Application Process & Interviews at Australian National Audit Office (ANAO)

Interview process and the assessment centre was easy to attend, well structured day and clearly communicated.

Very informative throughout the process

The hiring process for a graduate in 2019 comprised an online application and if short-listed, an invitation to the assessment centre in person in canberra for group assessment, an interview and a written assessment. my understanding is the currently there has been added a virtual, one-way interview process after the initial application. the anao assessment centre was one of the best i had attended. people were laid back and welcoming. the group exercise was interesting, comprising a scenario to discuss and work through, and then a short presentation to the panel. for the written assessment, we were given an hour to write up something based on documents given, such as an explanation of graphs, etc. this was focused on aps values and code of conduct.

In person all day assessment centre, written task, group task, interview

Online testing, video interview, group task, panel interview

Graduate assessment centre involved a writing task, a group assessment and an individual interview.

The interview process is made up of three components - individual interview, written task and group task. in recent years these tasks have been conducted remotely using video conference software.

For my graduate cohort there was an interview with 15 mins preparation time, a group activity, and a written activity. subsequent recruitment processes have been similar.

Was able to obtain an accurate understanding of the business. long process

Verbal response, written response, and group exercise.

Interview and assessment process for my graduate intake was well-rounded and fair. it was split in 3 sections: a written task, group task and panel interview. i believe each of the 3 stages is necessary for a comprehensive hiring process and made me feel all the more accomplished and thankful that i received the offer.

The interview process was straight forward and the assessments were more complicated with written assessment and group assessments to see how we would work in the organisation.

Extremely accommodating of my circumstances at the time. i was overseas when the interviews were scheduled, and after i had undertaken a video interview, the anao brought me over to canberra when i returned in order to show me around the office and to get a feel for the workplace.

Assessment centre - which was very well run. there were four aspects: a group assessment, an individual writing task, psychometric testing, and a two-on-one interview.

Out of all the assessments i went through while looking for grad programs, the anao offered the most comprehensive and detailed assessment i had been through. the other thing i liked was the personal touch. everyone from the organisation participated. nothing outsourced. all kept in house. big ticks for me!

Very good when compared to other aps graduate programs. no math or logic testing, which most applicants appreciated. fantastic timing - was less stressful to receive an offer earlier in the year. assessment centres were held at the actual organization, which gave applicants a chance to assess the workplace culture.

I loved that they didn't have any aptitude testing. assessment day was pleasant.

The assessment centre was extremely welcoming and well-run. sufficient time was allotted to achieve the goals required.

Scenario based questions in the interview

I think they were scenario-based -- e.g. describe a time when you had to do x and how did you handle it? i think they gave us the questions beforehand and some time to prepare, and we could take the notes with us into the interview.

I do not recall specifically. questions were around the key selection criteria and using the situation-task-action-result (star) format to answer.

Experience working in teams, doing research and learning a new skill

What would you do if you disagreed with your manager? how have you been able to make a contribution to your team and what was the outcome? what was a time that you demonstrated time management?

Questions based on previous experience and difficult situations.

Asked to generally explain situations where i demonstrated particular capabilities.

The questions weren't what i expected. no assumed knowledge, all behavioural. nice and easy!

Previous work experience, future hopes for work, reasons for wanting to work at the anao, understanding of the role of the organisation, theoretical basics of accounting, ability to get along with other staff.

To describe situations where i have shown different qualities. for example leadership and diversity.

Why do you want to work here? if you had an issue, where would you go? describe a difficult situation you encountered and how you solved it.

How i worked in a small team, what sort of experience i had in analysis and research

Best prepare by really knowing examples of traits and accomplishments that you want to portray - evidence of what and how you did something that would be a response to an interview question.

Research about the organisation before applying

Research what the anao does; if possible, read through a couple of audit to get a feel for what you would be expected to do. highlight your key skills and back them up with examples.

Be aware of the anao's purpose, not a lot of detail is needed but it is helpful. for the group task - demonstrate ability to work within a team.

Just be prepared to talk about why you want the job and what you will bring to the role

Read some reports released by the anao. read the aps work level standards.

Look through the website, be familiar with the reports we write, emphasise your interest in research, analysis and writing. any university experience you have had researching a topic and report writing will be an asset.

Research the organisation. read an audit report and think about how your current skills could contribute to producing an audit report.

Do good research prior on the work of the office. ask lots of questions and be curious.

Generally, the actual answer to the question is not as important as the reasoning and judgement you make to get there. typically, the conclusions we reach are not clear cut, and there is always disagreement over them. the reasoning and judgement is the key factor in determining whether someone will do well.

Reading audit reports to see what the anao does.

Look at the core capability framework, describe how they uses general academic and team skills to achieve.

Think about times when you worked well in a group, as audit is very much a group activity.

Be friendly and sociable - one of the best aspects of the assessment centre was the move away from technical knowledge and toward team cohesiveness and hiring friendly people.

Know what you're after. know what the audit office does. the work is unique, so just be prepared to think outside a standard career format.

Emphasize the fact that you're all all-rounder with a variety of experiences and decent written and verbal communication skills.

Look in detail at some of the work produced by the organisation, familiarise themselves with the 'capabilities framework' and consider how the work and required skills align with their own skill sets, personalities and experiences.

Be yourself and be able to demonstrate your good qualities with examples.

Read up on the values of the organisation. the values are the metric by which candidates are measured.