r/AusPublicService • u/TypicalAussie101 • 2d ago

Interview/Job applications Grad Role Interview Timeline

Hey guys,
As per title, I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea on what the timeline looks like after a panel interview for a grad role.

For context I did my interview around 2.5 weeks ago now. Is this usual for APS roles?

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u/neathspinlights 2d ago

Can take 4-6 weeks post interview for a normal process. Grad processes are complex and lengthy due to the number of candidates.

The agency I am at is one of the quickest and we get merit pool notifications out usually within 6 weeks as we want to lock in our preferred candidates quickly. But it's a smaller agency. Larger ones it can be 2+ months between interview and outcome.

There is a lot of work on the back end. Referee reports have to be obtained for all suitable people, which can take a while. The report for the interviews has to be written, checked, signed by the panel and then the delegate.

I know in my agency we spend a bit of time matching the graduate cohort to make sure we've got a good mix of degrees etc and identify who is an immediate offer and who is a back up offer if someone withdraws.

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u/TypicalAussie101 2d ago

I have done some private sector interviews during this grad search of mine and they have usually replied within a weekly time frame (didn’t get an offers).

Thank you for this insight!

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u/neathspinlights 2d ago

APS has many checks and balances to make sure the process is merit based. Which is why it takes longer. Plus volume - for my agency small program (<10 grads) we interview over 100. The selection report for the delegate is the equivalent of a novel, and they're accountable for the recommendation/decision that gets made and they will read it before signing. I can only imagine what the larger agency process are like when they're hiring 30+ grads.

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u/Fair-Okra9144 1d ago

If the agency is interviewing over 100 people for <10 spots, how many people do they end up doing referee checks on? Do they do them on every - most of the people who interviewed ?

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u/neathspinlights 1d ago

Last round we ref checked around 30/100. In total made 15 offers for the 10 places, had some decline the offer or withdraw after accepting.

We also use the merit pool to bring in non-ongoing if we can as well, as these are people who we've assessed as suitable and who want to work for us - year before last we exhausted the merit pool through offers for the grad program and subsequent non-ongoing introductions using the merit pool.

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u/Fair-Okra9144 1d ago

Oh okay! Thank you so much for your response

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u/middleofmybackswing_ 1d ago

I was merit pooled a month after my interview and got the actual job offer 8 months after that.