Application Process & Interviews at BHP

A few assessments to start with, followed by a phone interview, followed by an all day assessment centre - half of the day for a presentation activity and half of the day for speed interviewing.

Hiring needs to occur in a more timely and well-informed process. Process overall was a series of psychometric tests followed by engagement centres and phone screening.

Hiring process was lengthy and included two rounds of online assessments, a phone interview and a half-day assessment centre.

Online assessments, phone calls, assessment centre days and medicals. 8 month process before I got confirmation.

The interview process was quite long, the interviews and assessments themselves were well structured, organised and the interviewers friendly and engaging but the company has a long way to go as far as communication is concerned.

Online assessments, phone interview, assessment centre

Lots of stages to the application - online resume/ pre screening, online assessments, telephone call, psychometric assessment, assessment centre.

Emotional intelligence and academic skills were tested. Both important. Face to face interviews held with a panel of professionals and HR, followed by a three month 'job trial'/internship. At the end, myself, my one-up and a peer were required to perform and evaluation, is resulted in me being offered a graduate role or not.

Firstly I conducted three rounds of online testing - this took hours in total between preparing for the tests and also completing them. Next we set up a phone interview. After that I was invited to participate in the face-to-face interview and workshop.

There was no interview process I was hired out of the intern program

The interview process was quite long. The communication during the process was below the standard I would expect.

Company Charter values and how I have seen them in my day to day life.

Mostly behavioural questions, and a lot about safety. A lot of questions asking why I want to work for BHP - got asked this about 5 times by 5 different people at the assessment centre.

Phone interview - general description of experience described in CV, motivation for applying, whether you'd be willing to relocate and how you would manage. Assessment centre - Rotated through approximately 5 of 10 'stations' each with a different theme. Themes I had included safety, adaptability, teamwork. Started with general motivation type questions, then looking for specific examples of when you have demonstrated particular behaviour or skill.

Tell us about a time when you identified a safety hazard and what did you do about it? How will you go living away from your family and friends? Tell me about a time when you overcame a significant hurdle. Tell me about a time when you encountered conflict in a group setting.

Fairly standard questions- safety, initiative related, working in isolated locations, working in challenging situations.

How would you deal with living rural? Describe a time that you faced a problem and how you overcame it?

Questions on BHP charter values, questions on safety and culture examples.

Which charter value I relate to the most, how I think I'll cope on site/at camp, give examples of how I've handled certain situations (i.e. conflict, safety, etc.). Workshop in groups. We work with a team of 3-4 people and present a topic back to other teams.

Which charter value best describes you. Describe a time you performed under pressure.

Behavioural questions, safety related questions, nothing technical

Behavioural questions aimed at highlighting safety and leadership traits.

Learn the charter values!

Prepare examples for scenarios (mentioned above). This was really important. Obviously knowing the bhp charter values well and other relevant information on the company too. Know your reasons for applying to this particular company and team.

Make sure they have a strong example of themselves being willing to speak up about unsafe behavior.

Focused on being well balanced, think about what you have learnt and contributed around all areas of your life.

Learn and understand the values of the company.

Read up on BHP charter values and study some of the assets to get a feel for what they do.

Prepare for safety related questions. Do not act like you know everything about engineering/ your discipline - be humble, admit that you have to learn, after all this is what the grad program is for! Think of answers to behavioural questions, the typical ones you can google online.

Do your research and build networks with former or current employees to better understanding the nature of working in a large organisation and make sure it aligns with what you want to do. Prepare responses to anticipated questions in 'STAR' format and practice, but don't come across too rehearsed or robotic. Interviews seemed to want to be casual, yet professional, and understand what you would be like every day in the office.

BHP takes their charter values very seriously. Find examples outside school or uni for your interview/resume. Your academic knowledge is identical to every other person you are competing with, your life/work experience is not. You have to demonstrate you can work as part of a team, especially if applying for FiFo work; you spend more time with your team than you do with your friends and family.

Read standard interview questions from websites for companies like BHP, RIO, FMG, Woodside, etc.

Interview: Tips & Advice

Very generic application questions/process - the same as for almost all big companies