Citi Interview Questions & Reviews

Interview Details Applied in November

Heard back in April, and had first-round interview.

First round: comprised by two interviews with a short break in between them. The questions were competency-based, asking me to recall specific situations where I have had to, for example, work under stress, solve a difficult problem, deal with a difficult person, how I handle teamwork etc. The interviewers were professional, but also friendly, and took time to share their personal experiences. This was particularly helpful for the final round, because they give you some great reasons to work for Citi which you can later mention.

Final round: most challenging but rewarding recruitment procedure I have faced.
-Time to prepare personal presentation (acquisition and merger from HR perspective)
-Giving personal presentation
-Two interviews with senior HRSS professionals (which were less competency-based, and more behavioural-personal. They wanted to know what motivated me, why HR, why Citi etc.)
-Group task (Merger planning)

Overall a challenging but fun experience, and wanted to join Citi even more after having been in extensive contact with their staff. Very professional, as well as courteous and curious personalities at the same time.

Interview Details Online application, numerical test, then final round interview.

Reason for Declining – Did not want to do a placement

Interview Details Applied online and received a call the next day to schedule an interview. Interview very fluid, more of a conversation.

Interview Details 2 interviews, one technical, one background and interests, 30 minute group scenario and an online IQ test

Interview Details Applied online and was asked to take the online assessment tests. 2 or 3 days later I was emailed letting me know I had a first round interview. They were really nice, mostly fit questions and motivation. The next stage was an on site assessment center involving 3 one on one interviews, and a banking case study in front of a panel which was reasonably technical, followed by another round of assessment tests to prove you were the test taker. Very nice and supportive interviewers, but know what the division does and what the position involves going in.

Interview Details The position was for new graduates especially, or for career changers who wanted to learn the ways of this company and their programming tools, to prepare them for a career at Citi or for any future software development or application support role. The job was advertised on NIJobs.com, requiring a CV and cover note. They called me one week after applying to ask a few questions about my CV, then called me a few days later to invite me to an assessment centre which was scheduled for a week later. This lasted nearly 5 hours. There was a technical test (numerical/logical reasoning questions, not specific to any job, just fun) where each of the thirty questions had a time limit of three minutes. Then there were two interviews, one technical and one about competencies. Technical interview was about technology, my educational background, the company, the job and general questions about me. The competency interview was where they asked all the "What would you do if... ?" and "Tell me about a time when... ?" type of questions. They seemed to really be looking specifically for answers in the "STAR" format, which is written about on t'internet. Finally a group exercise, where the other interviewees and I had to discuss hypothetical solutions to a fictional business problem for about 45 minutes, while some people listened and wrote things down.

On my day there were between 5 and 10 candidates present. From what I can remember, they were looking to hire a total of about 20 new people, from an unspecified number of candidates. Every employee I spoke to was very nice and the interviews were comfortable. The premises were nice too, with a front door, a ceiling and several light bulbs. Every man was wearing a suit which is the norm for an assessment centre like this, it seems.

They called a few days later to offer me the job and to say a few things about how the academy would be structured and what the salary would be. They did not require me to accept/decline right away as some companies do, permitting me to leave it for a few days if I wanted to discuss things with other potential employers, but I accepted right away. This was about a week ago.

They have yet to ask for references or evidence of qualifications, but that will probably happen in time.

Negotiation Details – It is an entry-level job, so I didn't try to negotiate. I was grateful that they would even consider thinking about maybe possibly hiring me.

Interview Details Initially, Citi requests a CV and cover letter. Selected candidates are invited to an assessment centre, which takes about 5 hours. It consists of an 90 minute examination (simple math & logic problems), two 45 minute interviews (one biographical, one technical), and a team exercise (about 45 minutes). The team exercise is a timed exercise in which candidates work together to come up with a number of proposals for an imaginary company. 10 minutes is given to read the material provided for the imaginary company, and then 30 minutes to discuss and present the proposals to the assessors, who sit around the room taking notes throughout the process.

The biographical interview was quite a standard interview. Very typical questions, such as being asked to talk about occasions when you worked in a team.
Technical interview had a few technical questions, but was largely centred around exploring the candidates interests and the kind of projects, languages and technologies they have experience with.

The assessment centre allows a decision on candidates very quickly, in my case I received word a few days after the assessment centre.

Interview Details I got my initial interview through a recruiter, but ended up interviewing for a different job than the one I was expecting. 1st interview with manager and 2 supervisors, followed a week later up by a 1 to 1 interview with the senior manager. Final interview again 1 week later was 1 to 1 with HR rep. An offer was made to me later on that afternoon. Quite a friendly process and no trick questions.

Interview Details Same like usual assessment centre experience. I hope you could make the offer.