I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Shell
Difficult interview
Application
I applied through other source. The process took 6 months. I interviewed at Shell in Dec 2014
Interview
I sent my application form directly to HR staff by email. The entire process took 6 months with many waiting periods without news.
One month after sending my application I received a call from the HR for a pre-selection interview (15 min) to ask about my motivations, salary expectation and availability.
One month after this step, an interview with 2 trading team leaders was arranged. During this 45 min phone interview you will have to answer LOTS of questions about your motivations, previous experiences and basic knowledge in finance. Remember that you have to support ALL your answers with specifics examples. Take a look at the C.A.R criteria on their website. One last thing, be sure to know what you are talking about because interviewers will always follow your path and will go deeply in the subject. So don't try to play it too smart.
After this step some candidates did a second interview involving a commercial case study. I cannot give you details, I didn't do it.
If you succeed you will have to complete an online assessment consisting in a numerical reasoning test and a logical test.
Candidates who successfully pass these steps will be invited to the Assessment Centre. Usually, there are between 5 to 12 finalists.The organisation is excellent and everything will be covered by Shell.
The TDP Assessment Centre aims to assess your suitability to be part of the programme that develops future traders of the business. This will be a very long and challenging day, so rest well before. Assessment Centre are not always designed the same but mine comprised the following exercises : Commercial Case, Group Exercise and Investment Scenario.
It's not really possible to be prepare for this but I would recommend you to know your basics in finance. Also remember that there is no "right" answer. It all depends on how you justify your decisions. So be yourself, be logical and most important of all enjoy the process.
No matter the outcome, this will help you to grow and reach your limits.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The Assessment Centre is very challenging, more specifically the Investment Scenario. It will test how you handle pressure.
Cubiks online assessment (verbal, numerical, abstract sections) - Intermediate level. If successful, you will be invited to a 1 hour interview involving a interview-led business case study. If you are successful you are invited to a final assessment which can be different depending on the region. Mine involved 2 more case studies and a behavioural-based interview. Each of those sessions is 1 hour long so expect the final assessment to take 4 hours.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Share a situation where you had to manage conflicting priorities.
I applied online. I interviewed at Shell (Singapore)
Interview
Ridiculously long waiting time; expect to wait months before they contact you for phone interview. The questions asked during the first stage of the one hour long phone interview (scenario based mathematical question) are not crucial in determining the potential of the candidate, and to some extent, insults the intelligence of the interviewee. I wouldn’t even consider it as legitimate accounting questions because of so many determinants of ROI being left out of the picture in the discussion. It is a sheer ridiculous way of interviewing a candidate. They do not bother with asking your motivations, your experience etc. Don’t expect a standard regular interview like at other companies. Overall, their method of assessing a potential candidate for TDP during phone interview stage is very lousy and definitely not market practice. It should be expected that they do not treat the phone interview seriously when they have kept you waiting for a long time after you have done the Logiks General (Advanced), Cubiks Factors assessment. The interviewing manager, was pressed for time and just ended the interview when it has reached one hour without going to the next step of the interview.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Mathematical questions which require calculator are being asked, very non-realistic, hypothetical, conjectural questions which would be so improper to term it as accounting.
I applied online. The process took 5 days. I interviewed at Shell (India, MS) in Aug 2021
Interview
3 mins is too much to time to explain why you want to join shell, It could have been lesser. There should also be a feed back on the ( one way ) interview