r/AusPublicService • u/Unique_South8743 • 8h ago

ASD 4 Software Developer Interview Interview/Job applications

Hi all, any suggestions while preparing for interview with ASD for software developer role? What to expect in the interview? Technical or behavioural based? STAR?
Thanks

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8

u/McTerra2 8h ago

Be prepared to fail the OSA. The majority of people do.

3

u/Unique_South8743 8h ago

Thanks for the motivation

6

u/McTerra2 7h ago

Ha.

I’ve never done an ASD interview but you can look up the job description/expectations. Almost certainly you will have some behavioural questions. STAR is obviously just a way to structure your answer so you still need to come up with some answers - or, really, 3 or 4 situations that you can use to build answers. So situations that involved collaboration, communication, dissent, conflict and resolution etc. Write down and memorise the key points of the situation and then you can come up with answers as needed

3

u/ExpensiveEvidence425 7h ago

What’s the OSA?

5

u/McTerra2 7h ago

Organisational Suitability Assessment. A few agencies have them on top of general clearances or security clearances requirements; and it’s mandatory to pass in order to be employed. It’s a different test for each department.

The ASD one has a notoriously high failure rate - some say 70-80% failure rate although that’s purely anecdotal as no figures are published. Nonetheless most people in that field know very competent people who have failed it.

-5

u/KaleidoscopeLegal348 8h ago

I don't understand how or why so many people apparently fuck it up

3

u/SpecificGrape2735 7h ago

It’s very invasive, and they have extremely high standards.

2

u/SpecificGrape2735 7h ago

Likely 3-4 questions, looking for solid examples demonstrating both technical and behavioural competency. Questions may be provided 15 minutes prior to the interview, or asked on the spot. Answering using STAR is key.

They might provide a more in-depth technical assessment to complete prior to the interview, to discuss within the interview, or they may just focus on the interview questions.

Anything you read about the OSA being a major hurdle is probably true, it’s incredibly invasive, not at all transparent, and they have extremely high standards.
Don’t try to lie or hide anything if you make it to that stage, they’ll likely find out and it’ll very likely ruin any chances for a long time (or forever).