Online assessments, followed by webcam interview and finally the 'Innovation Lab'.
Online assessments - fairly straightforward, a lot easier than the tests that are used for other companies. Numerical, verbal and logical reasoning. Best way to prepare is to just practice as many as you can online before doing the actual tests.
Online interview - approximately ten questions (can't remember now) where a question pops up on the screen and you have 90 seconds to answer. Best prep is to have answers ready for 'Why this stream?', 'Why Lloyds?' And your basic competency questions. Make sure you know Lloyds core values (Putting customers first, keeping it simple, making a difference together) and link your answers back to them. This website was incredibly useful, go through every post you can, jot down the questions you see, and prep answers before the interview.
Innovation Lab - took place in Solihull at the beginning of January. If you live over three hours away, lloyds will put you up in a hotel. Day consists of 4 activities - an hour long face to face interview, a written task, a group task, and a presentation that you are asked to prep before the day.
Interview - split into three parts - technical knowledge, motivation and strengths. Ensure you know about the bank, and the challenges they face in the next year (brexit, fintech, PPI). The rest of it is down to personal experience and motivation (why you want to work for Lloyds, would your friends say you take ownership of tasks?). They work hard to put you at ease and let your personality shine through, and is nowhere near as daunting as you would expect.
Written task - you sit in front of a laptop and write answers to a situational judgement test. Read the questions thoroughly, using all the information available. Pretty straight forward, but read through before you start. Some questions are multiple choice, and take less time than the questions that require a written response.
Group task - how can you make Lloyds the best bank for customers? You and your group will consider this while a card with a different scenario is passed to you every 90 secs ('how would you deal with 'big data'?). Key is to keep your calm, and ensure you contribute, but don't hog the conversation or try to take over (these people never get the job). You'll give a short presentation at the end as a group giving your conclusions.
Presentation - you won't have access to a computer or projector, just a flip chart. I used a PowerPoint, but printed it out and gave a copy to my assessor. You only have five mins, and can get cut off if you overstep that (depending on your assessor). You will be emailed instructions on what to prepare, just be prepared for ten mins of questions after.
All in all, I really enjoyed the day. They work hard to put you at ease, and the atmosphere isn't competitive. As long as you hit Lloyds minimum requirements, you will be made an offer. Most of the people at my assessment centre were offered a place. Just be happy, friendly and prepare thoroughly, and you'll be fine.
This site was incredibly useful, and I feel I owe it a comprehensive review (hence this overly indulgent piece!) so make sure you read through the page and see what other people had to say about their experiences.
