, and a fortnight is a long time on that.
The most effective response is to tell your manager today about the error, both where it has already been used and where it is about to be used again, and correct next week’s pack now: both exposures go to her together, and the fixable one is fixed the same day. It beats correcting next week’s pack and mentioning the earlier pitch at your catch-up in a fortnight, because that delay on a client who has already acted is the real risk. It beats raising it with the colleague who presented the pitch and leaving him to decide whether your manager hears, because the presenter is the last person who should make that call. The least effective response is correcting the chart quietly in next week’s pack and telling nobody about the pitch: the future is repaired and a client who decided on a reversed chart is left where they are, with only one person knowing. That is silence about the part that matters rather than slowness or misrouting. The principle: fix forwards and disclose backwards, on the same day.
Question 6 of 10
You are a purchase ledger clerk. Your manager asked you this morning to file last year’s invoices, which will take the day. At 10am you notice a supplier’s bank details were changed yesterday by someone outside the team, and nobody has confirmed with the supplier that the change is genuine. Your manager is at her desk. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: D. Stop and tell your manager about the changed bank details now, and ask whether the filing should wait while somebody looks at where the change came from.
Least effective: B. Send a note about the bank details over to the payments team, mark it as theirs now, and carry on with the filing without checking that anybody has picked it up.
A: Ranks the instruction above the information: a day is a long time for a change of this kind to sit unexamined.
B: Hands off the urgent item and keeps the routine one: the payments team has no context, nobody has confirmed they picked it up, and the filing was never the thing that mattered today.
C: Acts before anybody senior has looked: contacting the supplier on the number in the record is exactly what somebody would want to control first.
The most effective response is to stop and tell your manager about the changed bank details now, and ask whether the filing should wait while somebody looks at where the change came from: a bank detail change from outside the team is exactly the thing worth interrupting for, she is two steps away, and the filing has no deadline at all. It beats finishing the filing as asked and telling her at the end of the day, because a day is a long time to leave it. It beats asking the supplier directly whether they changed their own details, because that destroys the evidence before anybody has looked. The least effective response is sending a note to the payments team and carrying on with the filing without checking anybody picked it up: the urgent item is pushed to a team with no context and no confirmation. That is offloading it rather than sequencing it badly. The principle: an instruction from this morning does not outrank what you have found since.
Question 7 of 10
You are an audit associate. Two schedules are due to your manager by Friday and each takes a day. It is Wednesday morning. A colleague uses the first one on Thursday to start his own testing; the second is only read at the Friday review. Nobody has told you which order to do them in. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: A. Do the schedule your colleague needs first so that his Thursday is not lost, then finish the second one on Thursday in good time for the Friday review.
Least effective: C. Start with the schedule for the Friday review and leave the other until Thursday afternoon, without telling your colleague that his testing will not be able to start.
B: Spends a day of a two-day budget on a question with an evident answer: one schedule has somebody waiting on it and the other does not.
C: Costs a colleague a day without warning him: he plans Thursday around a schedule that will not arrive, and the person who knew that on Wednesday says nothing.
D: Splits effort so nothing finishes: two half-schedules on Friday morning are worth less than one complete one, and his Thursday is lost either way.
The most effective response is to do the schedule your colleague needs first so his Thursday is not lost, then finish the second on Thursday for the Friday review: only one of the two has a person waiting behind it, both still land by Friday, and nothing is lost. It beats asking your manager on Thursday morning which she would rather have first, because a whole day goes on a question whose answer is on the page. It beats splitting Wednesday and Thursday between the two, because two unfinished schedules help nobody. The least effective response is starting with the Friday review schedule and not telling your colleague his testing cannot start: he loses a day he has planned around, and the one person who could have told him on Wednesday says nothing. That is silence about something he needed rather than a defensible ordering. The principle: when your order costs somebody else a day, they hear about it before the day starts.
Question 8 of 10
You are a purchase ledger clerk. A colleague asks you to sign the second approval on eleven invoices, saying he has checked them all and is late for a train. The second approval exists so that a different person checks the amounts. You have not looked at any of them. Checking properly takes forty minutes. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: D. Tell him you will check them properly this evening and approve them then, so the invoices move tomorrow morning with the second check actually done.
Least effective: C. Sign the eleven invoices off on his word that he has already checked them, since he is reliable, he is late, and the amounts will almost certainly be right.
A: Moves the same pressure to a colleague: whoever he finds in the next ten minutes is being asked to do exactly what you have just declined.
B: Applies the control by value: the amount on an invoice is not what makes a second check meaningful, and four of them are now approved unchecked.
C: Certifies a check that was not carried out: your name says a second person looked at the amounts, and the control the firm relies on is now a signature with nothing behind it.
The most effective response is to tell him you will check them properly this evening and approve them then: the check gets genuinely done, the delay is one night, and nobody is asked to put their name to something they have not looked at. It beats signing the four smallest now and checking the rest this evening, because the value of an invoice has nothing to do with whether a second check is real. It beats refusing and telling him to find somebody else to approve them before he leaves, because refusing without a route just relocates the pressure. The least effective response is signing all eleven on his word that he has already checked them: eleven approvals are recorded as second-checked when nobody has checked them, so the control is gone and the record says otherwise. That is certifying something untrue rather than applying the rule inconsistently. The principle: your signature is a statement of fact about what you did.
Question 9 of 10
You are a risk assistant. A long-standing customer’s account has been restricted while a review runs and he is telephoning daily. You cannot tell him why, and you do not know how long it will take. He is polite, plainly worried, and says he has bills he cannot pay. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: B. Tell him honestly that you cannot say why or for how long, explain exactly what you can do about the bills in the meantime, and agree a day each week when you will call him.
Least effective: D. Assure him the review will be finished within a few days, because that is usually how long these take and it will stop him telephoning every single morning while it runs.
A: Promises a level of contact you cannot sustain: a daily chase you do not control becomes a daily failure he notices.
C: Refuses everything because one thing is confidential: the bills and the contact pattern are both things you could actually help with.
D: Gives a timescale you do not have: he plans his bills around it, and when the few days pass he has been told something untrue by the one person he trusts here.
The most effective response is to tell him honestly that you cannot say why or for how long, explain exactly what you can do about the bills, and agree a day each week when you will call: it is honest about the two things you cannot give him, and gives him the two you can, which are practical help and a predictable call. It beats telling him you cannot discuss the review and that he must wait to be contacted, because confidentiality about the review does not extend to his bills. It beats promising to chase the review team every day and call the moment there is news, because promising daily news you do not control fails publicly. The least effective response is assuring him the review will be finished within a few days: a timescale is invented to end an uncomfortable call, and a worried customer plans his finances on it. That is a false assurance rather than an unhelpful or over-generous answer. The principle: be honest about the gap, and be generous with what you can control.
Question 10 of 10
You are an assurance trainee. A confirmation from the client’s bank is three weeks late and the file cannot close without it. Firm policy is that only the engagement manager contacts third parties. She is on holiday until Monday and the file is due Wednesday. You have the bank contact’s details. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?
Most effective: B. Ask the engagement manager's cover today whether she will chase the bank, and set out that the file is due Wednesday and the confirmation is three weeks late.
Least effective: A. Telephone the bank contact yourself today to chase the confirmation, since the manager is away and one telephone call is all that stands between the file and closing on time.
A: Contacts a third party the policy reserves to somebody else: an unauthorised approach on an audit confirmation puts the evidence itself in question, whoever ends up receiving it.
C: Routes the evidence through the client: a confirmation the client has chased is exactly the independence that a direct request from the audit team exists to protect.
D: Spends three of the five remaining days: a bank that has taken three weeks is unlikely to answer inside two.
The most effective response is to ask the engagement manager’s cover today whether she will chase the bank, setting out that the file is due Wednesday and the confirmation is three weeks late: a cover exists precisely for a week like this, the request is squarely within her authority, and it costs a message. It beats waiting for the engagement manager on Monday and asking her to chase then, because that leaves two days for a bank that has taken three weeks. It beats asking the client to chase their own bank, because a confirmation the client has chased is no longer independent of the client. The least effective response is telephoning the bank contact yourself: a third party is contacted by somebody the policy does not permit to contact them, which is the one thing that can make the confirmation worthless. That is breaching the policy rather than applying it too slowly. The principle: the cover exists so the rule and the deadline do not have to fight.
NatWest’s early-talent Job Focus stage combines behavioural statements and interactive reasoning activities. Engineering programmes also include SQL and coding tests. Use your programme invitation for the current route.
Use the route that matches your vacancy. The guidance below identifies the programme or location it covers.
Job Focus assessment
The Job Focus stage combines work-related behavioural statements with interactive problem-solving and reasoning activities. NatWest estimates around 30–35 minutes in total, with most sections untimed. Later stages include a video recording and virtual assessment centre. Engineering programmes add technical tests.
SQL and coding assessments
The engineering route includes a 15-minute multiple-choice SQL test and a 60-minute coding simulation. The video stage has six questions and takes about 20 minutes. These details apply to the engineering route, rather than every NatWest vacancy.
Process sources checked 11 September 2026 · Your invitation takes priority for role and location details.
The free test shows you the style. A pack gives you the hour: blended, marked, with the working shown.
Careers at NatWest Group span eight divisions including customer-focused roles, technology, business strategy and delivery, finance, HR, control oversight and assurance, front office markets and counsel.
Each of these various areas has a number of roles e.g. sales, trading, technical specialists, software engineering, strategy, supply chain and so on, so there are numerous graduate and intern jobs on offer.
For graduates, there are a number of specific graduate programmes which include: Asset Management, Change and Business Solutions, Communications and Corporate Affairs, Data and Analytics, Finance, HR, Internal Audit, Marketing, NatWest Markets, Private Banking, RBS International, Relationship Management, Risk, Software Engineering and Structured Finance.
These programmes are across the various NatWest Group subsidiary companies including NatWest, Coutts and RBS, and, depending on the programme, in the London, Manchester, Birmingham, Belfast, Jersey or Edinburgh offices.
Internships are also available in all of these areas, and apprenticeships on offer in Customer Service, Business Administration, Digital, Technology and Data and Relationship Management.
NatWest’s graduate and internship route starts with an application and Job Focus assessment. This combines behavioural statements with interactive reasoning activities and takes about 30–35 minutes, with most sections untimed. Engineering programmes add SQL and coding tests.
Later stages include recorded video responses and a virtual assessment centre. Use the instructions for your programme, as the sequence and technical requirements can differ.
The first stage in the process is to complete the application form. The information required varies from programme to programme, but will include contact details and education history.
The current early-talent application guide asks applicants to upload a CV. Have your education and contact details ready as well.
The skills assessment asks about work-related behaviours, while interactive activities explore your approach to problem-solving and reasoning. Read the examples provided before starting and respond honestly to the behavioural statements. NatWest’s current guide does not describe a separate 15-question situational judgement test for every applicant.
Logical reasoning practice can help you work carefully with unfamiliar rules and information. Use NatWest’s own examples to become familiar with the interactive activities in your invitation.
The test also allows the recruiter to assess how you think, both conceptually and analytically.
Focus on understanding the information and checking your reasoning. Most Job Focus sections are untimed, so do not assume a one-minute limit per question.
While you cannot know what will be tested precisely, you will do far better on this type of test if you practice in advance, as there is a definite technique to master.
The video interview then follows for successful candidates. It is not live: rather you record your answers to a variety of questions, which are then watched by the recruiting team.
You’ll receive a link to the interview and you’ll be asked questions, including motivational, competency and scenario-based questions. You record your answers using the webcam.
Follow the on-screen preparation and recording timers. NatWest’s engineering route describes six questions and an estimated 20 minutes for the video stage; check the instructions for your programme.
The final stage in the application process is to attend the virtual assessment centre; the invitation confirms the duration.
The activities vary by programme. Follow your invitation for interviews, group or individual exercises and any technical tasks. Prepare examples of how you solve problems and work with others.
Assessment centres are run virtually on a digital platform, such as Zoom, so you will need a quiet space to complete the day. You will need to demonstrate you can work well individually, as a team, that you can make decisions and build relationships with your colleagues.
Natwest Group is a trademark of its respective owner. Practice Aptitude Tests is not affiliated with Natwest Group and our practice tests are not endorsed by them. Visit Natwest Group careers.
