Bank of America Assessment Centre, Aptitude Tests, Personality Test, SJT, Recruitment Process & Interview Questions Online Preparation – 2024
What Is Bank of America?
Bank of America is an investment bank and financial services company based in the United States. They offer banking services to individuals as well as businesses of all sizes. They are currently the second largest bank in the world and the United States with over $90 billion in revenue per year and over 200,000 employees.
They hire for a wide range of jobs including bank tellers, customer service representatives, investment bankers, personal bankers, wealth managers, and more. The bank frequently appears on the top of “Best Places to Work” lists for the assortment of benefits they offer employees. These benefits include, but are not limited to, the following:
- An extra $275 per month per child for parents
- On-demand, digital training that is accessible 24/7
- Subsidized health insurance premiums for employees earning less than $50,000 per year.
- 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave
- Healthcare options for retired employees
- Health, dental, vision, and life insurance
- 401k retirement savings
The perks at Bank of America make it a very desirable company for jobseekers. As such, receiving a job offer at Bank of America can be very difficult, especially for the higher paying positions.
What Is the Recruitment Process at Bank of America?
The hiring process will generally follow the below outline. There can be some slight variation to the process for certain positions such as investment bankers, though.
Bank of America Application Process
The majority of hiring processes at Bank of America begin by creating a profile on Bank of America’s Taleo job portal. Applicants will provide their resume, CV, and cover letter. Taleo’s software will automatically populate the work experience with the information from your resume and CV. However, it can sometimes incorrectly parse the information, so make sure to double check the information and correct any mistakes, if necessary.
Bank of America Internship Application Process
The Bank of America internship application process is a thorough and multi-step procedure that commences with either creating an account or logging into your existing Bank of America Careers account. Applicants are required to complete a comprehensive online application form, providing details such as personal information, educational background, and work experience. Moreover, applicants must upload any necessary documents, including a resume, cover letter, and transcripts. Prior to submission, it is crucial to meticulously review the application for accuracy and completeness.
Notably, applications must be submitted exclusively through the Bank of America application system for consideration; paper copies are not accepted in lieu of digital submissions. The entire application process culminates in multiple rounds of interviews. This rigorous approach ensures that only the most qualified candidates are chosen for this esteemed internship opportunity. The overarching goal of this meticulous application process is to attract and retain outstanding talent across all lines of business, thereby playing a pivotal role in driving responsible growth and delivering exceptional results for clients.
Bank of America Assessment Test
The next step in the hiring process involves taking some psychometric tests. Bank of America has a variety of jobs, which means they have many different psychometric tests. Some jobs require a battery of psychometric tests while others do not require a single psychometric test.
The psychometric tests you may encounter when applying for a job at Bank of America include:
- Situational Judgment Test – The Situational Judgment Test is given to those applying for bank teller, customer service, relationship manager, and any other jobs that involve interacting with customers. Each question on this test will present you with a scenario and you must select or rank the best answer or answers.
Bank of America is looking for applicants that can handle customer service situations satisfactorily without excessive training and the SJT allows them to test for that. The best answer in a customer service SJT will be one that empathizes with the customer while not making any promises that cannot be fulfilled.
Analysts may also have to take an SJT. However, the SJT for analysts will have scenarios that relate to working on a team because that is integral to their job. Bank of America, like most companies, likes team players that do not lower team morale.
- Skills Aptitude Test – The skills aptitude test is only required for positions that require specialized knowledge. It’s frequently seen when applying for customer service and bank teller jobs. For instance, bank teller applicants will have to properly make change or calculate the correct number of bills to give a customer making a withdrawal on their skills aptitude test.
- Analyst Assessment – Those applying for business analyst jobs at Bank of America will have to take an analyst assessment test. This test has verbal reasoning, situational judgment, numerical reasoning, logical reasoning, and case study sections.
It will test all the skills that a business analyst may use in the course of their workday.
- Personality Test – Bank of America requires applicants to take a personality test. This test will measure certain aspects of an applicant’s personality such as their ability to work in teams, trustworthiness, and impulsiveness. The test has 45 questions in a “Strongly Agree” format and is done online.
Phone Interview
The next step of the hiring process is a very brief phone interview with an HR representative. This interview will go over the applicant’s previous work experience, any interesting points from their resume, and why they want to work at Bank of America.
It’s not a technical interview, but it may have some basic behavioral questions. The interview should not last more than 15 or 20 minutes.
The Bank of America Assessment Centre
The assessment centre is only done for those applying for investment banking and business analyst internship positions. It’s an all-day event where candidates do three interviews and various case study group exercises.
It’s important to demonstrate leadership skills in the group exercises while still taking the thoughts and opinions of others into consideration. The purpose of the assessment centre is for hiring managers to see the leadership abilities of the candidates. It’s not unheard of for companies to have employees disguised as candidates in order to spot candidates that demonstrate good leadership skills.
Candidates will receive an offer after the assessment centre. There are no interviews afterwards as the three interviews on the assessment centre are deemed sufficient for an internship position.
Face-to-Face Interview
Those applying for jobs will have one or more face-to-face interviews after the phone interview. For those in customer service roles, there will only be one interview with a hiring manager, senior manager, or regional manager depending on the position. This interview will have mostly behavioral questions and serves as a way for the managers to determine if you are a good fit for the team.
Those applying for business analyst or investment banking jobs will have two or more face-to-face interviews. The first (and sometimes part of the second) interview is a technical interview with a senior employee. You will likely have to do a case study in this interview.
The final interview will be with a senior manager or director and is more relaxed than the other interviews. The interviewer knows you have the aptitude for the job because you made it that far. This interview is to determine if you would make a good fit for Bank of America.
Bank of America Graduate Scheme
The Bank of America Graduate Scheme, also known as the Bank of America Graduate Program, stands as a prestigious initiative providing an extensive and well-structured pathway for graduates seeking to thrive in the financial services industry. The application process is meticulous and encompasses several key steps:
- Account Creation: Applicants are required to either create a new account or log into their existing Bank of America Careers account.
- Application Form: The online application form demands detailed information encompassing personal details, educational background, and work experience.
- Document Submission: Applicants must upload essential documents including a resume, cover letter, and transcripts.
- Interviews: The application process concludes with multiple rounds of interviews.
Additionally, the scheme features a robust training and development program known as The Academy. This program is designed to empower employees in mastering their current roles while exposing them to various career paths.
The Bank of America Graduate Scheme is strategically crafted to attract and retain outstanding talent across all lines of business, a key element in driving responsible growth and delivering exceptional outcomes for clients. It is crucial to highlight that the application process is rigorous, ensuring that only the most qualified candidates are selected for this esteemed opportunity.
What Is the Bank of America Placement Program?
The Bank of America Placement Program is designed to attract exceptional talent for its various lines of business. The application process is tailored to ensure the selection of highly qualified candidates.
Application Process Summary:
- Account Setup: Applicants need to create or log into their Bank of America Careers account.
- Form Completion: The online application requires personal, educational, and professional details.
- Document Upload: Submission of key documents such as resumes, cover letters, and transcripts is necessary.
- Interviews: The process typically involves several interview rounds, which may be conducted via phone, in-person, or video, depending on the role and location.
BoA’s Placement Program Key Features:
- Training: The program includes comprehensive training for skill development and career progression.
- Diverse Opportunities: Open to various business areas, emphasizing inclusive growth.
- Recruitment Timeline: Varies by program type and location, with applications advised to be submitted early due to rolling basis selection.
- Interview Approach: Involves competency-based interviews and assessments.
- Inclusivity in Hiring: Committed to equal opportunity, disregarding factors like race, religion, or gender.
Common Interview Questions at Bank of America
Bank of America has a large pool of interview questions for interviewers to ask candidates. Some of the interview questions overlap between all positions, though. Here are some common interview questions they ask at Bank of America:
- Why do you want to work at Bank of America?
This interview question is asked at many big companies. The interviewer knows everyone wants to work in banking for the money, benefits, or prestige, but they do not want to hear that. They want to hear something about working on teams, solving interesting problems with creative solutions, or something similar.
- How do you handle failure?
Failure is something that happens in all jobs and especially in the finance industry. The interviewer wants to see that you can understand why the failure happened and not make the same mistakes again.
- Tell me something about Bank of America.
This question is straightforward and gauges if you have done your research on the company. You should only mention positive things like being the second largest banking in the world and the opportunity for advancement. If you are applying as a business analyst or investment banker, then you can mention something positive that the CEO or other executive did or made.
How to Prepare for Bank of America’s Assessment Tests?
Applicants often struggle with the assessment tests at Bank of America because the bank has high standards for the scores they expect on the assessment tests. The bank receives a lot of great applicants that would happily accept a job offer, so they can safely choose the best applicants without much risk.
As a result, the tests require a substantial amount of practice in order to ensure an acceptable score. The best way to practice for assessment tests is by taking practice assessment tests that give explanations for the right and wrong answers.
The explanations will help you understand the logic behind the answer, which is far more important than memorizing the question. The questions from the practice assessment rarely appear on the real assessment, but the real assessment will often have very similar questions as those found on the samples.
The ideal strategy is to take one timed practice test and understand the reason for wrong answers. You should then continue taking practice tests and repeating this process until you receive a perfect score.
This strategy also applies to Bank of America’s personality tests. Practice personality tests will have an ideal personality profile that you should aim for if you want a certain job and explain the proper answers to receive that personality profile.
You can prepare for SJTs in a similar manner. Bank of America has a particular way they want employees to respond to certain situations. The practice test makers know the way Bank of America wants employees to respond and the answer explanations will explain it.
By taking enough practice tests, it’s possible to pass all of Bank of America’s assessment tests, even the ones that deemed “not studyable.”
