How I got my investment banking graduate offer — and what I'd do differently

In October of my final year, I sat down to do the online numerical reasoning test for the second time. The first attempt I'd failed — not because I couldn't do the maths, but because I'd underestimated how time-pressured it would be. I'd booked nothing, prepared nothing, and sat it on a Tuesday evening after a full day of lectures.

The second attempt I passed. I went on to the video interview, then the assessment centre in London, and in February I had an offer.

This post is an honest account of that process — what each stage looked like, what I did well, and what I'd change if I were doing it again.

Background

I was a final-year MEng student at the University of Leeds. During my third year I did a placement at a Big 4 firm in their consulting practice, which gave me a solid understanding of professional environments and what competency-based hiring actually looks like in practice. I'd applied to a US bank's corporate and investment banking graduate programme for their London office.

The scheme sits within the bank's corporate and investment banking division in London. The intake is small — much smaller than the bulge bracket banks — which makes each stage of the process feel more selective.

Stage 1: The online application

The application itself is fairly standard. CV, cover letter, and a handful of motivational questions: why this bank, why this division, why now. The cover letter is capped at around 300 words.

My advice here is simple: be specific. Don't write about "a passion for financial markets." Write about a specific deal, a specific team, a specific reason this bank and this division made sense for you. Recruiters read hundreds of these. Specificity is the fastest way to stand out.

I mentioned a specific cross-border transaction the bank had advised on in the energy sector (something I'd read in their recent news) and tied it directly to my placement experience working on a restructuring project. That's the kind of connection that shows you've actually done your research.

Stage 2: Numerical reasoning test

This is where a lot of people fall at the first hurdle — including me, on my first attempt.

The bank uses an SHL-style numerical reasoning test. The questions are data interpretation problems: you're given tables or charts and asked to calculate percentages, ratios, growth rates, and so on. The maths isn't hard. The time pressure is.

You get roughly 45 seconds to a minute per question. If you're not used to working at that speed, you will run out of time. I didn't practice enough for my first attempt and it showed.

For my second attempt I spent two weeks doing SHL practice questions every day — specifically the timed versions on the SHL practice portal (it's free). By the time I sat the real test, the format was completely familiar and I wasn't wasting seconds figuring out how to read the tables.

What I'd do differently: Book this immediately after submitting the application and give yourself at least two weeks of daily practice before attempting it. Don't do it in the evening when you're tired.

Stage 3: Video interview (HireVue)

The video interview is a HireVue asynchronous interview — you record yourself answering four or five competency questions on camera, with no interviewer present. You get a brief thinking window (30 seconds) and then one or two attempts to record your answer (usually 2-3 minutes per question).

The questions follow the standard STAR framework: describe a time when you led a team, handled a difficult situation, showed analytical thinking, etc. The format is identical to any competency interview — the difference is you're talking to a camera at home.

My preparation: I wrote out STAR answers for around 20 different competencies beforehand and practised delivering them out loud, including recording myself to check my pace and filler words. On the day, none of the exact questions were what I expected — but because I'd practised thinking in STAR format, I could construct clear answers quickly.

A few things that helped in delivery:

Look directly at the camera, not at your own face on screen
Keep a glass of water nearby — nerves dry your mouth quickly
Have a clean, well-lit background; don't underestimate how much this affects first impressions

Stage 4: The assessment centre

The assessment centre was held in London in January (about two months after my video interview). Roughly 12 candidates attended my AC. I was told later that around half would receive offers.

The day had three components:

Competency interview (45 minutes): A structured interview with two members of the team — one from HR, one from the business. Standard STAR-format questions, but more probing than the video interview. They pushed on details: "What was your specific role in that?" "What would you have done differently?" "What did you learn from the failure?"

Come with three or four strong stories that you can rotate across different competencies. Mine were: a project at my Big 4 placement where I caught an error in the financial model before the client presentation; a group project at Leeds where I had to manage a team member who wasn't contributing; and a time I had to make a decision under pressure with incomplete information.

Group exercise (30 minutes): You're given a business scenario and case information as a group and asked to reach a recommendation together. The scenario in my AC was a fictional company deciding between two strategic options — I can't share specifics, but the content was fairly standard.

The key thing people miss about group exercises: it's not about being the person who talks most. The assessors are watching for collaborative skills — do you build on others' ideas? Do you draw quieter members in? Do you keep the group on track without dominating? I made a point of explicitly referencing a point another candidate had made ("building on what Sarah said...") and keeping an eye on the clock so the group didn't overrun the analysis phase and run out of time for recommendations.

Written exercise (30 minutes): A one-page memo summarising the group exercise recommendation. Clear structure, crisp writing, specific conclusion. No waffle.

Getting the offer

I got a call from HR about two weeks after the AC. The feedback they gave was brief but positive — they'd noted my preparation on the numerical test and my contribution in the group exercise specifically.

What I'd do differently

If I were doing this again:

Prepare for the numerical test sooner. Two weeks of daily practice is the minimum. Three weeks is better. Don't leave it until the week before.
Research the bank more specifically. I knew the broad strokes but could have gone deeper on the bank's positioning in the UK market, recent deals, and how they differentiate from peers. The interviewers noticed the candidates who could speak specifically about the bank.
Prepare more failure stories. The interview probed hard on what went wrong and what I learned. My examples were all slightly too positive — I was unconsciously framing them to be too flattering. The best interviewers see through that. Be genuinely honest about what you'd change.
Get to London the night before. I travelled up on the morning of the AC and spent the journey anxious about trains. Unnecessary stress. Just go the night before.

If you're applying to an investment banking grad scheme and have questions, reach out on LinkedIn. Happy to help.