Looking at a career with one of Australia's largest and most respected financial Institutions? As one of Australia’s Big Four banks and New Zealand’s largest bank, ANZ employs nearly 50,000 people worldwide. They offer both graduate and internship programs and many other employment opportunities both in Australia and New Zealand.
Known for creating an excellent culture with professional development and flexible working opportunities, ANZ is a great place to start your career after university. The best thing is you don’t have to go it alone. We surveyed graduates that have been there, done that. And done it so well they navigated the process into successful employment. Here are their five top tips to get a graduate job at ANZ bank.
As with many major corporations in Australia, gaining employment at ANZ involves a bit of a process. Before you make it to the assessment centre, there's a significant online application you’ll need to get through.
Not only that, your current grades, online assessment activities and psychological testing are considered through the process. There’s no need to panic, though. As long as you keep slaying with your current classes and workload, and prepare to put in the time for the online assessments, you’ll be in the best position to advance to the assessment centre stage.
“Assessment centre consisted of an interview and case study and provided the opportunity to meet current graduates and leaders at ANZ. To be invited to the assessment centre, candidates are required to have reasonable grades and perform well in the online testing. Although it follows a similar process to other large companies, ANZ was much quicker in notifying candidates of process and provided comprehensive feedback which I did not receive from the >10 other companies I interviewed with”
- Graduate, Melbourne
“I had to go through many types of different screening processes to get to the assessment centre. I sent my CV along with filling out information about why I want to work at ANZ and my attributes that I can bring to ANZ. Then I had to do three online assessment activities, starting with a simulation test. I was selected to come attend an assessment centre, where a case study and a behavioural interview was conducted, then networking was carried out with the business.”
- Graduate Wellington
The assessment centre stage involves a group situation, a one-on-one interview, and case study, so don't be scared if there are others in the waiting room. Preparing for all three scenarios will take your confidence from zero to hero!
Practice interview questions and your best responses in the mirror at home. Hit up your squad to role-play the group situation scenario. And put some thought into the best ways to tackle the case study beforehand.
“Be prepared for interviews, come with STAR (Situation, task, action, result) examples of your achievement/ experience. Be yourself and be confident about what you have done - you've made it to the assessment centre so they already know you have the skills to do the job, they want to see if your personality and character is the right fit for the company and vice versa.”
- Midlevel, Auckland
“Be yourself - understand how you work in a team environment and make the benefits of this shine in the team activity. Practice psychometric testing prior to testing.”
- Graduate, Melbourne
By now, you're well-versed in questions relating to your skill-set and experience. After all, you've been answering questions about your strengths and weaknesses since your first job in high school. ANZ needs to know how you work under pressure, though. They’ll use a number of behavioural techniques to predict your future performance, by understanding how you acted in specific situations in the past.
Spend time researching possible behavioural questions that may be asked. Think about past situations when you've been challenged and how you handled it. Put together well-thought-out responses to these and practice these at any opportunity you get.
“I was asked many different questions relating to past experiences, how you would respond to certain situations, and also questions relating to unfavourable situations you have been part of. All questions are designed to test how you think on your feet.”
- Graduate, Sydney
“I was asked to give examples of the time where you demonstrated certain skills/ values that are related to company values. Describe yourself and your experience in a few phrases.”
- Graduate, Melbourne
4. Talk the ANZ talk and walk the ANZ walk...
You're interviewing for a career at ANZ, so know exactly why you want to work there! ANZ's company values and culture are extremely important to them. So get ready to show them exactly how you talk their talk and walk their walk.
Start by heading to their website, connect with people that work there and research as much as possible on their values and culture. Get ready to show them how you apply these values in your own life and how you will continue to do so in the future.
“I was asked about previous experience in volunteering and work. I was asked about relationships and how I would respond in certain circumstances. They used the interview technique of asking about previous experience in order to ascertain how we would act in the future, based on how you have acted in the past.”
- Graduate, Melbourne
“Know why you want to work for ANZ, and know why ANZ should choose you.”
- Graduate, Melbourne
“Research the company, especially their values. This company really lives their values. Questions in the interview will generally be along the lines of "How have you shown XYZ in your life?" so it is a good idea to think of examples before you go into the interview. For the group interview, remember to listen to others while also not being afraid to share your views.”
- Graduate, Melbourne
You can't prepare for everything. There will be a number of interactions you'll have during the ANZ recruitment process that'll challenge you. If you stumbled along the way, just remember: You made it through a pretty intense recruitment schedule. What an experience!
Next time you’re in a similar position you may not be as cool and collected as Kanye doing Kanye, but you’ll be able to use the confidence from knowing you’ve done it all before and nail it with what you’ve learnt last time.
“I heard they changed the assessment format after my intake. I would advise just being confident and believe in your own ability. I found a lot of the things they tested were things you couldn't learn overnight or prepare for easily - they were things that were supposed to come naturally to you, such as interaction in a boardroom situation (test your personality/dominance).”
- Graduate, Auckland
“Apply at many different places for your graduate role. Even if you don't end up getting the position at certain companies, the experience you will gain from participating in the interview processes will benefit you when you finally interview for your preferred positions. Ensure you remain confident, allow others to have their say, and ensure you relate your past skills to the work you may be doing at ANZ.”
- Graduate, Melbourne
For more information on how to get a graduate job with ANZ, check out the ANZ employer profile and graduate job satisfaction reviews.