Maven Securities runs a 4 stage process, and the first stage is unusually specific: three separate timed assessments, each with its own format and its own clock. Get through those and the rest is a conventional funnel of a recorded interview, a combined HR and technical round, and a final session with senior traders.
One thing worth knowing before you start: Maven is considerably smaller than the firms it competes with for candidates, and it puts correspondingly more weight on whether you fit its culture. That is not a throwaway line in this process.
- 1Online assessments. Three timed tests: mental maths, sequences, and probability.
- 2On-demand video interview. Recorded answers on your motivation and how you think.
- 3HR and technical interview. A combined round: fit, then brainteasers, probability and market making.
- 4Final round. 1 to 4 hours with senior traders, revisiting everything at greater depth.
Before you start, Maven's YouTube channel and website are genuinely useful on how the firm is organised and what it values. The channel also carries a lot of general trading content worth watching regardless.
Stage 1: Online assessments
Three tests, each with a different shape. The timings matter, because they imply very different paces.
| Test | Questions | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental maths | 40 | 6 minutes | Roughly 9 seconds per question. You have to click submit to advance, so navigation eats real time |
| Pattern recognition and sequences | 15 | 15 minutes | A minute per question. Numbers, letters and other logical patterns |
| Probability | 10 | 30 minutes | 3 minutes per question. Foundational and intermediate probability, mixed with classic statistics problems |
Our practice versions mirror both the question types and the test formats, including the click-to-advance behaviour on the maths test, which is the detail that costs candidates the most time on the day.
How to prepare
- Maths: consistent daily practice, then work specifically on the navigation overhead until it is automatic.
- Sequences: breadth of pattern types matters more than depth on any one. The Sequence Trainer covers the range.
- Probability: 3 minutes per question means these are meant to be worked properly, not guessed. Drill probability questions until the standard setups are recognisable on sight.
Stage 2: On-demand video interview
A recorded interview, so there is no interviewer to react to you. It is about your motivation and how you reason.
Questions worth rehearsing aloud:
- Are you a competitive person?
- How would your friends describe you?
- Why do you want to become a trader?
- What makes you stand out from other applicants?
- What would make you nervous?
Be ready on your background, why Maven specifically, and where your interest in trading came from. Practise in a recorded format rather than in your head, because delivering an answer once with no feedback is a different skill from holding a conversation.
Stage 3: HR and technical interview
One round covering both.
The HR half
Know the basics about Maven and be able to say how your goals line up with what the firm values. Work through the behavioural questions in our database beforehand.
The technical half
Brainteasers, probability questions and market making games. Two practical notes: work the questions reported at Maven, and practise the market making games without pen and paper, because you will not have them in the interview.
Stage 4: Final round
In-depth interviews with senior traders, in person or by video, running anywhere from 1 to 4 hours. It revisits every earlier element and goes deeper on both the technical and the HR side.
The technical half
Expected value games with cards, dice and coins. At Maven these usually open with a brainteaser and then rotate into a market making game built around that question's answer, most often with cards.
Fermi questions come up too, under timed conditions. Our Fermi trainer and the Fermi estimation game cover that.
The HR half
Why Maven, how your values align with the firm's culture, and your strengths, weaknesses and what you would add to the team.
Closing remarks
The most common mistake here is underestimating the preparation. These roles are highly competitive and many successful candidates spend months on them, most of it on the three opening assessments, which is where the process is won or lost in volume terms.
The second thing our users consistently report is that genuine interest in Maven specifically matters more than it might at a larger firm. Because Maven is smaller, it can afford to select for people who actually resonate with how it works, and it does. Showing you understand what the firm values, and can picture yourself inside it, is worth real marks.
Work through everything we have for Maven, and read our full interview guide for how these stages compare across firms.