Interview Prep

The below information is a guide to prepare for interviews. It is generalised, and may differ between roles, agencies and interview panels.

It should be considered a starting point and not all encompassing.

• Interviews generally run between 25 to 45 mins, including 5-6 questions and time for you to ask questions at the end.

• Cover a range of questions both skill specific and behavioural.

  • There is a great website that can provide general examples, it’s APS focused but still relevant - https://pscareers.com.au/ace-your-aps-job-interview-with-these-common-interview-questions

• Re-read the job description and questions to familiarise yourself with the skills and experience they are interested in.

• Re-read your application/response - what examples did you use? Don’t be afraid to reuse or expand on them in the interview.

• If a SFIA categorised role use the “SFIA Core Competencies” - they can also help frame your answers & give you an idea of their expectations at certain LORs. eg, below are links to the LOR4 core competencies and PROF4 off the SFIA website (you can find others on there). It is also normally found at the end of a response template:

  • https://sfia-online.org/en/sfia-8/responsibilities/level-4,

  • https://sfia-online.org/en/sfia-8/skills/portfolio-programme-and-project-support

• In terms of fit, they’ll be interested in your ability to talk through your examples and how you communicate with influence and work with others.

  • So much of the interview is about how you can “tell your story” and connect.

• For the more “generic” questions like – How do you prioritise tasks? Or How do you manage difficult stakeholders? They want to hear about your experiences and what was the result; did it work or would you do something differently next time?

• Similar to your application use that STAR method to give examples to questions (give the “so what”).

• If you don’t have examples or experience for a question - talk through what you would do if that happened to you or how you’d use your team for guidance, refer to documentation etc.

• Also, if they ask a broad question like ‘what do you think the biggest threat to Australia’s cyber security is?’ – they are wanting to get a feel of your understanding of relevant industry topics and how you talk to it.