Santander Assessment Tests, Interviews, Assessment Centre 2024. Practice. A Full Guide.

Are you applying to Santander’s 2024 internship or graduate programs season? Or maybe to a professional job with Santander? This is the complete guide for you.

The text below provides a full assessment and candidate preparation guide and practice for Santander recruitment for those applying to UK and global jobs, internships and graduate programs at Santander.

Our website provides scientifically validated practice assessments tests, interviews and assessment centre exercises that can be used to practice and prepare for the recruitment and assessment process. 

Check here for Free and Premium aptitude assessment tests and video interviews to practice and prepare for Santander recruitment.

If you are aiming to apply to Santander or have a Santander assessment test coming up, our text below is the best place to start.

Not sure if you should practice to prepare for Santander assessments? According to research, 60-80% of candidates are rejected based on their aptitude tests results. It is proven that practice increases your chances of getting hired.

In a nutshell: 

How to prepare for Santander Assessment tests to get the job? 

1. Impress in your Santander Online Application

• Match your application with Santander cultural needs (check their website, social media and see text below) 
• Refer to Santander’s values in your resume.
• Consider using their language and include key competencies from the job description in your resume. 
• Do not use an existing resume. Create a new resume and customize it according to Santander. 

2. Practice for Santander Assessment Tests

Santander uses a variety of aptitude tests by SOVA Assessments to assess cognitive skills and personality traits of the candidates, which may take up to 90 minutes to complete. These tests include: 

• Santander Situational Judgement Tests (SJT)
• Santander Numerical Reasoning Tests 
• Santander Verbal Reasoning Tests 

Santander Online Assessments form a vital part of the Santander Recruitment Process which show your traits to your employers and ensure them that you are fit for the role. More than 60% of the candidates get rejected at this stage. 

Therefore, completing this stage with distinction is important. And practice is the only answer. For best practice, practice assessment tests like those used by Santander.

3. Record mock interviews of yourself 

You will typically be required to attend the Santander Telephone Interview. For some positions, you will be required to sit for a Video Interview. Prepare for your Santander competency interview by running mock interviews answering typical banking interview questions. 

For your Santander interview:

• Practice recording answers to typical questions for banking and CBI using our video interview practice platform
• Playback the recording; improve your voice sound, confidence, body language, practice several times 2-3 first sentences of your answers.
• Align your answers with Santander’s values and key competencies of the job. 

4. Attend Santander Assessment Centre 

The Santander Assessment Centre will be held at a local Santander office or virtually through video conferencing apps such as Google Meet, Zoom, etc. 

You will be required to go through various assessment exercises at the Santander Assessment Centre. These include: 

• Santander Group Exercise 
• Santander Presentation Exercise 

Prepare for your Santander Assessment Centre Exercises by practicing speaking in a clear tone and focus on your body language communication. Practice as many presentations on different topics and case studies as possible. 

5. Prepare for one-on-one Santander Final Interview

Prepare for your one-on-one final interview(s) with a senior manager(s) from Santander. Your Santander Final Interview will have 2-3 rounds of interviews, i.e., Santander Technical Interview and Santander Competency Interview. 

Hone your technique for your final Santander interview to showcase your:

• deep knowledge 
• understanding of the role
• business acumen
• passion
• critical thinking and ability to think on your feet

For this final interview, use the video interview platform and record yourself answering the interview questions using the STAR technique.

Continue reading to find out answers to the most critical Santander Career FAQs:

1. What is the Santander Recruitment Process?
2. How to prepare for Santander Online Assessments?
3. How do I pass a Santander SJT, Numerical and Verbal tests?
4. How do I prepare for a Santander Interview?
5. What questions are asked in a Santander Interview?

But first, take a look at this table of relevant assessments to Santander. Click in the table below to practice assessments relevant to your assessment process!

The above table is fully equipped with practice assessments and tools that will help you prepare for your upcoming assessments at Santander. 

There are a few things that you need to know before applying for Santander, i.e., a few research pointers to keep you ahead of the other candidates in the Santander assessment process. 

Santander: How to Research before Application

Before applying for a job at Santander, you should be able to extract all the required information about the company. This helps your application stand out and keeps you ahead of your competitors. 

Keep reading to discover our important research pointers for your Santander application! But first, let’s check out some of the jobs available at Santander.

Job functions available at Santander

Santander offers a number of opportunities to students, graduates as well as experienced hires. These opportunities revolve around many of the following job functions:

After deciding what career area you want to apply to, you must make sure that you align your resume with the Santander’s Values and Mission Statement. What are Santander’s values and mission statement? Find out below. 

Santander’s Values

• Dynamism 
• Strength
• Leadership 
• Innovation
• Quality service and customer satisfaction
• Professional ethics and sustainability

Santander’s Mission Statement

“Our purpose is to help people and businesses prosper. We focus on the areas where, as a Group, our activity can have the greatest impact, helping more people and businesses prosper in an inclusive, sustainable way”.

To Ace the Santander recruitment process, research into the company is crucial. During your Santander online application and interviews you will be assessed on your ability to demonstrate your genuine interest in Santander through behavioural and competency-based questions. 

To get ahead, we recommend that you research and align your motivations and personal goals to: 

1. Recent improvements made in the company, for example, changes made in the Santander app for better user experience which included improvement in information architecture, step-by-step guide highlighting important features, etc. 
2. Major challenges being faced by Santander currently such as low profitability, increasing competition from shadow banks and new digital entrants, etc. 
3. Various charitable functions and disaster relief functions being carried out by Santander recently such as the ongoing humanitarian relief efforts by Santander responding to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. 
4. Any advancement made in technology by Santander in the past years, for e.g. digitalizing it’s core banking with cloud technology for better service. 

For further researching tips to ace your Santander hiring process, don’t miss our short YouTube video below!

With this, it’s time to jump on to the Santander Recruitment and Assessment Process. 

So, buckle up, and let’s start! 

Santander Recruitment & Assessment Process

The Santander recruitment process is made of five different stages; each requiring you to do your best and outperform your competitors if you want to land your dream job. The different stages of Santander’s Recruitment process are as follows. 

1. Santander Online Application 
2. Santander SOVA Online Assessment Tests
3. Santander First Interview: Telephone or SOVA Video Interview 
4. Santander Assessment Centre 
5. Santander Final Interviews: Santander Technical and Competency-based Interviews

Let’s start with the first stage of your Santander Assessment Process, i.e., the Santander Online Application.

Santander Online Application

Santander Online Application first chance to set a good impression and stand out from your competition. The online form will require you to provide details of your: personal details, contact information, educational qualifications, work experience, etc.  Check below for a sneak peek into the Santander Online Application window:

You will be required to upload your CV / Resume at this stage. Santander uses ATS i.e., Applicant Tracking System to screen CVs and Resumes, which is why it is important for you to make your resume ATS friendly. How do we do this? Keep reading for our best tips. 

Top 5 Tips to make your Santander Resume ATS-friendly 

1. Pick a legible resume format i.e., it should be easy to read.
2. Align your resume the core competencies required for the job from the job description. Make sure your achievements and projects reflect Santander’s values.
3. Use bullet lists and highlight your achievements.
4. Label the sections correctly. For example: skills under “Skills” and qualifications under “Education”.
5. Use job-related skills (data analysis, research, problem-solving, etc.) and action verbs (created, maximised, solved, etc.) in your resume.

Looking for more tips on how to build a good CV for Santander? Don’t miss out on this short video Where we break down how you ace your past experiences section of your Resume! 

For more tips on how to prepare for your Santander job application form, watch this short video:

With the first stage of the Santander Hiring process out of the way, you will be asked to complete Santander aptitude tests.

Santander SOVA Online Assessments Tests

Santander Online Assessments will require you to complete a series of blended assessments designed by SOVA to assess different fundamental skills and competencies. The aim is for Santander to understand that you will be successful once you begin your career at the company.

Once your SOVA assessment is completed, Santander will be provided with an overall suitability fit score and a breakdown of each of your competencies.

How long do Santander Aptitude Tests take to complete?

The Santander Aptitude Test stage generally takes up to 90 minutes to complete. It’s important to use this time wisely, and build a strategy to complete the test within the given time. Assigning a time limit to each question can be one of your strategies to tackle the Santander assessment tests.   

What are the Santander Online Assessment Tests?

Santander Job application, depending on your line of business, may include Santander’s:

1. Situational Judgement Test
2. Numerical Reasoning Test
3. Verbal Reasoning Test

The difficulty level of the Santander SOVA online tests will depend on the business area and position you applied to as each online assessment is tailored to the role, so be sure to carefully read all the information in the aptitude test invite email.

To improve your chances of completing your online tests, watch our video below for some key tips:

First, let’s discuss what your Santander Situational Judgement Test will be like.

Santander’s Situational Judgement Test

Santander’s Situational Judgement Test will provide you with a number of real life work scenarios that you are likely to encounter when working at Santander. In this candidate assessment, you will be required to choose the best and the worst courses of actions to the problem proposed in that scenario.  

You will need to use your common sense, and appreciation of what it takes to excel in a professional environment, to give satisfactory responses. The most important thing is to choose a course of action that SOLVES the problem.

How long does the Santander Situational Judgement Test take?

Santander Situational Judgement Tests are timed and you will need around 30 minutes to complete this test. This is not a lot of time, as the SOVA Santander situational judgement tests require you to read and comprehend a lot of provided information, and so it is useful to familiarise yourself with this style of question before sitting the real thing.

Discover even more about Santander-style Situational Judgement Tests with our short video below: 

Santander’s Situational Judgement tests are not designed to be simple, so you need a lot of practice and familiarization with the questions. We have come up with the following tips to prepare for Santander’s Situational Judgement Tests which may also come in handy. 

4 Top Tips to ace the Santander Situational Judgement Test

1. Do your SJT Research: Understand what Situational Judgement tests are really about.
2. Remember the Key Values: When answering Santander questions in the SJT, it’s important that you keep in mind Santander’s Values and key competencies required for the role.
3. Develop the skill of identifying competencies: Use the GF platform to go through sample situational judgement test questions. Per question, not only focus on the answer, also think about the competency being measured by each question. Trust us, this is a great exercise!
4. Stay Relaxed: As with all assessments, Situational Judgement Tests are challenging, but do not let anxiety cloud your judgement. Being relaxed helps you put yourself in the situation presented, and really consider the pros and cons of the options presented.

For more hints on how to pass a situational judgement test, watch the following short video: 

The best way to ace your Santander test is to practice beforehand. Practice Santander-style Situational Judgement Tests such as the sneak peek example below by registering to GF today. 

Santander-Style Situational Judgement Test Example

For more QUESTIONS similar to a Santander-style Situational Judgment Test, register with GF or Get the Essentials to get access to practice SOVA Santander-style assessment tests. 

Santander’s situational judgement test is just the start of your Santander application process, let’s now discover more about how to ace your Santander Numerical Reasoning Test.

Santander Numerical Reasoning Test

Santander Numerical Reasoning Tests are used because working at Santander will require you to use numerical skills and ability to interpret data from tables and charts. The SOVA Santander Numerical Reasoning Test will examine your ability to understand unseen passages, data, charts, tables and graphs.

You will be required to extract information from these graphs, charts and tables and perform basic mathematical calculations such as: addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, ratio-proportion, average, simple interest, compound interest, percentage, etc.

Want to understand Numerical Reasoning Tests better? Do not miss out on this short video by GF: 

Do not worry if you have not done Maths in a while! The complexity of this does not lie in the knowledge tested but in the time pressure and stress involved. When taking your Numerical Reasoning Test, you will have less than a minute to read the question, analyse the data provided and perform the necessary calculations. The following Numerical Reasoning Test tips will help you ace your Santander SOVA Numerical Reasoning Test. 

Santander Numerical Reasoning Test Tips 

1. Practice. Practise under test situations, in a closed room with a time limit. Have a pen, paper and calculator ready nearby to make some workings. 
2. Have a strategy. Allot time slots to reading, solving and revising the questions. For example, if you have 45 seconds to solve one question, allot only 10 seconds to read the question, 30 seconds to solve and 5 seconds in hand and move to the next question immediately.
3. Do not dwell on a question more than the desired time, use those 5 seconds you kept aside, but if it takes more than that leave it. 
4. Read the question first: DO NOT start by reading the whole paragraph. Start by reading the questions and then look at only that information which is important to answer that question.

For more hints on how to pass a Numerical Reasoning Test watch this short video: 

Let’s put the above-mentioned tips to the test and solve this Santander-style Numerical Reasoning Test question example.   

Try answering the following Santander-style Numerical Reasoning Test question using the above-mentioned tips:

Santander-Style Numerical Reasoning Test Example

Check if you got the correct answer at the bottom of the page.

Want to continue your numerical reasoning practice? Check out our expert step by step question video guide with worked solutions below.

For more FREE QUESTIONS similar to Santander’s assessment tests, register with GF and take your FREE Numerical Reasoning Test now to improve your Santander online assessment answers today!

You’re closing in on the last of the Santander aptitude tests now, so stick around for the next section where we tell you how to nail your verbal reasoning test.

Santander Verbal Reasoning Test

Santander’s Verbal Reasoning Test, identifies a candidate’s ability to read the information, comprehend it and make decisions accordingly. This test examines how well a candidate can accurately extract the relevant information from a previously unseen passage of text to analyse whether subsequent statements are true, false, or impossible to say based on the information contained in the passage of text. 

Want to understand Verbal Reasoning tests better? Don’t miss our quick verbal reasoning test explainer video below!

It is worth noting that in Santander’s SOVA Verbal Reasoning Test, the ability to comprehend English is essential. However, as long as your English is to a good standard, by practicing Verbal Reasoning Test questions beforehand, you can begin to understand the specific way in which texts are built, and questions asked.

How do I pass Santander Verbal Reasoning Test?

1. Understand the answer options. When answering verbal reasoning test questions you will select from True, False or Cannot Say.
2. Answer based on the passage. Ensure that you answer each question based on purely the information provided.
3. Invest time to improve reading skills. Learn a new word each day to help build your vocabulary.
4. Spend time completing crosswords, or other word puzzles.
5. Improve your environment. Ensure that you have plenty of rest the night before and that for the test you are in a closed and quiet environment

You can also learn about these tips on how to pass Verbal Reasoning Tests in this video below:

 Think you got it? Try and solve this Santander-style Verbal Reasoning Test question example. 

Santander-Style Verbal Reasoning Test Example

Looking for more verbal reasoning test examples similar to what you may find with Santander? Check out this comprehensive video below. We go step by step through five real verbal reasoning questions:

For more FREE QUESTIONS similar to Santander’s online aptitude tests, register with GF and take your FREE Verbal Reasoning Test now!

With the end of Santander’s aptitude test stage, you will receive an outcome to this stage within 48 hours of completing your assessments. Once successful, you will be asked to complete a first stage interview – where Santander wants to find out more about you and your work preferences.

Santander First Round interview 

Santander First Round Interview will mostly be a telephone interview which will be competency based, and will be a final chance for you to demonstrate your passion, skills and enthusiasm to work for Santander. 

For some positions you might have to sit for a Video-based Interview. The Santander video interview will depend on the role you have applied to, the job function and the location. Be aware as Santander has been increasing the use of video interviews in their recruitment processes over the past few years.

Let’s dive into what you can expect for the Santander Telephone Interview first.

What is the Santander Telephone Interview?

Santander’s Telephone Interview is a 30-minute call with a senior manager of the field that you’ve applied to. 

Want to ace the Santander Telephone Interview but don’t know how? Here are some top tips that will help you succeed.  

Top 5 Santander Telephone Interview Tips

When sitting for the Santander Telephone Interview the following tips may come in handy:

1. Listen to the questions carefully and ask politely if you do not understand a question. 
2. Do not interrupt the interviewer.
3. Answer in a clear tone.
4. Make sure you keep notes of important topics that you need to include in your answers with you. Use the STAR+R method to answer Santander competency based questions.
5. Make sure to refer to the Santander core competencies, when answering each question.

Want to know what employers look for in an interview? Find out in our video below:

Want to know what questions could come up in your interview? Discover and prepare your answers to common banking interview questions likely to be asked in your Santander Interview with our Question Identifier Tool included in our Go Essential package.

What is a Santander Video Interview?

The Santander Video interview requires you to record yourself answering pre-recorded questions from your interviewer. You can complete this interview according to your convenience. This interview should last between 45-60 minutes. You will have 1 minute to prepare and 3 minutes to answer. 

The Video Interview invite will be active for 3 days, you can log in to complete your Santander Video Interview at any time during that time. 

Santander Video Interview mainly consists of behavioural or competency-based interview questions, which aim at understanding your working style and motivation. 

The Santander Video Interview is an AI driven Interview and thus, the first thing that the Santander Video Interview assesses is the confidence of the candidate while answering in front of the camera. Therefore, we have come up with a few tips on how to be confident and ace your Santander Video Interview.

Practice for your Santander video interview and gain real interview experience to familiarise yourself with recording answers and improving your Santander interview question responses using our Video Interviewing Tool, or go even further to find common interview questions using our Premium Package. 

Santander Video Interview Free Example Question

Top 5 Tips to ace Santander Video Interview

1. Check for tech: Check your internet connection, and make sure you are connected to a stable internet throughout the interview. 
2. Use external devices to aid your video and audio quality: Use external microphone and webcam to deliver better quality responses. Make sure your microphone and camera work before the interview. If you’re using a mobile phone for the interview, use a tripod stand to keep the camera stable  
3. Background: Choose a plain background, or a background with minimal distractions. A plain background prevents the interviewer from making and presumptions about your personality. 
4. Look confident: A subtle smile while answering your Santander questions will do wonders. It will make you feel confident and put a great impact on the recruiter as well, when they assess your interview. Maintain eye-contact (with the camera of course), and have a steady tone.
5. Dress well: Although you will be taking this interview at home, you should make sure that you look professional. Therefore, do not forget to put on formal attire. 

For even more tips on how to ace Santander Video Interview, don’t miss out on this short YouTube Video:

The best way to be ready for your Santander Video Interview is to be fully equipped with answers to the most common Santander Video Interview questions. Therefore, we have come up with the following Santander Video Interview questions and the best ways to answer them. 

Santander Video Interview Questions and Answer Examples 

Question 1: Why Santander? 

Good Answer: I am fascinated by the fact that Santander has been consistent in its working from the very beginning and that it hasn’t changed its name since 1857. The way Santander evolved into such a powerful organisation. Your organisation has branches in more than 25 countries in the present day and that shows how amazingly it has prospered over the years and that makes it the best place to work at, because I will prosper and learn along with my organisation. The other fact that has touched me on a personal level are the relief functions being run by Santander in response to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. “With great power comes great responsibility” and Santander has been doing that really well over the years. 

Question 2: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Good Answer: In 5 years I want to complete my training and work with the best mentors to understand the real weightage of my position as a Digital Analyst. I am aiming to develop more skills and polish my existing skills and reach at the top of my position. I want to be the best at what I do. I understand how the working of the organisation depends on the data they maintain and collect, and thus my top priority would be to deliver the best service for the best banking organisation. 

To get more tips on how to answer “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”. Don’t miss out on the video below:

Question 3: Why do you want this particular job?

For best tips on How to Answer “Why do you want this job?” watch the following YouTube Video by GF:

With video interviews mastered, it is vital to continue to the final stage that you are familiar with more practical activities for the Santander Assessment Centre. This will be the topic of discussion in the next section. 

Santander Assessment Centre

Santander Assessment Centre is “a day in the life” at Santander. You will be invited to a local office where you will spend an entire day with your fellow candidates and take up real life work challenges faced by Santander for that particular day. It is the perfect time for you to get a better insight into what it is like to work at Santander. At the Santander Assessment Centre, you will be compared with the other shortlisted candidates. 

This is a very crucial and rigorous stage of the assessment process, because this day will be full of new experiences and challenges. So, Congratulations! you have made it this far, and all the best for the upcoming rollercoaster ride. Just a few things left before you land your dream job.

The Santander Assessment Centre will be a chance for you to network with professionals working at Santander, and learn more about the company. The Santander Assessment Centre consists of the following exercises:

• Santander Group Exercise
• Santander Presentation Exercise 

We will now go on to explain in depth these exercises you might be expected to take for your Santander Application process’s  final stages.

Santander Group Exercise

The Santander Group Exercise will examine your ability to work as part of a team. Throughout this task, various Santander employees will observe you and how you solve problems when required to work with others. 

Santander Group exercises are conducted to assess candidates on the basis of two key skills, i.e., Teamwork and Communication. For instance, if you talk too much, you stay too quiet, if you mumble, shout or argue, you may risk scoring negatively.  

With the ‘what’ covered, let’s understand ‘how’ you can succeed in your Santander assessment centre group exercise. Here are some Santander Group Exercise tips and tricks to help you with that. 

Santander Group Exercise Tips

• Be confident in sharing your views
• Speak clearly 
• Do not argue
• Engage all the members of the group in the discussion
• Put forth your ideas in a respectful yet convincing way 
• Do not interrupt anyone 
• Remember the names of your teammates

Do not miss our short video on Assessment Centre Group Exercises to ace all your Assessment Centre exercises: 

Get ahead in your group exercise preparation with GF and discover real experience with how top employers such as Santander assess candidates through group discussion exercises and gain professional tips to improve your performance against competencies. 

After the Santander Group Exercise, you may be required to give a short presentation on the same matter on which you had the group discussion. Let’s dive into the details of what to expect.

Santander Presentation Exercise

The Santander Presentation Exercise will mainly test you on your communication skills. Your assessors will be looking at your body language and tone to see how you would cope with delivering professional presentations, taking part in group discussions or explaining your point of view.

Want to ace your Santander Presentation Exercise but don’t know how? Here are some tips and tricks to help you put on a great impression in your Santander Presentation Exercise. 

Top 4 Santander Presentation Exercise Tips

1. Stand straight: This will look more professional and demonstrate confidence to the assessor.
2. Make regular eye contact with everyone in the audience: This is fundamental to exposing good communication skills.
3. Do not speak too fast: Speaking too fast risks people not hearing what you have said. No matter how good what you actually said is, if they miss it, the assessor cannot mark you for it.
4. Welcome your teammates’ feedback and questions: Taking on feedback is key, and will actually be a good tip for when you start your new role at Santander too! 

Get ahead in your presentation exercise preparation with GF and discover real experience with how top employers such as Santander assess candidates through presentation exercises and gain professional tips to improve your performance against competencies. 

If you do well in your Santander Assessment Centre exercises, you will be shortlisted for the Santander Final Interview. Let us get into the details of this stage of Santander Recruitment Process. 

Santander Final Interviews

Santander’s Final Interview will consist of a number of one-on-one interviews with directors or senior managers from the business area you wish to join. The Santander Interview process is likely to involve some competency-based questions, as well as motivational and technical questions. 

By the time you reach the Santander Interview process, you should already have done extensive research about Santander, and the specific role you applied to, so expect to talk about reasons you want to join the company, what you could bring to the team, your long-term career goals, etc.

The Santander Interview process will consist of two rounds of interviews. These are:

1. Santander Technical Interview 
2. Santander Competency-based Interview 

Let us discuss these in detail. 

Santander Technical Interview

Santander Technical Interview consists of questions related to your field. The main aim of this interview is to understand your knowledge in the career area you have applied to. They may ask you basic questions on the fundamentals of your field or to solve problems related to business or tech, depending on the role you have applied for. 

Below we have found some of the common questions asked in Santander’s Technical Interviews. Let’s take a look. 

Santander Technical Interview Question Examples 

• What markets does Santander operate in?
• Name global threats to the bank and its operation. 
• Find the derivative of x^x in a provided equation. 
• How to construct a yield curve?
• Name some exotic options and discuss the pricing methodology.

So how do we ace these Santander Technical Interview questions? Here are our two top tips that you can use to prepare you for your Santander Technical Interview.

Santander Technical Interview Tips 

1. Revise and Practice: 

Revise the basics and fundamentals of your field and practice the basic applications of rules and mathematical formulas used in each field. Think about how you can bring advancements in the banking sector through your field and apply your knowledge to make things better. 

2. Research: 

Research about latest changes in your field, recent advancements adopted by Santander related to your field and problems being faced by Santander in your area of interest. Research about the recent methods adopted by Santander related to your area of interest. 

By following these two tips, you can start your preparation for your technical interview. Ensure you practice solving common problems and continue to research the fundamentals in your field. 

Now, let us look at the next step of your Santander assessment centre; the competency-based interview. 

Santander Competency-based Interview

Santander’s Competency-based Interview aims at knowing more about you as a person and as a professional. They ask you questions and the answers to which depict your skills and competencies. If these competencies match with those required for the job role, voila! You got the job. 

Wondering how to answer Santander Competency Based Interview questions? Here are some Santander competency interview questions and answers that you can use to gain an understanding of how to form your own answers to the most crucial Santander interview questions. 

Without further ado, let’s start. 

Santander Competency Based Interview Questions and Answers 

Question 1: Tell me about yourself 

Good Answer: I am currently a Customer Experience Advisor at XYZ. Co, where I work closely with the Customer Experience Team Co-Leads to achieve Customer Experience goals. A part of my job includes contacting customers and understanding their needs, removing obstacles and preventing customer satisfaction. I really enjoy what I do and I feel I’m ready for something more. Thus, I feel it’s my time to take up a job that’s more challenging and that is why I have applied at Santander. I am determined to own this field because I am very good with people and with my current job I have learnt to empathise with the customers over the years. Santander has been the one stop solution for its customers and I would like to contribute to its value by becoming a part of this huge organization. 

Tired of reading? Don’t miss this short video full of our best tips on how you can best answer the interview question “Tell me about yourself” using the STAR method:

Question 2: Tell me a time when you had disagreement with a colleague and how was it resolved 

Good Answer: 

• Situation – Once my co-worker and I were given the task to prepare pitches on how to approach our client. We prepared entirely different pitches with our own ideas. Our client liked a few aspects of both our pitches. Both of us thought that our strategy was better and thus we were irritated with each other. 
• Task – We had our fair share of disagreements on how to achieve the satisfaction of our client, which affected our productivity towards completing the project for the client. Something had to be done.
• Action – We scheduled regular meetings to work together with a neutral colleague to put forward the important parts of our ideas and developed a strategy to combine the positive aspects of each of our ideas where possible, making compromises on our own pitches.  
• Result – Working together and compromising with our own ideas led to developing a project that our client was happy with. We successfully established a partnership with the client and they remain a client to this day.  
• Reflect – I have learned that team-working is essential for any and all projects, and that compromise is a natural part of this. Moving forward, I always strive to find a middle ground for all shared projects and always listen to the thoughts and ideas of my co-workers before moving ahead with a decision. 

Question 3:  Tell me about a time when you collaborated with a team 

Good Answer: 

• Situation –  I was a data analyst in my last job within a team of data analysts and we had to work on our own findings for a shared client case and come up with a plan for the company within a very short deadline. 
• Task – We had to find the data which would help our client to improve their performance as part of a group project rather than individual project.
• Action – We delegated the main research functions and managed our own areas, scheduling daily meetings to ensure we were all caught up on the progress of the report. 
• Result – Working together helped complete the report for our client much more quickly and efficient than we had done as an individual project, meeting the short deadline. 

Question 4: How do you deal with a tricky customer? 

Discover more on how you can answer your Santander competency-based interview questions using the STAR method with this short video below.

You can get more Santander-style Interview example questions while practicing for your interview using our Video Interviewing Tool. Get ahead with similar assessments used by Santander with our Go Premium Package. 

At the end of the interviews, you will be given a chance to ask questions. You MUST definitely use this opportunity! This is a way of showing that you are interested and motivated, so prepare some thought-provoking and interesting questions beforehand. You can also ask your interviewer about their career path.

What Questions should I ask in my Final Santander Interview? 

1. What does the job really expect from me?
   • This question shows the employer that you are eager to fit into the organisation and bring in value with your skills. 
2. How was your experience when you first joined? 
   • This enables the employer to connect with you and shows that you’re up for any advice or heads up that they have to offer. 
3. How do you manage to handle stress coming from such a high post in this company? 
   • Shows the employer that you understand the role and the responsibilities associated with it, and that you are ready to face any challenges that the job has to offer but with a little help. 

Want more ideas on what questions to ask your employer? Watch this short video to discover even more potential questions you can ask in your Santander interview:

The assessment process of Santander ends at this stage. If you get through all these stages successfully, Congratulations! you’re a part of one of the leading banks.

But wait! Are you a student or a recent graduate looking to start your career in the banking sector? Santander is just the place to be. How?

Santander offers a number of Student and Graduate Programmes in different areas of business which are a great way of starting your career. What are these programmes? Let’s take a look. 

Santander Emerging Talent: Internship and Graduate Programmes

Santander offers a number of internships and graduate programmes for you to kickstart your career with Santander. These internships/graduate programmes will prepare you for all the challenges that you might face in the business world and in your career thereby. You will develop new skills and have a different outlook of the world. 

Check out a summary of what you can expect for the Santander graduate, internship and apprenticeship application process.

Santander Emerging Talent Application Process

1. Santander Online Application: Complete a short online application which will take up to 10 minutes. You may provide information from your resume or CV.  
2. Santander Online Test: These tests consist of a video-based Situational Judgement Test, personality questionnaire and a gamified numerical reasoning test.
3. Santander Video Interview: The Santander Video Interview is a video-based interview, where you have to record yourself answering the pre-recorded questions based around your personal motivations and skills. 
4. Santander Virtual Assessment Centre: The Santander Assessment Centre will be half a day of 3 main exercises. These will include a group discussion, a presentation exercise and a one-to-one interview which will be based on the job function you have applied to. 

Wondering what programmes are available? We’ve got you covered! Below, we give the lowdown on all the key student and graduate programmes that Santander currently offers in detail to help you decide for yourself which programme sounds the best fit for you. 

So, let’s get started.

Santander Internship Programmes

Santander Intern Programmes allow you to learn the practical application of your theoretical knowledge. These internships provide you a great chance to work with one of the best officials and geniuses of your field. The duration of Santander Internships is six to ten months depending on the choice of business area. 

You’ll be working, chatting, learning and getting expertly mentored by the best. Through the course of the internship, you’ll develop skills that are necessary for a successful career. You might also secure a place in the Santander Graduate Schemes.

There are a few minimum requirements that you need to fulfil in order to apply for the Santander Internship Programmes. What are they? Let’s find out.

Minimum Requirements to apply for Santander Internships 

• Current student in your penultimate year of study
• Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (Several programmes may require more than this)
• Ability to work 40 hours per week for 10 consecutive weeks
• Career interest in the field for which you are applying
• Permit to work in the country you have applied to.

The internship programmes offered by Santander are as follows: 

1. Santander Corporate and Commercial Banking Intern Programme (Duration: 8 weeks)
2. Santander Corporate Investment Banking Internship (Duration: 8 weeks) 
3. Santander Risk Management Internship (Duration: 10 weeks)

Want to join Santander this summer? The applications for Santander Summer Internship Programme are typically open until mid-November.

This was all about Santander Internships. Now, let’s walk you through the different career areas offered by Santander Graduate Schemes/ Programmes. 

Santander Graduate Programmes

Santander Graduate Programmes enable you to learn your true potential by understanding the working of the real world through limited time job placements in the areas of your interest. These programmes will place you in different job positions depending on the programme you have applied to. 

The duration of the Santander graduate schemes ranges between 6 months to 3 years, depending on the career area. Throughout the course of this Graduate Programme, you will develop new skills and brush up the existing ones. You will be rotating through different business areas and working with expert team members who will inspire and support you. 

So, we hope you got the idea of what Santander Graduate Schemes are, now let’s see what minimum requirements you need to fulfil to get in. 

What are the eligibility criteria for Santander’s Graduate Programmes? 

The eligibility criteria of Santander Graduate Schemes differ from area to area, but the basic requirements for these graduate schemes can be seen below:

• Bachelor’s degree (actual or predicted) 
• Collaborative approach to work 
• Strong numeracy and communication skills 
• Passion for learning, becoming an expert in your chosen area 
• Confidence to speak up, share ideas and embrace change

Now, what career areas does the Santander Graduate Programmes offer? Let us take a look. 

Santander Graduate Programmes: Career Areas

1. Retail graduate
2. Audit Consultant Graduate 
3. Corporate and Investment Banking
4. Corporate and Commercial Banking 
5. Finance Graduate Programme
6. Risk Graduate 

So with this, we have finished covering all you need to know for the Santander recruitment process. 

Best of luck on your application from all of us at team GF! 

Looking for even more answers to top questions about your Santander application? Then don’t miss out on even more of our top tips in our Santander application process FAQs. 

Santander Careers FAQs