Optiver interview: what candidates actually report
Most people searching for candidate discussion of Optiver want one of three things: what the arithmetic test actually looks like, what score is good enough, and what comes after it. The forum threads answer the first well, the second badly, and the third in scattered pieces. Here is the organised version.
This page summarises what candidates have publicly and repeatedly described across forums over recent cycles. It quotes nobody and reproduces no thread; the discussions are linked below so you can read the primary sources yourself. QuantPit is independent and unaffiliated with Optiver. Processes change between cycles, roles, and offices, so treat this as a map rather than a schedule, and let your invitation email and the firm's careers page overrule anything here.
What candidates agree on
Reported consistently enough across cycles that you can plan around it.
The first filter for trading roles is a timed arithmetic test
Overwhelmingly described as 80 questions in 8 minutes, with +1 for a correct answer, -2 for a wrong one, and no penalty for skipping. Content is elementary arithmetic: integers, decimals, fractions, percentages. Nobody reports needing mathematics beyond school level, and everybody reports the clock being the difficulty.
Guessing is the standard way candidates fail
The -2 penalty means a coin-flip guess has negative expected value. Reports of low scores almost always describe answering everything rather than skipping, which is the habit every other timed exam in a candidate's life has rewarded.
The invitation arrives fast and expires
Candidates describe assessment links arriving within days of applying, sometimes hours, with a short completion window. People who plan to prepare after applying frequently report running out of time.
More testing follows the arithmetic screen
Reports describe a mix of further numerical or logic testing, game-style or behavioural components, a recruiter conversation, and then trading and probability interviews. The exact sequence varies more than the first screen does.
What candidates disagree on
Where accounts genuinely conflict. Anyone stating these confidently is generalising from one data point, their own.
The passing score
Numbers circulate constantly and contradict each other, because Optiver publishes no cutoff and candidates only know their own outcome. Any specific figure you read is folklore. Percentile against other trained candidates is the only measurable proxy, which is why we run a free benchmark that reports one.
Question count and time limit by role and region
The 80 in 8 format dominates reports for trading roles, but candidates in different regions and for research or technology roles describe different lengths and formats. Your invitation email is the only authority for what you will face.
Whether answers are multiple choice or typed
Reports include both, varying by cycle and platform. Strategically it changes little: accuracy and skipping discipline dominate either way.
Reported timeline
Application to assessment invitation is commonly reported as days rather than weeks. From assessment to a decision or a next stage, candidates typically describe one to three weeks, with the full process to offer running several weeks. Timelines compress during the autumn peak.
Read the discussions yourself
Live searches rather than links to individual threads, so you see current reports rather than a snapshot from an old cycle.
Common questions
What score do you need to pass the Optiver assessment?
There is no published cutoff, and figures traded in forums contradict each other because candidates only ever learn their own result. The workable approach is relative: measure yourself against other candidates, and train until you sit comfortably in the upper part of the field.
Is the Optiver math test really 80 questions in 8 minutes?
That is the format candidates report for trading roles by a wide margin, with +1 and -2 scoring and free skips. Other roles and regions report variations, and your invitation email states the actual rules.
Can you retake the Optiver assessment?
Within a cycle, candidates generally report one attempt per application. Reapplying in a later cycle is common and normal.
How long after applying does the Optiver test arrive?
Commonly within days, sometimes within hours, with a limited window to complete it. Prepare before you apply rather than after.
Practise the style, free
Reading about it is not preparing for it
The threads tell you what the test looks like. Sitting one tells you whether you would pass it.