How Nomura Interviews in 2026: Process, Sample Questions & What They Score

Unpaid April programs in London for students in the first year of a 3-year degree or the second year of a 4-year degree. Applications open on 1 September and are reviewed on a rolling basis. Nomura's page says participants may be fast-tracked to summer internship interviews, depending on performance. The Women's Immersion Program includes an individual project that is part of the assessment. Explore Nomura is run with SEO London and is open only to affiliated SEO members, who receive the application link from SEO rather than from the Nomura website. The page still shows April 2026 dates, so the next cycle may differ. A 2018 London candidate report mentions converting from the spring week to the summer analyst process.

Varies with how early you apply and with the regional application window. Applications go through the Nomura Early Careers site only: an online form plus CV that, depending on region, may include motivation questions. Nomura says no cover letter is required (some third-party guides still list one) and asks for original, Nomura-specific answers rather than generic AI-written ones. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis: Nomura screens, interviews and makes offers while a program is still open, so applying early matters. Only one application per recruitment cycle is accepted globally, across all divisions and regions. An unsuccessful candidate cannot reapply in the same cycle but can apply again the next academic year. A 2026 London report mentions several long-answer questions in the application.

Nomura's FAQ says the Americas do not use online assessments at the initial stage, EMEA and Asia excluding Japan do, some programs place assessments later in the process, and not every vacancy requires them. The provider is AON and the invitation arrives by email after you apply. Candidates who miss the minimum are told 3 days after the assessment that their application will not progress. Nomura does not publish test formats or timings. Third-party guides describe a numerical reasoning test (about 37 questions in 12 minutes) and a logical or diagrammatic reasoning test (12 questions in 12 minutes), and one guide says some candidates may also be given a short gamified assessment. Nomura's Europe page says to take the test within 5 days of submitting the application form. A 2026 London report also mentions online assessments.

Nomura's pages say the first interview is typically a phone interview with representatives of the business area applied to, usually junior employees, and that you are told in advance whether it is in person or virtual. New York reports describe a 30-minute call or Zoom with an analyst or associate covering basic technicals (accounting, valuation), behaviorals and market news, and Global Markets reports mention being asked to pitch an investment idea. A 2026 London report describes a quick HR screen with standard behavioral questions. One guide reports a HireVue-style video interview for some Asian roles outside Japan. How technical it is depends on the interviewer and desk.

Nomura's pages describe final interviews as one or more interviews, in person or virtual, run by more senior staff, mixing competency and technical questions, with question types varying by division. For Investment Banking and Global Markets, Nomura says the final round includes a case study: you receive material on arrival, have 45 to 60 minutes to read it and make notes, then make recommendations while the interviewer probes your reasoning. New York reports from 2026 describe three back-to-back one-on-ones with an associate, VP and MD or ED, a mix of behaviorals and basic technicals (DCF, simple accounting, EV); several do not mention a case study. One San Francisco Greentech report described three interviews (director, VP, VP) with a comparable-companies style case in the last. A February 2025 London Global Markets report describes a telephone interview followed by an online assessment centre of about 3 hours with multiple interviews and a case study. One guide describes the Global Markets and Investment Banking final round as a case study, a 30-minute technical interview and three 30-minute one-on-ones with senior staff, without naming a region. Another guide says final rounds are at least two interviews of about 45 minutes each. A 2020 Singapore Global Markets report described a 1.5 hour virtual superday of three 30-minute one-on-ones.

Nomura does not publish decision timing. Recent New York reports say results came by phone within a couple of business days or about a week after the superday, and a September 2026 New York report says the offer came shortly afterward. A 2021 New York report said the offer came a few weeks later. Total process length is reported as under 1 month in most recent New York entries, 1 to 2 months in some, 2 to 3 weeks per one guide, about 3 weeks in one 2026 London report, 3 months in a London Global Markets report from the 2024 to 2025 cycle, and about six weeks (sometimes months) per another guide. Nomura says it makes offers on a rolling basis while a program is still open.

Summer internships start between June and August. They begin with orientation and a week of classroom and technical training, then desk work. Nomura's FAQ says internships are direct-to-desk within one division and not rotational across divisions, while TARGETjobs says London Global Markets interns do two rotations across Trading, Structuring and Sales, and Nomura's internship page says EMEA sales, trading and structuring includes two desk placements. Strong performers receive offers to return after graduation. Nomura says it relies predominantly on intern conversion to fill full-time programs; how many interns get offers varies by location, division, individual performance and business needs, and each regional internship feeds that region's graduate program. Nomura's Europe page says the graduate programme can be reached only through the 9-week summer internship, an off-cycle internship or an industrial placement year. A separate full-time analyst vacancy is posted only when more hiring is needed.