Online Application
This is the first stage of the recruitment process and requires you to set up a login account on the Bank’s recruitment portal, Taleo. You provide your general information, your qualifications e.g A-Levels / GCSEs and the modules you’ve taken at university, including the results you’ve got in those. An important thing to note is that the online form also requires you to answer two motivational questions- which assess your reasons for wanting to join the Bank, and what skills/experiences you’ve had that make you suitable for the role.
Expect a 1-month wait before progressing to the next stage.
Online Tests
The online tests consist of a blended assessment broken down into three different categories. Namely: Situational Judgement Test, Personality and Cognitive assessments. The Bank gives you the opportunity to practice each of these once so do make the most of your practice runs.
Situational judgement test
You’re given a number of scenarios that mirror situations you could encounter while working at the Bank of England and are required to provide the most suitable response to these. I recommend you answer these, keeping in mind the Bank’s ‘Values’ which is something you’re always being assessed against. The purpose of this assessment is to see whether you fit into the culture of the Bank.
Example task
Typical questions at this stage would be "If you have an upcoming meeting and you were supposed to circulate a very important email to attendees, but forgot to do so, what would you do? Bare in mind, you have no access to work email, but you do have your personal email available for use".
Personality assessment
This assesses how you engage with others within the workplace environment, so involves you answering questions that have to do with managing expectations, prioritising work and building relationships with colleagues. As this assesses your personality, try to be as honest as possible in your responses.
Example task
Do you get your energy/motivation from working independently or in large groups?
Cognitive assessment
This includes a mix of questions that assess your numerical and verbal reasoning so will involve answering simple mental maths questions e.g. percentage calculations, fractions. While, the verbal reasoning questions require you to read an abstract from an article, and comprehend some of the key findings of the text. Do note this is timed. However, there’s no expectation for you to answer all the questions, just work towards being as accurate as possible in your answers in the limited amount of time you have.
Example task
Typical questions in this test include ones such as simple % increase and decrease calculations and pattern memory tests with shapes on a grid. Text from an extract: How many ships crossed the Suez Canal in the year 2019?
Expect a 2 to 3-weeks wait before progressing to the next stage.
Online Tests
The online tests consist of a blended assessment broken down into three different categories. Namely: Situational Judgement Test, Personality and Cognitive assessments. The Bank gives you the opportunity to practice each of these once so do make the most of your practice runs.
Situational judgement test
You’re given a number of scenarios that mirror situations you could encounter while working at the Bank of England and are required to provide the most suitable response to these. I recommend you answer these, keeping in mind the Bank’s ‘Values’ which is something you’re always being assessed against. The purpose of this assessment is to see whether you fit into the culture of the Bank.
Example task
Typical questions at this stage would be "If you have an upcoming meeting and you were supposed to circulate a very important email to attendees, but forgot to do so, what would you do? Bare in mind, you have no access to work email, but you do have your personal email available for use".
Personality assessment
This assesses how you engage with others within the workplace environment, so involves you answering questions that have to do with managing expectations, prioritising work and building relationships with colleagues. As this assesses your personality, try to be as honest as possible in your responses.
Example task
Do you get your energy/motivation from working independently or in large groups?
Cognitive assessment
This includes a mix of questions that assess your numerical and verbal reasoning so will involve answering simple mental maths questions e.g. percentage calculations, fractions. While, the verbal reasoning questions require you to read an abstract from an article, and comprehend some of the key findings of the text. Do note this is timed. However, there’s no expectation for you to answer all the questions, just work towards being as accurate as possible in your answers in the limited amount of time you have.
Example task
Typical questions in this test include ones such as simple % increase and decrease calculations and pattern memory tests with shapes on a grid. Text from an extract: How many ships crossed the Suez Canal in the year 2019?
Expect a 2 to 3-weeks wait before progressing to the next stage.
Video Interview
You will watch a short introductory video explaining the details of how the interview is conducted before being asked questions from a pre-recorded clip. There are 5 pre-recorded questions asked. For each question you have to prepare an answer and answer within the given time-frame. Tends to be one minute to prepare your answer, and one minute to answer the question.
Example task
These questions tend to focus around the Bank’s core values, and on technical questions such as the future of cash which requires you to come up with an argument for and against the use of banknotes in the future for example. The questions also look at getting a sense of why you’ve applied to the Bank, and what makes you more suitable for the role compared to other candidates.
How to respond for success
Make sure you dress appropriately, preferably smart. Muna wore a white shirt, with a tie and jacket. A shirt or just smart office clothes are also ideal. It may also be helpful to have a pen and paper at the ready to jot down some keywords to refer back to your answers if you find yourself getting off track. It is vital you keep as much eye contact with the camera as possible because the assessor will know if you are looking elsewhere.
I recommend you do some prep prior to the interview and just make sure you’re clued up on certain things like currency (which is a very current topic), and general trends in Central banking globally. Try and read up a bit which I've found helps when answering questions during the video interview as you’re prepared, or have an opinion about topics relating to central banking e.g. regulation, interest rates and banking / basic economics (not an exhaustive list).
The Bank will provide some small detail on the questions to give you a bit of an idea of what kind of questions they might ask in the video interview, but this isn't very detailed. Expect to wait up to 2 weeks before being invited to the next stage.
Assessment Centre
This stage usually takes around 3-4 hours to complete, (9 am - 1 pm) consisting of 3 main components: 1 interview and 2 group exercises.
1st group exercise
The assessment centre will start with a group exercise (in a group of 6 candidates). For the group exercise, you’re provided with business information about a company and you have to predict their profit graphically based off the information you’re provided. One example would be you being asked to graphically present the firm’s profit over the next 5 years, and so the final outcome is to draw up a line graph showing your profit projections. This decision will be based on information such as the firm’s revenues, their board, information on new rivals and existing competitors and new information that will be presented as you work through it. You’re given about 20-30 mins to work through this.
2nd group exercise
You work through a puzzle and try to come up with a solution or work out the pattern for a key event or item related to the Bank. The puzzle can be quite challenging to decode, so it’s important to stay calm and try and work together with your fellow candidates to come up with a solution to the puzzle. The key assessment here is seeing how you work under pressure, and how you manage interactions with colleagues when things might not always be going your way.
Expect a 3 to 4-day wait before receiving your offer
Do note that the interview can be at the beginning, or at the end of the day (it depends on how you’ve been scheduled on the day, so be prepared for it at any point during the assessment centre). For the final part of the assessment centre, you will have an hour-long interview with two Senior colleagues that will ask you a variety of questions that fall under these broad categories: Your experiences - Talk them through your CV and try and focus on those items that indicate your interest in a role at the Bank. Try and show how your experiences allowed you to demonstrate the ‘Bank’s values’ such as being collaborative, inclusive, open, empowered etc. Information on the Values is available online on the Bank’s website. It’s important to pay attention to the values and the strategic vision of the Bank as it is one of the key areas being assessed. The interviewers will follow up with questions on where you’ve had to deal with a tough decision, or with a disagreement with colleagues so make sure you can draw on experiences in your CV that required you to practically address challenges.
Your motivation for joining the Bank. What do you know about Banking / what makes the Bank of England different from the high street banks or investment banks?
Technical questions - what kind of policies would you implement if you were the Governor for the day. Important that you’ve done your homework on this and are aware of some of the big projects going on within the Bank e.g. the RTGS renewal programme, the greening of the Bank’s corporate bond purchases programme, including the addition of a climate targeting mandate to the Bank’s remit. Approach this by being strategic, and show that you’ve done your reading on the most current issues affecting the Bank and Central Banks globally e.g. the tools that central banks have used to stimulate the economy during the pandemic, and the most important things concerning central banks globally i.e. keeping prices stable and financial stability. This is best encompassed in the Bank’s mission. The interviewers will ask to follow up questions to gauge your perspective on ideas like Central Bank Digital Currency and the future of banknotes so do try and read quite widely ahead of that interview.
How to respond for success
The video interview is a crucial stage of the process and gives you a good opportunity to set yourself apart from other candidates. I recommend you prepare well for this stage, and try to do as much research on the Bank’s most current projects and upcoming projects which will help you develop your answers more thoroughly. Having a good understanding of the Bank’s values and its strategic vision will help you get a sense of the culture, and seeing whether you’re a good fit for the Bank is an important criterion throughout the process.
The assessment centre is a key part of the recruitment process, particularly group work. Working on two mini-projects in both the group exercises on the day gives you a good opportunity to demonstrate the Bank’s values in how you engage with colleagues and come up with solutions / appropriate responses to the different case studies. Remember that it’s not always about getting to the right answer in the end, but how you manage to strike a balance in leading, and including others in the group work.
The individual interview with two senior colleagues at the Bank is really important as that’s where you bring your personality and motivations for joining the Bank. It gives you an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of what the Bank does, and why you feel you’re an ideal candidate for the role. It’s important that you have some idea of one or two areas you might want to work in at the Bank e.g. Markets, Banking, Payments and Innovation, Supervision or Monetary Analysis, and are able to elaborate on why those specific areas appeal to you most. So getting a sense of the different roles/projects in those teams and what they entail is recommended. During my interview, I was asked where I’d like to work in the Bank so it’s important you have an answer to that question. Like the video interview, preparing well for the technical/specific questions about the Bank will really put you in a strong position.
The motivational questions in the online application form at stage 1 of the process are really important in making clear why you’re keen on joining the Bank. Being able to draw on your previous experiences and the skills learnt during those is vitally important, and linking those to why you’re interested in joining the Bank will help set you apart.
