J.P. Morgan never names Pymetrics on the pages we read, so start with what it does say

J.P. Morgan says some roles use virtual skills assessments and that you will be told if yours does. Our reasoning test is a general warm-up for timed numerical and logical work, useful if your invitation includes a skills test of that kind.

The stage J.P. Morgan describes most clearly is a recorded interview on HireVue, plus HackerRank for technology. Prep sites say the first screen is a set of Pymetrics games, which measure traits rather than right answers, so our multiple-choice questions do not rehearse them. We could not confirm Pymetrics on the bank's own pages.

J.P. Morgan says its process differs for each position and that you will be notified if the role you applied for requires an assessment. That sentence matters more than any guide. A spring week in London, a markets summer internship and a software engineering programme can each send a different set of links.

So the first job after applying is to watch your inbox and read what arrives carefully. Note the deadline, the platform name and whether there is a practice area. Then match your preparation to that list, rather than to a generic description of the bank that might be several years out of date.

Prep sites widely report that J.P. Morgan screens early careers applicants with Pymetrics, a set of short games that look at traits such as how you weigh risk, how you respond to effort and reward, and how you hold information in memory. They say the games take around 30 minutes and must be done within five to seven days of the invite.

We could not confirm any of that on the bank's pages, and the format may have changed. If you do receive games, the useful advice is simple: read each instruction screen, play honestly rather than trying to guess an ideal profile, and do them when you are rested. Our game-based assessments guide explains how trait games differ from tests with right answers.

J.P. Morgan's FAQ describes an on-demand interview as one that presents questions and lets you record your responses, and says it can be used to evaluate things such as language proficiency, verbal presentation and technical ability. The digital handbook places a recorded HireVue interview, or HackerRank for technology, in the first round.

Candidates report questions about why they want a particular division, and prompts about past behaviour. That suggests two kinds of preparation: a clear, honest account of why that business line interests you, and a short list of experiences you can turn into two-minute stories. Practise recording yourself and listen back once for filler words.

There is a small contradiction in what we found. The handbook names HireVue for a recorded first round, while the student FAQ asks selected candidates to be ready for a video interview through Zoom. The likeliest reading is that these are different steps, one recorded and one live, but the pages we read do not say so directly.

In practice, prepare for both. A recorded interview rewards tight answers and good framing on camera. A live Zoom interview rewards listening and a natural follow-up. The same five or six stories serve both, told more briefly to a recording and with more room for questions to a person.

J.P. Morgan says software engineering applicants may need to pass an online skills-based coding assessment, followed by assessments of technical proficiency and behaviours. The handbook names HackerRank. Practise in a timed editor, write readable code, and test edge cases before submitting, because automated graders reward correctness on hidden inputs.

A numerical warm-up still has a place if your invitation includes a skills test alongside the coding. Our coding and technical tests guide compares how other employers combine coding with aptitude, and the free reasoning test below gives you a quick timed sitting.

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

• Prep sites say J.P. Morgan uses Pymetrics games of about 30 minutes as an early screen, with five to seven days to complete them.
• Prep guides describe a HireVue interview of about 20 minutes after the games.
• Candidates report HireVue questions about motivation for a particular division and prompts about past behaviour.
• Prep guides say technology roles use automated coding assessments on platforms such as HackerRank or CodeSignal.
• Candidate accounts describe a process lasting a few months from application to offer.