Citi 2028 skills evaluation guide

For
2028 summer analysts
Sources
13 cited

Applied to Citi Services or Technology? The skills evaluation comes next. Try the tests below in the format of Citi's skills survey, which runs on Plum, then read which test your program sets, what each one checks, what follows it and how to prepare.

The first screen of the Plum skills survey as Citi runs it, in Intervyo: a Section 1 to 5 stepper on a dark navy page, Section 1: Priorities and preferences, a 20 questions badge, how to mark the statements least and most like you, an example panel and Next.
Citi's skills evaluation is step two of five: a skills discovery survey for global Services programs, or a coding assessment for Technology.

Key facts

  • Where it sits: Apply, skills evaluation, first interview, final stage, offer. The evaluation comes after you apply and before the first interview.1
  • Services: EMEA and global Services programs take a skills discovery survey.1
  • Technology: Technology programs complete an assessment to confirm your coding skills.1
  • Technical interviews: The summer 2027 US Technology postings ask for the ability to pass technical interviews of basic algorithmic programming exercises. Both name Java among the team stacks, and the New York or New Jersey posting adds Python.3,4
  • Services, New York: A New York Services summer analyst process included a personality test, two behavioral one-on-ones and a two-hour superday with a case study (Oct 2025).5
  • Banking and Markets: Citi names the evaluation for Services and Technology. New York investment banking and generalist applicants have gone from Early ID or a school application to a live first round, so if you applied to banking, prepare for that and check your email for any test link.1,7,8
  • When Technology posts: The summer 2027 US Technology postings went up on Oct 23, 2026, including New York or New Jersey and Irving.3,4

After the evaluation, Citi's first interview is one-on-one, on your background and how your aspirations align with Citi's.1

Try the tests

Citi skills survey0 of 4 demo parts done

Citi's skills survey runs on Plum. Its five sections in four parts, on Plum's screens as the app draws them: no clock, a short run of each, then a read of your answers.

Priorities and preferences

Three statements at a time: the one most like you and the one least like you.

8 questions · about 1 minute

Problem solving

Patterns of colored grids: pick the one that completes each. Sections 2 and 4 of the survey.

5 puzzles · about 2 minutes

Words that describe you

Pick three words most like you and three least like you, from lists of ten.

3 lists · about 1 minute

Social interaction

Work situations: the most and the least effective response.

4 situations · about 2 minutes

What the Citi online assessment looks like

  1. Where it sits

    Citi's process has five steps: apply, skills evaluation, first interview, final stage and offer. The evaluation is the step between your application and any live interview.1

  2. Services: the skills discovery survey

    EMEA and global Services programs take a skills discovery survey. It runs on Plum, in five sections: pick the statement most and least like you from sets of three; choose the puzzle piece, from five, that completes a pattern; pick three words most like you and three least like you; a second set of puzzles; then work situations where you choose the most and least effective response. There is no overall time limit, it takes about 25 minutes and the invite gives five days. A New York Services summer analyst process (Oct 2025) included a personality test, alongside two behavioral one-on-ones. Treat the survey like a personality questionnaire: answer honestly and consistently rather than trying to study for it.1,9,10,11,5

  3. Technology: the coding assessment

    Technology programs complete an assessment to confirm your coding skills. It is a timed Codility test, with tasks in languages such as Python, Java or C++. The summer 2027 US postings set the bar for the technical interviews that follow at basic algorithmic programming exercises, so practice at that level for the assessment too. The teams work in Java, Python and Spring among others.1,13,3,4

  4. How Plum scores the survey

    Plum compares your results with the talents the role needs rather than setting a pass mark, and gives you a profile of your top talents when you finish. You can reuse one sitting for later applications, and retake the survey a year after the last.9,11,12

  5. Banking and Markets

    Citi names the evaluation for Services and Technology only. New York investment banking and generalist applicants have gone from Early ID, or from a school application, straight to a live first round. If you applied to banking or markets, prepare for the live round, and if a survey link arrives, expect the Plum survey above.1,7,8

  6. What comes after

    Next is a one-on-one first interview. In Services in New York that meant two behavioral one-on-ones, then a two-hour superday with a case study. Technology postings say to expect technical interviews built on basic algorithmic exercises.1,5,3,4

Before you start

  • Read the invite email twice: which assessment it is, the deadline and any time limit.
  • A quiet room and a laptop on a steady connection, plugged in.
  • For the survey: answer as you are at work or school, not as you think Citi wants.
  • For the survey: about 25 minutes, with five days to finish it.
  • For the coding test: a language you write fluently; Citi's Technology teams name Java and Python.
  • For the coding test: practice basic array, string and hash map problems against a timer.
  • Close other tabs and silence your phone before you begin.

The sections, one by one

Which test you get depends on your program. Services sets a survey of your skills on Plum, and Technology sets a coding assessment. The survey has the four kinds of section below.1,9,11

  • Most and least like you (survey): Sets of three statements: pick the one most like you and the one least like you.
  • Pattern puzzles (survey): Two sections: choose the piece, from five, that completes a pattern.
  • Words that describe you (survey): Pick three words most like you and three least like you.
  • Work situations (survey): A situation at work: choose the most and the least effective response.
  • Coding assessment (Technology): Programming problems; prepare at the level of basic algorithmic exercises.

Here is each section of Citi's skills survey as it appears in Intervyo, on Plum's dark navy page. The survey has no overall time limit; the two puzzle sections have right answers, and the rest build a profile of your top talents.9,10,11

1.Priorities and preferencesNo time limit

Section 1 of the Plum skills survey in Intervyo: three statements about how you work, a column to mark the one least like you in blue and the one most like you in green, question 9 of 20 on the dots above, Back and Next below.

Section 1, 20 questions. Sets of three statements about how you work. You mark the one least like you and the one most like you, one on each side, and a statement cannot be both.9,11

What it measures: What matters to you at work. Your answers feed a profile of your talents, with no right answers.

How to answer it well

  1. 1Answer for how you work at school or work today, not how you would like to.
  2. 2Use the least like you side as carefully as the most.
  3. 3Similar statements come back in different company, so answer them the same way.

2.Problem solvingNo time limit

Section 4 of the Plum skills survey in Intervyo: a 3 by 3 grid of small colored grids with the last one missing, five tiles to choose from below with one selected, puzzle 3 of 5 on the dots above.

Sections 2 and 4, 5 puzzles each. A picture with its last piece missing, and five pieces to choose from. You click the piece that carries the pattern on. The second section is a little harder. The colored grids here are our own practice puzzles in that format.9,11

What it measures: Spotting the rule in a pattern: in our grids a turn, a shift, colors moving on, or two of these at once.

How to answer it well

  1. 1Work across a row before you look at the options.
  2. 2Check every cell and color of your pick: the wrong pieces each break the rule in one small way.
  3. 3Test your rule on every complete row before you choose.

3.Words that describe youNo time limit

Section 3 of the Plum skills survey in Intervyo: a list of ten words between a least like you column and a most like you column, three marked least like you and two most like you, list 4 of 5 on the dots above.

Section 3, 5 lists. Lists of ten words, some positive and some negative. You mark the three least like you and the three most like you, three on each side and no word on both.9,11

What it measures: How you describe yourself, read against the same talents as the first section.

How to answer it well

  1. 1Go with your first honest reaction.
  2. 2Marking a negative word least like you counts too.
  3. 3Keep it consistent with your answers in the first section.

4.Social interactionNo time limit

Section 5 of the Plum skills survey in Intervyo: a work situation in a panel, four responses between a least effective column and a most effective column, one marked on each side, situation 4 of 7 on the dots above.

Section 5, 7 situations. A work situation and four responses to it. You mark the most effective response and the least effective, one on each side.9,11

What it measures: How you handle people at work: which responses work for everyone involved.

How to answer it well

  1. 1Think about the effect on everyone involved, not only on you.
  2. 2Choose the least effective as carefully as the most.
  3. 3Direct and respectful usually beats waiting for a problem to go away.

How to approach each part

Services survey"How should you answer the Services skills discovery survey?"1,5,9,11
  1. 1Five sections with no overall time limit, in about 25 minutes, so set aside half an hour in one sitting.
  2. 2In the most-and-least-like-you sets, answer for how you behave at work or school today, not how you would like to.
  3. 3Stay consistent from the first question to the last.
  4. 4Do it in a quiet room well before the deadline; the invite gives five days.

Tip: A New York Services summer analyst process (Oct 2025) included a personality test. Treat the survey like one: honest and consistent beats guessing what Citi wants.

Survey puzzle (practice)"Intervyo practice item in the survey's puzzle format: in a 3 by 3 grid of tiles, row one has 1, 2 and 3 shaded cells, row two has 2, 3 and 4, and row three has 3, 4 and a blank. Which piece fills the blank: 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 shaded cells?"9,11
  1. 1Our own practice item in the puzzle format of Citi's Plum survey, not a Citi question.
  2. 2Look along each row first, then down each column.
  3. 3Each row adds one shaded cell per step, and each row starts one higher than the last.
  4. 4Check the answer against the column too: the third column runs 3, 4 and then the blank.

Tip: You click the piece rather than drag it, so look at all five before you choose.

Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)

5. Row three runs 3, 4, 5, and the third column runs 3, 4, 5 as well.

Survey work situation (practice)"Intervyo practice item in the survey's work-situation format: two teammates disagree about how to split a group project due in two days, and the work has stalled. Which response is most effective and which least? (a) set up a short call, list the tasks and agree who does what; (b) do the disputed part yourself tonight; (c) tell your manager the team is not working; (d) wait for them to settle it."11,5
  1. 1Our own practice item in the format of the survey's last section (one most and one least effective response), not a Citi question.
  2. 2Judge each response by whether it gets the work moving and keeps the team together.
  3. 3The most effective usually settles the problem with the people involved; the least effective lets it drift.
  4. 4You pick one on each side, so settle the two ends first.

Tip: The Services interviews that follow the survey are behavioral one-on-ones, so the way you say you work here should match the stories you tell there.

Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)

Most effective: (a), because it settles who does what and restarts the work. Least effective: (d), because with two days left, waiting lets the deadline slip.

Technology coding"A basic algorithmic exercise: return the first character in a string that does not repeat."3,4
  1. 1Restate the problem and ask about edge cases: an empty string, no unique character, upper and lower case.
  2. 2Start with the simple version: for each character, count it, in O(n squared).
  3. 3Improve it: one pass to count with a hash map, a second pass to find the first count of 1, in O(n).
  4. 4Test it on two or three inputs, including an edge case, before you submit.

Tip: A practice problem written by Intervyo at the level Citi's Technology postings set for the technical interviews: basic algorithmic programming exercises. Get a correct answer first, then make it faster.

Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)

Written by Intervyo as an example, in Python.

def first_unique(s): counts = {} for ch in s: counts[ch] = counts.get(ch, 0) + 1 for ch in s: if counts[ch] == 1: return ch return None

On "swiss" it returns "w", and on "aabb" it returns None. Two passes over the string make it O(n) time, and the map holds at most one entry per distinct character.

Services first interview"What are the businesses that make up Citi Services?"2,5,6
  1. 1Give Citi's five lines: Liquidity Management Services, Payments, Trade & Working Capital Solutions, Investor Services and Issuer Services.
  2. 2Say what they do in one line: cash management, payments, working capital and post-trade securities services across Citi's network.
  3. 3Pick one you find interesting and say why, with a client example.
  4. 4Tie it to the program you applied to.

Tip: Not the survey itself, but the next step: after a New York Services summer analyst process (Oct 2025), the advice was that knowing the five core businesses Services is made of helps you stand out.

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How long to hear back after the online assessment

The evaluation sits between your application and the first interview, and how fast the next step comes depends on the program.1

  1. Oct 2025 (summer analyst)

    Services, New York

    A personality test, two behavioral one-on-ones and a two-hour superday with a case; offer accepted, all in less than a month.5

  2. Jan 2026 (summer 2027)

    Investment Banking, New York (Early ID)

    Invited to a first round by the end of Early ID, then a superday of three.7

  3. Mar 2026 (summer 2027)

    Generalist, New York

    Applied through school, then a first-round invite, then the superday, in less than a month.8

Best guessIf a week passes after the survey or coding assessment with no news, check your application status in Workday, then email your recruiting contact once. The profile of your top talents that Plum gives you when you finish the survey is feedback, not a result.

What happens after the online assessment

  1. Online application

    A resume on Workday, with a Citi-specific account. Early ID registers on Eightfold.1

  2. Skills evaluation (Services and Technology)You are here

    This page. A skills discovery survey for global Services programs, or a coding assessment for Technology.1

  3. First interview

    A one-on-one interview on your background and how your goals fit Citi. In New York investment banking, two back-to-back 30-minute interviews.1,7

  4. Superday

    Multiple interviews, an assessment or a case study, depending on the program. Services in New York ran two hours with a case study.1,5

  5. Offer

    Citi reaches out with an offer, and your recruiter takes you through the details.1

Services survey vs Technology coding assessment

Both sit at step two, but they check different things: the survey looks at your skills, the coding assessment checks you can code.

Who takes it

Services survey

EMEA and global Services programs.1

Technology coding assessment

Technology programs.1

What it checks

Services survey

Your skills, in Citi's words; a New York Services process included a personality test.1,5

Technology coding assessment

Your coding skills, in Citi's words; the technical interviews after it use basic algorithmic exercises.1,3

Time

Services survey

No overall limit, about 25 minutes, five days to finish.9,10

Technology coding assessment

Timed, on Codility.13

What follows

Services survey

Two behavioral one-on-ones, then a two-hour superday with a case (New York, Oct 2025).1,5

Technology coding assessment

Technical interviews of basic algorithmic programming exercises.3,4

How to prepare

Services survey

Answer honestly rather than studying for it; then learn the five Services business lines for the interviews.2,5

Technology coding assessment

Practice basic algorithms in Java or Python against a timer.3

2028 summer analyst status

For summer 2027, the US Technology postings went up on Oct 23, 2026, so expect the summer 2028 postings, and their coding assessment, around fall 2027.3,4

FAQ

Does Citi have an online assessment?

Yes, for some programs. Citi's second step is a skills evaluation: a skills discovery survey for EMEA and global Services programs, or a coding assessment for Technology.1

What is the Citi skills discovery survey?

The survey EMEA and global Services applicants take after applying. A New York Services summer analyst process (Oct 2025) included a personality test, so treat it like one: answer honestly and consistently. It is Plum's Discovery Survey, in five sections: statements most and least like you, two sets of pattern puzzles, words that describe you, and work situations.1,5,9,11

How long is the Citi skills discovery survey?

There is no overall time limit, it takes about 25 minutes, and the invite gives five days to finish. Plum lets you reuse one sitting for later applications and retake the survey a year after the last.9,10,12

What is the Citi Technology coding assessment like?

An assessment to confirm your coding skills: a timed Codility test, with tasks in languages such as Python, Java or C++. The summer 2027 US Technology postings set the technical interviews at basic algorithmic programming exercises, so practice arrays, strings and hash maps at that level in a language you write fluently.1,3,4,13

Do Citi investment banking applicants take a test?

Citi names the skills evaluation for Services and Technology. New York investment banking and generalist applicants have gone from Early ID or a school application to a live first round. So prepare for the live round, and if a survey link arrives, expect the Plum survey.1,7,8

When does the Citi skills evaluation come?

After you apply and before the first interview: it is step two of Citi's five.1

How do I prepare for what comes after the evaluation?

For Services, learn the five business lines (Liquidity Management Services, Payments, Trade & Working Capital Solutions, Investor Services and Issuer Services) and prepare behavioral stories. For Technology, expect technical interviews built on basic algorithmic exercises.2,5,6,3

Online assessment at other firms

Sources

Firm pages first, then dated candidate reports. Last checked Nov 5, 2026.

  1. 1Citi: Early Career (application process)
  2. 2Citi: Services
  3. 3Citi (Workday): Technology, Application Development, Summer Analyst, New York or New Jersey - USA, 2027
  4. 4Citi (Workday): Technology, Cyber Security, Summer Analyst, Irving - USA, 2027
  5. 5Candidate report on a public forum: Services Summer Analyst interview, Corporate Finance, New York (Oct 2025)
  6. 6Candidate reports on a public forum: Citigroup Interview Questions (listing, page 1, Nov 2026)
  7. 7Candidate report on a public forum: Summer Analyst interview, Investment Banking, New York (Jan 2026)
  8. 8Candidate report on a public forum: Intern interview, Generalist, New York (Mar 2026)
  9. 9JobTestPrep UK: Citibank Test (Plum Assessment), All You Need to Know [2026] (UK site) · prep site
  10. 10AptitudePrep: Citi Plum test online assessment (Aug 2026, UK site) · prep site
  11. 11Plum help center: I can't proceed to the next question in the Plum Discovery Survey
  12. 12Plum help center: Can I re-do the assessment?
  13. 13GraduatesFirst: Citigroup Recruitment Process, Complete 2026/27 Guide (UK site) · prep site

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