NSW Government

It was a very long process, but that's to be expected with one of the largest employers in Aus.

The process was quite lengthy, involving multiple rounds, but overall it was a positive experience-the interviewers were friendly and engaging throughout.

The recruitment process was slow, however, not overly difficult. Once your application is submitted, you got contacted to do an online assessment. After that you proceeded to an online interview/group activity which was about 1.5 hours. As it was conducted online, the interview process was not too stressful. The group activity was a little bit more difficult as it can be hard online to authentically and naturally engage with others in conversation.

The initial application process was straightforward and probably one of the simplest and streamlined amongst various graduate programs I applied for. I believe the initial pre-requisites were just a CV and recent academic transcript. Once my application was acknowledged, I proceeded to the interview and assessment process. This process was long, complex, and challenging. However, it was never obscure or hard to understand. Instead, the difficulty came from the nature of the assessments and the general construction of the process itself. As to duration: My application was accepted at the start of June 2025. The assessment/interview process then continued till I was successful in making the talent pool at the start of September 2025. After this, my offer of employment was not given till the last day of October. As to construction of the process: The assessment/interview process has three milestone stages. At each stage, a large portion of the applicants are filtered out. Further, due to the sequential nature of these stages, a failure at an early stage meant removal from the process altogether. Knowing this, in itself, was quite stressful. However, what increased the stress was the tasks themselves. As to the nature of assessments: In later stages, the assessments were more traditional, often modelled on interviews, simulated work assignments, or group tasks. However, for the initial stages, the assessment types were unfamiliar to me and often strictly time-constrained. For example, the opening assessment was Raven's progressive matrices. I was not expecting such a task and, given that it is essentially an IQ test, could not prepare for it, nor was not clear when the task would be assigned. Adding to this, once it was released, we were given 72 hours from the time of release till submissions would close. I certainly had not expected this combination of tight but ambiguous timelines. Stage 2 presented similarly unexpected requirements in the form of a psycho-analytical personality assessment and simulated work day. The latter concept was not completely foreign to me. However, I certainly did not expect the former. Further, the inherent ambiguity and subjective nature of the former tool made both preparation and actually completion quite challenging - given that, as an applicant, I am constantly aware that my answers are open to scrutiny, even if there is no possibility of correct and incorrect in such a test. Finally, stage 3 was composed of familiar formats; an individual interview before a panel of assessors, and a work-task carried out in a group with other applicants. I felt more comfortable with such assessments.