Citibank Test (Plum Assessment) - All You Need to Know [2024]

The Citi Online Test, also known as the Plum Discovery Survey uses an AI-powered assessment tool designed to measure key attributes pertinent to your desired role.

This evaluation concentrates on your interpersonal competencies, examining your capacity to tackle challenges, your workplace conduct, and your ability to navigate social situations effectively.

Although the name Citi Online Test is used for all positions, different assessments will be used for different positions.

The assessment is divided into four sections:

• Priorities and preferences
• Problem-solving
• "You” descriptor
• Social Interaction

The test has no time limit and takes about 25 minutes to complete.

If you pass the online test, you’ll be scheduled to take an interview, followed by an assessment centre.

After passing the resume stage, you will receive an email test invitation from Citi, requesting you to take the assessment within 5 days. The invitation will reveal no details about your assessment.

Is it enough time to study? Definitely. We’ll get to that later.

Here’s how your test invitation looks like:

As I mentioned, different positions in Citi require different assessments, here are several examples:

• Spring Insight – Citi Numerical Test
• Quantitative Analyst - Citi Numerical Test
• Graduate Program / Internship – Citi Numerical Test and/or Citi Logical Test (depending on department)
• Enterprise Infrastructure Operations and Technology - Citi Logical Test
• Software Engineer - Citi Logical Test
• Investment Banking - Citi Numerical Test and Citi Logical Test

Citi does not reveal which tests you are about to take until the moment you are required to take them. That hinders candidates' ability to prepare, and also increases stress and uncertainty. Let's try to alleviate some of that stress with some focused, accurate sample questions that resemble the test.

This section of the test assesses your work-related priorities and preferences.

You will be presented with sets of three statements, from which you will need to choose one statement that is most like you and one that is least like you.

This section includes 20 statements.

Let’s see how it looks –

This section of the test assesses your problem-solving abilities.

You will be presented with a sequence of shapes and figures with one missing piece. You will need to identify the ruling pattern and determine which is the next in the series.

This section includes 5 questions.

Let’s see an example question –

Take notice that on the actual test, this part is divided into two parts: Problem-Solving 1 & 2.

This section of the test assesses your work-related behaviour and tendencies.

You will be presented with several workplace scenarios followed by numerous possible responses, known as a Situational Judgment Test (SJT). You will need to choose the response that is the most effective to handle the situation and the one that is the least effective.

This section includes 7 questions.

Let's look at a sample question –

After completing your Citi Plum Assessment, you will receive a personalized profile. The profile is divided into three sections –

• Your top three talents out of the 10 Plum Talents.
• Your preferable working environment and work style.
• Questions you should ask yourself and your interviewer when applying to a new position.

The profile provides valuable self-insights that can enhance your understanding of the motivations and drives necessary for thriving in your position and workplace. 

The Plum aptitude test measures your natural abilities according to the 10 Talents:

• Adaptation – the ability to adjust to changes while preserving a positive demeanour.
• Communication – the ability to effectively express ideas and identify and understand other people’s opinions.
• Conflict Resolution – the ability to unite people to reconcile differences and resolve conflicts.
• Decision Making – the ability to assess information and make a high-quality knowledge-based decision.
• Embracing Diversity – the ability to understand other people's points of view and effectively manage different types of people and needs.
• Execution – the ability to set goals, oversee progression, take initiatives to improve the process, and reach the desired result.
• Innovation – the ability to initiate new ideas and creative solutions to solve problems.
• Managing Others  – the ability to lead a group of people and to motivate them toward common goals.
• Persuasion – the ability to convince people to go in your direction, suggestion, idea, or initiative.
• Teamwork – the ability to cooperate and work efficiently with other people.

If you successfully pass the Citi online test, you are next invited to up to 2 Citibank interviews. These are either face-to-face or phone competency-based interviews, each lasting around 40 minutes.

The aim of these interviews is to measure how well your skills match up to what Citi is looking for. They are looking for evidence of your interest and motivation in working with Citi. Be prepared with examples that demonstrate your skills and organise them using the STAR method. You should also read up on the area you are applying to, about Citi and the industry in general. Once you have pulled together all your answers, the final step in your preparation is to rehearse delivering your answers. 

At this point in the recruitment process, you may have to sit some psychometric verification tests, which means that you will take samples of the psychometric tests from the previous stage under invigilation so that they know you did not cheat.

Some of the questions asked in Citi interviews in the past are listed below. These questions are a guide designed to give you a feel for the type of questions to expect in your interviews.

• How did the financial crisis happen?
• We are only looking for the best people. How do you think you stand out among the other candidates?
• Where do you see Citi in 5 years?
• Why Citi?
• State a time when you were asked to do something and you were not sure exactly what needed to be done.

Read up on some more common questions and approaches to answering them on our free guide to interviews (PDF).

The final stage of your recruitment process is the Citi assessment centre. The structure of Citi's assessment centre varies across division being applied to. In general, you will be asked to participate in some/ all of the following activities:

• Group task - as a group, you are given a case study to work through as a team. Examples of case studies include listing 3 improvements for a company, or planning for a merger between 2 companies. During the exercise, additional information will be added to change the focus of your discussion. Your discussion is assessed by a team of assessors who are looking for evidence of how you work as part of a team, your contributions and of the time management in the team as a whole. Gain tips on how to approach this assessment with our group exercise pages.
• Individual case study presentation - in this exercise, you are given time to prepare a short presentation to deliver to your interviewer. Examples of this include listing your recommendations for a business hoping to move into a new market. This exercise assesses you on how you work with a case study and on your presentation skills. Brush up on both ahead of your assessment centre with our case study practice pack.
• Competency-based interviews - this is another opportunity for the Citi recruitment team to gather information about you and your skills. See above for the questions you can expect in your interview.