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Imagine spending three hours on an application.

You've researched the bank.

Tailored your CV.

Written a compelling answer to "Why this firm?"

Checked everything five times.

You press submit.

And 20 minutes later, you're staring at a numerical reasoning test.

A table full of numbers.

A countdown timer.

Four possible answers.

You understand the question, but you're not quite sure how to calculate the answer.

So you spend two minutes trying to figure it out.

Then another minute.

Eventually, you guess.

You move on.

The next question looks even harder.

And just like that, weeks of application preparation could come down to a test you barely prepared for.

Sound familiar?

It's one of the most frustrating parts of applying to Spring Weeks, summer internships and graduate schemes.

You could have an excellent CV, strong academics and genuinely compelling motivation.

But if the employer uses online assessments as an early screening stage, you may need to perform sufficiently well before progressing further.

And here's the problem.

Most students spend hours perfecting their CV but barely any time preparing for the assessments that could determine whether they progress.

Today, we're going to change that.

I'm giving you a complete preparation guide covering:

I've also included practice questions, worked answers and frameworks you can use immediately.

This is a long email.

Save it. Come back to it. Practise the questions.

Because understanding how these assessments work is one thing.

Being able to perform under pressure is another.

Let's get into it.

IB CHEAT CODES & CHAT GPT PROMPTS FOR INTERVIEWS & APPLICATIONS

Here's something I want you to understand before we get into the questions.

Online assessments aren't all testing the same thing.

Different assessments evaluate different abilities and behaviours.

And different employers can use different providers, assessment combinations and scoring approaches.

You might encounter SHL, Aon, Korn Ferry, Arctic Shores, HireVue or another platform.

Some assessments are timed.

Others are untimed.

Some allow you to move between questions.

Others don't.

Some use game-based exercises.

Others use traditional multiple-choice questions.

So don't assume that because your friend completed a particular test for one bank, you'll receive exactly the same assessment.

Instead, understand the underlying skills.

The good news?

You can prepare for all of them.

But you need to prepare differently for each one.

You need to be comfortable with a relatively small set of mathematical concepts.

In many numerical reasoning assessments, you'll encounter:

The challenge is often not the mathematics itself.

It's interpreting the question, identifying the relevant numbers and performing the calculation accurately under time pressure.

Let's practise.

A company's revenue increased from £240 million in 2024 to £276 million in 2025.

What was the percentage increase?

A) 12%

B) 15%

C) 18%

D) 20%

Answer: B) 15%.

Formula:

Percentage change = (New value − Old value) ÷ Old value × 100

= (£276m − £240m) ÷ £240m × 100

= 15%

Common mistake: Dividing the increase by the new revenue rather than the original revenue.

For percentage growth, the original value is your starting point.

A business generates £500 million in revenue and has operating expenses of £375 million.

Assume there are no other operating income or expense items.

What is its operating profit margin?

A) 20%

B) 25%

C) 30%

D) 35%

Answer: B) 25%.

Operating profit = £500m − £375m = £125m

Operating margin = £125m ÷ £500m × 100

= 25%

This is useful beyond online assessments.

Understanding profitability is fundamental to analysing businesses.

A UK investor converts £8,000 into US dollars.

The exchange rate is £1 = $1.25.

How many US dollars will they receive, ignoring fees?

A) $6,400

B) $8,000

C) $10,000

D) $12,500

Answer: C) $10,000.

£8,000 × 1.25 = $10,000.

The easiest way to avoid mistakes is to think about the units.

If one pound buys 1.25 dollars, the number of dollars should be larger than the number of pounds.

An investment portfolio contains:

What is the portfolio's total return?

A) 5.0%

B) 5.5%

C) 6.0%

D) 6.5%

Answer: C) 6.0%.

Fund A profit = £6,000 × 8% = £480.

Fund B profit = £4,000 × 3% = £120.

Total profit = £600.

Portfolio return = £600 ÷ £10,000 × 100 = 6%.

Don't simply average 8% and 3%.

The two funds have different weights.

Consider the following table.

Which division experienced the highest percentage revenue growth?

A) Investment Banking

B) Asset Management

C) Wealth Management

D) Markets

Answer: A and C are tied at 20%.

Investment Banking: 20%.

Asset Management: 10%.

Wealth Management: 20%.

Markets: 10%.

This is deliberate.

Not every practice question you encounter online will be perfectly constructed.

In a real assessment, read the question carefully and use the available answer and reporting options.

Here, both Investment Banking and Wealth Management grew by 20%.

The lesson: Always compare percentage changes, not just absolute increases.

Here's the approach I'd use.

Step 1: Identify what the question is asking.

Before calculating anything, determine the required output.

A percentage?

A ratio?

A monetary amount?

A comparison?

Step 2: Find only the relevant information.

A table might contain 30 numbers.

You may only need three.

Don't waste time analysing information that doesn't matter.

Step 3: Estimate before calculating.

If revenue rises from £100 million to £150 million, you should recognise that growth is approximately 50%.

This makes it easier to spot calculation errors.

Step 4: Practise with the permitted tools.

Some assessments allow calculators.

Others have restrictions.

Check the instructions before starting.

Step 5: Review mistakes, not just scores.

If you score 60%, don't immediately complete another test.

Investigate the 40% you got wrong.

Was it a calculation error?

Did you misunderstand the question?

Did you run out of time?

That's how you improve.

Verbal reasoning is deceptively difficult.

Not because the passages are particularly complicated.

But because students often introduce their own assumptions.

A typical question presents a short passage followed by a statement.

You may need to decide whether the statement is:

True: Supported by the passage.

False: Contradicted by the passage.

Cannot Say: There isn't enough information to determine whether it's true or false.

The crucial rule:

Your answer must be based on the passage, not your general knowledge.

Let's practise.

"A financial services firm reported a 12% increase in total revenue during the first half of the year. Growth was primarily driven by its wealth management division, which benefited from increased client assets. The investment banking division also experienced higher advisory fees, although the number of completed transactions declined compared with the previous year."

The firm's total revenue increased by 12% during the first half of the year.

Answer: True.

The passage explicitly states this.

The investment banking division completed more transactions than the previous year.

Answer: False.

The passage says the number of completed transactions declined.

The firm's wealth management division generated more revenue than its investment banking division.

Answer: Cannot Say.

We know wealth management was the primary driver of revenue growth.

But that doesn't tell us which division generated more total revenue.

Growth contribution and total revenue are different things.

The firm's higher advisory fees were accompanied by a decline in completed transaction numbers.

Answer: True.

Both facts are explicitly stated.

The firm increased its wealth management fees during the period.

Answer: Cannot Say.

Increased client assets may have contributed to higher revenue, but the passage doesn't say whether the firm's fee rates increased.

This is the distinction that catches people out.

Something can be plausible without being supported by the text.

Whenever you encounter a statement, ask:

1. Is it explicitly supported?

If yes, True.

2. Is it explicitly contradicted?

If yes, False.

3. Am I making an assumption?

If yes, Cannot Say.

Watch out for words such as:

"Always", "never", "all", "only", "must" and "every".

These make statements much stronger and easier to contradict.

For example:

"Some clients preferred digital banking."

Does not mean:

"All clients preferred digital banking."

That might sound obvious.

Under time pressure, these distinctions become easier to miss.

Logical and inductive reasoning tests often involve shapes, sequences or abstract patterns.

You might be asked:

These tests can feel intimidating because there's often no obvious starting point.

Here's how I'd approach them.

When looking at a sequence, examine one characteristic at a time.

Number: Are objects being added or removed?

Position: Are objects moving clockwise, anticlockwise or across a grid?

Rotation: Are shapes rotating by a fixed angle?

Colour or shading: Are colours alternating?

Size: Are objects becoming larger or smaller?

Combination: Are two patterns happening simultaneously?

Let's practise with text-based examples.

3, 7, 13, 21, 31, ?

A) 39

B) 41

C) 43

D) 45

Answer: C) 43.

Look at the differences.

7 − 3 = 4

13 − 7 = 6

21 − 13 = 8

31 − 21 = 10

The differences increase by two.

The next difference is 12.

31 + 12 = 43.

A, C, F, J, O, ?

A) S

B) T

C) U

D) V

Answer: C) U.

Convert the letters into positions.

A = 1

C = 3

F = 6

J = 10

O = 15

The differences are +2, +3, +4, +5.

Next is +6.

15 + 6 = 21.

The 21st letter is U.

Imagine an arrow pointing upwards.

In each subsequent image, it rotates 90 degrees clockwise.

The sequence is:

Up → Right → Down → Left → ?

Answer: Up.

The rotation completes a full circle.

Consider this sequence:

2, 10, 4, 20, 6, 30, ?

A) 7

B) 8

C) 35

D) 40

Answer: B) 8.

There are two alternating sequences.

First, third, fifth and seventh positions:

2, 4, 6, 8.

Second, fourth and sixth positions:

10, 20, 30.

Recognising alternating patterns is extremely useful.

All analysts in a particular team have completed compliance training.

Some employees who completed compliance training also work in risk management.

Which statement must be true?

A) All risk management employees are analysts.

B) Some analysts work in risk management.

C) All analysts in the team completed compliance training.

D) Everyone who completed compliance training is an analyst.

Answer: C.

It's the only statement guaranteed by the information provided.

The passage doesn't establish any necessary overlap between the analysts and risk management employees.

Don't randomly stare at a pattern hoping the answer appears.

Use a systematic process.

Start with number or quantity.

Then position.

Then rotation.

Then shading.

Then combinations.

And practise recognising when you're spending too long on one question.

In assessments that allow skipping or returning, it can be sensible to move on rather than sacrificing several easier questions.

But check the test's navigation rules first.

Imagine you're working at an investment bank.

Your manager gives you an urgent task.

A colleague asks for help.

A client is waiting for information.

And you've realised that a spreadsheet contains an error.

What do you do?

This is the type of situation you might encounter in a situational judgement test.

These assessments explore how you approach workplace decisions.

They may assess things such as:

But here's something important.

There isn't one universal ranking system that works for every employer or assessment.

The options, context and behaviours being assessed matter.

So rather than memorising supposedly perfect answers, learn to think through workplace situations.

Let's practise.

You're a Spring Intern working on a presentation for a client meeting.

Your manager is about to send the presentation.

You notice that one of the financial calculations appears incorrect.

What should you do?

A) Ignore it because your manager is responsible for the presentation.

B) Correct the calculation without telling anyone.

C) Immediately flag the potential error to your manager, explain what you've identified and offer to help verify and correct it.

D) Wait until after the client meeting to mention it.

Strongest response: C.

Why?

Because you're demonstrating accuracy, integrity and accountability.

You don't ignore a potentially material error.

But you also don't silently change a client-facing document without communicating what happened.

You're working on two assignments.

Both are due this afternoon.

You realise you cannot complete both to the expected standard.

What should you do?

A) Work on whichever task you prefer.

B) Tell the relevant managers early, explain the situation and agree on priorities.

C) Submit both tasks incomplete without explanation.

D) Ask another intern to complete one task without informing your manager.

Strongest response: B.

The key is early communication.

Managers generally prefer knowing about a problem while there's still time to address it.

You're working on a group project.

One colleague regularly interrupts others and dismisses their suggestions.

What should you do?

A) Publicly criticise the colleague.

B) Stop contributing to the group.

C) Encourage balanced participation, respectfully redirect the discussion and address the issue constructively if it continues.

D) Immediately report the colleague to senior management without attempting to understand the situation.

Strongest response: C, based on the information provided.

You want to demonstrate professionalism, teamwork and constructive communication.

However, more serious conduct, including harassment or discrimination, may require formal escalation rather than informal resolution.

Context matters.

You accidentally receive an internal document containing confidential client information that you don't need for your work.

What should you do?

A) Forward it to your friends because it's interesting.

B) Save a copy for future reference.

C) Avoid using or sharing the information and promptly follow the firm's procedures for reporting an unintended disclosure.

D) Ignore the situation and continue reading.

Strongest response: C.

Confidentiality is fundamental in financial services.

The correct action should align with the firm's information security and compliance procedures.

Your manager asks you to complete an analysis using a financial model you've never worked with.

What should you do?

A) Pretend you understand and attempt it without clarification.

B) Immediately refuse the task.

C) Clarify the objective, review available guidance, attempt the work and ask focused questions where necessary.

D) Ask someone else to complete the entire assignment.

Strongest response: C.

This demonstrates initiative without sacrificing accuracy.

You don't need to know everything.

But you should be willing to learn, ask sensible questions and take responsibility.

When evaluating a workplace scenario, consider:

These questions won't produce a guaranteed answer key.

But they help you develop the judgement that many workplace assessments are designed to explore.

Some assessments ask you to indicate how strongly you agree with statements such as:

"I enjoy working in teams."

"I prefer making decisions independently."

"I remain calm when priorities change."

"I enjoy solving unfamiliar problems."

You might be tempted to choose whichever response sounds most impressive.

But that approach can be counterproductive.

Many behavioural questionnaires examine patterns across multiple responses.

Trying to manufacture a perfect personality may produce an inconsistent or inaccurate representation of your preferences.

My advice is to answer honestly, using your typical behaviour as the reference point.

Don't assume every bank wants exactly the same personality.

A successful finance team needs people with different strengths, working styles and perspectives.

You don't need to pretend you're the most extroverted, competitive, analytical and collaborative person in the world simultaneously.

You need to understand your own strengths and how you work with others.

Before taking these assessments, reflect on:

That reflection will also help when you reach interviews.

You've passed the initial assessments.

Now you receive an invitation to complete a recorded video interview.

You open the platform.

A question appears on your screen.

You have a short preparation period, followed by a limited amount of time to record your answer.

There's no interviewer smiling or nodding.

No natural conversation.

Just you, a camera and a countdown timer.

For many candidates, this feels more uncomfortable than a normal interview.

But the underlying preparation is similar.

You need to communicate your motivation, experience and reasoning clearly.

Depending on the employer, you might receive:

Access tons of prep material for these ^ inside Finance Fast Track.

The specific format, timings and retake rules vary.

Let's practise three realistic questions.

Here's a weak answer:

"I've always been passionate about finance, and investment banking is a prestigious industry where I can work with intelligent people and develop valuable skills."

Why is this weak?

Because almost anyone could say it.

It doesn't demonstrate much understanding of the work.

Here's a stronger example:

"My interest in investment banking developed when I started researching how companies make major strategic decisions, particularly acquisitions and capital raising.

I recently analysed a completed acquisition and became interested in how the buyer assessed the strategic benefits, potential synergies and financial implications of the transaction.

What attracts me to investment banking is the combination of financial analysis, commercial judgement and working on transactions that can materially change a business.

I'm particularly interested in developing my understanding of valuation and transaction execution, which is why I'm applying for this opportunity."

Notice the structure.

Interest → Evidence → Understanding → Motivation.

The candidate explains what attracted them to the industry, demonstrates relevant exploration and connects that experience to the work.

That's much stronger than simply saying finance is exciting.

For competency questions, I recommend using STAR.

Situation: What was happening?

Task: What did you need to achieve?

Action: What did you personally do?

Result: What happened, and what did you learn?

Here's an illustrative example.

"During a university group project, we were preparing a presentation with a tight deadline when one team member became unavailable.

This meant we had to redistribute their work while maintaining the quality of the final submission.

I suggested that we identify the remaining tasks, prioritise the most important sections and divide the work according to each person's strengths.

I also created a shared checklist so everyone could track progress and flag problems early.

We completed the presentation on time and received positive feedback for the clarity of our analysis.

The experience taught me the importance of communicating early and remaining organised when circumstances change."

It's not the most extraordinary story in the world.

It doesn't need to be.

A strong answer demonstrates what you personally did, why you did it and what you learned.

This is where your commercial awareness preparation becomes extremely valuable.

Let's use a hypothetical example.

Imagine the Bank of England cuts interest rates because inflationary pressures are easing.

A weak answer:

"The Bank of England reduced interest rates, which is good for the economy because borrowing becomes cheaper."

A stronger answer would explore several dimensions.

What happened?

The Bank of England reduced its policy rate.

Why does it matter?

Lower rates can reduce borrowing costs, influence investment decisions and affect asset valuations.

How could it affect an investment bank?

Lower financing costs could support corporate borrowing and potentially encourage M&A activity, although the effect depends on economic conditions and market confidence.

How could it affect clients?

Corporate clients might reconsider financing decisions.

Institutional investors may reassess fixed-income allocations.

Wealth management clients may review their portfolios as yields change.

What's your opinion?

"I think the impact would depend on why rates were falling. If inflation is easing while economic growth remains resilient, lower rates could support investment activity. But if rates are being cut because the economy is weakening sharply, the benefits could be offset by weaker corporate confidence."

That's commercial awareness.

Not simply knowing what happened.

But understanding why it matters, who it affects and what could happen next.

For your real interview, replace the hypothetical example with a verified, recent story.

Here's what I'd do before recording.

First, prepare six core stories.

One each for teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, resilience, initiative and handling mistakes.

You don't need 30 completely different examples.

You need a smaller collection of genuine experiences that you understand deeply.

Second, prepare your motivation.

Be ready to explain:

Why finance?

Why this division?

Why this firm?

Why you?

Third, practise with your camera.

Record yourself answering questions.

Watch the recording.

Evaluate:

Fourth, stop memorising scripts word for word.

Memorised answers often sound unnatural.

Instead, memorise the key points you want to communicate.

Your delivery should sound like a conversation, not a speech.

You don't need to spend five hours a day practising.

But you do need consistency.

Here's the preparation schedule I'd follow.

Aim for approximately 45–60 minutes a day.

If you have an assessment tomorrow, don't attempt to cram the entire plan into one evening.

Prioritise the exact format you've been invited to complete.

Read the instructions.

Practise the relevant question types.

Review the fundamentals.

And get enough sleep.

One of the most useful things you can do is create a simple spreadsheet.

Every time you get a question wrong, record it.

After several practice sessions, patterns should emerge.

Perhaps you're consistently struggling with ratios.

Or making assumptions in verbal reasoning.

Or spending too long on abstract patterns.

That's useful information.

Because now you know what to work on.

The goal isn't to complete as many practice tests as possible. It's to become better at the skills they're testing.

Here are some resources I'd start with.

Official provider resources

General preparation

Wherever possible, prioritise official practice material from the assessment provider identified in your invitation.

And remember: unofficial practice questions may not replicate the exact difficulty, timing or scoring of your employer's assessment.

Prompt 1 — Numerical reasoning tutor

"Act as a numerical reasoning tutor preparing me for a finance internship assessment. Generate five original multiple-choice questions involving percentages, ratios, financial tables and currency conversions. Present one question at a time. Wait for my answer before revealing the solution. Explain my mistakes and gradually increase the difficulty."

Prompt 2 — Situational judgement practice

"Act as an assessment preparation coach. Give me realistic workplace scenarios relevant to a finance internship. Provide four possible responses and ask me to select the most effective. After I answer, explain the trade-offs involving integrity, teamwork, accountability, communication and risk. Don't pretend there is a universal answer key for every employer."

Prompt 3 — HireVue mock interviewer

"Act as an interviewer for a Spring Week at [FIRM] in [DIVISION]. Ask me ten realistic motivational, competency and commercial awareness questions, one at a time. After each answer, evaluate its structure, specificity, relevance and clarity. Challenge generic responses and suggest improvements without inventing experiences for me."

Before you start any real assessment:

And one final point.

Follow the employer's rules regarding AI assistance and outside help.

Use AI to prepare, learn and practise.

But don't assume you can use it during a live assessment.

Unless the employer explicitly permits assistance, complete the assessment independently.

You want the result to reflect your actual abilities.

You might be rejected from an application despite having an excellent CV.

You might perform badly in your first numerical test.

You might completely freeze during your first recorded interview.

That doesn't automatically mean you're not capable of working in finance.

It means there's a part of the recruitment process you may need to improve.

And that's something you can work on.

Here's the challenge I want you to complete today.

Spend 30 minutes doing three things.

Then ask yourself:

Where did I struggle?

Was it knowledge?

Was it speed?

Was it nerves?

Was it a lack of structure?

Identify the problem.

And spend the next ten days improving it.

Because you can have the best CV in the world.

But you still need to demonstrate your abilities at every stage of the recruitment process.

Don't just prepare to submit an application. Prepare to progress through the process.

That's how you give yourself a better chance of turning applications into interviews, and interviews into offers.

See you in the next one,

Afzal

P.S. If you know someone who's currently applying for Spring Weeks or graduate schemes, forward them this email. Particularly if they've been getting rejected after online assessments without understanding why.

They might find the practice questions and preparation plan useful.

And if you've recently completed an assessment and struggled with a particular question type, reply and tell me. I may cover the most common challenges in a future issue.

P.P.S. If you'd like more structured, practical projects, CV support and interview preparation, check out the Finance Fast Track Community, including our 30-day challenges and finance work experience projects.