Application Process & Interviews at Nova Systems

Interview process was drawn out with long periods of no contact.

After submitting my application, I completed some online testing, did two interviews, and completed a police check. I was reimbursed promptly for the price of the police check, and the interview process was very friendly and flexible.

Communication was not fantastic through this process, not a lot of information was provided to shed light on the process of joining a company in defence industry. Although it wouldn't have made a difference in my decision, it did feel like I was flying blind when leaving my previous job and beginning here.

The interview process was quite relaxing. I has some IT issues when joining the online interview, and my interviewing panel did a really great job at reassuring me that everything would be ok. It was quite a relaxed experience, and it felt more like an informal chat, than it did an in-depth interview. Additionally, there is a psychometric test to do which was a very insightful test as it showed what we are like in work and as a person, and strategies to improve.

The process was good, however there was a large wait time during the time I got hired.

A bit too lengthy between contact. I'm no expert when it comes to security and background checks, and I can understand it does need to be taken seriously when Grads will be attending client site under Nova's banner. But. I can see that the time it takes to get sorted is not from everyone and can put off most people. Job hunting, I had placed my interest in other places during this time and had almost written off Nova during some point.

Phone interview to start with and then an interview Panel with two experienced members of the company and a graduate. The Testing was interesting but failed to see relevance to role as it was optional to get the results from the physiatrist.

The hiring process was long, with many stages to pass. I'd like the hiring team to be more responsive with updates on each stage (in terms of wait time).

From memory, we had a 15min phone interview, followed by a 45min-1hr interview. Then was a psychometric assessment before o_ers were sent out.

Interview process really focuses on the individual and the culture fit. Requires written application, a phone interview and virtual interview

Process from what I can recall went something like: - Catch up with a current grad - Interview with a manager and an ex grad - Online assessment

Virtual interview, and online assessment.

One phone call from HR/Early Careers. Two separate video calls from a current graduate and a project lead.

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.

The process itself was fine, but there were very big delays in between each stage of hiring and there was no update while waiting. So just sitting and waiting to know if we've progressed.

The interview process was very formal and appropriate despite taking 5 months from application to job offer. I had phone interviews, video interviews and psychological assessments.

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.

Very conversational type of interview which helped my to relax and be myself

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

These differ per level, but i like how the panel is selected from a range of candidates.

Standard set of questions that most companies ask in the Engineering discipline.

Mostly the standard fare - questions about successes in the workplace, how challenges were resolved, etc. I appreciated the chance to speak to someone who currently works in the area they were going to put me into. We also had time to get to know each other's interests and have a friendly conversation, which was nice.

"Can you tell us a time that you took a risk and it didn't work out? What did you do?" "Can you tell us a time for when you went above and beyond for a customer" (This was tailored to my previous Job) "Tell us a little bit about yourself" (they didn't want to know what I studied or what I did for work, they wanted to know about my passions and interests. "What are some notable projects you did as part of your studies at Uni"

From memory: Questions about character and interests, then areas where I studied. Then it was "What do you think Nova does? / do you know what consulting is? Do you have any experiences where you made a mistake and learned from it? Do you have any experience with clients? Might have been more about hobbies and work-life balance.

Pay expectations. Experience. Degree relevance. Conflict resolution skills. consulting skills.

Why do you want to work for Nova, What is an engineering consultant.

I can't remember specific questions but I remember getting asked a good range of topics. It covered my past experience and who I am as a person. It also allowed me to discuss many elements of my life: personal, university, and internship. I remember time going so fast as I relaxed into the conversation.

Tell us about yourself and what did you study? Why Nova? Tell us about a time where you had to overcome conflict when working in a team. Etc.

Asked about previous IT experience, and IT challenges.

Previous work experience. Life outside of work (volunteering etc.), hobbies, "what do you do with your time outside of work". "Describe an achievement you have inside work and outside of work"

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's a risk I've taken recently, what was the outcome and what did i learn?

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

Standard questions - why do you want to work here, where do you see yourself in 5 years, describe a time where you displayed a certain skill, tell us about your previous experience and projects you have completed.

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

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.

What I know about the company and what work I would be interest in? How I deal with a situation as a junior on a project.

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

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?

My tips would be to represent the values and culture of Nova well - be professional and passionate but being friendly and showing your enthusiasm will go a long way.

Anyone can be smart. If you've made it that far in the hiring process, then they know you are smart. What they want to see if how well you would fit in with Nova's culture and what you are like as a person. In my interview for Integrated Logistics Support, I was not asked a single technical question. The engineers were in a similar boat, however, be prepared to talk about any projects or extra curricular activities you do!

Be yourself.

I feel like there's no real way to prepare, there were no trick questions or riddles. Mainly general questions and how comfortable you answer them. They take nerves into account but being comfortable with openness and trust would be an underlining reason for these questions. If I had to give a way to prepare, I would say collect well known examples you have been through that either developed your soft-skills or challenged you, and list them in dot points in front of you.

Research the company Have an understanding of what their particular type of work is. Money isn't everything focus on the product and the culture.

Read about Nova Systems and know Novan core value. Who Nova partners with; know about engineering consulting, and how can you apply your skill sets to Nova.

Be yourself and relax. Nova are more interested in who you are and how you handle situations more so than your actual experience. So, show them who you are :)

Id recommend following the companys projects via website or social media - to expose yourself to what we do. As a consulting company, customer relations and stakeholder engagement is really important so make sure to get experience in that area. The company is looking for applicants who are skilled, but willing to learn and are a good culture fit, so dont be afraid to show your personality.

Be patient, the recruiting process is long

Present your best self.

Have some examples of positive things that you have done at work and outside of work.

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.

Understand that we don't do typical engineering work. it's mostly systems engineering and a little bit of other kinds of engineering.

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.

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.

Understand what nova is, best way to do that is to reach out to multiple people who work at the company. As one persons experience may be different from another.

Understand the job description

Yes just be your true self. try not to be very scripted and please research the company and ask current employees about their experience.

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.

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