Barclays · Psychometric Tests
Barclays sifts candidates through SHL Talent Central before any interview. Below: the exact format, what each section tests, and how to practise it in identical conditions until you walk in confident.
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The format
Step 2, immediately after the application form and strictly before the video interview. You must pass it before a recruiter reviews your application.
Most psychometric tests split into 3-5 sections, each with its own clock. Speed and accuracy both count.
Modern formats get harder if you answer correctly, easier if you struggle. Your final score reflects what you can actually do under time pressure.
Barclays sets a pass mark per test type. Below it, you don't progress regardless of how strong the rest of your application is.
Completion window. The link arrives within 24-48 hours of applying, with a 5-7 calendar-day window. Each section must be finished in one sitting once started.
By division. A unified SHL suite for almost all programmes, condensing cognitive, behavioural and cultural screening into one assessment. Expert Developer and Quantitative Finance streams add a HackerRank or SHL coding layer.
Recent changes. Barclays consolidated global early-careers screening on the modern, mobile-responsive SHL digital-experience suite, having previously used strengths-based Cappfinity assessments for some domestic retail lines.
The provider
Barclays configures its own selection of SHL Talent Central modules. Below: the exact products in the suite, why they were chosen, and what the provider's reputation is across the candidate pool.
History at Barclays. SHL has been central to the screening process for several years across global early careers.
Candidate reputation. SHL is known for psychometric consistency and strict cognitive time limits. The platform is adaptive: a correct answer raises difficulty and an incorrect one lowers it to find your threshold, so speed must be balanced with accuracy.
Section breakdown
Each section has its own format, timer and trap pattern. Worked examples below show exactly what you will see and where candidates drop points.
12 questions · 10 minutes (about 50 seconds per question)
What it tests. Processing speed and accuracy across data interpretation, verbal inference and abstract patterns.
Worked example. Compute the percentage change in combined divisional revenue between two quarters; on a verbal syllogism where only 'some' institutions face higher costs, infer 'Cannot Say' for Barclays specifically; complete a 3x3 inductive matrix with two simultaneous rules.
Common traps. Spending over two minutes on one puzzle, and leaving questions blank (heavily penalised in a 12-question test).
How to handle it. Keep a physical calculator and scratchpad, jot only the needed variables, and guess and move on after about 40 seconds on a hard item.
30-40 blocks · Untimed (about 15-20 minutes)
What it tests. Typical working style, leadership potential, risk tolerance and collaboration style.
Worked example. From statements on solving problems independently, building consensus, or working under changing priorities, rank Most and Least like you, then resolve the remaining two.
Common traps. Gaming an 'ideal banker' profile (the system cross-checks consistency and flags contradictions) or marking every extreme statement.
How to handle it. Answer honestly in a professional context, keep consistent across blocks and trust your first instinct.
About 18-20 scenarios · Untimed (about 20 minutes)
What it tests. Decision-making aligned with the RISE values.
Worked example. Asked to drop a 5pm client credit review for a director's pitch-data request, the best option acknowledges the request, explains the active deadline and proposes a specific time straight after; on a data error a colleague made, correcting it and informing the team beats leaving it or escalating over their head.
Common traps. Prioritising revenue or speed over compliance, and passively escalating routine problems.
How to handle it. View each scenario as a risk-aware, collaborative professional; avoid extremes and choose balanced, process-respecting options.
2-3 coding challenges plus 3-5 design questions · 60-90 minutes
What it tests. Data structures, algorithm optimisation and runtime complexity (O(N) vs O(N squared)).
Worked example. Given an array of daily stock prices, write an O(N) single-pass function to find the maximum single buy-then-sell profit, tracking the minimum price seen so far.
Common traps. Failing edge cases (empty inputs, all-decreasing arrays) and over-engineering when a clean array or hash-map approach passes.
How to handle it. Read the constraints, write pseudo-code first, handle edge cases and verify the loops run within the time limit before submitting.
Pass mark
Barclays uses percentile ranking, not a raw percentage, comparing your performance in real time against a norm group of top-university applicants.
Methodology. Sections evaluate together, but the cognitive test is a hard primary gate: an Investment Banking applicant in the 40th cognitive percentile is auto-rejected regardless of a strong SJT. Personality and SJT responses are then sifted for value-conflict flags.
Response time. Held 3-5 business days for data validation, then a portal and email update.
Score visibility. No raw scores, percentile breakdowns or feedback charts are shared; you get an invitation or a rejection.
How to practise
Same provider, same section structure, same time pressure. With a scored report after every test so you can fix the weakest section before the real one.
Free practice section, scored. Full report unlocks with the Pack.
Why candidates fail
Specific failure patterns documented across past applicants. Most are avoidable with structured preparation.
Mismanaging the 10-minute clock
Over 75 seconds on one item makes it hard to finish, dropping the percentile below threshold.
Treating verbal as common knowledge
Answering on outside facts rather than the text; if unproven by the passage, it is Cannot Say.
Gaming the personality triads
Contradictory answers across blocks flag the profile as inconsistent and can auto-reject.
Over-aggressive SJT decisions
Prioritising short-term revenue over risk controls runs counter to the firm's focus.
Poor system configuration
Not closing background apps or extensions, risking a freeze while the server clock runs.
Rushing untimed sections
Speeding through the OPQ32 and Mindset sections causes careless misreads and an inconsistent profile.
What works
Concrete habits drilled by candidates who clear the cut-off, drawn from applicant accounts and practice patterns.
Know the interface
Learn the SHL adaptive layout, timer location and navigation before test day.
Clear time management
Cap at 50-55 seconds per cognitive question and guess to move on if stuck.
Objective verbal logic
Judge statements only on the explicit text, disregarding outside information.
Ground decisions in RISE
Review the values first and pick balanced, team-and-client-protecting options on the SJT.
Methodical scratchpad
Note key intermediate values to prevent errors on multi-step charts.
A warm-up run
Complete a mock SHL set 30-60 minutes before the real test to build rhythm.
From past applicants
Anonymised candidate accounts of how recent applicants approached the Barclays assessment. Each covers the prep, the experience, and the outcome.
Summer Investment Banking (passed)
Prep. Three days of timed maths and logical-matrix practice.
Experience. The cognitive section had four numerical graphs, four verbal texts and four abstract patterns in 10 minutes. Kept an external calculator and capped 50 seconds per question, guessing one shape sequence to protect time, and answered everything. Paced the untimed Mindset section around compliance and collaboration.
Outcome. HireVue invite four days later.
Global Markets (rejected on cognitive pacing)
Prep. Underestimated the 10-minute pace.
Experience. Got stuck for nearly three minutes on a complex cross-border trade-flow table, then rushed and left two questions blank, dropping below the 85th-percentile Markets threshold.
Outcome. Rejected 48 hours later. Lesson: keep moving and never let one question eat the clock.
Practice strategy
Practise the exact SHL design and pacing, not generic tests.
Exact-format simulation
The Intervyo Barclays pack runs the SHL numerical, verbal and inductive formats in the real interface so you learn the mechanics on the exact layout.
High-speed timed sets
Drill short, high-speed sets (the 12-in-10 style) under the clock to build the pace the test rewards.
Free practice on Intervyo
Run psychometric practice in the real formats to stabilise pacing under time pressure.
Time investment. Passers typically invest 10-15 hours over two weeks, including at least five full-length timed mocks.
Time management
FAQ
Modern Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari with ad-blockers and auto-translate off, on a laptop or desktop with an external mouse, on a stable connection.
The other rounds
Psychometric Tests is one of four rounds. The Pack covers all four end to end.
Barclays Pack
Practise the exact SHL Talent Central format ahead of time, scored against the Barclays pass mark. One Pack covers HireVue, psychometric tests, live interviews and the assessment centre.
Get the Barclays Pack · £69Intervyo is not affiliated with or endorsed by Barclays, SHL, Pymetrics, Cubiks, AON or any other assessment provider. Test details are sourced from past applicants and published guidance; verify on the firm's careers site before applying. Sector: Investment Banking.
Barclays Pack
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