HSBC Assessment Centre Urgent help needed (internship)

Hey,

Ive applied for a summer internship in the HSBC Strategic Transaction Group.. I have my assessment centre in a week! pls help. I have no idea what to expect! is it just going to be group assignments? or will there be a numerical test and interviews etc?

Thanks

just had assessment. HSBC interviewers and the other assessors are really relaxed and helpful

Can you please give us a detailed description of what happened at the assessment centre, what type of questions you were asked, what kind of scenario did they give you etc.

Thanks!

I noticed there wasn't much help on here for graduates going to assessment centre for hsbc, so I thought I would share my experience from one I attended last week for the Global Banking, Client Management graduate position:

What it involves: 1. Written numerical test (from a book published by SHL, but these questions seem a lot easier than the online ones) 2. Motivational Interview 3. Business interview 1 4. Business interview 2 5. Case-study presentation to an assessor.

Motivational interview... This was a competancy-based interview, with general questions to see if you have the drive to work for hsbc i.e. why client management, why hsbc, give a time when you showed initiative or went further than you needed to, are you ambitious, what motivates you... etc

Business interview 1... This was the technical interview, questions included: - why hsbc (again) - who do you think are hsbc's competitors... are there any other ones and why? - have you ever valued a company, how would you go about valuing one? - what is the difference between a share and a bond? which one will give you the better return if a company was to go bust? - tell me about something that is happening in the world and what you think about (talk about a current business issue and your opinion of it) - one brain-teaser: 'what is the sum of the numbers 1 to 100?' - how do you think hsbc has managed to perform better than their competitors given the recession etc? - define an emerging market.

Business interview 2... This was surprisingly very competancy-based with questions like: - tell me about a time when you've worked under pressure - tell me a time when you made a mistake there were lots of follow up questions here.

Case-study presentation... You get 30minutes to look through a case-study, mine was about a fictional global bank, with various financial data, chairman’s statement, newspaper reports about business issues, customer data etc. In that time you need to understand the brief, come up with a structure for your presentation, think about the points you want to make and come up with justifications for every possible question they could ask you about it. The actual presentation should last 10mins with 15mins Q&A with the assessor.

Hope this information offers some kind of guidance and heads-up for anyone going to a hsbc AC in london anytime soon :).

Hey Smile 210....its great that you could share this information...its really helpful..could you please tell me if you had prior experience in your chosen position...i wanna know this since u mentioned that ur business interview was a technical one and i dont have any prior experience in finance beofre..also can u please tell me how many other candidates were there on the day of your assessment and the timeline to receive an offer?

Hi there, no worries :) No i didn't have any experience in finance at all and one of the questions that every interviewer asked me was 'why not' and 'why am i interested in finance now', so they would probably ask you the same. I previously did lots of stuff in marketing so what i did was say what i liked about marketing (that links to the role in client management) and what i didn't like about marketing, but I find really fascinating about finance. I think if you justify yourself then you'll be fine, then they'll throw in some financial questions to check you actually know your stuff. When I went there were only 8 of us (including me), but I'm pretty sure there was more candidates because there was a tube strike that day and I know lots of people probably wouldn't have been able to make it. They say they get back to you within 48 hours and are very punctual! Hope this helps and good luck!

thanks smile210.I have my ac coming up for operations division.just wanted to know that how much time do they give you to prepare the presentation? is it within the 30 min ? any other things you would suggest me.

thank you so much

and also how long was each interview?

thank you

Hi smile,

Could you also let us know how you prepared for the interview, and also how best to answer any brainteaser questions?

Hey everyone,

yes you only get 30mins to look at and prepare what you want to do in the presentation with the case study given and each interview is 30minutes long.

well for me i knew where my weaker areas were and focused on those. Just prepare for it like you would do for any competency based interview and just make sure you know all the current issues in the financial/ business world, and of course, know your financial products.

for brainteasers i think its just best to try and be as logical as possible. I think that's all they're looking for, that you can approach the problem logically.

thanks smile.

Is the case study very exhaustive? I mean do you get sufficient time to read? Any tips on that please as in how u distributed your time? Any other brain teaser you were asked? and could you tell in more details about what financial products I should need to know?

Sorry to bother you so much smile.Just that it is my first AC so very nervous.

Thank you so much.

Kind Regards

Hi Smile,

Thank you so much for your kind sharing. It's very useful :)

I applied for HK Client Management about 1 month ago and passed the telephone interview on 18th Dec. Now, I am waiting for the AC. However, few weeks have passed and I still have not received any news on my AC....

Has the HK client management AC started yet? and how long do I need wait?

Thank you so much for your kind help

yours

Ginnylovebanking

Hi Ginnylovebanking,

I have applied for the global markets - HK program. Jus passed my phone interview on 7th jan and waiting to hear about the AC now . . . .

Did u get any info about your AC ??

Thanks ! Denny

Hi there

I recently got a offer in Global Markets Operations in London .Anyone else received a offer for the same?

hi alive,

big congrats!!! may i ask how long did it take between your telephone interview and being invited to the AC? thx~~

AT it took me fuckin long! around 2 months,so be patient :)

hi Denny,

Congratulations!

but still no news... but probably now, no news is good news :P

May I know which job postion have u applied?

Wish both of us can make it to the AC

yours sincerely Ginnylovebanking

Hi Alive,

Good job!

please share with us some of your precious experience:)

yours sincerely Ginnylovebanking

alright, alive thx 4 ur info.:)

So my assessment center had the following:

1) Numerical Test: Standard Shl test.20 ques 20 min,I guess I solved 15 questions correctly.

2) Case Study:Have to read 15 pages and prepare for the presentation in 30 min.Here is the thing.It is almost impossible to read the whole thing and prepare for the presentation in 30 mins.So have a feel about it and start putting down your ideas in the paper.

3) Case Study Interview:This was followed by 15 mins of Q & A's.I was very nervous here.Infact I was so nervous that for the first 5 mins my voice was breaking.But after that, I became much more confident and delivered a okish presentation.Must say the interviewer made me feel very comfortable.After my presentation,he asked me some questions,grilling me on some.The key is stick to your point.Your answers may overlap so do not worry.Just be CONFIDENT.

4) Motivational interview:Very basic.if you passed the telephony interview,this will be a cake walk.Smile while giving answers.Address him/her by their first name.Makes the interviewers feel your confident.(That is my take)

5) 2 Business Interviews:Again very basic (competency based)

My Advice: I have had 4 AC's before this one.I have come to the conclusion that it is all about BUILDING the RAPPORT with the interviewers.Make sure they like you or else trust me,no matter even if you answered all questions perfectly,they still WONT hire you.

If still you guys need any help let me know.

All the best guys!

Dear Alive,

Thank you very much for your extremely awesome sharing

it's just so helpful! i really agree that building the rapport is very important.. they are hiring people who will work with them in the future~ do you have and advice on building the rapport with interviewers in a short time?

May I know for case study, what type of questions are there?

thank you so much best regards Ginnylovebanking

Ginnylovebanking

All I can say about building a rapport with interviewer is something very basic like,smiling.addressing them by their names.if they crack some jokes (as it happened in my case with one interviewer) add on to it.(maybe a smile in return or so)because at the end of the day you will be working with them.and nobody wants to work with someone boring at work.

About the case study,honestly I do not remember any questions.but they were very basic.One question asked at the end was "how did your presentation go"

Dont worry about questions asked in the presentation, it is not that hard as it seems.

alive

Hi everyone and thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience and help others!!! Alive, congrats on the job offer and thanks for the detailed explanations. You said you were going to work in Operations, right? I have my AC for Operations Management in a few days. It sounds like the motivational interview and the business interviews pretty much duplicated the telephone competency based interview, is that right? Did they ask any technical questions or questions about the situation right now like in Smile210's business interview 1? What main points or topics did you discuss in your presentation?

Also, (this might be stupid, but still) do I have to bring my own calculator and stuff for the numerical test?

I'm so sorry for the overwhelming questions! Thanks so much in advance!!!

Regards!

Hey it sounds like you have been helping each other alot!!! It is nice to see!

I just got invited to the assessment center for HSBC too... I am really stressed since it will be the first time i will go through such a process.

Reading your advice is pretty hepful, and i would really like to know more about the case study...

how did you organise your answer? Any specific technic?

But also, I noticed that smile talked about a "fictional global bank, with various financial data, chairman’s statement, newspaper reports about business issues, customer data etc." Does anyone of you have an idea of the type of questions they have asked or could ask on that case study?

thanks for taking the time help...

best regards

great forum!

Hi every1, thanks for the really helpful tips for ACs...I have applied for Client Management Summer Internship and have my telephone interview tomorrow and have been told that the AC would be on Monday if I pass this.

Just wanted to ask if any of you would be able to give me some advice on the types of q's asked in the telephone interview? Is it just competency based and why HSBC? I have heard something about others being asked about integrity and a business leader that they aspire to..any of you guys have these?

Any help is really appreciated!!

to Jayesh

So here are the questions.The Hr said she will ask 10 questions.

1) Why banking and finance ? 2) Reasons to apply for HSBC? 3) Describe a time when you show persuasiveness. 4) When you worked in a group and what challenges did you face? 5) A time when you had to do several tasks at the same time.what were the challenges you faced.What did you learn from the experience? 6) A time when you had to perform a task/activity in which you had no prior experience about it.How did you go about it? What did you learn? 7) A time when you worked with a person who had a different style than yours.How did you go along?What was the outcome? 8) A time when you had give a presentation? How did you prepare? Who was your audience? What was the outcome?

@ alive...Thank you so much for that, you are a star!

I had my telephone interview with Lloyds for corporate markets yesterday and it was pretty much the same as that so hopefully should be ok!

So it is really just competency based then? No surprise questions or q's about current industry issues etc?

Thanks once again, really appreciate it

J

Dear Jayesh

May I know where are you applying for? London or HK?

Coz when i apply, they just let me wait and even did not mention the AC time...

thanks best regards Ginnylovebanking

Dear Jayesh

May I know where are you applying for? London or HK?

Coz when i apply, they just let me wait and even did not mention the AC time...

thanks best regards Ginnylovebanking

Hi Ginny

I have applied to London, only sent it off last week a day before the deadline so as it was so late once i had passed the numerical test I was sent an e-mail to book an interview and to bear in mind that there is an AC on 31st Jan so I should have my telephone interview before Friday? How about you? HK or London? Have you had ur telephone interview?

hey Jayesh... I took my telephone interview too last w.e, for HSBC they did ask me about a time I had to lead a project and how dealt with it. They asked me about a time i had to be out of my confort zone and how i dealt with it too They also asked me about few technical knowledge i was applying for. So as i am applying for corporate finance they asked what i thought about the trends . Just try to show you are confident, and organise ur answers, and you will be fine. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

Hey Music, Thanks for that, its really useful! I was scheduled to have my telephone int today at 2 p.m and they didn't call me! I was really pisssed off!

Have -mailed them and called them so just waiting to hear back now!

Wonder what they could ask me about client management...kinda related to both IBD products and Markets products too so its quite broad? Will let you all know what happens!

Have you had your AC music? Hope ur app goes well!

@ alive.I forgot to ask you how your AC went? Did they get back to you?

Hey Music, Thanks for that, its really useful! I was scheduled to have my telephone int today at 2 p.m and they didn't call me! I was really pisssed off!

Have -mailed them and called them so just waiting to hear back now!

Wonder what they could ask me about client management...kinda related to both IBD products and Markets products too so its quite broad? Will let you all know what happens!

Have you had your AC music? Hope ur app goes well!

@ alive.I forgot to ask you how your AC went? Did they get back to you?

Jayesh

My AC went pretty well I guess.I have been offered a grad position as an analyst in global markets operations.It starts in aug 2011 though.

All the best to you,

Hey "Alive"

I have my hsbc operations assessment centre next week for the summer internship program. I have gone for assessment centres before but never came across any business interviews. I am getting a little tensed and worried for the same as I haven been that aware as far as financial news is concerned.

Can you plz explain me as what exactly they mean by business interviews. What kinda qs were u askd coz i think i red ur post above and u mentioned that they r infact "competency based!"

Also, did u apply for the summer internship or the grad position!.

Thanks

Ron

ron711

As said before, business interview is all competency based and not that hard.so do not worry.no questions on financial news :)

b/w I applied for grad position.

All the very best.

Lol they made me re-book my telephone interview!!!! Tomorrow (Saturday!) at 10 a,m!!!

Wish me luck every1!

J

all the very best jayesh.stay cool.thats the key!

Thanks alive.

You mean there is not much of a difference b/w the motivation and the business interviews coz they have told me that ill will be having 1 motivation and 2 business interviews. Sorry to bug you about the same thing, but is there any particular thing they emphasis on in the 3 interviews. For eg, about hsbc, or hw can i contribute to the operations team?..can u list some qs..

And lastly, looking at the case study, is there any prior knowledge required. is it based on any current financial news. What is the case study based on..

thanks a lot for the last post . will be really useful.

Ron

Hi, is someone going to AC on Monday? Client Management - Summer Analyst role?

Hi pn89, I was told by the graduate recruitment team that I would be going to the AC on monday but they did not conduct my telephone int on time!

Are you going to it? Please let me know how it goes and what you had to do as I have applied for the same role.

I just had my interview this morning and have been told...

"Thank you for participating in the recent first-stage interview with us. We are delighted to confirm that you have been successful in meeting the minimum criteria we look for.

Due to the high volume of quality applications, we will be conducting a final review of all successful candidates prior to the next stage of the selection process, the final-stage business assessment centre. We will advise you as soon as possible with further details."

Hope I get through to the AC now!

Hi Jayesh,

I had my tel interview on Monday 24 and asked that when would be next AC. I was told they did not know the exact date lol! And the day after I was invited to the AC on 31 Jan. Hope your tel interview went well. I am quite nervous about AC despite the fact it should be alright because there are just 4 interviews and numerical test. I am just a little bit worried about case study interview. Anyway, I'll see how it goes and will let you know.

Hey pn89.. yeh I'm going to the CM ac on Monday aswell.. is yours in London, Canary Wharf?

Thanks pn89, and good luck to you too NT...I'm sure it will be fine, I wish I was going to the same one, cant believe they messed up my interview!

Anyways good luck and please do let me know what its like!

J

How did the AC go NT and pn89? Hope it went well!

What sort of q's did you get asked, was there much technical stuff?

Do they say how many people they are interviewing or how many places there are for client management??

Thanks!

Jayesh

hi everyone,

just wondering - of those you who have been to the assessment centre, was the presentation in front of just the assessors or both the assessors and other applicants? i'm awful at public speaking! but would be ok-ish if it was just the hsbc people.

also do you know that all final round interviews are at the assessment centre? restructuring?

thanks

hi everyone,

just wondering - of those you who have been to the assessment centre, was the presentation in front of just the assessors or both the assessors and other applicants? i'm awful at public speaking! but would be ok-ish if it was just the hsbc people.

also do you know that all final round interviews are at the assessment centre? restructuring?

thanks

Hi every1,

Just to let you know, I have been invited to the AC on 15th Feb for Client Management Summer Intern.

Any tips guys? Not sure how much technical stuff I need to know for the business interviews? How to value a company etc??

Thanks for the help!

J

Hey Jayesh. I did take my assessment centre. And have an offer. Dont worry . Mine was for STG so one interviewer asked me how to value a company, different methods (spoke about DCF and Comps) . but you are applying for client management, i think you should be fine, they shouldnt ask you about that. Dont forget to focus on trying to make your interviewer like you, coz at the end of the day they decide weither you work with them or not. It is not so much about giving the wright or wrong answer (obsviously try to get the most of them correct) but focus on listening to them, showing motivation (by your researches etc) good luck. Study until then and you will be fine. All the best