Barclays says two interactive assessments. Candidates say numerical reasoning. Prepare for both

Prep sites and candidate reports describe numerical and verbal reasoning in Barclays assessments, with a numerical test reported at around 35 minutes. If yours includes them, our reasoning test, 25 numerical and 25 verbal questions, is a fair rehearsal.

Barclays' own early careers page does not mention numerical or verbal reasoning at all. It describes two short interactive assessments about workplace performance and working preferences. You may not meet a reasoning test, so this page is a hedge: practise what is commonly reported, and read the invitation before you spend your evenings on it.

On its early careers page, Barclays says the process starts with two short interactive assessments. They show how you might perform in the workplace and your typical or preferred ways of working. That is a behavioural description, not a cognitive one. It does not mention numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning or any pass mark.

It does say two other useful things. Most assessments run on a digital experience platform that includes hints and tips and some practice tests. And for the apprentice route it suggests 60 minutes for completion and a five-calendar-day window, on any type of device. Barclays' experienced-hire page says the tests can take up to an hour and that you will always have the opportunity to practise first.

Assessment guides describe a longer list: numerical, verbal and logical reasoning, a situational judgement test, and a values or personality assessment, taking 60 to 90 minutes in total. One says the numerical test is usually SHL-based and adds that Barclays may have changed publisher, so you should check the one named on your invite. One candidate report describes a 35-minute numerical test developed by SHL.

A separate source describes a Barclays assessment as strengths-based, expecting you to show teamwork, decision making and critical analysis. We could not confirm whether that is a separate product from the situational judgement test.

Both pictures can be true at once. The same company can use different assessments for graduates, apprentices and experienced hires, and the mix can change year to year. That is why reading your own invitation matters more than reading ours.

The honest approach is to spread your effort by likelihood. Barclays is a bank, and banks that run online assessments tend to include numerical data questions, so a short numerical session is a reasonable default. Verbal reasoning is the next most commonly reported. Neither is confirmed by Barclays.

A plan that works with that uncertainty: take the free test above once, in full. If the numerical half goes well, spend your time on the platform's own practice tests and on the behavioural side. If it goes badly, give it two or three more sessions, because the numerical content is the part that rewards practice.

Because Barclays leads with assessments about workplace performance and preferences, treat that as the main event. Read the competencies in its candidate competency guide, which is public, and think of real examples of each from your studies, jobs or activities. Answer interactive scenarios as you would act, not as you think a bank wants.

Consistency does more for you here than polish. Assessments like this tend to ask the same thing from several angles, so an exaggerated answer in one place conflicts with an honest one in another.

Barclays says its platform has hints and tips and some practice tests, and its hints page advises reading the instructions carefully and completing all practice and example questions. Do exactly that. It is the only way to see the real interface and the real timer behaviour. Our test cannot tell you either.

Barclays also lets you request adjustments, such as additional time or completing assessments by video call. If you need one, ask before you start.

These come from anonymous reviews, university careers pages and prep guides. They often disagree, and Barclays has not confirmed them. Read them as leads, not rules.

• One prep guide lists a Barclays battery of numerical, verbal and logical reasoning, a values and mindset assessment, and a personality assessment.
• Another says the tests cover numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning and a situational judgement test, taking 60 to 90 minutes in total.
• One candidate report describes a 35-minute numerical test developed by SHL; prep guides add that Barclays has most recently used SHL but may have changed.
• One guide advises submitting your application in the first two to three weeks of the window. Barclays does not state that this affects your chances.