Application Process & Interviews at Nutrien Ag Solutions

I did a placement through my university and was offered to be kept on at the branch afterwards. I did not go through a formal interview process like most people. My interview was 6 weeks' worth of work placement.

I came to the branch and had a private sit-down meeting with our regional manager and the branch manager.

Submitted interest in the grad program and attended a field day about the role. Then submitted my resume for the role and from there went through an interview, from there received an email and phone call about my acceptance into the role

My first interview was with a HR Manager. after making it through to the next round I had a second interview with who would be my manager at the time. The interviews were about a week apart from each other.

3 online interviews. First was general and about me with a HR representee. Second was technical and related to the role. Third interview was short with the general manager.

First interview spoke to the HR representative, she asked me all the hard-hitting questions from what I was looking for to what my biggest weaknesses are.

I had three interviews all up. the first with one team member then next with a panel and the final with the branch I was selected for.

Firstly we had to apply, then we had an online one on one interview with the Talent Attraction team. Then we had an interview with the regional managers.

The initial hiring process through the Nutrien Scholarship Program through The University of Adelaide was very good as I submitted a resume to the University who then handed them over to the Talent team at Nutrien. This secured me an interview with Craig Tapfield, South Australia General Manager. After the interview it took a very long time to receive the news that I had won the prize and secured a job.

2 interviews, first just with the branch manager, then secondly with other employees plus branch manager present.

They were all face-to-face interviews(much better in my opinion) rather than online aptitude tests. I had multiple interviews with managers getting to know each other and seeing if we were a good fit for the role.

The process was simple and easy to follow: 1. Apply via the Nutrien Ag Solutions Careers and Job Vacancies portal 2. Phone interview 3. Face-to-face interview 4. 2nd face-to-face interview 5. Police and background check

I was employed at the start of covid, interviews were all online and quite rushed at the time. There was a long delay from application to hearing anything. Once the interviews were completed the timeframe between finding out I had a job and when I was starting was extremely close. This was hard as I had to relocate and put a lot of pressure on me at short notice. The actual job application/advertisement was quite hidden and was tied up on the old Rural Co website for some reason. I imagine this has been altered now the mergers are complete and Nutrien has mostly taken over.

Approached Nutrien for a job and then managed to get an interview

I originally applied for a full agronomy role. They realised that that position would not suit me as a university graduate so they allocated me to the grad program. I had an interview at head office with the Newdegate Branch manager and someone from HR.

The recruitment process followed a system that I was expecting from a big corporate.

Asked about work experience, future plans, interest in agriculture, interest in working at various locations, questions about leadership and past leadership roles

I was asked questions about my degree, and previous work experience. I was also asked about what my best mistake was that I made. I was also given a case study question which was about a problem that occurs within the business area that I was applying for and how I would resolve it.

Half of the questions were personal questions based on my hobbies and where I expect to see myself in the future. Other part of the interview was being able to discuss my strengths, weaknesses and how I manage in certain situations.

Strengths and weaknesses What crops and part of agriculture I was interested in If I would be open to moving for the job Examples of teamwork, conflict resolution, and time management. An agronomic example question

Prior experience, ambitions, knowledge, background.

1. Why did you choose I.T. 2. Give us an example of when you resolved conflict / how would you resolve conflict between two people? 3. If i gave you a task you didn't know how to do, how would you go about dealing with it? 4. What's your 5 year plan like? 5. What are your strengths? 6. What are you weaknesses?

My background, work experience, what I want to achieve and so forth.

Was just a general chat about my life/experiemces, where i see myself in the future and nutrien

My experience in ag. What are my passions, goals. Level of education. Why I want the job

Long term plans Suitability for the role including such things as technical competence and social integration suitability. Eg. Did I play local footy, or what agronomy experience did I have.

Be open and yourself. Start as you wish to go on. Be honest. You can learn the knowledge you need, you can be trained, but you can't change your personality.

know what you want to do, know the company you're applying for and where you want to be with this roll

Be confident that going for the role isnt about having the best marks. Communication, work ethic and willingness to learn is the most desirable traits.

I would recommend researching the position you are applying for and really ensure that you understand the role and are able to speak about the expectations of that role in the interview.

First impressions matter, dress appropriately and just be yourself.

Research the company Brush up on some relevant information about the job e.g. for an agronomy job, some info about crop rotations and/or farm processes,

Prepare with all your past education for a start, then you can rehearse what you will say when asked these questions. This can help as a lot of people can find themselves blanking out on the spot of an important interview/conversation due to nerves. A big one is to try and not be too nervous, Craig made me feel very comfortable, which made me feel like I was just having a generally conversation with him about the company and the industry.

Customer service skills very helpful/important. Understanding of Ag processes helpful/important.

Come to interviews as yourself, you'll need to be consistent with your way of working and so being yourself in an interview is important (but don't share too much TMI). Do practice interviews with friends or family and get used to answering questions. - practice using the top 100 asked interview questions. As a graduate, it's important to show that you're eager to learn, and will jump at any opportunity to learn. You should also have goals and aspirations where you see yourself in 5 to 10 years, or what you're currently interested in as your career pathway (you could have multiple career pathways you want to learn about)

Familiarize yourself with the job description, location of job and types of production systems you will be involved with.

Just be yourself

Get experience within the ag industry. Show you are passionate and keen to learn.

Start from the ground-up and prove your work ethic in a nutrien store. Prepare by having well rounded industry experience along with tertiary qualification.