Application Process & Interviews at Optus

As part of the grad interviews, the hiring managers at optus were more interested in who you are as a person as opposed to what you know. it was a fun and relaxed environment.

The hiring team is excellent. jasmine was responding very quickly and explained everything clear. vidhi helped me with my access problem professionally. the overall experience was amazing.

Interviews were done with the employees who work in the business unit that i've applied for a role in.

Online assessment and interview, phone interview, in person assessment centre, final phone interview

Assessment centre was excellent. best i have been to.

We had a four hour assessment centre where we had a group exercise and then four individual 5 min interviews.

Group interview and then solo interview. interview process was pretty standard and quite smooth. some lack of transparency regarding placements in business units - i.e. some people interviewing for different roles than they were placed in (applied for marketing got put into a different business unit)

I remember it being overall quite good for my intake but i know for others in the most recent intake there were some issues with hearing back. but i think that was for one particular space/team that had issues and the others were fine.

The interview process is quite straightforward and standard. the interviewer was fair in the process, and were very diligent in responding to queries throughout the process.

For the graduate program, it was quite simple. i did an aptitude assessment, video assessment and then assessment centre. the questions were quite standard and communication with hiring managers and grad co-ordinators were good.

The hiring process was very professional and well handled however had very long windows of uncertainty between interview and the contract.

For the graduate program we had to do a pre-recorded online interview and then we did a full day assessment centre.

It was quite rigorous, firstly you just had to apply with a cover letter and resume. then you proceed to a full-day assessment centre where there is an info session, a problem-solving group task, and then a round of 4x 10 minute interviews.

The process was to submit a resume and cover letter, then sit for a video interview and psychometric testing, then attend a virtual assessment centre and interview, and finally for tech grads we were required to take a coding test for those going into coding roles. the process was fairly painless, however i did get switched into a different process half way through as the original grad program stream i applied was entirely filled with internal candidates mid-way through the process.

The process was very similar to other graduate programs. There were multiple stages with an interview, assessment centre and an at home assessment. The time between each stage was very quick and the HR team extended the offer not long after the interview.

The process was very similar to other graduate programs. there were multiple stages with an interview, assessment centre and an at home assessment. the time between each stage was very quick and the hr team extended the offer not long after the interview.

I went through a few rounds of assessment for the grad program - my memory might be wrong but it was psychometric testing, hirevue automated interviewing, an assessment centre with challenges and a 1:1 interview. this was pretty standard/good in terms of grad program interview processes. but now that i'm in the role that i'm in, i can see how i and others were misled in some ways. namely the streams of the program were described in job ads quite incorrectly. e.g. the business unit i was hired for being marketing & revenue, but it being described to me in the job ad as marketing & public affairs (the latter of which sits in an entirely different business unit). in reality, the opportunities to go into a marketing rotation have actually been quite limited! i was also told at one point in the hiring process that all marketing spots had been filled, and was instead offered a spot in the business stream - i accepted, then was told quite some time later that i'd been reallocated to marketing and revenue. all in all i think there was probably quite a bit of miscommunication between the actual early careers program coordination team, and the talent acquisition team who went to market with incorrect information.

Stage 1: CV and cover letter submission Stage 2: Online/psychometric tests + Online interview Stage 3: Assessment Centre

Stage 1: cv and cover letter submission stage 2: online/psychometric tests + online interview stage 3: assessment centre

For graduate programs, it was quick but was a bit unclear towards the different streams

Some tech questions regarding networks. i was asked the tech stack i am using. some behaviour questions.

Why do you want to work for optus - what is your career goal and how optus can help you achieve that

About my previous experience, diversity and inclusion questions, problem solving and moral dilemma type questions

Hireview video interview initially. asked a number of behavioural style questions. next gamified assessment activities to test eq and iq. after this there was an assessment centre we completed group and individual case studies as well as a 1 on 1 interview.

There was a case study about where optus should invest money into the network, and then general behavioural questions such as "describe a difficult task you had to overcome at work/uni and what was the outcome"

We were mainly asked questions geared to the star format: such as: tell me about a time when you had to manage a project... tell me about a time when you failed... etc.

Questions regarding difficult situations and how they were dealt with, times i worked in a group, times i had to find the answer/s to issues i hadn't experienced before, times where dealing with a customer/person that was being difficult.

What would you bring to the company? how do you hand x situation at work? what are you strengths and weaknesses? are you willing to learn, if so what would you like to learn?

Standard interview questions

It was a while ago now but just your general interview questions as well as how we show the optus behaviour of take ownership and follow up.

We had a few different interviews, a technical one where we were asked coding questions, and then a behaviour interview, group interview and individual interview. we were asked questions about what we have learnt in previous jobs, what we would do in certain situations and just generally about us. in the group interview, we were asked to solve a problem and present the solution as a team.

basic interview questions, group case study, individual case study on Optus's TOFU principle

Basic interview questions, group case study, individual case study on optus's tofu principle

"why do you want to work here" "tell me about your education and your work experience" "describe a challenging situation you've had at work, how you solved it and what was the outcome"

Why I would like to work for my current companyWhich field of emerging technology interests me the most - Projects I have worked on - Questions about company values

Why i would like to work for my current companywhich field of emerging technology interests me the most - projects i have worked on - questions about company values

I can't remember aside from one, which was a case study about how you'd approach something by tofu-ing (take ownership and follow up).

Tech background behavirol questions 5 years plan

About the company values and how we would behave in difficult scenarios, about who i am and what i had done in my personal and professional life

How would you solve a large and complex problem involving many stakeholders - the follow up question to this involved our proposed solution not working, what would next steps be as a result? What makes your previous experience an asset to the position you're applying for?

Be yourself and focus on your strengths. think about your strongest traits that you can leverage to allow you to be a good leader/team member.

I would like to advise to prepare for some tech questions and behaviour questions. the interview has no hands on coding questions.

Know why they want to apply for optus and how does that relate to their career goals

If you come from a diverse background, make it known, there is a push to bring in more diversity to the optus crew

Make an effort to understand the company values and culture. this is really important aspect of working here. you need to live an breath the values.

Research the telco industry to understand the current trends/challenges.

Prepare all the generic interview questions and have solid examples. ensure you know your technical knowledge. remember that attitude is more important than the actual knowledge you have.

Really get to know the history of the company and study on our values. our values are critical in how we operate and understanding these will really determine the success of the candidate.

Use your learnings and experience in work/university/life to your advantage and ensure you are open and honest with your experiences. if in a group assessment, ensure you promote communication and group involvement, rather than just focusing on trying to seem knowledgeable and impressive, as working within a team is more important.

Research the company you apply thoroughly along with the language and etiquette they express in emails and interview to determine how casual / formal you should be. also regardless of in person or online interview make sure you look presentable. also be transparent and have an open mind if you express this you become a lot more approachable.

Know about the company, know what you can bring

Show genuine interest in the company and the area you are applying for. note the values and behaviours so that you can use these in the interview process.

Apply the star method wherever possible. in group activities, the aim isn't to be the loudest - it's an opportunity to showcase your interpersonal skills, let your personality shine.

I think optus really looks for people who will fit the culture of the company, so do some research into this and see if it actually fits you too. also, think about what you have learnt from uni/previous jobs, and how that would translate into a new job.

Look into the company values and prepare examples of where you have displayed them.

Get to know the company and their values / goals / mission. know why you want to work for the company.

Most of the interview questions are behavioural based, so study the star method for answering questions - (situation, task, action, outcome) and apply that to every question you answer. definitely familiarise yourself with the telecommunications industry as it is quite niche and specific. have a well-thought out answer to why you want to work here - they pressed this one in detail.

Understand why you want to apply for Optus and how you can achieve your life goals with Optus. The best preparation comes from a good level of self-understanding, i.e. not only understanding your own strengths and weaknesses but also what you want to achieve in life and tie that with what Optus can offer you. Know why you want to work for Optus and this would give Optus the confidence that this candidate knows what they're doing and why they're here (at the interview).

Focus on your engagement and ability to provide deliverables for the organisation.

I think authenticity and friendliness is really valued here. also, a lot of focus is placed on your approach to things - e.g. how would you consult stakeholders? how would you approach solving a business problem?