Australia Post Graduate Programme, Psychometric Tests Practice and Interview Preparation

Australia Post takes around 30 trainees each year in their graduate programme, as well as a constant stream of experienced workers. Recruitment for the graduate programme begins early into the new year for the following autumn term. This article will focus on the recruitment process for the Australia Post Graduate programme as this is the most comprehensive process. Applicants with experience for other roles have a recruitment process which includes a covering letter, a telephone interview and possibly an assessment stage or interview, depending on the role applied for.

Australia Post offer four streams, applicants can only apply for one out of those four streams:

• Parcels & Express Services
• Sales & Marketing
• Communication Management Services (CMS) Digital
• IT

The application form is your first interaction with Australia Post, and the company’s first opportunity to learn anything about you. The purpose of the form is to ensure you are a good fit for one another. The application form contains the usual questions about academic results and achievements; extracurricular activities; and future aspirations.

Applicants applying for an experienced role attach their resume and a covering letter to their application. The covering letter should contain a summary of skills and experience, whilst your resume should highlight your professional and educational background, and your experience relevant to the role.

If you are successful at the application form stage, the online testing and video interview come next as one stage of the application process.

The Australia Post psychometric test is provided by Testgrid. The test is a cognitive ability test, incorporating verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning in one test that lasts 18 minutes. The three elements will all test your reasoning skills, but in different ways.

• The verbal reasoning questions will test your ability to read a passage, analyse its content and answer according to how valid certain statements are from the original text.
• Numerical reasoning questions will provide you with numerical data in the form of tables and or graphs, which you must be able to use to answer multiple choice questions.
• Abstract reasoning tests are the closest tests to the classic IQ test. They test your logical thinking without using words or numbers. In an abstract reasoning test you are given a sequence of images, and your task is to identify the pattern and pick the next image in the sequence.

Practising before taking these tests will enable you to be more confident on how to approach the test, and will improve your overall score. See the JobTestPrep website for more information about the psychometric and these types of tests.

The pre-recorded video interview requires you to record your answers to a set of behavioural questions on to a short video. The video is sent by link, you have 15 seconds to read the question before you have to start your reply. You only have one chance to record the video, so make sure you are ready before you start. The questions are predominantly behavioural questions, asking for information about times you have displayed a certain behaviour at work. In questions such as these, your interviewer expects examples to back up your answers, so try to think of some examples from your past experience (work, studies, voluntary activity) which you can use on the day. These answers must also be organised to give over the information they are looking for. One of the most effective ways to do this, is to employ the STAR method. Find out more about the STAR method on the JobTestPrep website here.

On top of the preparation above, the best preparation for any interview is to sit a mock interview. JobTestPrep offer interviews which provide you with practice of answering questions in an interview scenario, feedback on your performance, not to mention experience of interviewing whilst talking into a camera!

Applicants who are being put forward to the assessment day will be sent an online personality test. This test is an untimed behaviours and competency test, also provided by Testgrid. This test examines your work style and preferences against the personality description in the role you are applying for. Whilst you can’t prepare for the exact test, there are two ways you can prepare ahead of time. The first is by looking at the role description and understanding the personalities they are looking for. The second way is to sit a practice personality test, which will help you understand how the test works, and identify your personality traits ahead of time. See how JobTestPrep’s specially created personality test practice pack can help you prepare for the test.

The Australia Post assessment centre is held at the Head Office in Melbourne. Over the course of the assessment day you will be tested on all or some of the following:

• Group case study activity
• Interview - for graduates this is about university, work and personal experience.
• Review of the motivation questionnaire

For the group case study, you are put into groups from the attendees on the day. You are given a brief on a topic of interest, and asked to discuss it in your group. The purpose of a group exercise is to assess your team working skills, and you will be examined on the way you work with others, the quality of your contributions, and how you listen to the group or bring in people who are not contributing. Getting the balance in a group exercise can be difficult, but preparing your strategy for the day, and some responses to personality types in the group can help. See how JobTestPrep’s group exercises package can help you prepare for the day.

Applicants for the Australia Post-graduate programme will have a short interview at the assessment day, whilst experienced hire applicants will be called in for an interview. This interview is an opportunity for the recruitment team to meet you face to face, and get to know more about you. The interviews are behavioural based interviews, looking at the skills that Australia Post are looking for in their employees.

The recruitment team is looking for you to provide past examples from your experience to back up your answers. Australia Post advise that you prepare by thinking of relevant past situations where you've solved problems or achieved success at school, work, or during volunteer activities. You should also organise your answers with the STAR method. Preparing for any interview is key. As well as reviewing your application form or covering letter, and thinking up examples, you should also brush up on your interviewing skills - responding to questions, your demeanour, answers to common questions and more. You can prepare for a real-life interview: JobTestPrep's interview package offers a face to face interaction, as well as feedback on your performance.

Applicants for the graduate programme who have successfully passed the assessment centre will be called back for a final interview. Ahead of the interview, you are sent a case study topic to research and prepare a short presentation on, which you will give over at the start of the interview. Previous presentation topics include Australia Post’s transformation project, as well as more informal topics such as fish and chips. Giving over a presentation can be nerve-wracking, adding to the nerves of an interview. Gain some tips on how to give a successful presentation with JobTestPrep’s presentations blog entry. You will then be asked questions about the case study and presentation. For tips on how to manage a case study interview, see our website.

After you have completed your presentation, the questions part of the interview will begin. The interviewers now focus on behavioural questions, with some technical question on the stream you have applied for included. Although it may not be too long since the last time you had an interview with Australia Post, there is a lot riding on this interview. Brush up on your interviewing technique with JobTestPrep’s interview package and improve your confidence on the day.

Australia Post is a popular place to work, with many applicants for each position. The recruitment process will test your skills at every stage. Preparation is a key ingredient to your success in this process, and in this article we have shown you the resources available to you to help make your practice count. We hope you have found this article useful, and good luck.