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Avia, Finance Industry Expert at JobTestPrep.

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What Is the Jefferies Online Assessment?

Jefferies receives numerous internship applications. In order to move forward with only the best candidates, they employ a two-part assessment: a Personality Test to evaluate your professionalism and work suitability, and SHL Cognitive Ability Tests to evaluate numerical, abstract and verbal reasoning.

SHL tests are regarded as being among the more challenging pre-employment assessments in the market, which makes them a popular choice among high-end industries like banking. While this may be discouraging for aspiring financiers, acing the Jefferies SHL tests is mostly a matter of practice and preparation.

If you're not sure which SHL tests you'll be taking for Jefferies, review your email invitation and contact us if you still need clarification.

💡 Let's review tips and example questions from the Jefferies Cognitive Ability Test:

The Jefferies SHL General Ability Test (Verify G+)

The Jefferies Online Assessment often features SHL's Verified G+ cognitive ability test, otherwise known as the General Ability Test. You might call this an all-in-one assessment, with questions covering numerical, verbal, and logical reasoning.

The verified G+ comes in two formats: the interactive version or the non-interactive version. To alleviate any possible confusion, JobTestPrep's Jefferies Assessment Practice Pack features prep for both.

The General Ability Test features 30 questions to be answered in 36 minutes.

Let's view some examples:

 

Choose Test:     Deductive Inductive Numerical

  • Jefferies Verify G+ Deductive Reasoning Sample Question

A company is planning a big event for next month. The event should be scheduled on a day when all four senior managers are available to attend. Their availability is seen here:

Jefferies Online Assessment Example

Select all possible weekdays for the company event.

Jefferies Online Assessment Example
Answer & Solution

Let’s break down the statements, step by step:

First, extract information from the fixed-date statements:

Samira is free from the 14th to the 28th, meaning all other dates before and after that period can be ruled out.

Second, identify the big time conflicts:

By turning Elena’s schedule from negative to positive phrasing, you can surmise she is available 1st-18th, and 25th-31st.

Combing this information with Samira’s schedule, they are both available between 14th-18th, and 25th-28th.

The next conflict is with Leon’s schedule, who is unavailable for the last full week of the month, i.e. 21st-27th. This means Leon is not available during the second time period that was available for Elena and Samira (25th-28th). Excluding these dates, you are left with one short time period – 14th - 18th.

Third, integrate the information with the last statement:

Haru is free on Mondays and Wednesdays.

There is one Monday and one Wednesday in the selected period: the 15th and 17th.

The correct answers are, therefore, the 15th and 17th of the month.

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  • Jefferies Verify G+ Inductive Reasoning Sample Question

Complete the following sequence:

SHL free test numerical question
Answer & Explanation

The question asks you to find the logical rules applied between these nodes and complete the sequence, which started with the connected nodes: AZ -> 19 -> BY -> 28.

Logical Rule #1: The sequence starts with a node containing letters, which connects to a node containing numbers, which then connects once again to a node containing letters. The final sequence will stick to this pattern: Letters -> Numbers -> Letters -> Numbers, and so forth.

Logical Rule #2: The main “theme” of this question is opposite extremes:

• A and Z are the first and last letters of the alphabet.

• 1 and 9 are the first and last digits in the base-10 system (excluding 0 which does not appear in the question).

With each connection, these letters and digits are ‘getting closer’ to each other:

• B and Y – are the second and the second-to-last letters of the alphabet.

• 2 and 8 – are the second and second-to-last digits (presented in this question).

Following these rules, the next nodes should be the third and fourth letters or digits.

Final answer: AZ -> 19 -> BY -> 28 -> CX -> 37 -> DW -> 46 -> EV -> 55

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  • Jefferies Numerical Reasoning Questions

The Numerical Reasoning section of the SHL Verify G+ Test is primarily an evaluation of your ability to answer questions using graphical representations of information. This includes charts, graphs, and tables. It is an important part of the Jefferies internship application process.

Typically, each visual will be followed by a set of 2-4 questions about the data presented.

The visuals will grow in complexity as you progress through the exam, and therein lies the challenge: even though the mathematical principles required for the test are elementary (which is why calculators are allowed), the pressure involved in filtering relevant data from irrelevant data within a limited timeframe, can cause even mathematically inclined candidates to struggle.

Here's an example of what these questions look like:

  • Jefferies Verify G+ Numerical Sample Question

Below is a table of conversion rates between several major currencies:

British Airways Numerical Test Question

How many GBP can be purchased for 7500 CAD?

A. 12.772
B. 4776
C. 477.7
D. 8720
E. 6369
Correct Answer
Incorrect Answer

7500 CAD * 0.6369 = 4776.75 GBP

This means you can buy 4776 GBP with 7500 CAD since you don't quite have enough CAD to buy 4777 GBP.

The correct answer is B

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Tip: The skills required for this assessment are time-management and an intuitive grasp of graphical information. Luckily, both of these can be improved drastically with practice. After analysing and interpreting a large number of graphs, you'll notice an intuitive sense of where to look starting to develop. Preparation will help you distinguish yourself as a strong candidate for the Jefferies Internship.

Our PrepPack™ is suited to help you study for all of the exams featured on the Jefferies Assessment. With hundreds of sample questions, detailed solutions and explanations, videos, and written guides on the numerical, verbal, logical and general ability tests, our pack is an effective way to improve your chance of landing a Jefferies internship.

The Jefferies Personality Test

Personality tests are simple trait-based exams aimed at evaluating what kind of an employee you are.

Jefferies uses an SHL test for this purpose as well. Namely, the SHL Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ32, so named for its 32 questions).

The 32 questions comprising the OPQ32 assessment differ by position. Our OPQ32 PrepPack™ features samples and guides for the various variations of the questionnaire. If you are applying for Jefferies, we recommend using the "General Team Member Positions" guide.

SHL OPQ32 questions have a unique structure: candidates are presented with 3-4 statements at a time. For each set of statements, they must indicate which represents them most accurately, and which represents them least accurately. The remaining statements are to be left without any markings, indicating that the candidate feels neutral about them.

Here is an example:

Jefferies SJT Sample Question

Statement Most Least
I am extraverted in nature    
I make decisions fast    
I have fun when doing a lot    
Answer & Explanation

Most Like Me

Recommended Statement: I make decisions fast

Indecision can be exhausting for both manager and team members and decisiveness conserves both our physical and our emotional energy. Decisiveness helps us to reduce procrastination, become more productive and organised, and gives us a greater peace of mind by eliminating anxiety and improving our confidence. All of these elements benefit a workplace.

Neutral

Recommended Statement: I am extraverted in nature

Studies show that being outgoing gives you an advantage in the workplace: for example, outgoing people were found to be more motivated by rewards, perform better on the job and earn more than their reserve colleagues. In fact, most leaders are outgoing: 96% of senior executives display outgoing personalities. This should not be discouraging for more reserved individuals, rather it should be a motivation for all personality types to develop positive sociability skills whether they come naturally or not.

Least Like Me

Recommended Statement: I have fun when doing a lot

All three statements on this question are important to allocate points in the overall questionnaire. Enjoying doing a lot is a valuable quality. The Vigorous Dimension will thus be allocated points in other questions.

 

Tip: As with many other personality tests, it helps to think in a trait-wise manner. That is, consider which personality traits are being solicited for, and think about how your answer reflects on your relationship with these traits.

Need more practice? Take an SHL practice test.

Are you looking to start a finance career? 

We have pages to help you learn about summer internships and spring week options across the UK, focusing on how to prepare yourself for application exams. We cover HSBC, Deloitte, EY, and others.

Jefferies Application Tips & Advice

It is generally considered hard to get into Jefferies, because of the large demand and short supply of summer and spring internships. To make yourself stand out, it is advisable to familiarize yourself not only with the Jefferies assessment, but also with Jefferies values, corporate identity, and organizational culture.

Jefferies directs significant focus to two values in particular:

The first is diversity and inclusion. Jefferies operates several EDI programs and regularly publishes detailed reports demonstrating the organization's diversity.

The second is sustainability and environmental responsibility.

Your CV, cover letter, and interview answers will be greatly enhanced if they reflect a personal commitment to these values, and a basic familiarity with Jefferies initiatives in the fields of ESG and EDI

Jefferies, SHL, and all other trademarks mentioned on this page are the property of their respective trademark holder. None of them are affiliated with JobTestPrep.