About HSBC:

HSBC is one of the largest financial institutions in the world. It was set up in Hong Kong and Shanghai in 1865 to finance trade between China and Europe, with an office opening in London the same year. In 1992 it acquired the Midland Bank, significantly increasing its UK presence. Today HSBC offers a full range of personal, private, commercial and investment banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions across the UK.

HSBC employs around 220,000 people worldwide and c. 40,000 people in the UK. HSBC recruits a considerable number of graduates and interns for their commercial banking, retail banking, investment banking and business operations functions in the UK each year.

HSBC’s Graduate & Intern Recruitment Process

Step 1: Online Application 

You will need to go to HSBC’s online job application portal, select the role you want to apply for and fill out an application form. The application form takes around 30 minutes to complete, and you will be required to submit a CV along with your application form.

Step 2: Immersive Assessment

The immersive assessment consists of multiple situational questions and numerical questions. Situational questions are often in the format of ranking, and you will need to rank options based on the scenario provided. The numerical part of the assessment requires you to read charts and graphs along with some texts to answer some multiple choice or ranking questions.

Step 3: Job Simulation Assessment

If you are successful in your immersive assessment, you will be invited to complete a job simulation assessment. Similar to many other companies, the job simulation assessments will have questions where you need to record, type or select your answer. The video recording part is essentially an interview, where you need to demonstrate your understanding of the reading materials. Ranking questions are situational-based and will be very similar to what you would have seen in the immersive assessment. There will also be some questions that require you to type your response in the format of text.

Step 4: Virtual Assessment Day

The virtual assessment is the last stage of the recruitment process. The day will be a mix of some group discussions, one-to-one interviews and case analysis. During the day, be ready to explain your motivation for joining HSBC, the financial industry, and the specific business area you have applied to. During your interview, you should show that you are interested in the role and in working for HSBC. Don’t be shy about selling yourself, describing your previous experience and highlighting relevant skills and qualities.

During the virtual assessment, you will also have opportunities to ask questions and learn more about HSBC.

How to Prepare for HSBC’s Immersive Assessment?

In order to prepare for HSBC’s immersive assessment and job simulation, if you have not done so, you can start with our situational judgement tests. The tests will explain what an employer, like HSBC, might be looking for and provide a detailed explanation for each question. Once you have completed our situational judgement tests, you can easily pass most of the situational judgement tests with other companies.

In terms of the numerical part, again, it is important to practice in advance. The questions in our numerical test challenge zone give you a realistic sense of what questions might look like during your HSBC assessment. If you are not good at numerical analysis, you can practice the basics in the learning zone. You should be able to pass all numerical tests before sitting the actual numerical assessment.