JPMorgan Chase's online assessment for software engineers is a HackerRank coding test. The firm's software engineering program postings say advancing applicants get an email invitation to a coding challenge powered by HackerRank, and that the application is not reviewed further until it is done; experienced hires take a similar online coding assessment that JPMorgan calls CodeScreen. Students may also record a HireVue video interview and, in some regions, be routed to Code for Good, the firm's team hackathon, before a virtual Superday.
The exact mix is not uniform. Candidates commonly report two easy-to-medium coding problems, but the question count, time limit and order of stages vary by program, graduation year and region, and JPMorgan does not publish a fixed format. This guide separates what the firm states officially from what candidates report, explains what each stage checks, and lays out a three-week prep plan. One rule covers every stage: the work must be your own. JPMorgan's own interview guidance lists using software to generate answers while you are interviewing as a don't.
The stages at a glance
Not every applicant sees every row. Which steps you get depends on whether you are applying to the Software Engineer Program (internship or full-time) or as an experienced hire, and on where you are applying.
| Stage | Who typically sees it | What it checks | Where the detail comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| HackerRank coding test | Software Engineer Program applicants; experienced hires take an online coding assessment (CodeScreen) | Problem solving and foundational programming knowledge | Official postings and candidate guidance |
| HireVue recorded interview | Many student and early-career applicants, not all | Motivation for the program, communication, behavioral examples | Named in official guidance; format details are candidate-reported |
| Code for Good hackathon | Bachelor's students in Argentina, India, Singapore, the UK and the US | Teamwork, building a working solution, explaining it | Official program page; selection details are candidate-reported |
| Virtual Superday | Applicants who clear the earlier steps | Live coding, technical depth, behavioral fit | Named in official postings and hiring page; content is candidate-reported |
| Team match | Experienced hires | Fit between you and a team's projects | Official experienced-hiring page |
For experienced engineers, JPMorgan's hiring page lists the order as Application, CodeScreen, Recruiter Call, Super Day, Decision and Team Match, and names proficiency in Java or Python as a key skill.
Stage 1: the HackerRank coding test
What JPMorgan says. The firm's program listings (its 2027 UK internship postings, for example) describe the sequence plainly: after a review of required qualifications, advancing applicants receive an email invitation to a coding challenge powered by HackerRank, and the application is not considered further until it is done. JPMorgan's early-careers reflection guide adds three tips: the test assesses your problem solving and your foundational knowledge of programming languages, you should remove distractions from your work area, and you should code in the language you are most comfortable with.
What candidates report. Write-ups from recent cycles most often describe:
- Two coding problems at roughly LeetCode easy-to-medium difficulty. Some tracks reportedly add a short aptitude or logic section.
- A timed window of about 60 to 90 minutes once you start, with some invitations allowing several days to begin. One 2024 Code for Good candidate in India described a three-day window. The duration in your own invitation overrides any number you read online.
- Core topics: arrays, strings, hash maps, sorting and two pointers, with an occasional stack question or a tree or graph traversal. One 2024 write-up described a loop-based simulation that computes a minimum total cost and a pair-counting problem solved with sorting and two pointers.
How HackerRank scores code. A HackerRank coding question is normally checked against test cases: sample cases whose input and expected output you can see, plus hidden cases whose input and expected output you cannot see. HackerRank's documentation describes a question's score as the sum of the scores of the test cases you pass. That means a correct but slow solution can still earn partial credit, and a fast solution that breaks on an empty input can lose points. JPMorgan does not publish a passing score.
Practical takeaway: get a correct brute-force solution passing first, then optimize. Before moving on, run your own custom input for an empty array, a single element, duplicates, negative numbers and the largest size the prompt allows.
Stage 2: the HireVue recorded interview
JPMorgan's early-careers guidance says your skills may be assessed through a HireVue (a pre-recorded video interview) and/or a HackerRank technical assessment, so some software applicants record one and some do not. In an on-demand HireVue there is no live interviewer: a question appears, you usually get a short preparation window, and you record your answer. HireVue says candidates get the chance to do a practice question first, and that most on-demand interviews ask for an answer in just a few minutes.
Candidates who report a JPMorgan HireVue for software roles describe a small set of behavioral prompts and a brief prep window. In one detailed 2024 account from India there were two questions, each with two attempts. Topics to have ready:
- Resolving a conflict within a team (reported in that account).
- Your future goals and how this program fits them (also reported).
- Why this program. JPMorgan's own HireVue tips tell you to be clear on why you are interested in it.
Timing and retake rules are set per invitation, so read the instructions on the welcome screen rather than trusting a number from a forum.
Use the structure JPMorgan suggests. The firm's interview guidance suggests the SHER model for structuring an example from your own experience: Situation (what was happening), Hurdle (what obstacles you ran into), Endgame (what you did to get past them) and Reflection (what the experience taught you). A 90-second outline for a conflict prompt might look like this:
- Situation: a four-person class project building a scheduling app, two weeks before the demo.
- Hurdle: a teammate wanted to rewrite the backend; I thought it put the demo at risk, and the disagreement was stalling the team.
- Endgame: I proposed a one-hour spike to compare both approaches against our test cases, and we agreed to follow the results. We kept the existing backend and shipped on time.
- Reflection: I now suggest a small experiment before arguing about a design.
JPMorgan's own HireVue tips are short: research the firm from as many sources as possible, be clear on why you want the program, and make sure you have suitable lighting and clear audio. The firm's interview tips also list reading off notes or pre-written documents as a don't, so practice until you can speak from memory. For more prompts and sample answers, see our guide to HireVue questions for software engineers.
Stage 3: Code for Good (students)
Code for Good is one of JPMorgan Chase's Tech for Social Good hackathons. The official program page describes students building tech solutions for socially focused organizations, working in teams guided by the firm's technologists. It lists eligibility as students enrolled in a bachelor's degree program and runs in Argentina, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. Its apply link points to the Software Engineer Program summer internship, so in practice it sits inside internship recruiting.
Candidates commonly report being invited after the HackerRank test (and, in some regions, a HireVue). In one 2024 account from India, the event was held in person at JPMorgan offices: teams of seven or eight worked with JPMorgan mentors, pushed their code to GitHub and gave a presentation of under seven minutes to an internal panel. Format varies by location and year. That team was not shortlisted for the final round, yet four of its members later received full-time offers; selection criteria are not published.
What the hackathon rewards:
- Scoping. Pick a minimum viable product you can finish and demo. Polish comes last.
- Collaboration. Branches, pull requests and a clear split of tasks matter when several people work in one repository.
- Explaining your work. Mentors and judges will ask why you built it the way you did. Be ready to answer for any code you wrote.
Stage 4: the virtual Superday
Applicants who clear the earlier steps receive an email invitation to a virtual Superday. For experienced engineers, JPMorgan describes it as three virtual interviews in one day, followed by a decision and then team matching. Candidates commonly describe a mix of live coding at about LeetCode-medium level, questions about their projects and primary language, and behavioral questions; some also report a short exercise reviewing a pull request for bugs and style problems. The online assessment is a filter; the Superday is where your reasoning is judged in conversation. Our JPMorgan coding interview guide covers the live rounds, topic emphasis and what interviewers score.
What to study for the coding test
This list is weighted by what candidates report, not by an official syllabus. JPMorgan does not publish one.
| Topic | Why it shows up | Target before test day |
|---|---|---|
| Arrays and strings | Most reported problems are built on them | 15 to 20 timed problems, including in-place updates and parsing |
| Hash maps and sets | Counting, grouping, pair-finding | Spot the "have I seen this value before?" signal within a minute |
| Sorting and two pointers | Pair counting, deduplication, merging | Write a custom comparator from memory in your test language |
| Stacks | Reported as an occasional question type | One stack problem per session for a week (bracket matching, "next greater element") |
| Trees and graphs | Occasional, usually standard traversal | Iterative BFS and recursive DFS without notes |
| Light dynamic programming | Seldom mentioned in candidate reports for this stage | Recognize simple one-dimensional recurrences; do not over-invest |
If you want a structured order for these, our LeetCode patterns guide maps each technique to the problem wording that signals it.
A three-week prep plan
- Week 1: environment and fundamentals. Do your practice problems in HackerRank's own editor so the function-stub format, input handling and run-and-check flow feel routine. Pick the language you are most comfortable with, as JPMorgan's guidance advises, and stick with it. Work arrays, strings and hash maps: two problems a day, about 30 to 40 minutes each on a timer.
- Week 2: patterns and edge cases. Sorting, two pointers, stacks and basic tree traversal. Three times this week, sit a two-problem set under a 60-to-90-minute timer with no pauses. After each set, write down the edge case you missed and add it to a running checklist.
- Week 3: video and Superday readiness. Write five or six SHER stories: a conflict, a mistake, leading something, a project you are proud of, learning something fast, and why JPMorgan. Record each answer once on camera, watch it back and trim it to about two minutes. Then explain one coding solution out loud each day, including its time and space complexity.
Answering to a camera with nobody reacting is a skill of its own. You can rehearse it with a free AI mock interview in CoPilot Interview: paste the job description and your résumé, pick a behavioral and coding mix, answer each question out loud, and get a score with what worked and what to improve. Use it to practice before your invitation arrives, never during an assessment.
Test-day checklist
- Read the invitation twice. Note the deadline to start, the duration, the allowed languages and any camera or monitoring requirements.
- Set up your space. A quiet room with distractions removed, a stable connection and, for HireVue, good lighting and a tested microphone.
- Start early. JPMorgan strongly encourages applicants to complete required steps as soon as possible, so do not leave the test to the last day of the window.
- Bank partial credit. If a problem is fighting you, get a simpler working version submitted before time runs out, then improve it.
- Do it yourself, under the firm's rules. JPMorgan's interview tips tell candidates not to use software to generate answers while interviewing (unless the firm invites them to use an LLM as part of the exercise), not to read off notes and not to fabricate or exaggerate. Complete every assessment on your own.
- Ask about accommodations first. If you need extra time or a different format, contact the recruiter or the address in your invitation before you start.
To see how JPMorgan's test compares with other employers' assessments, read our new grad online assessment guide.
Rehearse your HireVue and Superday answers out loud
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Try a free AI mock interviewFAQ
Does JPMorgan use HackerRank for its online assessment?
Yes. JPMorgan Chase's software engineering program postings say advancing applicants receive an email invitation to a coding challenge powered by HackerRank, and that the application is not reviewed further until it is completed. Experienced hires take a similar online coding assessment, which the firm's hiring page calls CodeScreen.
How many questions are on the JPMorgan HackerRank test?
JPMorgan does not publish a fixed question count or time limit. Candidates commonly report two coding problems at roughly LeetCode easy-to-medium difficulty, but the format varies by program and region, so follow the duration and instructions in your own invitation.
Do software engineers have to do a HireVue at JPMorgan?
Not always. JPMorgan's early-careers guidance says skills may be assessed through a HireVue recorded interview and/or a HackerRank technical assessment, and candidate reports place HireVue mostly in student and early-career pipelines. Your invitation tells you which steps apply to you.
What is JPMorgan Code for Good?
Code for Good is JPMorgan Chase's Tech for Social Good hackathon, where students enrolled in a bachelor's degree program work in teams, supported by the firm's technologists, to build solutions for socially focused organizations. It runs in Argentina, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States, and candidates commonly report being invited after the online assessment.
Can I use AI tools during the JPMorgan assessment?
No. JPMorgan's own interview tips tell candidates not to use software to generate answers while interviewing, unless the firm invites them to use an LLM as part of the interview or exercise. Prepare as much as you like beforehand, then complete every assessment on your own under the firm's rules.