Citizens Bank Assessment Tests, Hiring Process & Interviews Online Preparation – 2025

What Is Citizens Bank?

Citizens Financial Group, Inc., headquartered in Providence, RI, is one of the largest financial institutions in the United States.  They do a pretty equal business between consumer and commercial banking.  Citizens Bank has branches in 11 states in New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Mid-West regions. They offer a variety of consumer and commercial banking products and services.

What Is Citizens Bank’s Hiring Process?

Citizens Bank is very upfront on their website about their expectation that you will have done some background research about the company and have determined you are a good fit.

Application Process

The first step in the process for getting hired at Citizens Bank is to get to know the company.  After you have done that, find a position to which you wish to apply.  You can go to their website to search for available jobs, and to submit your cover letter, resume, and on-line application.

Phone Interview

The next step in the process is to set up a phone interview with a recruiter.  In this interview, you will be asked about your resume, your skills, and relevant experience.

Citizens Bank Screening Assessments

You may or may not be asked to take some pre-employment exams. This can vary depending on the job you are applying for. Typical assessments are:

• Predictive Index Learning Indicator (PI LI)
• Personality inventory
• Situational Judgement Test (SJT)

Other jobs may require skills test, such as coding, or your proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite.

Hiring Manager Interview

Finally, you will be called in to interview with the hiring manager, or perhaps members of your prospective team. You should prepare to answer questions about your previous experiences, and about yourself as Citizens Bank is looking for employees who fit well into their corporate culture.

Citizens Bank Interview Tips

• Remember the basics. Dress professionally, show up on time, bring several copies of your resume and have a way to take notes.
• Research Citizens Bank. You will be expected to know about Citizens Bank.  You can find out current information by visiting their website, reading their Credo, checking them out on social media, or googling them to see if they have been in the news recently.
• Know yourself. Have a one minute pitch prepared to share your skills and to share why you are the best candidate for the position.
• Know how you fit with the company. Be ready to share examples of how you will fit into the Citizens Bank family.  Be prepared to share why you feel this way.
• Practice answering typical behavioral interview questions. Citizens Bank gives behavioral interviews because statistically these types of interviews determine the candidates who will best fit in with the company.  Happy employees will stick around for the long haul.

Sample Behavioral Interview Questions

• Tell me about a time you achieved a goal, and what you did to make that happen.
• Tell me about a time you were unable to achieve a goal.
• Tell me about a stressful situation in a previous position. How did you handle it?
• Describe a time you were under a lot of pressure to complete a task. Were you able to complete it?  How did you make that happen?
• Explain how you prioritize tasks when you are working on multiple projects.
• Give an example of an experience with a difficult co-worker and how you handled it.
• Give an example of a time you motivated employees or co-workers.

Ask questions:  Ask questions that show you are knowledgeable about Citizens Bank. You can ask about growth and promotion opportunities within the company. Just as they are looking for someone to fit into the Citizens Bank culture, you want to be sure your values align with that culture.  Ask questions to determine this is indeed the place you want to work.

Follow up:  Before you leave the interview, ask for business cards so that you can follow up within 24 hours with a thank you email.  In the email, you can thank the interviewers for their time, and also reiterate how you can be an asset to their organization.

How to Prepare for the Citizens Bank Assessment?

Citizens Bank asks most interviewees to take a Predictive Index Learning Indicator (PI LI), which is a 12-minute test comprised of 50 questions to measure your capacity to learn and adapt in the office environment.  The PI LI has three sections – numeric reasoning, verbal reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning.

• Numeric Reasoning – This exam measures your ability to work with numbers. You will be assessed on computation, percentages, ratios, and analyzing data in tables.
• Verbal Reasoning – This verbal aptitude test measures your ability to read with comprehension, and to analyze, make inferences, and draw conclusions from what you have read.
• Non-Verbal Reasoning – This assessment measures your ability to draw logical conclusions from and to see patterns in shapes and the position of shapes or pictures on a page. Read more about non-verbal reasoning tests.

You may also be asked to take a personality assessment.  The personality assessment allows the company to assess your unique strengths and preferences.  They can compare these with their company culture to determine whether or not you will fit in well.

Many applicants to Citizens Bank also report taking a Situational Judgement Test (SJT).  In this test, you will be given workplace scenarios and asked to choose how you would respond in the given situation.  The results give those doing the hiring at Citizens Bank another insight into who you are, how you think, and whether or not they feel you are a good fit for the culture.

Taking the time to prepare for the assessments is time well spent.  Solid preparation allows you to be confident and to put your best foot forward.  Being familiar with the assessment structure allows you to dive right into the questions and to make the best use of your time.  Advanced preparation can land you the job of your dreams quickly, saving you a whole lot of time with unsuccessful applications and interviews later.