Deutsche Bank Situational Judgement Test, Personality and General Ability Tests [2024]

As one of the world's leading financial services providers, Deutsche Bank is a highly sought-after workplace with a less than 1% acceptance rate — one of the lowest in the industry.
Upon applying for Deutsche Bank's Spring Week, internship, or graduate programme, you will face a series of screening stages provided by SHL. These include a situational judgement test (SJT), OPQ32 personality test, and general interactive ability test, all followed by a pre-recorded video interview. You will have to complete these tasks in one sitting, advancing only if you pass the preceding stage.

Successfully navigating this long and straining process will be a tough nut to crack; thus, proper and comprehensive preparation is a must to avoid getting immediately dinged.
Our Prep Pack pack was created to prepare you for acing the Deutsche Bank online assessment. It includes:

  • Situational Judgment Test simulating the full-length SHL's SJT in the same format as the actual test, with detailed explanation, study guide and extra practices tailored especially for graduate programmes.
  • OPQ32 Personality Simulation, Practice Questions & Personality Report with recommended answers based on the position you applied for, teaching you how to highlight the traits needed on the job. You will also get study guides walking you through the rationale behind this personality test and preparing you for the final stage interview.
  • General Ability Practices of the SHL Verify Interactive test, sharpening your logical and numerical skills while preparing you for this unique test format.

Note: The Deutsche Bank Summer Internship application is already open. For the latest details, visit the company's careers website or your campus career services.

Applying to Multiple Positions?

See our bundle PrepPacks: Summer Internship | Spring Week | Big 4

Preparing for the Hire-Vue Interview? Record your interview responses and get detailed feedback from our occupational psychologists.

Deutsche Bank Online Assessments
Less Content

New SHL Deutsche assessment format

  • Situational Judgement Test
    • Full Simulation
    • Graduate-Oriented Extra Practice
    • Study guide
  • OPQ32 Personality Test
    • Full simulation
    • Full personality report
    • 2 study guides (OPQ32 Theory & OPQ32 Interview)
    • Extra 100 OPQ32 practice questions
  • General Ability Tests
    • 3 Full Practice Tests
    • Focused Practices (Inductive, Deductive & Numerical Reasoning)
    • 3 Study Guides ((Inductive, Deductive & Numerical Reasoning)
Applying for the 2024 student programmes? Get an accurate Spring Week or Summer Internship preparation for all major Banks to help you land your internship!
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All You Need to Know About the Deutsche Bank Situational Judgment Test

The Deutsche Bank situational judgment test is a mandatory online assessment that ALL candidates must go through.

Note: The link to take the online assessment is valid for ten days before expiring automatically. The test itself is not timed, it is suggested to complete it within 20 minutes.

The test, administered by SHL, is a type of job simulation designed to see how well your values align with the values at Deutsch Bank. The way to do so is to present various realistic work situations and see how you respond to each.

As the test situations are inspired by real day-to-day work scenarios, your responses will paint a picture of how you might fit in as a Deutsch Bank analyst.

During the test, you will have to analyse 24 work situations. Every situation will have three possible responses, and your job is to choose both the most AND least effective responses.

A walk in the park, no?
Not really.

Shortly I will elaborate on why this is one of the trickier tests.
But first, let’s see an example:

Situational Judgment Test Sample Question

You are a trainee analyst enrolled in a graduate programme at a London bank. You are currently working under the supervision of two managers.

The first manager has asked you to give a presentation to a client in a meeting later this week; the second manager is waiting for a detailed report for a new and important client.

You are on a very tight time schedule as both assignments are due to be handed in by the end of this week. You work extra hard and are confident you are going to meet your deadlines when a third manager approaches you.

She notifies you of a client's complaint that you will have to deal with urgently. Given this unexpected task, you will struggle to complete the two other assignments you were working on.

What would you do in this situation?
Rank TWO of the following options, one as the BEST and one as the WORST.

  1. Spend some time examining all three tasks. Use your own common sense and previous knowledge to decide which of them would be the least problematic to postpone.
  2. Speak to the clients, apologise to them, saying that a very urgent issue has come up and you will have to reschedule your deadlines.
  3. Gather information from all three managers to assess priorities and deadlines. Then, open your work calendar to find ways of revising your timetable, and be aware of the possibility that you will have to put in a few more hours, if required, to meet all your deadlines.
  4. Work overtime to get the presentation and the report done on time. The extra time will give you the opportunity to complete both assignments to a high standard and deal with the complaint as well.
View Explanation

Solution and Explanation:

Primary competencies: Decision making
Secondary competencies: Independence; Working under management; Flexibility and adaptability; Achievement-striving
Best response: 3
Worst response: 2

Explanation: When confronted with a timetable problem, the best way to go about it is to think before you act.

Positive responses will show a certain amount of consideration and planning on your part before choosing to act, while negative responses will be hasty in nature.

In situations such as the one described in the scenario, you need organisational skills to prioritise your tasks and plan your time and actions independently.

Let's consider each response individually:

Response #1: This response displays an ability to plan and prioritise and is therefore a positive choice.

Response #2: There is no indication of prior consideration; rather you decide to take action immediately and postpone both obligations in favour of a seemingly more urgent matter.

This is a negative choice as you do not demonstrate any planning abilities. Moreover, you are hasty in postponing client deadlines, an action that reflects poorly on the company.

Response #3: This response displays an ability to plan and prioritise, and is therefore a positive choice.

You utilise your managers to get all the information you need and don't rely solely on your own common sense (as is the case in response #1).

Moreover, you show flexibility by re-adjusting your timetable to fit the new demands, and you aim to finish all tasks, thus showing achievement-striving. Therefore, this is an excellent response choice.

Response #4: This is not an optimal choice as it does not display the ability to plan and prioritise your tasks.

However, it does suggest a high work ethic and a tendency to be a 'workaholic'.

Choosing too many 'workaholic' responses could indicate either a difficulty to balance workload (decision-making skills), or dishonesty – an attempt to present yourself as a perfect candidate.

Tip: Try choosing responses that take into account the needs of everyone in the situation (including your own), that help the situation, and that represent the competencies you want to show.

This solving tip and many more are found in the full SJT study guide, included in our preparation pack.

What Makes the Deutsche Bank Situational Judgment Test So Tricky?

  • Deutsche Bank is the only bank we know of that uses ONLY a situational judgment test as an initial screening stage. This puts a lot of weight on this one crucial test. Scary stuff.
  • It IS a screening stage. I know of a lot of candidates that were dinged right after taking the test, so your score does matter.
  • There are right and wrong answers. Remember, the goal of these questions is to engage you in a scenario so that you will provide a spontaneous, genuine response. However, your spontaneous choice is not necessarily the best one.
  • Ambiguous responses. The optional responses are usually in the realm of grey area, and the right answer will not be obvious.
  • Ranking system. Not only do you have to choose the right answer, but you also have to choose the worst answer. That is not a regular question format, and it takes time getting used to.

Overcome These Difficulties With Proper Preparation and Guidance

  • Train yourself to answer in a manner that fits the Deutsche Bank work environment.
  • Understanding what is behind every question and what competency it tests.
  • Learn how to analyse every situation properly.

Our preparation pack contains practice questions with full explanations that will help you surpass all these obstacles, along with a study guide filled with tips and strategies


Deutsche Bank Pre-recorded Interview

Like many other banks and financial firms, Deutsche Bank also uses the increasingly popular screening tool of pre-recorded interviews. Unlike a traditional face-to-face interview, this type of interview is done virtually by yourself through the AI-based platform Hirevue.
This is, in fact, another assessment of your job-related competencies, traits, and behavioural tendencies.
You will get between 5 to 8 questions that you will need to respond to by recording yourself with your phone or computer camera. The questions you will receive are tailored specifically to the programme or position you applied for.
Once you see the question, you will have 30 seconds to prepare your answer and up to 3 minutes to record it.

As the HireVue interview lacks social dynamics, a major factor in regular interviews, combined with AI monitoring your every move — you 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.

Create Your Custom Assessment Prep Kit

Job-seeking can be a long and frustrating process that can take months, involving several pre-employment tests or interviews. To guide you through it we offer a Premium Membership:

Join our Premium Membership plan at 50% Discount.

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Access your practice for 1/3/6 months.

                  


Deutsche Bank Programmes

Deutsche Bank Spring Week

Spring Week is a week-long insight programme with eligibility for 1st-year students in a 3-year course or 2nd-year students in a 4-year course.

This programme is designed to give you a glimpse of the analyst job at Deutsche Bank, as well as the various business departments of the firm.

You will be rotating between different desks and divisions, work-shadow actual analysts, and learning basic skills you will need later on.

The best part is that you will be fast-tracked to the interview stage of the summer internship. Not only that, but you will also get an early interview, which will increase your chances of getting an offer.

If you are an exceptionally successful spring intern – you will get an internship offer on the spot!

Deutsche Bank Internship Programme

8-10 weeklong internship with a specific division of the bank, eligible for students in their penultimate year.

Note: The application is usually open between June and August. The interviews are done on a rolling basis, so apply as early as possible.

Whether you choose Investment Banking, Corporate Banking, Finance or any other business department of the bank, your training will be similar.

You will start with a few days of basic training, a sort of “Welcome to Deutsche Bank” that will familiarise you with the basic stuff.

After that, you will have a few rotations in different desks within your division. At every desk you will have the chance to do some actual hands-on work, with real cases and clients.
The programme also involves lectures and networking with senior staff.

And the best benefit of all:
Successful interns will get an offer for the graduate programme.

Deutsche Bank Graduate Programme (Graduate Scheme)

This is a full-time job coupled with a full year of training, prior to continuing your career as an analyst.

The training begins with a thorough introduction to Deutsche Bank, its assets, clients, and projects. It also includes meetings with senior management, who will share their vision for Deutsche Bank future.

Your actual work will start on day one, in a specific desk or business area of your chosen division. Alongside working on real live projects, you will keep training to develop a variety of skills needed for an analyst.

Timeline:

  • October-December: Application
  • January-April: Interviews
  • April: Graduate training begins

Deutsche Bank Application Process

Regardless of the programme you apply to, the process is roughly the same:

Stage Description
Stage 1
Initial application online or through a recruiter on campus
Stage 2

Deutsche Bank online assessments provided by SHL

Stage 3 2 rounds of interviews
Stage 4 Offer! 

 

While the SJT and OPQ are personality-based, and the interviews are competency-based, the general ability test focuses on your cognitive abilities. 

Each step is a screening stage, but the most comprehensive one is the SJT. Most candidates are dinged here.


Ace the Deutsche Bank Assessment

You can be sure to have the utmost comprehension with JobTestPrep’s Complete Preparation:

  • Deutsche Bank SJT simulation mimicking the real full-length SHL test, with detailed explanations, a study guide, and additional practice materials tailored specifically for graduate programs.
  • OPQ32 Personality Test and extra practice questions with full personality report  and recommended responses aligned with the position requirements you've applied for, instructing you on effectively showcasing the essential traits the job demands.
  • SHL General Ability Practice materials designed to prepare you for the unique format of these Interactive tests, including a score tacker allowing you to spot your strengths and weaknesses.

FAQ

Deutsche Bank used to administer a range of aptitude tests, up until two years ago. They decided to stick only to the SJT and leave the technical stuff for later in the application process.


Although the SJT seems like a personality assessment, it is a screening stage. Which means there are right and wrong answers, and that your performance is being scored.

The key here is to remember that you are scored regarding how well you can fit to Deutsch Bank.

To be able to answer correctly you need to know what competency is tested in each situation. That skill is something you acquire by practising.


The whole world is adjusting to this new and crazy reality, and Deutsche Bank is no different. Last year they cut the internship programmes in half and moved it online. This year the process and the training will probably also be fully virtual.


Yes, you can. Deutsche Bank declares that they are looking for candidates from all disciplines, as long as they are motivated and have an interest in finance.


Sadly, no. You are eligible only if you graduated in the past 12 months.


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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