The Nomura application process, explained

Which Nomura stages apply in your region, what the Aon testing stage is and is not confirmed to include, the 2026-27 deadlines, and where to practice honestly.

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By the Game Assessment Prep research teamUpdated September 11, 2026How we research

Key takeaways

Nomura names Aon as its testing provider, but only EMEA and Asia ex-Japan candidates are tested; the USA requires no testing.
You get five days from the invitation to complete the Aon tests; missing the window automatically withdraws your application.
Prep sites report a 12-minute numerical test and a 12-minute inductive test; Nomura confirms neither module.
One application globally per cycle; most EMEA 2027 programs close December 1, 2026 with rolling review, so apply early.

The Nomura hiring process at a glance

1Online application — One short form on the Nomura Global Campus portal with a CV; EMEA adds a couple of motivational questions. One application globally per recruitment cycle across all divisions and regions — a second is treated as a duplicate, and an incomplete one still uses up your attempt.Deadlines by region
2Online assessments — Asia ex-Japan and EMEA only — Provider is Aon, stated by Nomura. Five days from the invitation email; missing the window automatically withdraws the application. Not every EMEA or Asia ex-Japan vacancy requires it, and the USA requires no testing at all.What the tests are, and are not
3Recorded video interview — Asia ex-Japan only — For selected Asia ex-Japan vacancies, after the tests and initial screening, with five days to record. Nomura’s ATS FAQ says it "is not part of the application process across the Americas or EMEA". The platform is not named by Nomura.Practice recorded answers
4First-round interview — Typically over the phone with representatives from the business area you applied to, and typically with junior employees. Americas candidates reach this stage straight from application review, with no test.
5Final round or assessment center — In person or virtual, with more senior people: a combination of competency and technical questions and/or a case study. Nomura says investment banking and Global Markets final rounds include a 45 to 60 minute case study.
6Offer and start — Graduate starts are in July and August. Nomura says it aims to hire its full-time class from internship, off-cycle internship and industrial placement conversions, so full-time graduate vacancies are rarely advertised.

Explore the reported assessment formatsAon numerical reasoning (reported, module not confirmed) Aon inductive logical reasoning (reported, module not confirmed) Aon Motion Challenge / "Complex Planning Capability" (unconfirmed)

What to expect in the Nomura assessment

Nomura names Aon as its testing provider but never says which Aon modules it uses, so there is no confirmed game or test list to practice. What follows is what prep sites report, labeled honestly, with our matching Aon practice for each. These routes train the same cognitive formats; none of them is Nomura’s assessment, and using them does not tell you which modules you will actually be sent.

If you are applying in the Americas, skip this section entirely — there is no online assessment.

Aon numerical reasoning (reported, module not confirmed)

Category practice

Single source

Prep sites report a numerical test of 37 true, false and cannot-say statements drawn from six data sheets in 12 minutes — roughly 19 seconds a statement, which makes it a test of how fast you can find the right figure rather than how well you calculate. Nomura confirms neither the module nor the timing. Our Aon Numerical Reasoning practice matches that description: 37 true, false and cannot-say statements in 12 minutes.

Source: JobTestPrep UK, Nomura assessment (prep site)

Explore Aon numerical reasoning (reported, module not confirmed)

Aon inductive logical reasoning (reported, module not confirmed)

Category practice

Single source

Prep sites report 12 tasks in 12 minutes, each showing six tables of numbers or letters that you split into two groups by working out the rule that separates them. That description matches Aon’s inductive product line, which makes it plausible, but Nomura has never confirmed it. Our scales cls practice matches that description: six marked tables, four to assign, 12 tasks in 12 minutes.

Source: JobTestPrep UK, Nomura assessment (prep site)

Explore Aon inductive logical reasoning (reported, module not confirmed)

Aon Practice Test: numerical + scales cls

Aon Motion Challenge / "Complex Planning Capability" (unconfirmed)

Category practice

Single source

This is the weakest item on the page. Exactly one prep site mentions it, and it hedges even there, saying some candidates may be invited to a gamified planning task. No candidate report and no Nomura page confirms it, and the forum thread that might corroborate it could not be read. Do not build your preparation around it.

If you have spare time after the two reported reasoning formats, one run through Motion Challenge costs you a few minutes; if your invitation names it, that settles the question.

Source: GraduatesFirst, Nomura assessment guide (prep site; sole source)

Practice Aon Motion Challenge / "Complex Planning Capability" (unconfirmed)

Game-based batteries: not used, on any evidence we can find

Category practice

No evidence found

No source of any kind reports pymetrics, Arctic Shores or HireVue game-based assessments at Nomura. The only HireVue claim anywhere concerns a video interview for Asia ex-Japan candidates, and even that is unconfirmed and comes from prep sites rather than from Nomura. Preparing for a game battery would be preparing for something nothing suggests exists.

Source: Targeted searches for pymetrics, Arctic Shores and HireVue games at Nomura, 11 September 2026

Good to know: None of these is a confirmed Nomura assessment. Nomura names Aon as its provider and stops there; every module name and timing on this page comes from prep sites, and the practice routes match those reported formats. Your invitation email is the only document that tells you whether you are being tested at all, what you are sitting, and by when. If it names the modules, tell us so this page can be tightened.

Explore related practice

Which Nomura roles and programs does this guide cover?

Nomura runs one global early-careers process on its Global Campus portal, but the stages you face depend entirely on your region. EMEA candidates (London plus Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich) can be asked to sit Aon online tests before interviews. Asia ex-Japan candidates (Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Sydney) can be asked to sit the same tests and, for selected vacancies, a recorded video interview.

Americas candidates (New York, San Francisco) sit no online assessment and no video interview at all — they go from application review straight to a phone interview and a final round.

The vendor is unusually well established here: Nomura’s own Early Careers FAQ states "Our testing provider is AON", and the 2026 Global Campus Brochure repeats the regional split in its seven-step process graphic. What Nomura never publishes is which Aon modules it uses. Prep sites report an Aon numerical test and an inductive logical reasoning test, each around 12 minutes, and one prep site alone mentions a gamified planning task.

Those are reported claims, not Nomura’s confirmed configuration, and this page labels them as such throughout.

Two other things worth knowing before you read on. First, not every EMEA or Asia ex-Japan vacancy is tested — the ATS FAQ says so explicitly, so the invitation email is the only thing that tells you whether you are sitting anything. Second, Nomura Services India in Powai and Nomura Securities’ domestic Japanese new-graduate hiring run entirely separate processes that are not the Aon global-campus route, and Nomura Research Institute is a different company altogether.

EMEA — London summer internships 2027 (nine weeks)

Investment Banking (Coverage & Advisory; Client Financing Solutions) and Global Markets (Sales, Trading, Structuring & Research; Digital Office Quants & Strats; Securitised Products & Private Credit) for penultimate-year students graduating in 2028, plus Risk and Technology summer tracks. Deadline 1 December 2026, reviewed on a rolling basis. Strong performers receive graduate-program offers. Aon online tests can apply.

Official source

Source: Nomura Global Campus job board

EMEA — industrial placements 2027 (12 months, London)

Risk and Information Technology industrial placements for students on a four-year degree with a placement year. Deadline 1 December 2026. These placements are one of the routes Nomura converts into its full-time graduate class.

Official source

Source: Nomura Global Campus job board

EMEA — regional and off-cycle internships 2027 (three to six months)

Investment Banking off-cycle internships in Frankfurt, Paris, Milan (including a Technology track), Madrid (including FIG) and Zurich (Nomura Greentech); Global Markets off-cycle in Frankfurt and Paris. Fluency in the local language is required. Most close 1 December 2026; the Paris IB July-start closes 1 May 2027. Whether Aon tests apply to every regional vacancy is not stated — the ATS FAQ says "not all opportunities across EMEA and AeJ require applicants to complete an online assessment".

Official source

Source: Nomura Global Campus job board

EMEA — insight programs 2027 (London, first-year students)

The Women’s Immersion Programme (two weeks, unpaid, IB or GM, project-based assessment with a fast track to summer-internship interviews), Explore Nomura SEO Programme (a four-day classroom program for SEO London members, including mock interviews), and the new two-day Discover Nomura Programme on 5 and 6 April 2027 for students graduating in 2029, which fast-tracks to 2028 summer-internship interviews.

Check the live posting for the closing date: the job board lists 10 January 2027 while the Discover Nomura posting text still says "Monday 1st December".

Official source

Source: Nomura Global Campus job board; Nomura Early Careers insight programs

EMEA — apprenticeships (12 to 24 months, offered ad hoc)

Offered when available in HR, Multimedia and AV, Operations, Real Estate & Services, and Technology. EMEA applications open on 1 September each year. The Nomura Europe careers page says "Online testing (AON provider) may be required for some programs" — the word "may" is Nomura’s, not ours.

Official source

Source: Nomura Europe careers page

Asia ex-Japan — Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei 2027 programs

Global Markets Summer Internship (HK, SG); Global Markets Graduate Internship for final-year students (HK, SG); Investment Banking Summer Internship (HK, SG, Taipei — June to August 2027, nine weeks, penultimate-year students); International Wealth Management Summer Internship (HK, SG); Risk Management Graduate Program (HK, SG). All close 30 September 2026, with the HK IB posting closing at 11:55pm HKT. Finance Graduate Program (HK, SG) and the Singapore Investment Banking Graduate Program close 31 October 2026.

Interviews are arranged on a rolling basis before the deadline. Aon tests and, for selected vacancies, the recorded video interview apply here. Sydney and a Singapore six-month Technology and Data internship appear on Nomura’s internship-programs page but had no live 2027 vacancy on 11 September 2026.

Official source

Source: Nomura Global Campus job board

Americas — 2027 Summer Analyst programs, New York (no online assessment)

Risk Management, Quantitative Risk Management, Risk Technology, Corporate Finance, Operations, Internal Audit and Global Execution Services Technology Summer Analyst programs, ten weeks. The Risk posting requires a GPA of 3.5 or higher, graduation between December 2027 and June 2028, and US work authorization with no sponsorship. Deadline 14 October 2026. Nomura’s FAQ is explicit that the Americas do not use an online assessment.

Official source

Source: Nomura Global Campus job board; Nomura Early Careers FAQ

Americas — 2027 Investment Banking Summer Associate, San Francisco (Greentech)

An MBA or graduate-degree program: one week of training plus a nine-week placement in the Greentech M&A and advisory team, for students graduating between December 2027 and June 2028. Deadline 1 March 2027. No online assessment.

Official source

Source: Nomura Global Campus job board

Americas — undergraduate IB and Global Markets Summer Analyst (not currently posted)

The New York and San Francisco undergraduate IB and Global Markets Summer Analyst programs were not on the Global Campus job board on 11 September 2026, which suggests that cycle has closed. A prep site estimates the Americas window as roughly January to late March each year, but that is its own estimate and Nomura publishes nothing. Treat all Americas IB and Global Markets dates as unconfirmed until the postings reappear.

Single source

Source: Global Campus job board checked 11 September 2026; prep-site estimate

India — Nomura Services India (Powai, Mumbai): a separate process

Powai runs two- and six-month internships across Global Markets, investment banking, Technology and corporate functions, campus events through the August to November season, the KakushIN hackathon for B.Tech and dual-degree students, a Global Markets Quant Challenge, and a Global Markets women’s mentorship program. Campus selection uses an aptitude and technical MCQ test followed by technical and HR interviews. There is no evidence that Nomura Services India uses Aon.

Official source

Source: Nomura India careers page

Japan — Nomura Securities domestic new-graduate hiring: a separate process

Domestic Japanese 総合職 hiring runs on nomura-recruit.jp with its own courses (Wealth Management national and area-limited, Investment Banking, Global Markets, Content and Research, IT & Digital, Risk Management, Corporate), one course per applicant. Selection is entry sheet and photo, aptitude tests A and B, screening and interviews. Entry for the 2027 cohort opened on 1 March 2026 and all courses now show reception closed. This is not the Aon global-campus route.

Official source

Source: Nomura Securities recruitment site (Japanese)

How does the Nomura assessment work?

Aon is the provider, in Nomura’s own words

Official source

The Early Careers FAQ says plainly: "Our testing provider is AON". The Nomura Europe careers page repeats it as "Online testing (AON provider) may be required for some programs". This is one of the rare cases where an employer names its assessment vendor outright, so you can treat Aon as fact. Note that the Application Process page does not name a vendor — the name lives only on the FAQ.

Source: Nomura Early Careers application FAQs

Region decides whether you are tested at all

Official source

The ATS FAQ states: "The USA do not require any testing and not all opportunities across EMEA and AeJ require applicants to complete an online assessment." The 2026 Global Campus Brochure’s process graphic carries the same footnotes: online assessments are marked "AEJ and EMEA candidates only" and the video interview "AEJ candidates only". If you are applying in the Americas, there is no test to prepare for.

Source: Nomura Global Campus ATS FAQ, regional testing requirements

Which Aon modules Nomura uses is not published

Single source

No Nomura page names a module. Prep sites report an Aon numerical test of 37 true, false and cannot-say statements across six data sheets in 12 minutes, and an inductive logical reasoning test of 12 tasks in 12 minutes in which you sort six tables of numbers or letters into two rule-based groups. Those descriptions match Aon’s real product line, which makes them plausible, but the same numbers appear word for word across several prep sites, which is copying rather than corroboration. Do not treat the timings as fact.

Source: JobTestPrep UK, Nomura assessment (prep site)

Five days to complete, and missing it withdraws you

Official source

The invitation email arrives after you submit, for vacancies that require testing. You get five days to complete it. Not finishing within five days automatically withdraws the application — and because Nomura allows one application per recruitment cycle, that incomplete application still counts as your attempt. The assessment launches in a pop-up window after practice questions, and extra time can be arranged through the regional graduate recruitment team if you normally receive it.

Source: Nomura Global Campus ATS FAQ, regional testing requirements

You hear back three days after the assessment if you did not pass

Official source

The Early Careers FAQ says candidates who do not meet the minimum benchmark are told three days after the assessment. Nomura does not publish what the benchmark is, and passing the test does not guarantee an interview — the invitation to a first round is a separate decision.

Source: Nomura Early Careers application FAQs

The video interview is Asia ex-Japan only, and the platform is not named

Official source

Nomura’s ATS FAQ confirms a recorded video interview for selected Asia ex-Japan vacancies, arriving after the online tests and initial screening, with five days to complete, and states that it "is not part of the application process across the Americas or EMEA". Nomura never names the platform. Prep sites say it is HireVue with roughly six or seven questions, 30 seconds of preparation and up to three minutes per answer; that is unconfirmed, and one prep site that claims an EMEA video interview is contradicted by Nomura’s own FAQ.

Source: Nomura Global Campus ATS FAQ, video interview (AeJ only)

No game-based assessment is evidenced

No evidence found

We searched specifically for pymetrics, Arctic Shores and HireVue game-based assessments at Nomura and found nothing in any source — official, candidate or prep. There is no evidence of a HireVue game battery, and the only game-shaped claim anywhere is one prep site’s hedged mention of an Aon planning task. If you were sent here expecting to practice HireVue games for Nomura, the honest answer is that nothing supports it.

Source: Targeted searches for pymetrics, Arctic Shores and HireVue games at Nomura, 11 September 2026

One application per cycle, and no AI help allowed

Official source

You may apply to one program globally per recruitment cycle across all divisions and regions; a second application is marked a duplicate and does not progress. The FAQ also states: "Third-party assistance (human or AI tools) is prohibited during any online assessments and interview process." Practice beforehand is fine; using a tool during the live test or interview is not.

Source: Nomura Early Careers application FAQs

India and Japan are not the Aon process

Multiple sources

Nomura Services India in Powai selects campus hires with an aptitude and technical MCQ test — verbal, quantitative and logical sections plus DSA, DBMS, OS and C++ or Java, with one 2023 account describing 60 questions in 60 minutes — followed by two technical interviews and an HR round. No account names the platform, and nothing evidences Aon. Nomura Securities’ domestic Japanese hiring uses its own aptitude tests A and B, which a 2027-cycle candidate reports as 玉手箱 taken at home in about an hour.

Source: GeeksforGeeks Nomura on-campus interview experience; ONE CAREER 2027 web-test report

What happens in the Nomura hiring process?

EMEA: application, Aon tests, phone first round, final round

The EMEA path can include the online assessment but never includes a video interview.

1Apply on the Global Campus portal with your CV and, for EMEA, a couple of motivational questions. One application globally per cycle.
2If your vacancy requires testing, an Aon invitation arrives after submission. Five days to complete; not finishing withdraws the application.
3If you do not meet the minimum benchmark you are told three days after the assessment.
4First-round interview, typically over the phone with junior employees from the business area you applied to.
5Final round in person or virtually with more senior people: competency and technical questions and/or a case study. Investment banking and Global Markets final rounds include a 45 to 60 minute case study, and some programs run an assessment center.
6Offer, then a July or August start.

Source: Nomura Early Careers application process and FAQs

Asia ex-Japan: the only path with a video interview

Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Australia vacancies add a recorded video stage that EMEA and the Americas do not have.

1Apply on the Global Campus portal; AeJ deadlines fall in late September and October, earlier than EMEA’s.
2If your vacancy requires testing, complete the Aon assessment within five days of the invitation.
3For selected vacancies, after the tests and initial screening, record answers to a set number of interview questions within five days. Nomura does not name the platform.
4First-round interview, then a final round with senior staff.
5Offer. Interviews are arranged on a rolling basis, so applying early in the window matters.

Source: Nomura Global Campus ATS FAQ, video interview (AeJ only)

Americas: interviews only, no test and no video

This is the shortest path and the one most often misdescribed by prep sites.

1Apply on the Global Campus portal. New York corporate-function and technology Summer Analyst programs closed 14 October 2026; the San Francisco IB Summer Associate program closes 1 March 2027.
2Application review. There is no online assessment: Nomura’s ATS FAQ says "The USA do not require any testing", and there is no video interview stage either.
3First-round interview, typically over the phone with junior employees.
4Final round with senior staff, covering competency and technical questions and, in IB and Global Markets, a case study. Candidate and prep-site reports describe this as a superday of three or four back-to-back interviews with an associate, a VP and an ED or MD, which is a reported description rather than Nomura’s own.
5Offer.

Source: Nomura Early Careers application FAQs

What the interviews actually cover

Nomura publishes its own interview guidance, which is more specific than most banks’.

1Tell me about yourself, and walk me through your CV.
2Why banking, why Nomura, and why you — Nomura’s guidance explicitly asks you to differentiate yourself.
3Competency examples: a time you were creative, your biggest failure and what you learned, how you would handle a difficult client, managing competing priorities, teamwork and resilience.
4Technical questions in IB and Global Markets: basic accounting, mental math and brain teasers, per the FAQ.
5Commercial awareness: industry trends and recent news relevant to the division you applied to.
6A 45 to 60 minute case study in IB and Global Markets final rounds. EMEA interviews are structured around four competencies: Trusted Partner, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Teamwork, and Integrity.

Source: Nomura Early Careers interview tips; Nomura Europe careers page

Older descriptions you may find, and how much to trust them

Several widely circulated accounts of Nomura interviews are several cycles out of date.

1A careers-site employer profile describing EMEA first rounds as two competency interviews plus one case-study interview, with a four-interview final round, dates from the 2023-24 intake. The shape is probably still broadly right; the detail is unverified for 2026-27.
2Candidate reports describing a 45-minute group exercise for corporate-function assessment centers are from 2016 and 2017. Nomura’s current EMEA page still lists assessment centers for some programs, but not that specific exercise.
3Prep-site descriptions of an EMEA video interview are simply wrong: Nomura’s ATS FAQ states the video interview is not part of the EMEA or Americas process.
4Where an account names a platform Nomura does not name — HireVue for the AeJ video stage, or specific Aon module names — treat it as reported, not confirmed.

Source: Nomura Global Campus ATS FAQ, video interview (AeJ only)

When is the Nomura assessment?

Nomura applications open on 1 September each year and are reviewed on a rolling basis, so vacancies can close before their published deadline once filled. Deadlines differ sharply by region — Asia ex-Japan closes more than two months before EMEA. Everything below was checked on 11 September 2026.

Cycle	Application dates	Likely assessment window	Evidence
Asia ex-Japan 2027 summer internships, graduate internships and graduate programs (Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei)	30 September 2026; Finance Graduate HK/SG and Singapore IB Graduate close 31 October 2026	Aon tests within five days of the invitation, then for selected vacancies a recorded video interview within five days of its invitation	Official source The earliest deadlines in the Nomura calendar, and the only region with a video stage. Interviews are arranged on a rolling basis before the deadline, so applying in the first weeks of the window is materially better than applying in the last. Source: Nomura Global Campus job board
Americas 2027 Summer Analyst programs, New York corporate functions and technology	14 October 2026	None. No online assessment in the Americas; application review goes straight to a phone first round	Official source Risk Management, Quantitative Risk, Risk Technology, Corporate Finance, Operations, Internal Audit and Global Execution Services Technology Summer Analyst programs all close on the same date. Source: Nomura Global Campus job board; Nomura Early Careers FAQ
EMEA 2026-27 cycle: London summer internships, industrial placements and continental off-cycle internships	1 December 2026; the Paris IB July-start off-cycle internship closes 1 May 2027	Aon online tests where required: invitation shortly after submission, five days to complete. Rolling review from the 1 September opening means early applicants are tested and interviewed through autumn 2026	Official source Applications opened 1 September 2026 and are reviewed on a rolling basis; vacancies can close early when filled. This matches last cycle exactly, when the same programs closed on 1 December 2025. Source: Nomura Global Campus job board; Nomura Europe careers page
EMEA insight programs for April 2027 (Women’s Immersion, Explore Nomura SEO, Discover Nomura)	Job board lists 10 January 2027; the Discover Nomura posting text says "Monday 1st December". Check the live posting — this conflict is unresolved and the posting text looks like a stale template	Not stated for insight programs; EMEA vacancies may still require the Aon tests. Selection during the program itself is project-based or uses mock interviews, with a fast track to summer-internship interviews	Official source Discover Nomura is new for this cycle and runs on 5 and 6 April 2027 for students graduating in 2029. Last cycle the Women’s Immersion Programme ran 7 to 17 April 2026 and Explore Nomura 13 to 16 April 2026, both with a 10 January deadline, so the January date is the one that matches the pattern. Source: Nomura Global Campus job board; Nomura Early Careers insight programs
Americas 2027 Investment Banking Summer Associate, San Francisco (Greentech)	1 March 2027	None. Interviews only	Official source The MBA-level summer associate program for summer 2027, a ten-week placement after one week of training. Source: Nomura Global Campus job board
Americas undergraduate IB and Global Markets Summer Analyst	Not published. No posting was live on the job board on 11 September 2026, and a prep site’s estimate of a January to late March window is its own guess, not Nomura’s	None when it runs. Phone interview then a final round	Single source A San Francisco 2027 IB Summer Analyst posting was still circulating in June 2026, later than the New York window, which suggests the two cities run to different calendars. Treat every Americas IB and Global Markets date as unconfirmed until the next postings appear on the Global Campus board. Source: Global Campus job board checked 11 September 2026; prep-site estimate
India: Nomura Services India (Powai) campus season	Campus-specific; recruitment events run August to November	An aptitude and technical MCQ test on the campus visit day, with interviews the same day or the next, per candidate accounts. Not the Aon process	Official source KakushIN hackathon registration typically opens around April and May, and the Global Markets Quant Challenge for the 2027 batch ran in May 2025. Dates follow each campus’s own calendar rather than the global one. Source: Nomura India careers page
Japan: Nomura Securities 2027 domestic new-graduate cohort	Entry opened 1 March 2026; all courses now show reception closed	Aptitude tests A and B taken at entry. A 2027-cycle candidate reports 玉手箱 at home in about an hour, with the result inside a week. Not the Aon process	Official source The domestic Japanese route runs on its own site and its own calendar. The 2028 cohort should follow the same March-opening pattern. Source: Nomura Securities recruitment site (Japanese)

How to prepare for the Nomura assessment process

Start by working out which stages apply to you, because a third of Nomura’s early-careers applicants have nothing to prepare on the assessment side at all. Americas candidates sit no test and no video interview; EMEA candidates may sit an Aon test; Asia ex-Japan candidates may sit an Aon test and, for selected vacancies, a recorded video interview. Your invitation email is what settles it.

If you are being tested, prepare by format rather than by module name. Nomura does not publish which Aon modules it uses, and the reported ones — a fast numerical test and an inductive logical test, each about 12 minutes — are the two most common formats in Aon’s line, so timed practice on both is the efficient bet. Our practice metrics track your improvement; Nomura publishes no scoring model and no cutoff, only that you are told three days later if you missed the benchmark.

1. Confirm your region before you prepare anything

Americas: no online assessment, no video interview — put the time into interview preparation instead. EMEA: an Aon test may apply. Asia ex-Japan: an Aon test may apply, plus a recorded video interview for selected vacancies. Nomura’s FAQ says not every EMEA or Asia ex-Japan vacancy is tested.

2. Spend your one application well

One application globally per recruitment cycle across all divisions and regions, and an incomplete one still counts. Decide the division and the location before you submit rather than after, because there is no second attempt this cycle.

3. Build a timed baseline on both reported formats

One timed run of Aon Numerical Reasoning and one of scales cls shows whether finding figures under a short clock or rule-finding is your weaker side. Aon numerical tests reward locating the right figure fast, not elaborate calculation; inductive tests reward forming a hypothesis about the rule quickly and testing it, rather than staring at all six tables at once. To rehearse both reported tests back to back at their timings, run the Aon Practice Test with numerical and scales cls selected.

4. Protect the five-day window

The clock starts when the invitation lands, and not finishing in five days automatically withdraws your application. Book a quiet hour in the first two days rather than the last. The assessment opens in a pop-up after practice questions, so check your browser settings beforehand, and contact your regional graduate recruitment team early if you need extra time.

5. Asia ex-Japan only: rehearse recorded answers separately

Prepare concise spoken answers for why Nomura, why the division you locked in at application, a teamwork or pressure example, and a commercial-awareness prompt on a market or deal. Prep sites report roughly six or seven questions with 30 seconds of preparation and up to three minutes per answer, though Nomura does not confirm the format or the platform. Record yourself once before the real thing.

6. Prepare the case study, not just the competencies

Nomura says IB and Global Markets final rounds include a 45 to 60 minute case study. Practice reading a brief, structuring a view, and defending it out loud. For competencies, prepare examples against Nomura’s four named ones: Trusted Partner, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Teamwork, and Integrity.

7. Do not use AI or a second person during the live stages

Nomura’s FAQ states that third-party assistance, human or AI, is prohibited during any online assessment and throughout the interview process. Practice with whatever you like beforehand; sit the real thing alone.

Nomura assessment FAQ

Does Nomura use Aon assessments?

Yes. Nomura’s Early Careers FAQ states "Our testing provider is AON", and the Nomura Europe careers page repeats it. But the tests apply only to EMEA and Asia ex-Japan applications, and the FAQ adds that not every EMEA or Asia ex-Japan vacancy requires one. Nomura never says which Aon modules it uses.

Do Nomura applicants in the US take an online test?

No. Nomura’s ATS FAQ says "The USA do not require any testing", and the 2026 Global Campus Brochure marks online assessments as being for Asia ex-Japan and EMEA candidates only. Americas candidates go from application review to a phone first-round interview and then a final round, with no online assessment and no video interview.

What tests does Nomura actually send?

Nomura does not publish the module names. Prep sites report an Aon numerical test of 37 true, false and cannot-say statements in 12 minutes and an inductive logical reasoning test of 12 tasks in 12 minutes, and one prep site alone mentions a gamified planning task. Those are reported claims that several prep sites repeat verbatim, which is copying rather than independent confirmation. Your invitation email is the only reliable source.

Does Nomura use HireVue games or pymetrics?

There is no evidence that it uses either, or Arctic Shores. We searched specifically and found nothing in any official page, candidate report or prep site. The only HireVue claim anywhere concerns a recorded video interview for Asia ex-Japan candidates, and Nomura does not name that platform itself.

Does Nomura have a video interview in London or New York?

No. Nomura’s ATS FAQ is explicit that the video interview "is not part of the application process across the Americas or EMEA", and the 2026 brochure footnotes it as Asia ex-Japan only. A prep site claiming an EMEA HireVue stage is contradicted by Nomura’s own page.

How long do I have to complete the Nomura assessment?

Five days from the invitation email. Not finishing within five days automatically withdraws your application, and because Nomura allows only one application per recruitment cycle, that withdrawal uses up your attempt. If you do not meet the minimum benchmark, you are told three days after the assessment.

Can I apply to more than one Nomura program?

No. You may submit one application globally per recruitment cycle across all divisions and regions; a second is treated as a duplicate and does not progress, and an incomplete application still counts. Choose the division and location before you submit.

Is the Nomura India or Nomura Japan process the same?

No. Nomura Services India in Powai runs its own campus process — an aptitude and technical MCQ test followed by two technical interviews and an HR round, with no platform named in any account we could read. Nomura Securities’ domestic Japanese new-graduate hiring uses its own aptitude tests A and B, which candidates report as 玉手箱. Neither is evidenced as Aon, and Nomura Research Institute is a different company entirely.

Game Assessment Prep is independent and is not affiliated with Nomura or its assessment providers. Employer processes can change by program, role, country, and recruiting cycle. Follow your invitation over this guide. This guide was reviewed on September 11, 2026. Claims are labeled by evidence strength. How we research and label claims.

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