Ace Your Barclays Online Assessment with Our Comprehensive Practice Pack [2025]
Barclays is a British multinational investment bank and financial services company that has been operating for over 300 years. Headquartered in the UK and with locations in more than 50 countries, they employ about 130,000 people in various positions and offer various Graduate programs, internships, and apprenticeships.
With high competition for every position, Barclays administer a multi-step hiring process, which includes a series of online assessments designed to make sure their employees possess the required abilities for the job and are aligned with the organisation’s values.
Build familiarity and confidence with the Barclays online assessment! This page offers hands-on experience with test-like practice questions, a clear breakdown of the assessment structure, insights into the different types of assessments, and expert tips to help you succeed.
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Barclays Online Aptitude Tests
The PrepPack includes:
- Cognitive Ability
- 4 full Simulations
- 5 Study Guides
- Focused Practices
- Personality Assessment
- Full OPQ32 Simulation
- Full Personality Report
- Over 100 OPQ32 Style Practice Questions
- Study Guide
- Mindset Assessment Study Guide
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What Is the Barclays Online Assessment?
The Barclays online assessment is a series of tests, provided by SHL, that evaluate if you have the competencies and behavioural traits necessary for success in your position and in the organisation itself.
As a graduate or intern, you might not have much experience under your belt just yet—don’t worry, that’s completely normal! But here’s the secret: being prepared and knowing what to expect can set you apart from the competition. And trust us, they’re all preparing too.
Want a competitive edge? Take the time to fully understand what you’re up against. Get familiar with the different stages of the assessment and keep in mind the Barclays Values discussed below, especially when tackling the personality and mindset mini-tests.
Here’s what you’ll face in the Barclays assessment—it’s broken down into three mini-tests:
✻ Cognitive ability assessment
✻ Personality assessment
✻ Mindset assessment
Let’s go over them!
What Is Evaluated in the Barclays Cognitive Ability Assessment?
The Barclays cognitive ability assessment evaluates your comprehension in three areas:
Numerical reasoning – your ability to understand and analyse numerical data presented in graphs and tables and to make calculations such as percentages, fractions, unit conversion, etc.
Verbal reasoning – your ability to understand written information and evaluate and make logical inferences based on this information.
Inductive logical reasoning – your ability to identify patterns and rules presented in graphic information and predict the outcome based on this information.
You will be presented with a series of multiple-choice questions that can include word problems, syllogisms, argument evaluation, and next-in-series questions.
You will have 12 questions to address in 10 minutes.
You can use a calculator.
Note that you need to answer all the questions to avoid score reductions.
Let’s see how it looks –
How Do You Measure Up? Try These Cognitive Sample Questions
Barclays Cognitive Ability Assessment – Numerical Reasoning Sample Question
If a price of a pen has increased from $0.90 to $0.99, what was the percent increase in price?
Tip: In numerical reasoning questions, especially when time is tight, it is crucial to avoid unnecessary calculations. Read the question carefully, make sure you understand what you are asked and search for this information.
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Barclays Cognitive Ability Assessment – Verbal Reasoning Sample Question
In many cultures, the lotus flower is considered a symbol of purity, enlightenment, and rebirth. Art, literature, and religious texts often depict it as a sacred and powerful symbol. The lotus flower grows in muddy waters but emerges above the surface, clean and pristine. This is seen as a metaphor for human experience – we can rise above our struggles and difficulties to become something beautiful.
What is the lotus flower often used as a symbol for?
Tip: Verbal reasoning questions are often deliberately confusing. If you are unsure about the correct answer, try to eliminate the obviously incorrect options. This will increase your chances of getting the answer right.
Barclays Cognitive Ability Assessment – Inductive Reasoning Sample Question
Choose the image that completes the pattern
The recommended work method for questions with more than one rule, is to choose one of them and “run with it”, trying to eliminate as many distracters as possible.
Two elements are at play in this question: the number of circles and the colours and patterns of overlapping shapes.
A quick examination of the images can easily eliminate distracter 5 as the shapes remain the same throughout the entire sequence.
Let’s take a closer look at the number of circles element. We can see that it follows a simple rule of decreasing by one every time we advance from one frame to the next. Using this information we can now dismiss distracters 1 & 3 as well.
In this case, the colours’ rule is very intuitive; as we can see it switches from frame to frame, alternately. Thus, we are looking for the distracter (either 2 or 4) that matches the colours shown in frame 2. The correct answer is 2.
The correct answer is
Tip: Sometimes, more than one pattern appears to fit the given series. In this case, look for any clues or information that can help you identify which pattern is more likely to be correct.
Practice Your Way to Perfection
Increase your chances of success with JobTestPrep’s Barclays online assessment PrePack™. It includes all the tools to ace Barclay’s SHL cognitive and personality tests and our detailed Mindset Assessment Study Guide.
Will You Display the Right Traits in the Barclays Personality Assessment?
The Barclays personality assessment evaluates your traits and characteristics and how they fit the requirements of the position you have applied for.
You will be presented with sets of three statements. You will need to choose the statement that describes you best. Then, you will be presented with the two remaining statements and need to choose the one you think is more like you.
You will have 105 sets of statements to address in 20 minutes.
Let’s take a look!
Barclays Personality Assessment Sample Question
Step I
Which statement describes you best?
Step II
Let’s say you choose the statement “I enjoy working in a team” as the one that describes you best.
Which statement describes you best?
Tip: The test intentionally contains some statements that are repeated. If you come across such statements, just choose the best answer from the available options without being concerned about how you responded to similar statements earlier.
Make Your Personality Shine and Pass Your Barclays Assessment
Master the art of showcasing your personality with our prep material—designed to align perfectly with the test structure and Barclays Values!
How Can You Showcase the Right Work Tendencies in the Barclays Mindset Assessment?
The Barclays mindset assessment evaluates your work-related tendencies, way of thinking, approach, and behaviours in a working environment to ensure they match the Barclays Values.
Like the personality assessment, you will be presented with sets of three statements. You will need to choose the statement that describes you best.
Then, you will be presented with the two remaining statements, and need to choose the one that is more like you.
You will have 75 sets of statements to address in 20 minutes.
Barclays Mindset Assessment Sample Question
Step I
Which statement describes you best?
Step II
Let’s say you choose the statement “I prioritize clear communication and collaboration to achieve shared goals” as the one that describes you best.
Which statement describes you best?
Tip: choose your answers based on how you would behave in a work setting and not in your personal life outside of work.
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How to Stand Out in the Barclays HireVue Interview?
Applicants for several positions and programs within Barclays are invited to take the HireVue interview. This is a virtual pre-recorded interview in which participants must record their responses to pre-determined questions. Although it may look like a video version of a regular interview, there is more to it than that!
As these interviews lack social dynamics, a major factor in regular interviews, participants must come up with optimal responses and appearances, perfecting both response content and nonverbal communication cues.
Read more about how our occupational psychologists can help overcome this obstacle when preparing for the HireVue interview.
How Well Do You Understand the Barclays Values?
Barclays emphasise their core values and recruit their employees according to how they fit the organisation’s principles, environment, and culture.
Before taking the Barclays online assessment, make sure you are familiar with the Barclays values and address them while choosing your answers, mainly in the Barclays mindset assessment, but also the Barclays personality assessment.
Barclays define five core values:
- Respect – harnessing inclusion and diversity, trusting your colleagues and valuing their contribution.
- Excellence – championing innovation and using your expertise, resources, and energy to make a positive difference.
- Integrity – operating with honesty, fairness, and transparency.
- Service – acting with humility and sympathy and putting your clients at the centre of your actions.
- Stewardship – improving things and making them better.
Practise Makes Perfect
Practise how to best answer the Barclays Mindset assessment with the complete study guide and solving tips that will teach you how to best address every question!
Barclays Application Process
The Barclays hiring process comprises 5 steps:
- Application
- Barclays online assessments
- Telephone interview
- Face-to-face interview
- Job offer.
FAQs
The Barclays Online Assessment is a series of three tests that assesses your abilities and behavioural tendencies – a cognitive ability assessment (numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, and inductive logical reasoning), a personality assessment, and a work-related mindset assessment.
Yes. The Barclays online assessment is considered hard as its strict time limit makes it very difficult to reach the correct answer in the cognitive ability assessment, and the personality and mindset assessments are also pretty challenging because you need to be authentic to yourself while keeping in mind your position and the Barclays core values.
The Barclays cognitive ability assessment is a psychometric evaluation of your comprehension in three areas: numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, and logical inductive reasoning.
The Barclays personality assessment is a questionnaire designed to evaluate your traits and characteristics and how they fit the position requirements you have applied for.
The Barclays mindset assessment is a questionnaire designed to evaluate your work-related tendencies, way of thinking, approach, and behaviours in a working environment and how they align with the Barclays Values.
Master the Barclays Assessment Test
With the complete PrepPack™, including full cognitive ability simulations and focused practices, study guides, full OPQ32 simulation and a personality report, and over 100 SHL OPQ32-style practice questions
More Free Practice
We at JobTestPrep find the assessment tests world highly diverse and fascinating. If you are looking to deepen your knowledge in the aptitude tests world, or you want some extra practice before your test, we've got you covered!
Check out these fantastic free practice tests (all are completely free):
Free Aptitude Test | Free Psychometric Test | Free Numerical Reasoning Test | Free Verbal Reasoning Test | Free Cognitive Test | Free Critical Thinking Test | Free Abstract Reasoning Test | Free Spatial Reasoning Test | Free Personality Test | Free Inductive Test | Free Mechanical Reasoning Test
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