The Predictive Index test: how the behavioural assessment works, and what DBS candidates report

The Predictive Index Behavioral Assessment is a short questionnaire: one list of adjectives and two questions about how you are expected to act at work and how you see yourself. It takes about 6 minutes, has no time limit and no pass mark. In Singapore, DBS candidates meet it inside the JIM chatbot application. It sits with the other personality assessments employers use.

How the Predictive Index test works

You see one list of adjectives twice. The first time, you tick the words that describe how others expect you to behave at work. The second time, you tick the words you would use to describe yourself. You can tick as many or as few as you like. The Predictive Index describes it as untimed and says most people finish in about 6 minutes.

The answers feed four drives: dominance (how you approach control and decisions), extraversion (how much you seek social contact), patience (whether you prefer a steady pace or variety) and formality (how much you want structure and rules). The combination puts you in one of 17 reference profiles, which the employer compares with the profile it wants for the role.

What DBS candidates reported

forge's record of candidate reports holds more than 80 reports about DBS's JIM chatbot and Predictive Index step, mostly from applicants to technology roles and conversion programmes between 2021 and 2025.

It sits inside JIM, DBS's application chatbot. You create a DBS careers account, apply, and the JIM invitation arrives anywhere from 30 minutes to two days later. JIM is multiple choice with no video and no camera; candidates described questions on how others see you and how you see yourself, then a list of words to pick from. There is no time limit. One person finished the whole JIM application in about 20 minutes, another in about 10.

Two things confused people. Many got a second Predictive Index link by email after finishing it in JIM; a DBS reply shared in 2023 said there was no need to do it again. And JIM sometimes showed "final shortlist" minutes after the pre-screen, which turned out not to mean an offer. Don't celebrate that status yet.

How to prepare for the Predictive Index

1. Read each adjective literally and tick only the ones that fit how you work today.
2. Answer the "expected of you" question for your current or most recent role or project, not your dream job.
3. Avoid ticking almost everything or almost nothing; both make the profile hard to read.
4. Spend your preparation time on the stages that do reward practice: the interview and any reasoning test in the same process.

Related guides

• Personality assessments guide
• Caliper assessment
• Which online test will I get? Singapore employers
• DBS Singapore hiring process
• TFIP guide and alternatives

Sources

• The Predictive Index: Behavioral Assessment

Frequently asked questions

Note on accuracy: the test providers named in this guide reflect candidate reports and publicly available information as of 2026, and are provided for preparation guidance only. Employers do not usually publish which assessment provider they use, and these relationships change over time — DBS may switch providers, run different tests for different roles, regions or intakes, or use a provider not listed here. Nothing on this page is confirmed or endorsed by DBS or any test publisher, and it should not be relied on as a definitive statement of DBS’s current process. Always confirm the exact test and provider from your official invitation email before you prepare.