Santander telephone interview

s_s87

when did you apply? i have applied ages ago and havent heard back yet? guessing the interview will be competency based!

I applied a week and a half ago..n they said if you havent heard from us in 5 days to email them..so i did! sorry i applied fot the accelerated entry level personal banking advisor role! is that what u applied for?

Hi s_s87!
Did you have the phone interview yet? I applied for the same thing and I will have an upcoming interview too.
Please write back if you can.
Thank you!

@s_s87

 thanks for your advice. I have applied for the same programme. the accelerated one. 

how did your interview go?

@s_s87
thanks for your advice. I have applied for the same programme. the accelerated one.
i did email them and got an 'out of office' message. does this mean the whole of graduate recruitment team is out of work today?!

how did your interview go?

Im not sure. I had also got that out of office reply..but i think that was due to the holidays at the end of the year. They replied to me a few days after though. I think it would be best if you just gave them a call and ask them the progress of your application. I haven't had my interview yet. Its later on this week.

do you have their telephone number? i cant seem to find it.

good luck with your interview!

hi i was wondering did you have your interview yet? what sort of things did they ask you?

@TZ: You can try call them on 0870 8509 142!

@charlenep22: Haven't had the interview yet. I'll let you know how it goes.

HI first post!

Got my telephone interview with Santander at 14:15 today!

Tell you how it went after people.

@ s_s87

thanks. got a reply from them. they said they have received it and are reviewing. good luck with your interview!

hey guys, had my telephone interview day. It was a standard competency based interview. Not too sure how I did though. These were the questions I was asked:

1)Why Santander
2)Why the personal banking advisor role?
3)Describe a time you had to work in a team?
4)Describe a time when you had to change the way you do something to meet a target
5)Describe a challenge that you have been through
6)Describe a time when you had to serve a customer with excellence.

Thats pretty much all they asked. However, there were some probing questions within those like what did you learn from the experience, what motivated you, what would you change if you could do it again.

They said I should find out in a week if im through to the AC.

Hope this posts helps all of you! Goodluck!!

Thanks a lot for sharing s_s87!
It was very helpful.
Good luck!

thanks for the insight s_s87. good luck!

Have u heard back about the job yet

i have just had a competency based interview and they asked the same questions

Did they ask you for your national iinsurance number at the end?

hey yeah I heard back yesterday. Ive been invited to the AC! What about you?

No they didnt ask me for my NI number!!

hey i just had interview
they asked
why abbey
why personal banking advisor
leadership as a team
challenges how you overcome them
motivation

how long did it take them to get back to you?
are any of you having to travel from northern ireland for the next stage?

Nah not heard anything back yet
Did they let you know through email or phone?
Whats the AC?

They emailed me with an invite to their assessment centre (AC). Its going to involve a comptetency based interiew and some group excercises. Thats all it says about that!!

When did you apply s_s87 ? Do you know where is the AC ?
Thanks and good luck!

I have a compentency based interview telephone interview as well :( bit nervous.. its the first telephone interview..
im a recent graduate, hey s_s87 how did u answer some of your questions if you dont mind sharing.. it would really help me..

)

When is everyone who is through sttending the ac?

s_s87 said they were through, my telephone interview is this coming friday and i was hoping for a few hints and tips..

if you look at the above comments you will see some of the questions, you just have to give a lot of examples of hat you have done in uni or in organoisations when you are answering. eg are you a leader, give examples. why personal banking advisor, whats the role? give examples of how you fit the role from your past experiences.. at the very start of this thread there is two links clickon them and it will give you sample questions you just answer by telling them ur experiences.

Hi, i got invited to a telephone interview but they didnt say when. Maybe it will be sooner to the time i graduate later on this year, also any idea where these assesment centre's are? because im not gonna travel 200 miles for a job im probably not gonna get.

Tina_259: I posted the questions i was asked a bit earlier on this thread so just check those out!! I think they will be pretty much the same! With regards to how to answer them.. I did what charlenep22 did..I just used my past experiences and explained what I gained from them and how they would help me in this role! Dont worry im sure you should be fine!!

Charlenep22: What AC are you going to? I've booked the 3rd feb @1:30! Do you know what the day will consist of??

Does anyone have a clue on what santander ACs are like??

where is the AC located? is it one place, or hundreds over the country?

Ive been invited to the one in london. Not sure if they are holding them all over the country. I didnt have any choice on my location though!

Is anyone going to the assessment centre in Milton Keynes tomorrow? Has anyone been to one already? Not quite sure what to expect as the e-mail doesn't really give much info. To be honest I'm not even sure what the role actually is!

asn- im going to london 3rd feb. let me know how you go today, what the day entails plz. e-mail just says bout group work and interview not much detail at all.

businessman- ac's all over but its a mater of waitin for one to come up near you, im traveling over from northern ireland you do get up to £50 travelexpenses its up to you how much you want the job.

s-s87 - im goin to the same ac as you. what prep are you doing for it, im coming over from ni i catch plane from belfast at 630 goping to be a long day

Chearlenep22: Im not really sure how to prepare for it! At the moment just preparing for the interview. Do u think there will be any numerical tests or anything?? How are you preparing for it??

I'll let everyone know what the assessment centre was like after Im done with mine today! I reckon its just going to be an interview and two group exercises plus them giving us some info on the role. I hope so anyway because I haven't done much prep!

hey guys.. was just wondering when you go for an interview..do you memorise the answers to the most likely questions that will come up like why santander? or even an example of when you worked in a team?

On my last interview with another firm, i got feedback saying that i sounded over prepared and they couldnt tell if that was the real me! I dont want to seem under prepared though! Any adivce??

hi s_s87 i havent started prep yet. for my phone interview i had notes on the following

Info about Abbey from website
why i want to work for abbey
why personal banking advisor
what am i most looking forward to in the role
where do i see myself in 5 yr time
why should they hire me
describe a time when i had to change the way i do something to meet a target
describe a time when i had to work as a team
describe a challenge i have been through
describe a time when i lead a team
give example of time when i failed to complete a task
describe a time when i dealt with aconfrontation
describe a time when i had to serve customer with excellence

it does say that the interview will be competency base doesnt it? can you think of any other comp based questions they could ask
i do learn some examples s_s87, however when i am talking i try to change the tone of my voice so as it does not seem like i am reading it from a page or reciting it word for word. give yourself a breath between your sentences so as you are not just ryming answer after answer.

i have ideas of exapmles in my head but i find that when i start to explain to the interviewer i remember the experience which make it sound like it is not memorised as an answer, but memorised as an experience that i enjoyed

asn-would be really appreciated if you do let us know how it goes, think when in the group exercises you have to remember we are all from different areas so there are plenty of places so just work through it together to get best mark they will be looking how you conduct yourself in a team i.e listening!! as well as giving ideas withough talking over one another

Thanks charlenep22! A few more questions are:

An example of a time you had to think on your feet
An example of a time when you had to use intiative
An example of a time when you had to teach someone something that they had no prior experience of.
An example of a time when you had to change someones view point, how you did it.

Do you think they'll ask any commercial awareness questions? Are you going to preparing anything about the banking industry and whats been happening lately in the news/economy??

i went onto there website and got a few details

given the current circumstances what steps could santander take to adress credit crunch?

who are there main risks
what impactdo they have on business
decide what to do with risks
put policies and procedures in place - tougher lending, focus on customers, encourage savings

mointor risk with time
review and make changes were necessery

introduce new products - get customers interesated
value for money products
increase customer loyalty

aquistitions (bradford bingley, alliance leisceter, abbey increase growth=increase profit = goal achievement as world leading bank

santanders future plans

customers -

 fiancial inclusion - make banking available to all ie those on low incomes

employees -
equality
developing
work in partnership i.e rewards
health and safety
work life balance i.e flexy working

environment
energy saving 'switch it off' policy if your not using it
wadte management - recycling

how would you answer this

given the current circumstances what steps could santander take to adress credit crunch?

just what i said above above doing a risk assessment and puting policies in place to avoid bad lending etc. they would need to have a risk strategy in place without this they are snooered

they would need to have tougher lending

just basically what i said above.

i wonder how asn got on today

Do you know anyone else who has been to the santander AC? How many poeple do you think they are going to offer places to? Also, did the person who interviewed you on the phone mention anything else about the AC or anything??

you guys are really scary with me all this information lol.

Hi Everyone,

Got back from my assessment centre not too long ago, thought I better post up my experiences on here before I forget!

My assessment centre was in Milton Keynes, was really easy to get to from the train centre.. its the big reddish building you can see as soon as you exit the station!

I was running late for the interview due to my train being delayed, in the e-mail your told to get there 15 mins before the start time, I didn't get there till just before the start time but it didn't matter as all the other candidates were all still waiting in the reception area so I just joined them.

At the start time we were all taken to a conference room by the head of grad recruitment we were all greeted and told what the day was going to consist of (Interview & Group exercise including a presentation and questions) plus why Santander is different and going through a lot of change at the moment etc. We also got told about the role in a bit more detail. Then we were introduced to the other assessors, we all then had to introduce ourselves and give an interesting fact about ourselves!

Basically the format of the day is an interview and a group discussion which you then have to present about and get asked questions on. The interviews get done half and half, so if there are 8 people 4 will get interviewed while the others read the case study for the group discussion.

GROUP EXERCISE/DISCUSSION:

You get around 40 mins to read the case study, it has all sorts of fictional branch info and performance targets and staff performance info in it. The question is to prioritise 3 things for the meeting with the area manager. So in the case study there is info like staff performing badly, the branch not hitting targets etc. So those were the sort of things I picked! Its really straightforward, kind of hard to explain but you have plenty of time and its just about reading through the things carefully and picking them out as priorities and choosing which things are most important. So you get 40 + mins to read through while people are being interviewed and then when everyone is back in the room you have 20 mins with all of them to discuss and prepare a presentation with the 3 main priorities you have chosen as a group. You then have 10 mins to present to all the assessors, everyone has to talk. You then get asked questions for about 10 mins. There were seven of us at the assessment centre all working as one group so was quite hard to be able to speak at times! When your being asked questions at the end everyone is trying to answer the question, just make sure you think of what you are going to say which will be different.

INTERVIEW:

The interview is really laid back and my interviewer was really nice and I guess it was more of a chat. The questions are also really similar to the telephone interview. It lasts about 40 mins.
There are the standard questions such as Why Santander? Why this role? As well as question's about your uni and your course.

There were 4 competency based questions: I can only remember 3!

Time when you have had to provide good customer service

Time when you have had to make sales/influence people.

Time when you changed something/made a difference.

As I say I cant remember the 4th, but these were the ones I was asked, very similar to the telephone ones.

Thats pretty much it, I have probably forgotten something. If anyone does want to know anything I've forgotten just ask. It really isnt too bad, its pretty relaxed. Good Luck everyone!

asn - thats really good of you to post that info. does each person have tp talk for ten mins or the whole presentation 10 mins long. where you finished on time at 4.30?

s_s87 -i dont no any1 who has been? i think if they have a position near were u live they will ofer it im not sure re3ally. where r u from? they never told me ny other info bout the ac. i hope i dont get lost on the tube ive never been to london before. if i do i got 3 hrs to spare the way i had to work my flights to get tere for 130.

does anyone know what the dress code is for the assessment centre?

businessman: the dress code is formal, you should wear a suit!!

charlenep22: Gosh your going to have a really long day, at least ASN said its not too bad and its quite relaxed! Im from london, so will be quite easy for me to get there!!

what are you dreading, the group discussion or the interview??

are any of u guys in the same position as me? i.e gonna graduate later on this year, or have you guys already graduated. In my email it said my telephone interview would be sooner to the time i finish my studies if im still at uni. maybe this is why i havent been asked to arrange one yet.

it cud be. i graduated in 2005. not sure bout rest of the people on here

i graduated in july 2009!!

i graduated in july 2009!!

I graduated May 2009

hey moniiuk, how did your telephone interview go? Did u get through?

im guessin you guys must have a lot of experience under your belt. whereas i dont have any experience.

I am actually still waiting for my phone interview date.....

anyone in the kent area?

s_s87 it hink im dreading the presentationpart the most. im not shy talking to customers but when it comes to presentations i always get nervous lol my face always goes red i cant help it, though if its a geoup preentation it might not be as bad. interview shouldnt be to bad as you can go off in one about your past experiences.i think the worst part of theday is going to be the tube i never beenon tube before lol i got an oyster card and get the train from stanstead to liverpoolstreet, then tube to regents park

im quite scared about the group discussion and presentation too! I hope there aren't too many of us in one group so that we do get the chance to talk!! As its a group presentation and ASN said it only lasts 10 mins, i dont think we'l have to say that much!! I think each person will probably talk for 2 mins at most which isn't too bad!!

Dont worry about the tube, its not that bad!! im sure ul be fine!! n uve got quite awhile between when u arrive in london and the AC, so just make sure u leave plenty of time for your tube journey in case u get mixed up or anything!! Just work out your whole journey on tfl.com!!

I had my Assessment Centre on the 13th of January in Regents Park, London. It was the way ASN described, I have nothing else to add just that it is quite relaxed and straight forward. It them over a week and they called me on the 21st saying that I passed the Assessment Centre! The lady told me she was going to do all the paperwork, took my work location preference ( I chose all the London areas) and said she will get back to me this week or next with a verbal offer. I was wondering if anyone else is in the same situation as me???

congratulations jaxx.

I think its easy for females to get the job, as all they gotta do is sleep with the interviewer lol. but much harder for us guys to do that haha. unless......... u can fill in the blanks lol.

congratulations jaxx.

I think its easy for females to get the job, as all they gotta do is sleep with the interviewer lol. but much harder for us guys to do that haha. unless......... u can fill in the blanks lol.

businessman - youre funny lol.

jaxx - well done i got my ac next week so your ahead of us lot on here i think. could youn tell me is the building across the road from the tube station?

If you're talking about the one in Regents Park then yes, use google map it helps. Get out the station via Marylebone road exit, opposite the station you'll see these fancy cream coloured houses, right at the end is Santander's office.

what interview questions did u get asked jaxx? what are good replies to give? what do they want to hear?

p.s Thanks charlene.

Questions were quite basic such as Why Santander and why the role specifically. I gave honest answers in the sense that I saw their add on Monster than did further research. With regards to the role itself, I said I have sales/customer service experience so I feel I would be quite suitable for this role. Although research/structured replies are good, they are looking for your personality and how different you are from the crowd.

hey guys i got my invite for the tele interview. i have it later on today. guessing its just what everyone has described. thanks

i have my telephone interview today.. so nervous, first one ive ever done :(
wish me luck everyone, im gana need it!!!

good luck tina.

how did ur interview go TZ?

good luck tina! its not that hard, just make sure you are specific and answer the question in detail.

@businessman. yup got through to the AC :) just got my confirmation email few minutes ago.

Hey TZ, congrats!! What AC are you going to??

Any one going to the ac in Newcastle on the 12th Feb?

did my interview.. i was so nervous at first but than i was ok, lasted for 47 mins! i think i talk too much!

how long do i need to wait until i get a call back or email?

btw does anyone knw what this in house residential thing is about?

tina you talking about the telephone interview or actual face to face interview? also i think in house residential thing might be the training they provide, i think it lasts like a month. After that they put you in a branch.

i had a telephone one

but i wanna knw what they mean by in house residential? do we have to stay there or do we come and go everyday? might be a silly question that im asking but the lady that interviewed me weren't too sure either!

Thats a really good question Tine_259!! I had just assumed its Santander's own training course where we would have to attend classes. It didnt even cross my mind that we may have to stay there!

They got back to me 3 days after I did my telephone interview!!

s_s8 did u get the job?

hey s_s87

thanks! i've booked it for the one two weeks from now, the on the 10th.

hey businessman..havent had the AC yet.. ive got it next week...

im scared when i have my telephone interview im not gonna make it through to AC, therefore i still havent phoned up to ask when mine is (even though they said not to do that), as it might be nearer to the time i finish my studies. Does anyone know if there is a limit to the number of people they employ, or just whoever they like they hire. Also how many ppl using this site have been rejected, and if so at what stage?

cheers - businessman

i asked the lady on my interview what the next stage was, and she told me AC centre etc.. but she also said that anyone who is going to an AC is most likely to be hired. they dont pick out whose good or not, they just wanna see how u are in a group etc.. so its not about impressing them by beng the person who stands out more.. its more about showing them how u interact with others.. so she say's!

so if you get thr AC, most likely your gana get an offer unless u do somethng really silly at the AC.

Hey ASN, have u heard back from them after your AC?

i dont think you would have to go and stay at a training centre i think its a bit much to ask from some people,i have a new born and i dont think i could go and stay over cos i dont have anyone to mind him really.

jaxx - what did you wre to the ac ?

s_s87 - are you male or female what you wearing? are yo getting nervous i am lol. i hope the snow stays away for my flights etc. have you done much prep?

tina - thats quite good info bout probability of getting hired if you attend the ac. when do you go?

Yeah as s_s87 said, you gota wear a suit/business attire to these assessment centres. All the guys wore a suit and one girl as well. The other two ladys wore shirt and blouse kinda thing but still looked smart.

hey charlenep22, im female!! Going to be wearing a suit!! All these AC's require formal wear and for the ones ive been to all the girls wore suits!! What are you wearing?? Yeah getting quite nervous! I've just been going through the notes I made for my telephone interview and making sure I have examples for the competency questions!! Not much more prep I can do than that, coz u cant really prepare for the discussion!! What about you??

i got invited for my ac now.. wow that was quick 2 days!

im so nervous! i dont knw where to do it? milton keynes or london? im from london but thats just next week, does it matter where u do the ac?
does anyone knw the locations of each place?

well done!! im doing mine in Newcastle on the 12 Feb! just preparing my notes for it.

same here i just have my phone interview notes and plenty of examples. im wearing a black and white striped skirt and black top. everytime i think bout it i get butterflies lol.

awh well alli can do is try my best . they arnt going to eat us lol

Hi

Can someone PM me the contact telephone no. for Santander graduate recruitment please.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Take care

Hi Jobless

Try this: 0870 850 9142.

Regards

You guys are all doing your interviews and then going onto assesment centre, meanwhile i havent even been told when my telephone interview is going to be. By the time i get through to a telephone interview - all the jobs will be taken by you guys lol.

dont be silly.. course not! have u graduated yet?

it took them more than 1 week to get back to me bout my telephone interview.. they probabaly have a lot of people applying so just hold on. and the lady did say that thier are so many places across the country!

i was doing some research, found out that the pay 2 years ago for this job was 25K now its down to 17k - 20k :(

thats not fair! lol..

is anyone going to the london one of the 10th feb?

i dont knw what to wear! :(

Time when you have had to make sales/influence people - how would u answer that? any suggestions?

TZ - are you going to the AC on the 10th feb in regents park??

does the AC actually last for 3 hours? has anyone else passed the ac yet?

well thats the thing i dont understand, i finish my classes in the end of may but i think my graduation is in november. does that mean i have to wait until novemeber to get my telephone interview? in the email it did say closer to the time i finish my studies or something.

hey
yea i am going to the one on the 10th. see ya there! :)

how did the AC for the people who had theirs today go?

TZ

sorry you a girl or a boy? if you a girl, what u wearing? still not sure whether i shud wear a suit with a shirt or just a blouse :(

You coming in from london ot from somewhere far? argh im scared its just one week away :(

@tina
sorry i am a boy. regarding what to wear, maybe pop into a santander branch and see what the staff are wearing and you can just mimic that.

No i am coming from c. london so the journey should be ok. yourself?

im preety sure they all have uniforms, you knw suit and trousers or skirt.

i, from north london only 30mins bus ride lol not too far you think they gana reimburse me for my £1.20? lol

im really nervous! are you? first time im going to an assessment/ interview.

thanks for the information, What COMPETENCY BASED Q's did they ask you?
With the individual role play, what Q's did you ask about, opening a bank account. much appreciated.

Santander?? Read today's financials re Spain's (Greece, ireland and Portugal too) national debt probs. Will this filter down to our Spanish banking buddies?
Por Dios!!

hey s_s87 how long did the assessment last? did they say how long they will let you knw about when they gana contact you?

was everyones interview like that? you knw with the role play?

im so nervous, dont knw why! thinking bout it makes me have butterflie in my stomach.

hey tina_259..we started at around 1:45, and we were done by like 5:00!! Its roughly 3 hours! They said they would let us know by early next week!!

I dont think everyones interview was like that..i think it just depends on whose interviewing you!! i know one person didnt have to do the role play kind of thing but i know another person did have the role play. So i think its just random!!

Dont be nervous!! Its is honestly quite relaxed!! Just enjoy it n try and do your best!!

Hi Nitz, i was asked about a time when i led a team, also about a time when i was under pressure and how i handled it. The rest of the questions were like the phone interview!!!

About the role play thing i had in my interview...i wasnt too good at that...i just asked him what he was looking for, what he would be using the bank account for..i really didnt know what to ask him!!

thanks for the info :)

My interview was quite straight forward too, there was no role play element. It was mainly focussed on competency questions such as meeting targets and team work. The rest were similar to that of the telephone interview. It is very relaxed compared to other ACs, and three hours goes really quick so make an impact immediately!!!

I am still finalising my branch location, references, credit check etc then I should start in March, provision date. They say you gota join an Academy, I assume thats the 5-week training and the next one is in March. I feel they waiting for more people to be successful so they can train many people at once as opposed to a few.

hello!
do you mind if i ask what type of target questions did they ask? and what type of probing did they do?

wait hold up... lol

wats the academy thing? did they say anything bout staying somewhere for 5 weeks?

Jaxx did they mention whther we have to go and stay somewhere for 5 weeks, why is it referred to as in house? did they say where this academy thing is being held? any more info bout that Jaxx? if so would be really helpful.

Thanks

I did not ask much about the Academy seeing as the lady told me she would give all the details after the referencing and credit check has been completed and they send me the contract. I am assuming it relates to the 5-week residential training mentioned on the graduate website. The fact it says 'residential' might mean that yes we have to stay somewhere during that period. During the AC, the interviewer mentioned it would be based in Milton Keynes or somewhere. I did not ask much because I was not too fussed about the details and just wanted to get the offer first lol...

One of the questions I was asked was related to sales and hitting targets. The guy asked me to give an example where i was able to meet and beat my targets. That was easy because my current role is Sales, so I gave an solid example of how I met all my targets, won bonuses and got promoted etc. The probing questions was related to dealing with pressure, prioritising your workload and how you managed your time to ensure you meet your targets.

hi jaxx,

thank you so much for your insight!

would it be possible to highlight how you go about meeting targets and beating them? for example what preparation you do and how you conduct yourself?

thanks!

hi jaxx,

thank you so much for your insight!

would it be possible to highlight how you go about meeting targets and beating them? for example what preparation you do and how you conduct yourself?

thanks!

Hey TZ,

I been doing my current job for the past three years so I was able to select a time period where I performed extremely well, which highlighted my ability to meet and beat targets. I was saying that I am self-motivated, I have my own goals and targets to achieve in life so I needed to stand out from the crowd and obtain solid experience that can be used along with my degree. So for example, If I have a target of 50 sales each month, then I would begin to meet them immediately from the first week so it gets easier at the end of the month. I utilise all the resources I have such as training sessions, meetings with my manager and even advice from other colleagues on how to meet those targets. I gave an example on how I was level 1 then moved to level 4 within months and was promoted to the top team (true story btw!). Being focussed, striving to win bonuses, not letting bad days get to you etc.

I mentioned that I had my on timetable (that was a lie lol) where I would keep track of my progress and seek help if required. Overall, the impression I gave is that I can achieve my targets without being supervised. This shows that for the PBA, I would do exactly the same. I would have the same mentality to progress and move up so I would continue to meet my targets so I can be recognised. I would deal with any pressure and stress accordingly and simply do what I am required with no problem. So yeah, you need to show that you are target-orientated, resilient, confident, good communicator at the same time focussing on quality and customer service...!

hi jaxx,

thanks so much for that!!

def can see now what i have to say and what they mainly looking for!

btw do you know how many people they are recruiting for this role?

I am not sure exactly how many people they are recruiting for this role, but the Graduate Manager did mention that he has 250 vacancies to fill this year. That is 250 including everything else, if any, they advertise. He also mentioned that they are growing so next year they are looking to fill 500+ vacancies...!

I am not sure exactly how many people they are recruiting for this role, but the Graduate Manager did mention that he has 250 vacancies to fill this year. That is 250 including everything else, if any, they advertise. He also mentioned that they are growing so next year they are looking to fill 500+ vacancies...!

oh i see 250 grad + non-grad. is that just for this role or altogether inc the head office ones?

arrgh so scared thanks for all that info Jaxx i would hire you!! lol i can definately see why you got an offer..

im so nervous :( this is my first interview after graduating and im so scared! i really do feel as if they gana eat me lolzz

cant believe its tomorrow! i shall let everyone knw how it goes and for TZ i will probabaly see you there! lolz

arrgh so scared thanks for all that info Jaxx i would hire you!! lol i can definately see why you got an offer..

im so nervous :( this is my first interview after graduating and im so scared! i really do feel as if they gana eat me lolzz

cant believe its tomorrow! i shall let everyone knw how it goes and for TZ i will probabaly see you there! lolz

hey Tina

did you go to the Ac today?

hey Tina

did you go to the Ac today?

erm did you go? was it good?

.

I only got the email about the phone interwiev date today.
I will have it next Thursday 18/02 .

Did you guys only do your reserch on Santander from thier web site?
Any other good sources? Cheers everybody!

whoo hoo i got it! just recieved a phone call saying im in! that was 2 days lol what bout you TZ did u get aphone call yet?

im so chuffed! :)

hey!! yea i did too!! :D

so so happy!! lol

did they say when you start? or what the next process is?

erm well i said i want an immediate start! so she was looking for a few places for me. one in ealing i said most possible there. she said she's gana call back if more open up. hopefully some time soon.

what bout you? when you gana start? btw i wana knw if we get paid to be going to this academy thingy! lol i asked her bout it again, and depending on when we start we might have to stay away or if its in london we dont. so hopefully its in london! i cant believe it

i have another interview now with another graduate company, so off i go :)

yea they said the same to me. i can start asap too. lol i think we do get paid for the academy thing!

i didn't ask tho, cause i was so excited as i thought i wouldnt get through!

good luck with your interview and congratulations!!! :)

Hey Tina_259..congrats on getting through!! I also got through!! Was just wondering, have they already told u a few branches u can choose from..u mentioned ealing..is that your preference or what they offered you??

They are still looking for a branch for me..i just told them anywhere in london!! Hope they find something soon!!

aww congratz s_s87 and TZ man wat a buzz hey! yh she went thru a few wiv me eastbourne? lol out of london! lewisham and ealing i said i prefer ealing. she said she wud get back to me with other ones as well, dont knw when though! what bout u TZ did u pick your branch?

She didnt mention any branches to me when she called. They said that once something comes up..they will give me a call. I received an email from them yesterday saying that they are still looking for a suitable branch!!!

Wow everyone is so happy, congrats! I just received my final call and my contract is on its way! :D They have completed all the referencing and vetting checks!

I start on the 8th of March and the Academy is on the 15th lasting five weeks till April! My branch is in Notting Hill Gate, Central London West (30mins from me house :D). Now I can relaaaaaaaax for a coupla weeks before I start working full-time!

P.S. It does take about a week for them to find you branch then another few days to complete the referencing and vetting checks!

Wow everyone is so happy, congrats! I just received my final call and my contract is on its way! :D They have completed all the referencing and vetting checks!

I start on the 8th of March and the Academy is on the 15th lasting five weeks till April! My branch is in Notting Hill Gate, Central London West (30mins from me house :D). Now I can relaaaaaaaax for a coupla weeks before I start working full-time!

P.S. It does take about a week for them to find you branch then another few days to complete the referencing and vetting checks!

has all the posts gone?

hey Jaxx...you must be over the moon that its all sorted out!! Where is the academy located by the way??

z

just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone on this forum!! your insight has been really helpful!! thank you all for your insight!!

same here...Thanks to everyone!! If anyone needs any help feel free to send me a message!!

im still waiting for an invitation to the bloody telephone interview :( congratulations to the guys who got the job.

I'm not sure where the Academy is located, hopefully its in London so I can stay home! I'm just waiting for my contract so I can accept officially and give my notice! :D

Did you guys only do your research on Santander from their web site? Any other good sources? Cheers everybody!

Moniuuk: yup only used their website....that provided quite alot of info!!

Good to see a few of us will be starting soon. I think they have found me a branch as well and the lady is just doing the checks etc now. I get the feeling she is really trying to rush it along because as Jaxx said they need to fill the academy on the 15th March. I think we will all be at the same one! Got a feeling the academy might be in Milton Keynes as thats where the head office is!

i think whoever goes to the AC gets selected!

guess tina was right!

i think too, the academy will be in milton keynes!

yeaaaah im always right :)

i havent been given a location yet, have you TZ? is aid maybe to one branch and she said she's gana call me back but hasnt called me since than :( ive been at work as well so i cant even pick up! they call wiv private number as well which is so annoying cos u cant call back :(

asn when did they give you a location?

oh and who were u that day at the AC TZ? you obviously knew who i was :( considering i was the only girl .. who were you?

BTW i got a job offer for enterprise as well, dont knw which one to take now :(

it'll be so kewl if we all were at the same academy! we have to stay there so its nice to knw you've already got a few wiki buddies there :)

hey tina..pm 'd you! btw i at my ac i had more then one girl! :s hmm seems like we went to two diff AC's!

i havent even received one call from them since Fri! when did you get the second call? i am mainly looking for a branch in london only. which branch did they offer you initially??

hey u werent at the regents park west one? oh strange.. no i havent receieved a call since friday either :( we probabaly gana get it together again lol..

i cnt pick up my phone which is so annoying cos im at work so iw ont even knw if they are calling or not! let me knw if they call you..

i wanted something in london as well but readin my application form it says mid west etc and london so i was a bit confused when she started ofering me places in eastbourne! the london based one she offered was ealing and lewisham but i said maybe to ealing one and she said she was gana call me back? but no sign of her. so its alittle worrying isnt it. lol sometimes i think it was a prank cos i havent even recieved an email :(

lol....yea think so too! its strange that we didnt even receive and email. i asked for their number and they gave me a mobile number, which was a bit weird tbh!

but she did say i should hear back by fri so will wait till then and then give them a call.

to everyone else:

did you receive an email? and how long does it take for them to find you a branch?

thanks

Do any of you have any idea what vetting checks they do?

I remember when she first called me (like 9am in the morning) she offered me two branches, Swiss Cottage and Notting Hill Gate. I remember she told me that those two branches are available at the moment. I was half asleep so I had no idea where they were even though they both are 30-40mins away from me house. So I told her I'll research and call her back, it was an 01 number. So I did my research and chose Notting Hill Gate.

When I called back, I asked again if there were any branches in Canary Wharf or the City seeing as I wanted to work there. She told me internal candidates get priority first due to their recruitment policy and most likely these branches have been taken already. The two available is the ones she mentioned. She then said if I do not chose a branch today then I may need to wait another week or two before any other branches (if any) become available! Also these branches cannot be hold for me seeing as other candidates maybe interested.

I asked my friends and family and they said to accept one immediately seeing as right now because of the crisis, if these were offered to anyone else they would jump and take it. I remember during my AC, there were candidates that came from all the way from Manchester, Leeds and even Edinburgh more than willing to work ANYWHERE in London. Based on that, I would advice you guys to accept a branch (obviously meeting your location needs) once offered otherwise you may have to wait a while!

can you guys pass me there numberif thats ok, i forgot to ask them. i shud have accepted the ealing one :( didnt knw it was the limited lol we mite be waiting a long time than :(

i hope they call me soon.. did they call you TZ?

got a call have to choose between 6 locations! anyone else?

hey tina_259..what locations did they give u??

hi..thght il ask you as your online lol
ive applied for a customer service advisor role with santander
ive dne my telephone interview and they email me back today that i was successful,but they havnt mentioned anything about the ac yet
but hopefully they should. lol
and i was just wondering how the ac is like,i would realy appreciate it if you coud give me some advice
thanks : )

6 very close to me which is good cos one is only a 20 min buss ride away.. lol swiis cottage, muswell hill, finchley, neasdon, harlesdon, crouch end but dont knw which one to choose from? any suggestions guys?

wow they are all good! guess go for the one that is close to you

wow they are all good! guess go for the one that is close to you

yh i duno.. still decieding myself lol.. suhd i be safe and take the one wiv one bus ride? or shud i go wiv the one in swiss cottage with the tube journey?

hey guys.i have applied for the role of personal banking advisor and i was told that i will have a telephone interview....however they havent emailed me back for nearly three weeks now so does that mean i have been rejected???

hey guys.i have applied for the role of personal banking advisor and i was told that i will have a telephone interview....however they havent emailed me back for nearly three weeks now so does that mean i have been rejected???

so has anyone started their work with santander? or are everyone waiting for their branches?

im still waiting i have a meeting with a branchmanager this thursday.

i have been invited for telephone interview with HSBC for sales advisory position, wondering if anyone has had a similar interview with the same bank as its supposed to be comptency based. Wondering what questions they would ask....thanks

has anyone been told about thier salary yet?

My contract came through! Wooo! Along with this huge file/booklet to read lol I start on the 8th of March TZ. Salary for me is £21,600 Tina!

hey jaxx, thats awesome!! lol now at least you can relax for the next couple of weeks!! wow seems like it took you a month to get sorted, so i guess it best i dont worry to much atm! hehe. well done!

wow 21600 is more than the stated 17k-20k.

awww im so happy for you jaxx, rk must be so happy! did they tell you nething more bout the academy?

Thanks Tina :D Within the welcome pack they sent me, it mentioned that the Academy takes place in one of their Learning Venues (did not specify which one though). It also says learning begins from the first day like getting to know your branch, colleagues etc I guess I'll find out more once I officially start, they gona give me an Academy Guide as well so that should provide the full details!

lucky you! man my lady is on annual leave till the 8th of march, gana have to wait for her to come back i think :(

i asked the manager about the academy AGAIN lol he said its either milton keynes or triton square whcih is in regents park. so its one of them. not glasgow or northern ireland lol. so i guess either one is ok!

I'm sure someone else can process your application if you have chosen your branch already. Either way, you can relaaaax! I'm hoping its Triton Square! Milton Keynes is faaaaaar compared to Triton Square, for me anyway.

hey guys and girls,

ive just had a telephone interview for personal banking adviser, it went well and he told me id been successful on the phone and that id soon recieve some info via email. but wen i got the email it said the telephone interview was successful and my details would be passed on for shortlisting.... has anyone had the same thing?! i thought if u were successful in the telephone interview you went straight throught to the assessment centre by reading wat everyones put on here and now im confused!! wat happened with all of you?

hmm they seemed to have changed the process due to increase in the number of people applying. i dont think its much to worry about. just a generic email.

hey ck2010, after doing my telephone interview i received an email saying that I had passed and that i was invited to the assessment centre..which they would send further details about with regards to choosing the date and time that suits me...

yeah same as s_s87 it could also be what TZ has just said. hey TZ have u heard anything yet? have u chosen your branch?

i am still waiting to hear from them! :( hoping they get back to me today.

hows your progress going?

Sounds like a lot of people are applying for these positions :S I applied yesterday & today I received an email to say I will be given a telephone interview but they will contact me soon to arrange it.

Ck2010....I've had a telephone interview with santander before but just for a normal branch role (not graduate) and thats exactly what happened to me....i was shortlisted after the telephone interview and was told the branch manager would call me to arrange an interview....later i received an email saying they would not be progressing with my application further as the position had been filled. However it may not be the same with graduate roles :) fingers crossed for us all. How was your telephone interview? Was it just the usual competency based questions?

still waitin for my telephone interview :(

maybe i should make a complaint lol.

How long have u been waiting for your telephone interview? Its probably just down to so many people applying, the email also says current undergraduate students will not be high priority. Im a graduate & in need of a job so hope it doesnt take too long :(

over a month lol. yeh i am a current undergraduate, i finish officially in may. but i finish my class end of march so i am available to work from april. Do you think current undergraduates are unlikely to secure the job? if so, i should just give up now really.

Did anyone have an interview for Internal Audit Graduate Program ?

I see that the interviews described here, are for different programs, not Internal Audit, thats why I ask. Thank you for any tips, as I have to face it soon, thanks!

No it said that about current undergraduates cos most of them wouldnt be able to start until summer so there would be no hurry for the telephone interviews. But if you've stated that you can start March it should be fine i'd think :) I'l keep you updated if i hear anything about my telephone interview.

thanks, whats ur position then? u a current undergraduate or a graduate? wer u from?

Newcastle, im a graduate with a degree in business & finance. Just working in retail at the moment but only part time so really wanting something full time.

ah ok, well good luck with this application.

I had the same thing as ck2010. Had the PI Thursday 35th of Feb, got the e-mail on the Friday. They phoned me today and asked me to go into the branch tomorrow for a meeting. I think mine is going through faster because I live in the middle of no-where so not many people are applying. So here is hoping!

lol wow u must live far far away in the middle of no where as you guys have a 35th of feb lol.

HEY EVERY1... ive applied for a customer service advisor role with santander, ive dne my telephone interview and they emailed me back sayin i was successful,but they havnt mentioned anything about the ac yet....bit confused cuz i thought if ur successful in the telephone interview they invite u to the ac.
nyway jst wondering if any1 is in the same stage as me?????

I also wanted to know what the ac is like??
i would realy appreciate it if ny1 coud give me some advice thanks : )

congrats to those who got the job : )
n good luck every1 that are nearly der lol .

ive aplied for a branch role altho i am a graduate but the role isnt a graduate programme. it was for personal banking advisor in branch. wat role did u apply for teenygini?!
my interview on the phone was last thursday think im being impatient, i hope they dont just do what northernangel said and fob me off as companies seem to prefer to recruit internally dont they...

Does anybody know if you can apply for two seperate roles? Iv applied for the graduate personal banking advisor role & awaiting my telephone interview, but i'v got a feeling a lot of the places have already been filled. So i'd quite like to apply for internal audit as well while its still open, i wonder if this would be allowed, maybe i could use a different email address hmmm. Has anybody else applied for two?

Does anybody know if non citizens of the country can apply? I mean if you have a student visa, will you be eligible to apply for Santander graduate position?

hi guys, I have an interview of internal audit comming up and would appreciate any help. thanks!

nope etta, only british students can apply and also people with indefinete right to stay.

Hi, I have applied for a Collections Advisor role at Santander. I am through with the telephone interview and they invited me for the final assessment.

Can someone help me with the interview preparation specifically with the Group Exercise and Role Play.

I am nearly nervous about it and would appreciate any help.

Thanks

Hi, does anyone know if all the vacancies for the Personal Banking Advisor role have been filled?
I received an email on 9th February stating that I would be contacted by email about a telephone interview but am yet to hear from them,has anyone else had this problem?

Thanks
Daniel

no the vacancies havent been filled.there are just taking long as they have many applicants.many people were sent an email about a telephone interview but were contacted after a month.

mate i been waitin for my telephone interview since january lol

maybe you should call them...

lol ah rite,just me being impatient then,cheers people

i emailed them, they said my telephone interview would be very soon. but someone also said they give less priority to current undergraduates which i am.

Ok, thanks.

Damn, meant 25th of Feb Hahahaha!

I live near Fraserburgh and that is at the tip of the right hand sticky out bit of Scotland! Lol.

I applied for the Personal Banking Advisor! The interview went really really well and today I had a call asking me to come in next Wednesday for a 2nd interview. The guy that interviewed me mentioned they would do this if there were two candidates they liked and wanted to make sure which of them are better for the part! I'm not a graduate, I only managed a semester at Uni before I got bored but I have experience in a job that is a similar environment so that is helping me right now.

So I'm rather nervous :)

In my interview I got asked:

Detailed account of previous experience.

In my previous role how did I increase sales on a slow day and I haven't made target yet.

How would I go about doing this in a Santander branch.

Previous experience working to targets. Individual and team.

Experience working in a team, what was my input towards our target, how did our team work effect the outcome etc.

How much experience in sales.

At the beginning of the interview he said he may or may not do the roleplay at the end and not to take it as a bad thing if I don't. He didn't do it but did let me look over the sheet and think up some questions that I would have asked him if we had been doing it.

The role play I had was - I worked at a gym (Gym A) and Gym A has a rival (Gym B) and someone (interviewer) comes in and you have to try and get him to join.

Gym A has a few levels of membership and Gym B has a very basic "single" or "family".
So you have to try and get him to buy Gym A's gold membership. Obv interviewer will say things like "Well why can't I get Silver, it's cheaper?" Etc. BUT. The main thing my interviewer was looking that I ask him was - "WHAT HOURS DO YOU WORK?" Because silver memberships hours would be useless and so that's the reason Gold would be needed.

Hope this helps!

How long does it generally take for them to get back to you after an AC? It's been a week for me, had mine in Milton Keynes..

I need information on Santander AC at their office in Milton Keynes last week pls

hi all,

I have a telephone interview coming up for the Internal Audit position.

any ideas on what sort of competency-based questions their gonna ask?

any tips on how to prepare for the interview would be much appreciated! :)

Hey Guys

Thanks for all these comments, muchos help!

I had my telephone interview which included the above qustions, and i have now got to go to the AC on Tuesday 16th March, on the afternoon session in Milton Keynes.

Is anyone else going on the AC day?

Does anyone know what types of 'interesting facts' people gave when asked that quiestion at the assessment centre, was just trying to get an idea of the types of things people were going to say....

SCARY!!

Cheers all

hey welshy...when did you have youre telephone interview? how long did they take to get back to you?

Hello, i had my tel interview on Feb 23rd, and they told me it would take up to a week to get back to me....by the following morning I had an email saying i was successful and an invitation to the AC. Tel interview was very relaxed, the lady put me right at ease.

 haven't been able to get time off work to get to the AC till next week, which is a bit annoying because im guessing the spaces are filling up....so fingers crossed.

had mine yesterday....still waiting for my reply....goodluck for youre ac.......

Hey Shel, I have my telephone interview for a customer service advisor role with santander, what questions did they ask you? Have you heard back from them yet, about the next stage of the recruitment process?

Thank you

I got my telephone interview tomoro at 2 am really nervous have never done one before, trying to get prepared but dunno how much to prepare? Do you need calculator do they test you on nyour math ability

 Michelle/nikki/anybody else too....

There is nothing to do with math, i was worried bout that too, so happy days with regards to that.

Here's some of the stuff they asked me

Why do want to work for Abbey
tell about a time you had to change something to meet a target
tell me a time you had to work in a team
tell me about a time whe you had to provide excellent customer service.

goood luck

thanks for the advice, tell me do you have to do an research on Santander?

not really, although it's always handy to know as much as poss

The questions are more about you and your past experience rather than what you know about Santander.

Thanks for the help!

Ok, so Gomezman, 888 and everex are doing internal audit. And so do I.

When is your phone interview? Mine is on the 16th of March. I did real bad on reasoning tests, especially Math, so very happy to get to this stage.

I think questions should be fairly similar to ones already mentioned.

Hey NIKKIK12
which branch have you applied for?
Telephone interview wasnt too bad,quite relaxed actualy
the qs i got asked were:
previos experince,
describe time when you gave out good customer service,
describe a time when you dealt with a difficult customer,
your strenght and weakness,
a time when you didnt meet a target and a time when you did..
u jst have to give dem good exapmles and show that u can deal with them kind of situations
they also ask what the out come was and what you learnt from it ect
id advise you to write a few notes of possible answers keep a cv near cuz u can always pic some out from der
but nywy gd luck hope diz helps : )
n dey let me knw da next mornin dat i was succesfull and told me ive bn short listed.
but im still watin to here from dem about da nxt stage ...

Ive got my telephone intervie in half an hour OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ive got my telephone interview in half an hour OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well ive had it. I dont think i did very well at all!!!!! I just went to pieces at one of questions explain how you deaalt with a difficult customer so i said.Then she asked how did i maintain the customers loyality i just went to pieces, oh well another one on monday with hsbos

Iv been waiting nearly two weeks now for my telephone interview to be arranged :( does anyone know how long they usually take to get in touch?

i applied on january 3rd for this role. ive done everything and now waiting on vetting. and its march! more than 2 months ago!!!!
people this whole process takes agessss! dont stress over it. they take really long just to sort you out!

good luck to those who have upcoming interviews!!!

Hey Shel, I have applied for the llandudno branch. Thanks for the help I really appreciate and finders crossed you get the job.

I've got my telephone interview next week friday.

I think the questions might be slightly different due to the differences in the roles.

everex,
The questions mentioned here are standard ones, they apply to all roles. But we'll see very soon.

Tellement, how did the interview go? was it the same standard questions mentioned above? hope you did well!

I had the telephone interview today. It was a little odd having an interview from someone reading from a computer in monotone, and typing everything that I said. This was very different to my other experiences. I didn't really like it as it was so unnatural.

It was all competency based with a couple of questions at the start agreeing to credit checks and whether I could provide evidence that I could work in the UK.

I can't remember the exact questions but they where things like. (not in order)
1) Describe a time when you gave excellent customer service.
2) Describe a time when you worked in a team.
3) Describe a time when you had to change someones mind.
4) Describe a time when you've had to motivate yourself.
5) Why Santander?
6) Why Personal Banking Advisor?
7) What are your goals?

Then I was asked if I had any questions. The whole thing lasted around 40 mins. and I was told I should here back from them within a week. (I think it was within but might of been in a week)

Hope this helps people. Richard

everex,
It went ok and the questions are standard. Thought I am really nervous about the outcome. I really wish I should have been born English, dammit..
I have previous experience in internal audit, but hell I sucked this morning. Very sad.

I didn't pass. I thought that it went quite well so I'm a little disappointed especially as I know that not everything that I said was typed in by the girl that was asking the questions. Oh well I've got an interview with Enterprise tomorrow, then an assessment centre for KPMG and then one for McDonalds. Fingers crossed. Good luck to the rest of you.

I am on the same boat. I cleared my PI today but got the same email as you. Just wondering of you have any update.

Thanks
Sylvia

I was successful but the email said my details will be passed on for shortlisting to recruiting manager. What does that mean

Hi all,

All the comments have been very useful but has anyone applied for the corporate banking graduate scheme?

I did my PI yesterday for the reole of Telephone Business Development Manager and the interview lasted for roughly 13 minutes and in 3 minutes I got an email saying I have been successful in this stage but my details will be passed on to the recruitment manager for shortlisting and will let me know about the outcome of their decision. What does that mean? Also does getting a positive reply within 5 minutes of the interview a good sign??

I did my PI yesterday for the role of Telephone Business Development Manager and the interview lasted for roughly 13 minutes and in 3 minutes I got an email saying I have been successful in this stage but my details will be passed on to the recruitment manager for shortlisting and will let me know about the outcome of their decision. What does that mean? Also does getting a positive reply within 5 minutes of the interview a good sign??

just had my telephone interview and was given a nasty question at the end. Give an example of a time when you hade to manage data of high security and had to be absolutely accurate......

Just thought id let you guys have a better chance then i did!!

Hi all,

Great info from everyone here, thanks very much. Im interested in applying for a position with Santander but before i do I want to know:

1. How are they as an employer?

2. Do they treat their staff with respect?

I would love to hear from any employees of santander and their experiences either good or bad.

many thanks

regards

Notts_6balls

OMG how did you answer that?? What role you applied for?

Hi sylvia24

just wondering what kind of questions did they ask you? ( are they the same say above?) ive got mine on the 30th and will last 20 mins

Just had my telephone interview on tuesday and now have an assessment stage on the 13th april! woohoo.

questions where exactly as described on this forum thanks for all the help guys!

hello everyone,

just thought i might share my experiences on how i was able to secure a job, as a personal banking advisor (PBA), with Santander.

The application is very simple and straightforward. They just ask for the usual details and you do some test to check about how you fit in. Just make sure at this stage you are aware of the role and just tailor the responses to how it fits best to the role in questions.

The second stage was the tele interview. At this stage, just learn the competencies and practice them as thoroughly as you can. One advise that i was given was, say what the situation was, what you did, how you did it and then the outcome. ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU DID IT! Otherwise, be confident, smile (yes even in a tele interview, helps a lot!) and listen to the questions. I am not going to list the questions, as its already been done on this forum.

The second stage was the AC. I had to be part of the group exercise, give a group presentation, a written exercise and an interview.
In the interview, the questions were all competency based and motivational, ie why santander and why the role. The competency interview questions at the ac, involved around customer service, meeting targets and teamwork.

For the written exercise we had to come up with priorities to discuss with the area manager, which would help the branch become profitable. You then discuss this with the group afterwards and then as a group you give the presentation on the three areas that you as a group have discussed.
During the group exercise, smile, listen to others, except their viewpoint and then challenge it if you have a different opinion and try and take the lead. Always, volunteer. so for example someone had to keep track of the time and i without any hesitation volunteered. I also kept the group in focus to our goals, when we were discussing one point too much or diverging away from the topic. So these small things make a big difference.

After that i was given the offer.

The whole process took approximately 2 months from the online form to my contract being sent to me.

Good luck to every one, hope this helps!

hello everyone,

just thought i might share my experiences on how i was able to secure a job, as a personal banking advisor (PBA), with Santander.

The application is very simple and straightforward. They just ask for the usual details and you do some test to check about how you fit in. Just make sure at this stage you are aware of the role and just tailor the responses to how it fits best to the role in questions.

The second stage was the tele interview. At this stage, just learn the competencies and practice them as thoroughly as you can. One advise that i was given was, say what the situation was, what you did, how you did it and then the outcome. ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU DID IT! Otherwise, be confident, smile (yes even in a tele interview, helps a lot!) and listen to the questions. I am not going to list the questions, as its already been done on this forum.

The second stage was the AC. I had to be part of the group exercise, give a group presentation, a written exercise and an interview.
In the interview, the questions were all competency based and motivational, ie why santander and why the role. The competency interview questions at the ac, involved around customer service, meeting targets and teamwork.

For the written exercise we had to come up with priorities to discuss with the area manager, which would help the branch become profitable. You then discuss this with the group afterwards and then as a group you give the presentation on the three areas that you as a group have discussed.
During the group exercise, smile, listen to others, except their viewpoint and then challenge it if you have a different opinion and try and take the lead. Always, volunteer. so for example someone had to keep track of the time and i without any hesitation volunteered. I also kept the group in focus to our goals, when we were discussing one point too much or diverging away from the topic. So these small things make a big difference.

After that i was given the offer.

The whole process took approximately 2 months from the online form to my contract being sent to me.

Good luck to every one, hope this helps!

PS.

I'd like to thank everyone who helped with their insights, namely Tina_259, s_s87 and Jaxx!

Hi Masnosnhoj,

Congratulations on making it to the assessment centre. Did they call or wrote to you reference the 13 of April. How long did it take after the telephone interview for them to let you know you will be having the assessment centre? And please how long has the whole process taken you? THANKS

Hi Masnosnhoj,

Congratulations on making it to the assessment centre. Did they call or wrote to you reference the 13 of April. How long did it take after the telephone interview for them to let you know you will be having the assessment centre? And please how long has the whole process taken you? THANKS

Hi rifs78,

 It was pretty straight forward. It only lasted 12 minutes.

Thats it, really. All the best

Wow yours was really short, i was on the phone for about 45mins lol. i applied around the start of feb so has taken about 1.5 months to get to the telephone interview. They sent me a letter the next day after the telephone interview and invited me to the next round i chose london because its only 30mins away the other chose was two options in Glasgow. i can't remember the dates but where around the end of april.

Hope this helps, i really want this job!! Been trying so hard to get a job since i graduated in june!

Sam Johnson

hey thanks for all the info....did they ask you any questions based on ure cv? what other questions did they ask you during youre face to face interview...any help will be appreciated..thanks

awww TZ your so sweet, thanks to you as well! good luck with your academy in bradford! at least you'll have s_s89!!!

hey tina is the academy in bradford only? or is it in london as well?

Hi all,

I Just had my telephone interview for the PBA role and passed. I have just been sent an email saying they will let me know the details of the next stage, which is the assessment centre. Is anyone in the same situation??? Is anyone going to an Assessment Centre soon? Or has anyone been informed of the next assessment centre day??

Please; Thanks

no ac is everywhere. can be london but you get to choose. they give you a link showing all AC taking place and you choose which one you would like to attend. i went to the one in regent parks in london. they last for about 3 hours.

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has had a telepne interview for the corporate banking role? If so what type of questions were asked? are they similiar to the ones posted above? Any help would be very helpful. Thanks!!!

Hey,
I had a corporate banking one. They ask competency questions (teamwork, time you had to push yourself, what would you change, customer service etc), and then some questions to assess your knowledge of the division you are applying for (why corporate banking, what is corporate banking, santander's strengths and weaknesses in this field etc).
Hope this helps!
Best,
A.

Thanks alot AristidisC i didnt expect anyone to respond. Hope you got thru to the AC mate

Hi

Just had mine today - more or less the same questions. lets see what happnes next. they said they will get back within a week.
fingers xxxxxxxxx :)

hi everyone, all the comments have been really helpful, but i still feel really nervous about my AC which is on the 13th April in london. I really want the PBA role as ive been trying to get into a grad scheme for two years now and have had no luck. please can someone advise me of the questions that they will ask in the competency interview and what i should learn and also the group excercise, some say it will be group presentation and some say it will be a role play, any help and advise would be much appriciated, thanx

Is your AC at Triton square?

Guys do you get to pick the location of your 5 week training or is it just what they offer? Do they really just take most people that make the AC and does anyone know how many vacancies they have left for the post???

yes mine is at trinton square

9:30? If so I guess I shall see you there, any clues on who to look for or you prefer to remain anonymous? Good luck!

mine is at 1.30 im afraid

Mines at 1:30 aswel may see you later!

Can anyone help me please??

Does anyone have an idea of when the next assessment centre for the PBA role is?? And those who attended the one yesterday 13th, how did it go?

Please Masnosnhoj, kal87 and ruao82, please help with feedback and any useful information.

thanks

Those of you who had youre AC how did it go?have you heard back from santander?What questions did they ask you?how long does it take for them to reply back after the AC?

Hey, i had my ac yestday, its as exactly as describesd above, interview, followed by group excercise and presentation.

interview was competency based, why santander, why pba, example of a time when you worked towards targets. the group excercise was a case stdudy, you prioritise 3 important points you think need to be addressed, then as a group you decide 3important points which you then present as a group, finally the assessors ask you question on the presentation.

They said they will let us know by the end of the week or early next week of the outcome. I have not heard anything yet, they said if we passed the ac then they would call us, but if we didnt progress they would email.

Hope it helps

Same as Kal87.

If I’m honest, the AC centre is very easy. I have been through AC centers for internships that have been a lot harder so no need to stress about it.

They seem very keen to get graduates on board. I am hoping to get the job but seeing some of the other applicants does make you wonder. Not to sound bad or anything but it seems as if they take on anyone. Good luck to you all!

Btw if anyone who had interviews on the 13th gets a call please do let us know!!!

Hey all,

I would say the Santander AC day wasn't to bad apart from a few questions at the end after the presentation but even then if you have read any of the information above you should be fine.

It is a very relaxed day and yes I would say they are trying to employ as many graduates as possible like rua082 said so hopefully all things coming my way will be positive :).

The only thing they really go on about is sales and targets then more sales and targets and more!! and how you would hit them. I would love the chance to work for them but guess i will have to wait till the end of the week for an answer!

Hope this helps

PS. I think there is lots of room for advancing and career progression just have to work hard and hit your targets.

Hey guys. Thought I should share my experience of the telephone interview as I used the comments on here to help me prepare! (Thanks :))

Had my interview today at 4pm, was very relaxed and informal. They start by just confirming some of the details on your application form and then ask you 1) Why you want to work for Santander and 2) Why the Personal Banking Advisor role.

The second part of the interview is competency based, the questions put to me were 3) Describe a time you have exceeded a customers expectations 4) Describe a time you worked in a team and 5) Describe a time you remained positive through a challenge (or questions along those lines!). They prompt you to give more info, asking what you learnt, what the outcome was, what you could have done differently etc.

The only thing I found off putting was that after you have said your piece there is a period of silence as the interviewer types your responses!! I'm the sort of person who fills nervous silences so was probably jabbering in the interviewers ear a bit lol :)

Fingers crossed, should know if I've made it through in a week :)

Good luck to everybody else!

Guys thanks for all the help! This forum has been very helpful. I wish you all the best in your job hunt!!!

I didn't make it through the assessment day, bit of ashame really. Thought I was a good enough candidate but didn't make the grade I guess, will get some feedback tomorrow. I think it's because I wasn't very strong in the sales and target hitting department! That was the question they kept asking over and over in the interview. I also know out if the six people in our group three didn't make it so might have been we gave a bad presentation or something.
Oh well may apply for a lower down role or just start another process all over, :)

good luck everybody!

Sorry to hear that. I was told it was 3 people from the whole day (13th of April) who made it. I think only three from the am session made it and no one from pm! Plus one from am session was already a PBA at Santander and just wanted to join the grad scheme. Guess it is a bit harder then it seems.

Did you get a position? They did seem very keen to take on graduates, obviously not enough to take me on lol. I was thinking of applying to get a lower down position but slightly apprehensive because of how keen they are to produce good salespeople. I'm not saying it's a bad skill though, just not too sure if it's what I would like to improve on at the moment. Did you apply to any other areas of finance/banking?

I had my assessment centre on friday the 9th and got a call bak on the following wednesday that id been successful. just wanted to know if any 1 who had their ac the same day got through............it wud b great news to hear all 8 of us got through!!!

I had a telephone interview for the corporate banking scheme at the start of April and they emailed me back to say i had met the requirements the week later. They said they would get back to me about an ac, but so far i've not heard anything. Is this the same for anyone else? Has any1 been invited to an ac for the corporate banking grad scheme yet?

Hey,

I have an AC for Internal Audit tomorrow, and was wondering if anybody had already attended an AC for Internal Audit?

If so, what happened on the day? Was there any psychometric tests? Just wondering how they are going to manage to fill up the full day

Thanks

You are not alone stb86!!!!! I was also successful in my interview for the PBA role about 4 weeks ago and they said they will contact me for the AC but have not. I don't really know what is going on or what to do and cannot even contact them since they insisted from the origin that we should not contact them.

Anyone has an idea when the next AC for PBA is holding?? or has anyone been invited to one??

I am waiting since March 17. Cleared telephone interview and got an email saying they will contact me in due course abt their decision but no news yet :(

Deleted

hi folks.
had my assessment on Monday. Went pretty good.

Could anyone tell me where the training academies are? are there any in glasgow at all?

Hello Everyone
I have recently been given a verbal offer of employment as a PBA and I am waiting for all my checks to go through, I wanted to ask does anyone know more about the residental training venues (For some reason I dont have to attend for the full 5 weeks but will attend 2 shorter residentials ) I know where triton square is and Milton Keynes but does anyone have more information than that?
E.G Training, accomadation etc
Thanks

c_lols
Cool, I didn't make it through telephone interview. My profile is on hold until they find out what people are there for the first AC.
Is that possible that you could briefly describe your profile (years of experience, previous Audit jobs, did you do well the reasoning tests). Trying to figure out was it something I said or did that did not let me into the first AC. Probably they just don't want any non-EC people = )/

hey you guys I though i'll thank you all for this part of chat or whatever you wanna call it but certainly helped me a lot in being where i am right now and though about joining and share the all thing all the way. I applied for a position at satander banking advisor for graduate and 3 days later i had to have that phone interview and was yesterdays morning round 10:30. that was so crazy the guy called exactly bang on time. The question were pretty similar to what you have above here but although i got prepared with a set of aswers I got caught in having to make my own answers at time and at the end the guy told me that i passed' damn nervous I was at the start i still didnt wana show my frustration and had to use everything in me for that but i did passed and cause i wanted to move to glasgow i had a phone call from glasgow AC about 45 min later on the same day i was like"damn" the lady with scot accent asking me to come to glasgow for the assesment and stuff this is schedule for next tuesday and am a lil nervous for real coz i've never been in one of those things. so I am up for the surprise and am gonna go with a lots of confindence but still need tips coz the lady say there will be a "numerical exercise" wonder what that mean. Anyone out there with tips drop it by coz i got few days left. appreciate...

Best of Luck guyz -

I applied for corp banking programme but couldn't make thropugh after tel. interview.

Hi sylvia24 and arsenal, i think I am in the same position as you guys, I did a telephone interview for the PBA role on 15 March, and got an email on 17 March to inform me I passed the tele interview and would be going to the next stage, the Assessment Centre and that they will get back to me with the dates and locations. However, they have not replied to me. I have emailed them and called them to see what's going on, but they are insisting as soon as the dates and locations are confirmed they will get back to me.

Is there any updates with both your applications guys?

All the Best

Hi Sheff,

I have not got any updates. I really do not know what is happening. It's really taken a while since we succeeded in the interview. Coincidentally, I did mine on same day as you i.e 15 March. It seems as if they have location priorities, I mean a place like Scotland. I think those who choose Scotland gets AC fast cos I presume there are loads of spaces up there.

I checked on their website and realised that the application for PBA closed on the 22nd, so hopefully they might be giving us a place for the AC since I presume they must have got an estimated number to choose from, to fill the role. Or what do u think???? Any updates on your part?? Please keep us updated of any info. I will do when I get any info or if they write to me.

All the best

Hi sheff and arsenal, I'm really fed up of waiting. The email I received from them after clearing my telephone interview said I've been successful but they will pass on my details to recruiting manager and in due course they'll contact me with the outcome of their decision. Been waiting since March 17 and I'm tired.

Did anyone who had an assessment day on monday 19th april or tuesday 20th april in Glasgow get a phone call on friday to advise them they were successful?

still noone has got back to me yet. there should be someone going on to Glasgow AC on Tuesday 27th please let me know...

Arsenal and Sylvia24, I will let you guys know should there be any updates, would be appreciated if you guys could do the same! By the looks of it, Glasgow is in need of graduates PBA, hence everyone who has applied for glasgow/sourrounding areas are getting the AC's appointments, quick response and getting the job!

Sheff thats awesome to hear that and you just boosted my confidence really about glasgow hope we get it done and get that job. by the way any tips for the AC day??? if anything let me know. thankx

WOW.. So many people applying for the pba graduate role!!!

 btw guys i applied for the role in januaury and only started to work at the end of march.. it takes lonnnng!! but its really good. congratz to everyone who passed the ac, its getting harder now due to small number of vacancies left i guess. when i started they were only hiring 250 so i assume they near enough got that many staff already. 

but the ac is much harder than you think, you have to do tests in branchabout fir safety etc they not so hard at all. but when ucome tot he ac you have to do role plays and knw exactly what to say. and believe me im finding it a little daunting now!

anyways good luck to the rest of you guys, btw you get quartely bonus's and they

 reaaaaalyyy good, only if you work your butt off! 

Enjoy!!!!!!

Hi Tina259

Congrts on getting the PBA role. What does the AC have in store for us, do you know?!

thanks

Hi Tina _259
I am slightly confused now, I understood I had 5 weeks training but I believed from my interview that I would only have to go away twice on residentals, in the first 5 weeks and the rest would be training in my branch, have I got that wrong?
I dont know if it makes any difference but I am only working part time (1.5 days a week) and I am not a grad?

Hey guys, just thought Id update the thread with my situation etc.

Seems a lot are still waiting/unsure as to what is happening. I applied in December had phone interview and assessment day in January and was offered the job around the start of Feb. Since then I had been waiting to be placed in a branch. I have only just been sorted out and start tomorrow. So took around 2 and a half months just to find me a branch! It is an Alliance and Leicester so not yet a Santander branch. I dont know anything about training yet, but hopefully the manager will tell me about that tomorrow when I start, don't think I will be any good to them without training! Anyone starting the role any time soon? We'll probably be in the same training group!