Barclays 2028 online assessment guide

Key facts

• Assessment: Two short interactive assessments on SHL: one on how you might perform at work, and one on your typical or preferred ways of working.^1,5,11
• When: The invite comes within minutes to a few days of applying, sometimes in the same minute as your confirmation email.^10,11
• Deadline: The invite email gives 5 days to finish, or until the posting's deadline. Check your spam folder the day you apply.¹⁰
• Mindset questionnaire: About 76 sets of three statements about how you work, each answered twice: the one most like you, then the better of the two left. Untimed, about 20 to 25 minutes.^6,7,5
• General ability: SHL's interactive reasoning test: 8 questions in 12 minutes, about 90 seconds each, answered by dragging, tapping and arranging rather than picking an option.^5,6,7
• Device: Barclays says you can take the assessments on any type of device, including a phone or tablet.¹
• Adjustments: Ask for adjustments in your application. Barclays has given extra time on assessments and offline assessments.^1,2
• One try a year: Barclays takes one internship or graduate application per candidate per year, worldwide, so plan on one assessment this season.²

Barclays says the assessments look for the qualities and values its people share, alongside your application. A Barclays summer 2027 New York posting lists the assessment as the step after the application.^1,4

What the Barclays online assessment looks like

1. 1

   The email

   The invite comes within minutes to a few days of submitting your application, sometimes in the same minute as the confirmation email. It gives 5 days to finish, or until the posting's deadline. Invites have landed in spam, so check there the day you apply.^10,11

2. 2

   Two short interactive assessments

   Barclays describes two short interactive assessments: one on how you might perform at work, and one on your typical or preferred ways of working. You can take them on a laptop, a tablet or a phone. If you need extra time or another adjustment, say so in your application.¹

3. 3

   The Mindset questionnaire

   Sets of three statements about how you work. You pick the one that describes you best, then the better of the two that are left. There is no clock and no right answer, and it usually takes 20 to 25 minutes. A Back button sits at the foot of the page with a progress bar beside it.^6,7

4. 4

   The general ability test

   Eight questions in 12 minutes, about 90 seconds each. Every answer is built on the screen: you arrange a stacked bar chart or a pie chart from short data, tap the dates on a calendar that meet everyone's constraints, drag tasks onto a timetable, fill the next shape in a sequence or drag a line through coded nodes in order.^5,6

5. 5

   After you submit

   Your candidate portal can move to "Preliminary Conversations". Some candidates are next asked for a one-way video interview, others go to a phone screen, and phone screens and first rounds go out in waves. Barclays reviews applications on a rolling basis.^10,11,12,2

Before you open the link

• Apply when you can take the assessment within the next few days: the invite comes straight away and gives 5 days.
• Watch your inbox and spam folder the minute you submit.
• Allow about 40 quiet minutes: 20 to 25 for the Mindset and 12 for the ability test.
• Pen and paper ready for the ability test: the charts are only where the answer goes.
• A laptop makes dragging easiest, though a phone or tablet works.
• Ask for extra time in your application if you need it.
• A real picture of how you work at school, in a job or a club before you start the Mindset.

The sections, one by one

One assessment reads how you prefer to work; the other measures reasoning against the clock. The ability test scores you on inductive, numerical and deductive reasoning, set against a comparison group.^1,9

• Most like you: Three statements about how you work: the best fit, then the better of the two left.
• Charts: Arrange a stacked bar chart or a pie chart so it matches short data.
• Calendars and timetables: Tap the dates that meet every constraint, or drag tasks into the right slots.
• Sequences: Fill the next shape in a sequence, or drag a line through coded nodes in order.

Here is each part as it appears in Intervyo, on SHL's player in Barclays' frame. The Mindset questionnaire has no clock and no right answers; the general ability test has one clock for the whole test and a right answer to every question.^1,5,6

1.Mindset questionnaireUntimed, about 20 to 25 min

About 76 sets of three statements about how you work. You click the one that describes you best, and the screen moves on to the two that are left, where you pick the better one. There is no clock and no right answer; a progress bar shows how far through you are. It usually takes 20 to 25 minutes.^1,6,7

What it measures: Your typical or preferred ways of working, built into a profile from the statements you choose over others. Barclays reads it for the qualities and values its people share.

How to answer it well

1. 1Read all three before you click: a click chooses and moves you on.
2. 2Pick what people who work with you would notice first, not what sounds best for a bank.
3. 3Statements come back in different company on purpose. A steady picture of yourself reads more clearly than one that swings.
4. 4Keep a brisk pace. Overthinking a set makes your answers less like you.

2.General ability8 questions in 12 min

SHL's interactive reasoning test: 8 questions in 12 minutes, about 90 seconds each. There are no options to pick. You arrange a stacked bar chart or resize a pie chart from a short data panel, tap calendar dates that meet everyone's availability, drag procedures onto a timetable with buffers, tap to fill the next shape in a sequence, drag a line through coded nodes in the right order, or test a set of buttons to see how each one changes an arrow.^5,15,8,9

What it measures: Inductive, numerical and deductive reasoning together, scored as general ability against a comparison group.

How to answer it well

1. 1Do the arithmetic on paper first. The chart is only where you put the answer, so set it once.
2. 2Read every constraint twice on scheduling questions: a date range like "the 2nd to the 6th" includes both ends.
3. 3On a sequence, look for two rules at once, such as a center that alternates while points step round.
4. 4Keep to about 90 seconds a question, and press on rather than count on coming back.

Practice items and how to answer them

Practice for Barclays with Intervyo

Start free to practice Barclays questions and track when it opens. Go deeper on Barclays with the pack, or cover every firm you apply to with the Season Pass.

How long to hear back after the online assessment

The test comes straight away, and the wait is after it: phone screens and first rounds go out in waves over the following weeks, and some candidates are asked for a video interview.^10,11,12

1. Dec 2025 (summer 2027)

   Summer analyst, US

   The assessment came the same minute as one applicant's confirmation email, with 5 days to finish or until the deadline. Another missed it because it landed in spam. After the test, portals showed "Preliminary Conversations".¹⁰

2. Feb 2026 (summer 2027)

   Investment Banking, New York

   The SHL test a few days after applying, heavily timed, with numerical, logical and judgment questions; then a one-way video interview and a superday.¹¹

3. Mar 2026 (summer 2027)

   Coverage/M&A, New York

   Cognitive assessments taking less than an hour, then a phone screen framed as a networking call and two back-to-back first rounds.¹²

4. Mar 2025 (summer 2026)

   Sales and Trading, New York

   A numerical and personality test first, then a 30-minute phone interview.¹³

Barclays reviews applications on a rolling basis and fills places first come, first served, so a test done the day you apply keeps you early in the queue.²

Best guessIf two weeks pass after the test with no phone screen, check your portal status and keep in touch with your school's Barclays contacts: first rounds go out in waves into the new year.

What happens after the online assessment

1. Online application

   One internship or graduate application a year, worldwide.²

2. SHL online assessmentYou are here

   This page. Sent as soon as you apply, with 5 days to finish: the untimed Mindset questionnaire and an interactive ability test of 8 questions in 12 minutes.^10,5,6

3. Video interview (some candidates)

   A one-way video with about 30 seconds to prepare and one to two minutes to answer; mostly behavioral plus a recent deal or market trend. Some applicants go from the test straight to a phone screen and first rounds.^11,10

4. Phone screen and first round

   A phone screen, sometimes framed as a networking call, then one or two first-round interviews of 20 to 30 minutes, often technical, run in waves.^12,13,10

5. Superday

   Two or more back-to-back interviews of about 30 minutes with analysts, associates and senior bankers.^11,12

FAQ

Online assessment at other firms

• EY online assessment
• PwC online assessment
• Deloitte online assessment
• L.E.K. Consulting online assessment