Application Process & Interviews at Nova Systems

Group interview and individual interviews

Cv application process with a 2 stage process of online interviews, first is a general overview of the role and then a proper teams interview with a project lead and portfolio manager to assess suitability of role

Interview process was great. The conversation was more of a casual style rather than intense questioning, made me feel a lot more comfortable and allowed me to be myself.

Had a good experience with the hiring process joining Nova. I haven't been part of the new hiring process. Being hired into new projects is a very different experience.

Over phone interview, face to face interview, and psych test thing.

I feel like the process and assessments are fair. Gives a good understanding of what the person is like before hiring.

Contacted via linked in and from there a phone interview was conducted followed up by a multiple panel online meeting in which all my questions were answered, openly and honestly. Upon arrival onboarding was smooth and full of alot of information.

The interview process has come a long way since when I was first hired. Now an assessment centre takes place as well as interviews. The process is more focused and targeting of connections.

initial phone interview plus a more formal teams interview.

Interview process was relaxed and professional. appropriate assessments were tasked with sufficient guidance and preparation material. My experience was smooth and supportive. Few instances in the internship recruitment continuous communication could have been made more frequently during the wait periods. Overall Good experience.

I think the hiring team has done a good job with their process; with each new hire it seems like the culture is maintained and everyone is on the same page.

Interview was good. Spoke with a graduate who shared some of their experiences. Did an assessment that was challenging and worrying but I guess I did well enough on it. The trouble was that I was given unrealistic expectations about the grad program when I was going through the hiring process. Those expectations did not adequately prepare me for my actual role.

group sessions to determine attributes for collaborative working then psych and aptitude testing

Don't remember much of my interview, but I've done a few in my time. It's a bit long which definitely gets in the way of making a straight decision when you have multiple offers. Thats just the way it is with clearances.

The hiring process was very standard. Stage one was a CV and cover letter. This was followed by a phone interview, then a face-to-face video interview. Final stage was a background/police check, then offers.

Process was quite long and probably could have been started earlier to allow for clearance delays. Took a long time to hear back regarding role placement after final interview/testing due to ongoing Project management discussions

Submit resume, interview with recruitment team, interview with manager of department (+a senior and a grad), job offer. Very simple, straightforward, and quick process. No assessments.

A phone interview with a HR rep, then a zoom interview with a current grad and a hiring manager.

Had a few different types of interviews with a few people. Particularly helpful was the interview with a current grad which allowed me to better gauge the company fit as a younger person over a traditional interview with senior team members.

We had a 'chat with a grad', a phone interview with a manager, then a video interview with a manager and a grad. Each interview progressed from less to more formal, but all felt relaxed. The interview questions were fairly standard and there were no technical assessments. One thing that could be done better is progressing our applications quicker. I was fortunate in that Nova was the company I really wanted to work for, so I didn't apply to any other grad programs, but we didn't receive out outcome until around Oct I believe, so if I had wanted to have back up companies it would have been difficult as it was so late in the year, and many companies required an answer earlier in the year.

Was asked about myself, what I did at Uni, where I see myself in the future etc

My work experience, extracurricular activities and what good qualities I would bring to the company

How have you handled conflict in previous work? What are you interested in? Which of the company’s values do you align most with.

Name an example of something you did at work which made a difference. "Apart from work, which other community contributions have you made".

Don't recall

What were some challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Questions about my projects and how I delt with conflicts within a team. My motivations and goals as a young university student.

Cant remember

I was asked of any previous technical skillsets I have that would be beneficial to the role I was applying for and which of the four values at this company I most align to and why

What attracted you to nova systems? Tell me about yourself?

Questions aligned with values, skills, personal and professional goals, amongst other questions relating to interests and experiences. Questions had a broad basis including education, and work experiences.

- Nova's core values? - why I want to work at Nova? - What are my strengths and weaknesses? - Tell me a bit about yourself?

Don't remember. It was too long ago.

what is your knowledge about working with explosives, how do you think you will use your knowledge to help achieve the goals within your role

Can't be specific due to memory but they were split between professional and personal attributes. Did I take the initiative to research the company and program? What do I like to do in my off time? Do I have an interest in the industries that the company covers? Do my personal goals align?

I was asked a fairly standard set of questions, what do you know about Nova, what are you passionate about, how have you dealt with a problem or conflict in the past, etc.

What are you passionate about in engineering? What are you passionate about outside of your chosen studies? What do you know about our projects and programs? Which one(s) are you most interested in? Why? Tell us about a time you took a risk and it failed. What did you learn from the experience? How did this change your approach in the future? Tell us about a time when you had to manage equally important but conflicting priorities on a project. What did you do, how would you improve? Our customers are central to what we do. Tell us a time where you have gone above and beyond?

What is my understanding of a consultant? What is my passion

What are my interests? How I dealt challenging times? Some of my best accomplishments? Where I see myself in the future?

I was asked about how I had to deal with issues or situations in a professional manner, expectations regarding pay, my knowledge of the company, projects I had been engaged in during my time at university

Can't remember exactly but included thoughts such as: what are you passionate about, what do you do in your personal time/hobbies, and what are your weaknesses as an employee.

Just be yourself, your personality will shine thru if youre the right match

Be confident and make sure you talk about relevant experiences that would help with your suitability of the role

Know the company values and be able to explain how you align with at least one. Be yourself! No one takes themselves too seriously at Nova. Get involved with as much as you can at uni, Nova looks for people who have been involved in committees, clubs, part time work extra because it’s in these roles that you develop important soft skills, shows your passion and sets you apart from everyone else who’s coming in with the same degree as you.

Just be yourself - cliche, I know.

Be honest and real. Relate your experiences to skills you can bring into the company. Be confident and straight forward with your answers and remember that the interviewers are trying to get to know you instead of testing your competency.

Be themselves and don't pretend you are someone you aren't. Trust in your experience as they wouldn't hire you they didn't. Be open and honest

Best bit of advice is to not only build up your soft skills (leadership, communication, problem-solving etc.) but also feel that your interviews are a conversation to get to know you and your passions outside of your working life.

Read into the company, understand what they do and what they look for in terms of the type of person, skills and personality that you need to have. Prepare for the usual general "interview" questions that are normally asked.

I had no prior tips for applying for this position. you must have a give it your all attitude, be open minded, and have a go. The more you apply for jobs and learns professional and personal soft skills, these will improve your ability to navigate and prepare for applying and further growth development in your career.

Don't stress too much, just believe in your strengths and your experience till this point. Take some time to learn about what Nova does and what the core values are.

Understand what Nova really does. Don't get blinded by the word engineering and filter it through your own perspective. Instead, learn what Nova means by engineering.

be yourself and be opened minded

Not to stress. Do some research. Be yourself, and don't be afraid to show passion.

There are two key things. Number one is to be yourself, show off your personality, passions, interests, just who you are. Second point is to make sure you research the role and company to show your genuine interest to want to work for them.

Prepare 3 or so scenarios that can be adapted to multiple questions. Be yourself, we're not looking for the most amazing answer, we're looking to see if you fit as a person - we're judging how you interact with us more than what you actually say.

Be yourself and don't be shy to show yourself off. It's an opportunity to carelessly talk about your achievements and how you tackled hard times. Be confident and if you don't know the answer to something, say you don't know.

I would strongly recommend candidates to do more than the bare minimum during their studies to separate themselves from the rest of the cohort. That could be taking up co-curricular activities related to their industry, doing an internship, or having personal projects they are keen to share.

Understand the job description

Be sincere. A genuine values fit is more important than academic perfection.

I would say to be yourself and learn how to e_ectively communicate in both conversation and when talking about your skills. Many questions focus on how you respond to questions and whether you seemed like a good fit for the company, while others focused on your background skills. For graduates, previous experience may not be as important as soft skills, as you will learn the required technical skills in the grad program.