Application Process & Interviews at Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

It was pretty slow. Interviews were all online, and included a pre-recorded one and a live one.

The recruitment process can be quite slow, but useful feedback is usually provided.

In my experience the recruitment process is run quite well. The interviewers are always very nice, they explain things really well and are happy to answer any questions you might have. You are always given ample time to complete any assessments also.

The assessments and people I talked to were great. It was horrible needing to apply a year in advance.

I had a VC appointment and had to read an interview question and record my answer. The next round was an interview with a panel of 4 who all asked me questions, again on VC but we were in lockdown

Thorough, but appropriate given the number of applicants and importance of the work

I hate robot interviews, and the whole process had too many stages

2 interviews, 1 video, 1 with a panel. The panel one was 4 people, 2 were very cold and honestly a bit rude, one was very polite, one was a scribe and didn't really speak. They asked behavioural questions form memory. Felt like I just had to say what they wanted not actually express any personality or anything like that. The formal assessments were pretty straight forward with a short list of question all of which could be answered by looking on the website.

Takes a long time, often hired in bulk rounds, people rarely fit in role matching their interests and sometimes skills and abilities.

Grad recruitment was good. Other recruitment processes in my area have been extremely poor. Bulk recruitment rounds which result in skill deficits and a lack of staff to fill SME areas. Interviews very standard, STAR method questions.

After the initial application there was, if I recall, a telephone interview and two face to face rounds. One was more casual and the other was more technical. It happened over a long period of time, but I knew that going in and they generally stuck to their guidelines so that was fine. The technical assessment was tricky as I recall, and I wasn't feeling too confident about it after the fact.

An initial test to orient candidate toward data stream or general stream. A second test to check data and mathematical literacy. 10 minutes before interview you get a brochure with a range of data which you have to explain during the interview. They do ask personal questions so see if you would be a good cultural fit

I applied for my role through the Australian Government Graduate Program - the process was a bit long (but comparable to other roles so not an issue) but communication was clear at all stages. The Whirlpool forum hosted by ABS staff was particularly helpful. I only had to do 1 online assessment and 1 virtual interview, which I thought was very reasonable.

One assessment, one interview. One of the better processes that actually respects your time. Did not have to do ridiculous processes and tests like I did for the other companies I applied for. Was clear that a human was interacting me by at least the second stage when it is very clear that is not the case at the vast majority of companies.

The interview process included an online application, responses to recorded video questions, and a panel interview/presentation. These seemed like reasonable assessments and communication was consistent throughout. The entire process took a long time, but it seemed like they had many candidates.

Went through 3 steps - online application and questions, recorded interview then in person interview with a panel of 3.

The recruitment process took a long time and there were multiple assessments that had to be completed, but the communication throughout was good.

The interview process for recruitments rounds I have participated in at the ABS generally involve submitting your resume and statement of claims, then if successful participating in an interview.

draining, long, uncertain. At no stage were the timeframes or processes properly explained. I think applicants who already had connections within the APS would be greatly advantaged in the process

I was given a data set 30 minutes before the interview with some questions written that I would have to answer alongside questions that they asked that were not written down. It was scenario based and I had a panel of 4.

Questions about the full software product lifecycle.

Questions about how you would handle certain situations like balancing competing workloads or what to do if you came across a person who was difficult to work with as well as things that assess how you would fit in culturally with the team like how you like to spend your free time or what you do to de-stress.

Mix of personal experience, views on teamwork and technical questions

General APS standard questions

"Describe a time when..." questions in line with the APS ILS.

I don't remember, it's been a few years. Don't think it was any different to any other job interview I've had. Some getting to know you type questions and some technical questions and looking for examples of where you've proven yourself in a professional environment, how well you work in teams, that sort of thing.

Why I studied my degree and why did I want to work here. Some personal questions as well relating to my personal interest outside or work and my preference in work area.

I was asked about my favourite subject at uni, then data capability questions about specific material, which I had been given a short time beforehand so I could prepare my responses

Various technical questions in the initial assessment. A mix of technical and interpersonal questions in the actual interview.

Needed to do analysis of graphs with topical info and also asked about working in teams.

We were provided with a sheet of statistics 10 minutes prior to the interview and discuss how we would present it, data issues in it, etc.

I cannot remember the exact questions. Usually they involve my interest in the role, describing a complex data project I have managed, and describing how I have managed or led others.

My interview was mostly skills tests (as it should be for this position). I was supposed to be supplied data to analyse for the interview however the recruitment agency did not send the data through. The interviewing staff handled this professionally and kindly. I was impressed how they handled the mistake.

My ability to interpret the data, scenarios of data analysis as well as general work scenarios.

It's been two years since I did the interviews so I cannot remember in great detail, but as mentioned above, I liked the focus on technical questions and subject matter rather than behavioural interview methodology.

Questions were mostly related to drawing insights from data, and how to obtain further insights through analysis/manipulation.

Questions about things such as teamwork, work experience in data, data analysis capabilities, management skills, etc.

in my grad interview I think I was mainly asked general questions about statistics and data story telling.

I was invited for an interview where I was sent a task 30 minutes before in which I had to talk through how I would take some statistics and present them to a specific audience. I was not asked any questions about myself, which I thought was a bit strange. I found it a bit hard to showcase the type of person I am when restricted to the task.

Some general soft skill kind of questions like "How have you resolved conflict within your team in your past jobs?". There were some technical questions, but they were quite easy.

Make sure you have a lot of real world examples to talk about in your interview

Check out glassdoor for past interview questions.

Research some ABS datasets beforehand and use the STAR method when answering interview questions (be sure to include how you would do things differently if you were to have the same scenario come up again)

Ask for what you want. You may not get it but they will listen.

I would recommend by focusing on the Key Selection Criteria in the application, set out in the STRA format. Thinking of key skills prior to the interview, and having examples of how this has been demonstrated, again in the STAR format.

Have several good examples to back up statements being made and have a decent understanding of topical issues to help with answering technical questions

Write notes and do your research

Interviewing feels VERY performative, people take in pre prepared notes and drill what they're gonna say and how they can adapt specific work examples to suit basically any question. Use the star format for all interviews.

Read about the ABS' goals, be aware of some of our work, surveys, data integration schemes, etc. Keep in mind that the interviewing panel want you to succeed and do well, so be kind to yourself.

Have examples of your work prepared to refer to rather than speaking in generalities. If you're fresh out of uni, you can use school projects to demonstrate your skills.

Make a list of what you think is unique about you and how your personal experience has helped shape who you are and what you want to contribute to the organisation. Name some of your strength but also mention some weaknesses and how you are working on them as they love knowing you are self aware and have a great attitude towards continuous self improvement.

I actually have recommended to some friends who applied not to stress because the panel who interviewed me were really friendly, and there was nothing in the interview that I wasn't expecting. I would suggest as well to revise general data and statistics concepts, to prepare for the online assessment and the capability part of the interview.

You will need the appropriate background to answer the technical questions, they will ask clarifying questions to ensure you do understand what you are saying.

I would say to revise your general statistics knowledge as much as you can, and practice presenting data as much as possible. A large component of the interview process is assembling and presenting statistical information using an unfamiliar dataset. If you can present this really well and talk about how you might change or improve the data, that would be a great demonstration of skills.

Look for the faint lines on the graphs - they're important.

I would recommend expecting it to take a long time, and also to remain calm when speaking to the data.

Really focus on addressing the selection criteria with the STAR method in your statement of claims. I would recommend putting a large portion of this into the actions you took and the outcome that resulted from these. I'd recommend also coming up with several examples going into the interview so when you receive the questions 30 minutes before the interview you can plan which example best fits for each question.

Don't expect anything to be explained to you or to be able to get updates on the process until you have the contract in-hand

Make sure you have situations in your head for a variety of questions. Explain your thought processes.

If you regularly do spreadsheet analysis outside of work (or have done a lot of it), or you know how to use software like R, Python & Power BI that can be very useful in successfully applying for a grad role in the ABS.