Barclays Commercial Banking graduate scheme first round assessment - please help!

Hey Chen! Did you have this yet? How did it go?!

Hi,guys. I'm gonna go through the first round assessment of Barclays Commercial Banking. Could any of you share any experiences of the assessment center? I would be very much appreciated.

Between, did you take the numeracy test in the first round assessment?

Thank you very much,

Rachel, xxxxx

Yes, you should expect numerical test in the first round and it is likely to be the first test on the day.

You'll get 20 Qs in 20 min, i found them to be slightly harder than the online ones especially because you must use the given calculators which are terribly basic for a fast job! I usually finish all the Qs but for this one, i managed only 15...

my advice is: dont panick, take it calmly ( i know it is easier said than done :)) - and the ones you do attempt - try to be fast but accurate...most likely you wont manage to finish all...

Hi hazelground,

Thank you very much for your reply and advices.

Could you please tell me that whether those numeracy questions are designed by SHL? Are there any questions related to exchange rate calculation or inflation rate calculation?

Between, I will also go through one structured interview and one business line interview. Can I ask what kind of questions came up when you were interviewed and how should I prepare for those questions?

Many thanks again.

Rachel, xxxxxxxxx

hi guys i think there are some barclays tests here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEFOlz_38w0

i have this assessment day tomorrow, can anyone shed further light on the questions asked or the numerical test - i'm crap at those things so a bit worried.

Would definitely read this prior to going to the assessment centre: http://www.thegatewayonline.com/article/299 - it's all about the retail graduate scheme with the head of their HR talking about it and an interview with someone that's currently on the scheme. The guy is pretty old though, he was in the army for a few years before joining Barclays - I wonder if they're actually more interested with people with experience? I applied a while back and haven't heard yet :S

did my on thurs. feeback tomorrow.

I did really well on all questions and i've really gone the extra mile contacting past grads and members of the FT (who really helped).

Sadly i froze on the numeracy test and doubt i got 50% correct. that stupid fecking calculator with the 00 button!!!!!!!!!!.

Will letcha know. any questions please ask.

its says 1st round assessment for Barclays Commercial. Is it the only round or is there another assessment center after this?? They should call it either first round interviews or assessment center, quite confusing innit....

yes. its an interview but you cannot prepare for it.

they ask you about what gcses u did. what you wana be when you grow up to build a profile about you to see if you fit the culture. no learning on your part.

but there's no other rounds after this one, right??? this is the 1st and the only round(interviews or assessment center)

NO

1st round. then 2nd round. the second round is what i described above

Hi all,

I have the commercial banking assessment centre coming up. I was wondering if anyone has any tips on what will be asked/expected of us? This is my first assessment centre so I'm getting nervous :-/

Cheers!

I've just been offered a place on the commercial scheme (whoo).

KED, they send you a pack with the competencies they look for. just prepare stories for those including the competencies and you should be fine.
good luck

Im going to have a final round as well, can you share some experience. They sent me a email saying it is going to be a chronology interview. thanks.

correct. you cannot really prepare for this interview and on the whole was a enjoyable experience. before you attend you are asked to submit a questionaire - and they will quiz you on sections.

all i can recommend is being prepared to talk about the areas you disliked, liked and why.

also an area of improvement (in a bit of detail) wouldn't go a miss, hope this helps.

Hi wishkah
i also applied for barclays retail programme and need to do online test, can you tell me where i can get some practise them, and also how is the overall assessment like.
thanks

Hi Hazihaz - happy new year. I applied to the commercial scheme but would suspect the online tests are the same.

From personal experience i suggest you do as much practice as possible for the online test - Barclays use SHL tests.

the best test by far is SHL's own practice - www.shldirect.com (or similar). you must create an account each time you take the test, but i used to skip the verbal and head straight for the numerical.

secondly wikijobs has two good practices themselves which are really worth a look.
finally assessmentday.co.uk is another great resource but i found the tests seemed to be a little easier.

good luck, hope this helps.

Hi Wishkah, thank you very much for the tips. Can I just ask you whether they asked you any technical questions about commercial banking.
what was the interview atmosphere like, was it friendly or was it very cold and strict?
Thank you.

Hello there Taoz! happy new year.

 I wasn't asked any technical questions concerning commercial banking, but an indepth knowledge is always useful for answering questions. For example. During the interview i was discussing a course i studied which centered around the role of entrepreneurs which linked to some facts about SME lending  noted in the Varney report. I would really recommend reading the FT.com Lex notes (also it won't look good if you're applying for commercial banking and you don't know much about it). Also think along the lines of matching your competencies to what CB entails - however this is just my advice as a fellow applicant.

The atmosphere was very relaxed. It was with my mentor/guide/HR person who i'd met during the previous round and another person who worked in CB HR (i think). Both were extremely nice and relaxed. They want to find out about you and what you enjoy etc. As i noted above they want to see if you are a cultural match and what drives you more than competencies etc.

any other questions don't hesitate to reply and good luck

Hi Wishkah
Happy new year mate.
I had a go at the shl test and must tell u they are abit difficult. Since you done the real online test for barcalys was it as difficult as shl practise test or abit easier.?

lol, they are the same standard. I think i must have done the practice SHL tests over 10 times now. Most of it its simple maths which you just have to identify quickly. I ended up with 10 posit notes above my desk with simple rules i haven't practised for a few years.

Keep doing the practice questions until it starts to click. don't forget - you'll have to do another one when you arrive for the assessment day so it's not worth considering getting someone else to take it for you.

I posted before some links for questions, keep going through them and i believe the wikijobs questions give answers and you'll see a lot of questions are repetitive.

Hey Wishkah,
Happy new year to you too.
Thank you very much for the tips. it was good to hear that. I just want to ask you about that career history form barclays asked you to fill in before the interview, those questions at the end, about your strength, abilities skills and weakness or development areas, did you write every thing or every point in detail? I am thinking about write just the points, and expain them in the interview as it said in the form " this will be discussed at the interview".
Do you think that's all right?

Cheers, Wishkah

Hello there Taoz - i sent you a PM!

I don't know exactly what to say, and as someone who's been in the same boat i can only pass on suggestions in good faith and think its not overly a good idea for me to start advising exact answers. however i think its safe to pass on the following advice. but remember i'm no recruiter so take it with some salt!

Firstly you were most likely given some feedback from your assessment centre - this is a good place to start and may show you're actually taking onboard what they say.

Secondly I noted more "areas of improvement" compared to direct weaknesses as like you, i didn't exactly want to walk in showing gaps in my persona.

Finally i would just say, BE HONEST as if successful these traits will form the basis of your file and if successful will be concentrated upon - also you may need to talk in a little detail about them.

Good Luck and if i can help, please ask.

Regards.

Hello everyone,- Applying for Commercial Banking Graduate Scheme. Just got past online tests and been invited to telephone interview.

The posts above seem really disjointed, so just wanted to clarify.

First Round = Telephone Interview. (If successful:)
Second Round = Assessment Day

(is there any additional assessment days?)

Also asking bit much now :) but anybody got a list or know what type of questions will be asked for telephone interview? e.g. commercial awarness? or strengths based interview?

Also (getting bit much) now, any idea how many graduates they are looking to employ?

Thanks alots guys for your time, any help is much appreciated :)

As stated in my PM,

i had a different process,

First round Interview, final round interview. I didn't really have an assessment day. I believe as we are getting towards the end(ish) or peak(ish) periods of recruitment the telephone interview could act as a screening pre-interview (eqiv my first round).

Did they sent you a pack of information or a like?

Thanks for PM wishkah, very helpful info much appreciate it... I will probably be in touch with other queries when start proper looking into it for the interview at end of month (if that ok :)) , but got to revise for exams first :(

I didnt get an info pack or anything so just prepare as you did for first interview.
One thing I have noticed is e-mail address for Barclays graduate recruitment team for me at this point is for Reed recruitment, so looks like thier outsourcing. Wonder if they only outsource for recruitment at this point because of high volumes expected, hench the telephone interview? Which if that is the case, it could be pretty general?...... anyway all speculation at the moement, suppose not important, got a task to do so get at it.

Thanks again Wishkah, speak again soon :)

Hey Day 88. Any questions via forum or PM are most welcome. I know its really hard work for students our there and recognise i've been very lucky in my approach and result - if there is any help i can give, i am more than willing to try and help others!

I wouldn't worry too much about the reed contract address, i had the same right through to the final round (where you get a personal mobile no. to call with questions). The Barlcyas people still read it. I don't think it's outsourced since you've come this far.....well you'll only know after the tele interview.

As for prepared, as i noted in your latest PM. Information on Barlcays with the standard, "why this company/sector" should never be overlooked. And as noted agian, in PM, some basic comptencies are shared by most companies so be prepared.
The more confident and prepared about your answers, the better

And finally, Best of luck with your exams,

Regards,

Lewis

I am going to have a telephonic interview for Barclays Commercial Programme. Could you please shed some light on what questions are asked and how the interview proceeds?

Thanx

Hi,

I have a first round (telephone) interview coming up. They say it is a 'Business Line' interview but not quite sure what that mean exactly, how does that differ from a normal interview?

Thankls
HG

Hi,

I have a first round (telephone) interview coming up. They say it is a 'Business Line' interview but not quite sure what that mean exactly, how does that differ from a normal interview?

Thankls
HG

I have a final round interview for commerical banking. Any help? about chronological interview especially.... how should i prepare, will there be any surprises?

you can';t really prepare. They should have sent you a questionaire to answer before your interview, just prepare to talk about the "3 liked, 3 disliked" sections.

Good luck.,

how long after the assesment center do they get back to you? anyone got any idea?

hi everyone.
i have a Business line interview at Barclays for a Clerial position.
If anyone can guide me with the type of questions they ask in business line interview then i would be really grateful to you.
i really wanna get through this interview.its the final stage.
plz plz....
Post ur comments asap