Acing Your Bank Teller Interview: Questions, Prep, and Tips

Most people do not realize that a bank teller’s job is more than just handling money. Instead, a bank teller also has to interact well with customers on a daily basis. If you are about to go for a bank teller interview, ensure that you are adequately prepared first to give yourself the best chance at success.

In this guide, we will give you some sample bank teller interview questions as well as the suggested answers that you can consider.

What Are Your Interviewers Looking For?

Your bank teller interview will test whether you would be a good fit for the bank, so the questions you encounter will be classic interview questions about your strengths, weaknesses, and how you plan to grow.

It will help you if you have a sense of how you might answer some of the more difficult questions and what types of answers your interviewer is actually looking for.

So, when you are asked about how you can benefit the bank, this is your chance to talk about how you might apply your skills and how those skills fit into the qualities in the bank’s mission statement.

Your interviewers want to know that you will be there for the long haul, too, so they might ask you why you want to work in the bank in the first place. Basically, your interviewer will want to know your motivation.

Remember that they want to know how you might handle some banking scenarios, so you may need to think about what it might be like to really work there and how comfortable you are with numbers or money or other situations they describe in the job posting.

Bank Teller Interview Questions and Answers

Your interviewers want to check that you would be a good fit for the bank and that you can genuinely do the job. To help them decide if you are a good candidate, here are the questions they might ask:

Why Do You Think Good Customer Service Is Crucial for Bank Tellers?

Being a bank teller is a very social job, requiring you to interact directly with people. Even if you have not worked in a bank setting before, it is alright to admit that and to bring in some of your other skills.

• Try an answer like this:
  I have worked in customer service before, so I understand that I will need to be able to help customers with their transactions in the same way.
• Customer service skills help me learn to give customers all the information they need in a friendly manner and to respond to situations wherein I have a lot of customers or customers in a bad mood.

How Would You Explain the Key Differences Between Checking and Savings?

This will help your interviewer understand whether you have some of the basic knowledge you need to actually do the job and whether you can communicate that knowledge in a way that is easy to understand. An answer that is too short or too long might cause problems for customers.

Tell them what you know: that checking accounts are transactional and meant for daily use, while savings accounts are designed to keep your funds for when you need them while earning interest.

Why Do You Want This Position?

You might also be asked how the position fits with your career goals. Apply this to your current working history, whether you have worked in finance before, are currently earning a degree, or are interested in some of the processes behind banking for your future.

Your answer here depends on what you personally have done before and what you would like to learn. Tailor it to your specific situation by mentioning how the experience will help you.

How Can You Detect Counterfeit Money or Checks?

Fraud will cost the bank large sums of money. Being able to prevent fraud is an important part of being a bank teller. You should be familiar with how to spot fakes and need to feel comfortable doing this daily.

This is where you can give your experience with fraud. Let your interviewer know that you understand how to check numbers using magnetic ink character recognition lines. You should have some familiarity with how to use a counterfeit pen to confirm the legitimacy of cash.

If you do not have much experience with fraud, highlight your skills here. Try something like this: I have shown that I am able to pay close attention to detail and that I am willing to follow all the procedures with each transaction. Add in instances of your own experience with your attention to detail here.

Will You Feel At Ease Working With Large Amounts of Money?

While you could just say yes, this is a great chance to expand a little on your answer. If you have handled money before, even small amounts as a cashier or sending money to your friends, this is your chance to relate your experience to this job as a bank teller.

Even if you worry that your past experience is not enough, talk about your math skills or about your customer service skills. Think about something like:

I have never worked at a bank before, but I am good at math and am able to give accurate change—even when I am speaking with a customer. I have never found these types of conversations distracting, and I am sure I can handle even larger amounts of money even while performing the other aspects of my job.

How Might You Sell a Product to a Customer Depositing Money?

As a bank teller, you might be asked to sell customers membership accounts or other types of products with the bank. You cannot be pushy with this, but this is a part of your job.

Talk about any other sales experience you have and go beyond that to learn about what types of products you might be selling before you get to your interview. The more specific you can be in your answer, the better your answer will sound.

What Would You Do if You Saw a Coworker Stealing?

A question like this will show your potential employer that you have the honesty needed to work with large sums of money. You need to show that you possess good judgment in a situation like this.

So, it is not enough to just say that you would stop them. You need to say that you would alert the manager so as not to cause a panic and demonstrate how you can be tactful even in high-stress situations like this.

How To Prepare For Your Bank Teller Interview

Understand The Job Description

Before you arrive for your interview, ensure that you know the job description very well. Brush up on your general knowledge about the bank’s history, its mission statement, and even its actual products and services.

Knowing your job description well will help you understand what skills and answers your interviewers are looking for. With this knowledge at the back of your mind, you will be able to give better answers that are aligned with the bank’s goals.

Dress Appropriately and Be Punctual

It is important to give a professional and positive first impression. Be sure to dress professionally and do not make the mistake of putting on too much jewelry or makeup.

Being punctual is also part of making a good first impression. In fact, try arriving at least 15 minutes before the start of your interview. This will give you enough time to fill out any paperwork if required and give you some time to relax, calm your nerves and center yourself before the start of your interview.

Practice

Job Test Prep offers a valuable Bank Teller PrepPack to help you in your preparations. Learn about the popular interview questions and answers so you can practice and be ready for the actual interview.

JobTestPrep also offers a Bank Teller Assessment Test pack that includes practice tests, answers, and detailed guides to help you familiarize yourself with the format and improve your chances of scoring well.

Conclusion

Bank tellers are vital employees in a bank as they are often the face of the bank, directly serving customers and helping to promote a bank’s products.

Overall, you need to show interviewers that you are able to balance the detailed aspect of the job of handling money with the social aspect of serving customers.

To give yourself the best chance at doing well in your interview, try out Job Test Prep’s Bank Teller PrepPack to get familiar with model questions and answers so you will feel confident and prepared.