Application Process & Interviews at WSP New Zealand

I was a mid year entry so was just one interview and that was it

I was an intern here so got the job through that.

They were ok

There where like 3 stages and from what I can remember, it was a super time-consuming process. I believe it took like 6-months. The first part was like a questionnaire/survey/cover letter where you answered all these questions about you, your experience, your grades and all that. Next was a 'group interview' which was more like an online presentation where you could ask questions. After that there was a three-on-one formal interview which got into the actual questions.

Very easy going, they gave great references from my internship for my grad role in a different office

Grad roles close very early in the year.

Went for a coffee with a manager, then had an interview, pretty smooth process

As I was a summer intern and undergraduate I bi-passed the traditional interview route

More communication after hiring and before starting work would be nice

Interview process was good, the only assessments were the online one before the interview stage. They probably could have done a bit better of a job communicating with me before I actually started, as I didn't really know what to expect.

Generally, consists of an application and then an interview with people in the sector you're going into.

I got hired after my internship and didn't formally apply, so I can't speak too much to that, but it did take a while for me to hear back officially despite my internship manager essentially telling me that I should expect the job offer to come soon even when I was yet to finish the internship. (it took another 2-3 months, at which point I was questioning whether I would have a job with the company and was starting to look at applying to other places more seriously.) I know that for other people who did apply directly for a graduate role, it was very slow at first, and there was not a lot of communication (if any) with unsuccessful candidates even if they'd made it to the interview stage.

The process was quite quick. After applying I quickly found out I had made it to the video interview stage. These included prompts appear on the screen and 1 min to answer (I was also given 30 seconds to read the question). Don't worry if you mess it up once as they give you an option to re-record. After I passed this stage, I was invited to the office alongside other potential candidates to meet the staff and get an outline of what wsp do as a company. A few days later I was interviewed by my now boss. During my interview he indicated that I most likely would receive the job and after a few days I received my official offer.

Simple and relatively stress free, quite a bit of paperwork though

I had previously interviewed so I skipped the initial assessment. However, your application does get lost quite a bit. I had to often call team members to keep track of my application. It appeared that there is a big disconnect between the recruitment team and the individual team. It was a very messy and complicated process until I was officially employed.

One of the more smoother interview processes out of the big consultancies. I went through the national graduate application process where there was an initial application form, a one way video interview and then an online interview with my would be manager and colleague. the online interview was more of a conversation for them to get to know who I am as a person rather than a technical test of my knowledge.

The interview process is enjoyable, and the company has a good timing for response (within a day or two when I applied as a grad)

Got the job via internship. Didn't interview

The interview process was quite challenging to navigate especially if the interview is technical - I had two interviews. Team fit and personality matters the most. The turnaround time was quite quick - great communication and help from hr.

I just had a general interview which was more for my personal life style and hobbies. I believe interview depends on what the managers are looking for from the person who they are interviewing with.

Can't remember

What makes you feel you are a good fit for this company? how would you deal with conflict?

What I do outside of work, not very technical

What can you bring to wsp what are your three greatest strengths what are your three greatest weaknesses what do you do outside of work thats all I can remember.

What kind of projects are you interested in working on why do you want to move to queenstown

I was an intern before a graduate and was offered a graduate position.

More of a conversation

Basic non-technical questions

My experiences on my internship, why I applied for the job, what I like about the role, what I would do in certain scenarios, what I like to do for fun.

Character questions, e.g an experience where there was conflict in a team etc.

When I had some informal interviews for my internship, I was mostly asked about my prior experience and why I wanted to keep working in that field (from memory, this was a while ago so I can't remember specifics). I didn't do another interview for my graduate role.

I was asked about projects I had completed during university. This was to gauge how I would work in the team. I recommend showcasing group work as these projects are more like the work you will do in the workforce. I was also asked if I saw myself going down the management pathway. Of course, I was also asked the typical interview questions of my strengths and weaknesses

Typical sort of questions. a challenge you faced tell us about yourself etc

Typical questions such as: "tell us about yourself", "time you overcame a challenge", "what would you do if money didn't matter" and also had the chance to ask the interview questions

Describe a situation where you applied creative thinking? describe a situation where you applied problem solving skills? describe a situation where you applied good collaboration?

Tell me a little bit about yourself? how do you manage your time? how did you handle an unexpected situation? how do you manage your time and prioritise your work? how did you resolve conflict in your previous works? and one sector-related/technical question.

What is your hobbies? what do you do for the most of time when you are free - why did you choose civil engineering? - what did you find interesting about structural engineering? - do you have any fears or worries about working as a structural engineer?

Why did I want to work at wsp? when was a time I had to navigate a difficult situation working in a group? similar to dealing with a conflicting group member. what kind of experience did I have, types of work that I enjoyed.

About my work experiences.

Why did you study engineering? why water? - what parts interest you most? why do you want to work for wsp?

Have a look at the projects and case studies on the website to learn more about the type of work the company does and what you may be interested in.

Highlight your best traits, even if they are non-technical. Not all projects or tasks at an engineering consultancy are technical. Most of the job is communication skills.

Try to get along with your interviewers

I think it would be the same as any company. Have some key adjectives to describe yourself in a work environment and your personality. Have some examples locked and loaded where you can back this up.

Come and introduce yourself to the office in person and talk with the manager about your career goals and ask what the company and office have to offer you

Be unique and passionate about the chosen discipline. Try to begin the learning process early for ecology (animal id, plant id, eianz guidelines etc).

Be prepped to answer questions in the field you are looking to work

Go for opportunities in smaller offices not just the big ones ie wellington, auckland etc

Be yourself, a big part of getting the job is if your personality and motivation to be in the role fits with the team, and if you will work well in the team. Graduates technical ability is very low down in the list of importance.

Have teamwork and resilience experiences to pull from (can be from group projects in uni, a part time job, extracurriculars or work you've done for uni clubs), particularly in leadership or working in teams to achieve something.

Honestly, a lot of people I know got roles through knowing someone. I got in contact with the company for my internship through my previous manager who had been talking to them about it and thought I might be interested. From there, I got offered the grad role so I didn't go through the formal application process. I think the biggest piece of advice I could give from other roles I've gotten through a formal application would be to find a way to make yourself stand out in things like cover letters - really tailor them to the role you're going for so they know you put effort in and can get an idea of why you'd be a good fit for the role.

Showcase projects that demonstrate your teamwork skills and also don't be afraid to talk about your hobbies. Your hobbies usually are topics your most passionate about so by talking about them to your potential employer you show off your passion.

Research wsp and their past projects, gain an understanding of working within the consultancy space

Be yourself, prepare for typical interview questions and just show that you can get along with people and fit in a team

If there are chances such as careers events or office tours, try to get a contact of someone who already works in the team you wish to get in. Having a contact could mean you don't have to go through the whole application process and instead can get employment through that contact.

Best to prepare by reading about the company and the current projects. Reflect on experiences from uni and internships to share this on the interview.

Be yourself and express a willingness to learn

Focused on your past experiences and being able to reflect on these experiences is important. Having tied those experiences together to showcase your personality and teamwork/collaboration skills is essential. Have some prepared answers beforehand and practice these out loud. Don't be rigid in your answer, tie your answers back to the question. Ask the interviewer for a couple of seconds if you need to think about your answer instead of just answering it straight away when you're not 100% sure you've understood the question.

I recommend to have a confidence of talking and sharing about your thoughts and feelings. Wsp respects their employees and therefore, it is important to look at personalities and cultures rather than high level of professionalism. We do not expect those professionalisms in technical from graduates so it would be great if you can share your personalities and how excited you are for working in wsp!

Have a list of past experiences (like work experience, sports, cultural activities, volunteering, etc.) and write down how they relate to different attributes (e.g. I worked in retail, which gave me good team player experience because…”). This way, if you get asked a question, you can draw on your past experiences. I've also found it helpful to actually bring that paper in, and I've had interviewers ask at the end, “is there anything else on there you'd like to discuss?” this has been a great conversation starter. It's also really important to have a couple of questions ready to ask the interviewer. Look them up on linkedin beforehand and find areas of commonality for questions you can ask.