If your application progresses to the Assessment Centre stage, you will be invited to attend a half-day session.
These sessions are usually held at HOBAN Recruitment’s offices in Melbourne, however, may be held regionally across Victoria.
You will receive a call from a HOBAN Recruitment consultant to invite you to attend the Assessment Centre and provide you with information on the day. You will then receive a confirmation email providing comprehensive details of the session, including confirmation of the date and location of the Assessment Centre.
What is involved?
The Assessment Centre stage consists of individual and group exercises designed to allow you to demonstrate the skills, attributes and behaviours specifically related to the Prison Officer role.
Each assessment is designed to find out either how you relate to and work with others or how you would cope with the tasks and demands of the Prison Officer role. You will be measured individually against a predefined set of criteria for each activity and not against any other participant.
To make sure you get a fair go you are assessed by six individual assessors throughout the session with lots of opportunities to demonstrate your skills that relate to the Prison Officer Positions.
The Assessment Centre stage involves:
Please read further (below) to find out more about each of the activities.
What to bring?
You will need to bring the following to the Assessment Centre:
- Photo identification
- Proof of Australian/New Zealand Citizenship/Permanent Residency or applicable visa
Your ID must include your current residential address. Birth certificate extracts are not accepted.
Tips
- Dress appropriately and professionally
- Arrive 15 minutes early
- Make sure you have the appropriate documentation
- Make sure you allow enough time to participate in the Assessment Centre (for example, consider parking restrictions)
- Be yourself and answer the questions or perform the tasks as you would in a work environment
- Let HOBAN Recruitment know beforehand if you require any special provisions
- Use all of the information available to you on this website
Group Exercise
In the Group Exercise, you will be provided with a fictitious scenario that will require a group discussion. The Group Exercise is divided into individual reading/ note taking and then the open group discussion. You will be provided with appropriate documentation which will outline the objective, the task and the desired outcome of the exercise. The exercise focuses on your communication, teamwork skills and your judgement and decision making abilities. This activity is structured and timed.
Tips
- Be aware that you are being assessed on your contribution – this does not mean the loudest are the most competent
- Familiarise yourself with the skills, attributes and behaviours being assessed to get a better understanding of how you will be assessed
- Be yourself, not who you think assessors are looking for
Individual Interview
This is a 30-minute behavioural-based panel interview. HOBAN Recruitment and Corrections Victoria representatives will conduct the interview process.
Behavioural-based interview methodology suggests that past behaviour is the best predictor of future behaviour so this is what we use in this process.
The interviewer will want specific examples of when and how you have demonstrated particular skills or behaviours in the workplace.
The interviewer will also look at your Organisational Awareness – what you know about the organisation and role you are applying for and also why you are interested in this particular position. The interviewer will also confirm information from your resume and discuss your referees in detail.
Tips
You will need to think of one or more specific examples which demonstrate the identified job-related skills, attributes and behaviours. For each example that you give, it is helpful to consider the STAR method:
- Situation – what was the situation (background and context)?
- Task – what specific task did you need to accomplish?
- Action – what specifically did you say and do? What actions did you take?
- Result – what was the result of your actions (impact, learning)?
Your HOBAN Recruitment interviewer will guide you through this method, asking probing questions that will help you to provide detailed examples.
Example Behavioural Questions
- Provide a specific example of a time you set a goal and were able to meet or achieve it. Describe the situation. What was the goal that you set? How did you ensure you met/achieved the goal? What were your considerations? What was the outcome of the situation?
- Tell me about a recent situation when you had to deal with an upset co-worker or customer. Describe the situation. How did you deal with this person? What did you do? What was the outcome of the situation?
- Describe a time when you anticipated potential problems and developed preventive measures. What was the situation? What was the potential problem and what measures did you develop? What was the outcome of this situation? How did your preventive measures improve the situation?
Work Sample Activity
Work Sample exercises not only tests your thinking and planning abilities, but also your ability to work quickly and act decisively under pressure.
You are given the facts about a sensitive issue and have to analyse the information and express your views in a clear but tactful way within a set time frame. The emphasis is less on analysing a problem, and more on whether you can select the right facts and information, and present them effectively.
There is no obvious ‘right’ answer, as long as your response is clear and concise, there is logic to your report and you demonstrate your awareness of the issues involved.
For this assessment, you will be required to undertake a 40-minute work sample exercise. You will be provided with a fictitious scenario based on a situation that may occur within a prison environment.
You will be asked to read through the scenario, along with supporting process/procedure information and provide comment to the scenario in a mock report. You will be provided with 25 minutes for this part of the Work Sample.
As part of the Assessment Centre you will be asked to complete a short presentation on your findings and the decisions to be made regarding this scenario. The assessors will then ask you further questions during the presentation component. This second stage of the Work Sample Exercise will take up to 15 minutes to complete.
Tips:
- It is important to work with “quiet urgency”. Spend a few moments at the beginning to read all the information carefully, set priorities and then act
- For this type of exercise you might want to think about how you deal best with tight deadlines and use the same process
- Don’t panic – the assessors are not looking for perfection, just the right level of potential
- Don’t be tempted to start writing immediately. Only write when you have worked out an outline of what you want to say
- Follow the instructions. Don’t give way to the impulse to race ahead, without being absolutely clear what it is you are being asked to do
- Stick to your brief. For example, if you have to say ‘no’ to a customer, make sure you do just that. So as well as being sympathetic, you may have to be firm
Suitability Assessment
The Suitability Assessments may take place during the Assessment Centre and will be conducted on a random basis as part of the quality assurance process. Please note that if you are asked to complete the random suitability assessment during the Assessment Centre activities you are required to meet the same benchmarks as your previous results.
Note: if your application does not meet the pre-determined benchmark at this stage in the Assessment Centre, you will be required to wait a period of 12 months before submitting a new application.
Please contact the HOBAN Recruitment and Projects Team if you have any concerns or would like to discuss this further.
1300 304 128 or projecte@hoban.com.au
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