Department of Health (Australia) Interview Questions
& Process

It was a panel interview with 3 people from outside my hospital. They gave me the questions beforehand, and we talked for about 20 minutes. They asked me 3 questions. This interview was for a pool. One of the interviewers later called me to encourage me to apply for the job.

First, you apply with a standard CV and cover letter. Then there's an assessment to check if you meet the technical stuff. If you pass that, you get invited to a "Yarning Circle". Everyone is in the same room for this. You get 24 hours to prep an answer to one question, but it's a different question for each person. While you're all in there, you answer your own question out loud, and everyone else is meant to jump in with their thoughts or how they'd answer it. It was pretty new and different, and felt pretty comfortable.

After a good interview, I was asked for references. My referees were contacted and gave positive feedback. Then I was told they would rank candidates and I would be on hold for up to four weeks. After waiting four weeks, I was rejected because I was told I was "not good in the interview." This feedback contradicts the positive references and the long waiting period. The whole process caused a lot of stress and wasted my time and my referees' time. The Department of Health needs to improve its hiring process because it's confusing and treats candidates poorly.

It was a panel interview with four people, lasting about 30 minutes. No technical questions were asked. The atmosphere was very relaxed. I think because I had a lot of experience doing pretty much the same thing, they just wanted to see what I was like. They assumed I could do the job, which I can.