The BMO interview process usually starts with an online application at jobs.bmo.com, moves to a screening conversation that is often by phone, and then to one or more interviews that mix traditional questions with behavioural ones. BMO's own resume and interview tips sheet says many interviews begin with broad questions about your past jobs, interests and career goals, then move to behavioural questions, where a good answer describes the situation, the actions you took and the results, including what you learned from failures.
This guide covers Bank of Montreal roles in Canada: branch and contact centre jobs, head office and technology roles, and campus hiring. Where a detail comes from BMO we say so; where it comes from candidate reports, we label it. For the wider Canadian picture, read our job interview tips for Canada, and compare BMO with the RBC interview process and the TD Bank interview process.
What are the stages of the BMO interview process?
BMO's application process page says the process is designed to help BMO get to know you and to let you learn about the team, and it lets you check your application status online. It does not list a fixed number of rounds, so treat this table as a typical path.
| Stage | What usually happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Application | Apply online at jobs.bmo.com; you can join BMO's talent community for job alerts | BMO careers site |
| Screening | A shortlist from applications, then a short call about your background and interest | Candidates commonly report |
| Phone or video interview | BMO's tips sheet notes telephone interviews are more common; video is used too | BMO tips sheet; candidates report |
| Interview with the hiring manager | One or more interviews, in person or virtual, mixing traditional and behavioural questions | BMO tips sheet; candidates report |
| Offer and checks | Verbal offer, then references and background checks | Candidates commonly report |
Some technology and campus roles add an online assessment. Take the assessment yourself and follow the employer's rules — use CoPilot Interview to practice beforehand.
How BMO structures its interview questions
BMO published a short resume and interview tips sheet (an older, undated PDF still on bmo.com in October 2026). It names two kinds of interview question:
- Traditional questions are broad: your previous jobs, personal interests and career goals. "Tell me about yourself" and "Where do you see your career going?" fit here.
- Behavioural questions ask about past experience, because BMO treats it as the best predictor of how you would behave in a similar situation.
For behavioural answers, BMO lists what a good answer includes. In summary:
- A description of the situation where the behaviour took place.
- The actions you took, specific and concise.
- The results: how your actions affected the outcome and what you learned.
- Do not ignore failures. Interviewers want to hear about things that did not go as hoped and what you would do differently.
Point 4 is the one most candidates skip. Prepare at least one honest failure story with a clear lesson. Our guide to answering "Tell me about a time you failed" shows how to keep it short and constructive.
The same sheet's general tips: know yourself and prepare examples that back up your résumé, know the company and role, listen carefully and ask for clarification, speak clearly without jargon or slang, watch your pace and tone, and bring questions. For phone interviews, keep your résumé in front of you, know the interviewer's name, and have your notes, questions and a pen ready. Our phone interview tips go further.
BMO's Purpose and values
As of October 2026, BMO's careers culture page describes BMO as a bank founded in 1817 and driven by its Purpose: "Boldly Grow the Good in business and life." It describes a "Winning Culture" grounded in four values. Prepare a story for each:
| BMO value | Story to prepare | Practice question we wrote |
|---|---|---|
| Integrity | A time you did the right thing when no one was checking | Tell me about a time you had to choose between hitting a target and doing what was right for a customer. |
| Empathy | A time you understood what was behind someone's frustration | Describe a conversation with an upset customer or colleague. What did you learn about their situation? |
| Diversity | A time a different perspective improved a result | Tell me about working on a team with people whose backgrounds or views differed from yours. |
| Responsibility | A time you owned a problem through to the end | Give an example of a mistake you made at work. How did you fix it, and what changed afterwards? |
The Purpose itself is a fair interview topic. If asked what "Boldly Grow the Good" means to you, link it to something concrete in the role, such as helping a small business owner get the right financing or helping a first-time investor understand risk.
Practice questions for a BMO interview
These are practice questions we wrote to reflect BMO's two question types. They are not questions BMO has published or asked.
Traditional:
- Tell me about yourself and why you applied to BMO.
- What are your career goals for the next three to five years?
- What do you know about the business line you are applying to?
Behavioural:
- Tell me about a time you helped a customer understand something complicated.
- Describe a time you had to meet a tight deadline with incomplete information.
- Tell me about a time something you worked on did not go as planned. What would you do differently?
- Give an example of feedback you received and what you did with it.
Example answer we wrote (failure question, analyst role): "In my co-op term I built a weekly sales report and sent it to the regional team without checking one of the data filters. Two branches were double-counted, and a manager noticed before I did. I owned the error the same day, re-ran the numbers and sent a correction with a short note on what had happened. Then I added a reconciliation step that compares the totals with the source system before anything goes out. The report ran for the rest of my term without another error. If I did it over, I would have built the check before the first send, not after."
That answer works because it follows BMO's own structure: situation, actions, results and what you would do over. For more examples, see our behavioural interview questions for Canada.
Campus, co-op and new graduate hiring
BMO runs campus recruiting for interns, co-op students and recent graduates. As of October 2026, its campus page lists events including resume sessions with campus recruiters, "Interview 101" prep sessions where you practise with simulated scenarios and get tips for virtual and in-person interviews, and intern office hours where current interns explain how they landed their roles. If one of these runs at your school, go: you meet recruiters and hear the format first-hand.
Student candidates are usually measured on potential rather than experience, so draw on class projects, part-time work, clubs and volunteering. Our co-op interview tips explain how to turn those into strong stories.
Many BMO roles are posted in Ontario. Since January 1, 2026, publicly advertised Ontario postings from employers with 25 or more employees must include expected pay or a range, and employers must tell interviewed candidates within 45 days of the last interview whether a decision has been made. Use the posted range when you answer pay questions; our guide on salary expectations in Canada explains how.
How to prepare for your BMO interview
- Prepare a two-minute introduction that covers where you are now, what you have done and why BMO.
- Write four values stories and one failure story using situation, actions, results and lesson.
- Back up your résumé. For every bullet, be ready to explain how you did it and what changed.
- Research the business line and one recent BMO announcement relevant to it.
- Rehearse out loud, including a phone-only run with your notes in front of you.
- Prepare questions, such as what success looks like in the first three months.
To rehearse, CoPilot Interview's Mock Interview builds questions from your résumé and the BMO job description, reads them aloud and scores each spoken answer out of 10 with what worked, what to fix and a model answer, followed by a report card. It is free for 15 minutes a day with no account or credit card, and the browser mock interview needs no install. Follow the rules of the employer or assessment you're in — many people use it only to practise, which works on the free plan.
Rehearse traditional and behavioural answers
Run a mock BMO interview from your résumé and the job posting, answer out loud, and get each answer scored out of 10 with a model answer. Free for 15 minutes a day, no account.
Try a free AI mock interviewFAQ
What kind of questions does BMO ask in interviews?
BMO's own tips sheet describes two types: traditional questions about your past jobs, interests and career goals, and behavioural questions about how you handled real situations. Many interviews start with traditional questions and move to behavioural ones.
How should I answer BMO behavioural questions?
Describe the situation, the actions you took and the results, including what you learned. BMO also says not to avoid failures: interviewers want to know how you would handle the situation if you could do it over.
What are BMO's values?
As of October 2026, BMO lists four values: Integrity, Empathy, Diversity and Responsibility. Its Purpose is "Boldly Grow the Good in business and life." Prepare one story for each value.
Is the first BMO interview by phone?
Often. BMO's tips sheet notes that telephone interviews are more common, and candidates also report video screens. Keep your résumé, notes and the interviewer's name in front of you.
How many interviews does BMO have?
BMO does not publish a fixed number. Candidates commonly report a screen followed by one or more interviews with the hiring manager or team. Ask the recruiter how many rounds to expect and who you will meet.
How can I practise for a BMO interview?
Write your stories, then say them out loud and time them. CoPilot Interview's free Mock Interview scores each spoken answer out of 10 with a model answer, 15 minutes a day with no account. CoPilot Interview is not affiliated with BMO.