Applying for a
Scholarship.
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Develop more on a Nationwide Scholarship
As champions of the mutual way, we challenge the financial sector status quo. We don’t see customers as the engine of our profit. We work on behalf of them. Always there when they need us. Supporting them and their lives.
Our scholarships open up opportunities to students where we typically see under-representation in banking.
We're here to support you in developing a future career. Supporting high performing, talented people to study an undergraduate degree related to financial services.
With our scholarship, you'll also be offered a paid internship and mentoring opportunity during the degree course. Allowing you to develop more by gaining real life, hands-on experience.
Online application
Your first step in the application journey will be to complete an online application form. You'll find this on our scholarship partners website, Blackbullion.
Before writing your application, carefully read and understand the eligibility criteria and ensure you meet all the requirements.
We want to know who you are as an individual, so make sure you explain your reasons for applying, what this scholarship would mean to you and how your values align with our Blueprint.
You can find out more about our Blueprint here.
"Think about your inspirations and what you want to achieve."
One of our current Nationwide Scholars, Rayane, shares what the online application form was like and some tips on what we look for.
Online tests
If you're shortlisted after completing your application form, you'll be sent a link to complete our online tests through a platform called SOVA, you'll also be asked to provide a 300 word response to the question "why are you interested in a potential career in financial services?".
These tests are an important part of the application journey as we also offer you a paid internship opportunity at Nationwide during your degree course. They help us understand you're ability and support needed, setting you up for success.
Before starting the online tests, take a look at the Candidate Preparation Hub to find out more about the tests and for help with any technical support. Not all browsers are compatible with the tests and so we’ve provided all the info you’ll need to help you avoid and resolve any tech issues on the hub in one handy guide.
What are each of the online tests that I need to complete?
- A situational judgement questionnaire to understand how you make decisions at work.
- A personality questionnaire which will capture information on your preferred working style and behaviours at work.
- A logical thinking test designed to assess thinking traits that are critical in the today's workplace.
"Think of what a manager or collegue would expect from you."
Rayane shares some useful tips and ideas to help with completing your online tests.
The interview
Your first step is to read through the competencies you'll be assessed against. These are in your invite to interview documents.
Then start to build out examples of when you've demonstrated these competencies.
Structuring your response
You can now start to shape these examples into a structured answer. The STAR technique is useful for this:
- Situation: Describe a recent challenge/situation in which you found yourself in
- Task: What you were trying to achieve from the situation
- Action: What did you do? Why you did it and what the alternatives were
- Result: What did you achieve through your actions and did you meet your objectives? What did you learn from this experience and have you used this learning since?
Remember, you can give examples from any situation that is relevant. Whether that's school, college, hobbies or your personal life.
If the example you're trying to describe is quite technical or complicated, give some thought to how you would break this down and explain it simply to people who might be less familiar.
Practice explaining your example to a friend who has never worked with you before. If they are able to understand how you did a great job without knowing anything about the complexities, the interviewers will be able to do the same. Ask your friend to be honest. Really honest. If you ramble too much, gesture too much, talk too fast, or all of the above it's better to hear about this from a friend rather than an interviewer.
It's sometimes easy to forget the little things that we've done that helped make something successful. Sometimes those little things help your personality come to life. So, make sure to think about think about the little things you do everyday, that make an impact on people's lives.
If you are asked a question feel free to ask to think for a minute about how you want to answer. If you aren't sure of exactly what the interviewer wants, ask to hear the question again.
We want to see you succeed so, we'll help as much as we can to make you feel comfortable and relaxed during your interview. We try and give you as much notice as we can about the interview, tell you what we will be assessing and make sure we give everyone in our processes the same chance at showing their skills.
"Stand out and be unique."
Show your personality within your answers, you'll make an impact, just like Rayane.