I applied online. The process took 5 months. I interviewed at HSBC (Hong Kong)
Interview
I had applied online to the only non penultimate year opening.
The questions were fairly easy and average compared to other banking interviews and I felt adequately prepared.
The process, however, went on for weeks on end with no word from their end - asked for update with no reply. When I asked for time to consider offer, the HR lady seemed surprised that I would even have to consider. Spoke with total of 5 people, with the 1 interviewer and one student recruitment HR specialist being the only friendly interactions, the other three interviewer/correspondents seemed very pretentious...
I will not be accepting the offer due to the slow response as I have already secured another job. As well, the organizational culture vibe that I got from the people I've interacted with doesn't seem to be one that I'd enjoy working in. The conditional offer that was given to me is one that is dependent on my past work experience referrals, criminal record history, and credit history. The pay is menial for a full time summer job with no overtime pay.
Overall it was a decent learning experience - the first phone interview I've ever had, and I learned a lot from the experience (foreseeing communication/time zone/connection problems etc.)
Would recommend the interview process if you want to learn, but don't count on a timely reply especially if you are from Canada/America and wanting to line up plans for the immediate summer - their summer starts in June/July.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Behavioral questions
Technical questions
Two part phone interview as I was applying from overseas:
1) First general behavioral interview 30 mins
2) Second department interview 45 mins
First part in full English, second part mostly English, part Cantonese
Both interviewers were fairly knowledgeable in their fields, first was a recruiter, second was a line manager for my assigned department of Commercial Banking.
Short online questions with recorded responses. Only one take with a short amount of time to prepare and a couple of practice questions. Included some general questions of why did you apply here and some other ones focusing on past experiences and how they link to the programme.
Weird as it was a telephone interview and very dystopian almost as the interviewer sounded very monotonous. It was over within 15 minutes so was a quick, efficient process. a little less daunting though as it was over the phone and not face to face, that did help. There was no finance or banking specific questions though
I applied online. The process took 2+ months. I interviewed at HSBC (London, England) in Apr 2023
Interview
Initially, you must entre some basic details ie predicted or attained grades and year group. Although a CV is optional, I would recommend that you attach one. After this there is a video interview which is just you staring at a camera and answering the questions, there is no actual person there; the questions are pretty basic and just like Why financial services? What do you expect to gain? Then there is the last round, a telephone interview which is just personality based NOT skilled but I would suggest that you having working knowledge of tech, finance and current affairs, especially those relevant to HSBC.