Application Process & Interviews at Leidos Australia

Really good process, nice and quick.

The interview process was initially quite daunting but after talking with the hiring manager and engineer interviewing me I was able to become quite comfortable. Their is usually 2 interviews with the first being a formative assessment however you can bounce ideas back and forth with the engineer interviewing and the second was more of an introductory one to ensure the business was right for me.

The interview process was not stressful and went smoothly. It was a 1 hour online interview consisting of technical and personal questions.

Grad recruitment process is excellent - did not feel like I was ever "jumping through hoops" to complete timed assessments and a million rounds of interviews, which is common. There was one untimed assessment, one individual interview and a phone interview, all of which were completed in a timely manner and made me feel like a valued individual.

The panel of people I had at my interview were extremely well prepared and ensured that I was calm and on track with all my responses. From memory there were 2 initial online assessments, one behavioural and one technical. The behavioural one was a run of the mill personality assessment, and the technical was fairly light. The only part of the online technical that I can recall was being given a large block of pseudocode and having to find all the logical errors within it.

Smooth interview process, quite slow however

I liked the interview process because I didn't have to jump through hoops and go through a multi stage process. I liked that the technical interview actually asked me practical questions instead of some theoretical competitive coding question like google does.

Interview was one online segment and one in person segment. Surprisingly, there was no coding/technical test.

I had 2 interviews but their was a bit of confusion with me applying for a location. Then getting a call to see if I would be interested in another office. After my interview got a call to see if I wanted to try for the same office I originally applied for.

I filled out answers to a few questions and was called for an interview. It was meant to be in person but someone was sick so it ended up being a video call.

Eight open ended questions, then virtual interview with panel.

Two interviews, one a more technical interview, the other more personal about what I wanted to get out of this job.

The first step included submitting my application for the role. Afterwards we were given a couple of questions to answer, these included questions like "Give me a time you experienced X and what did you do?" Lastly, there was an similar interview where I discussed my previous experiences and roles. In this interview, there was also a small whiteboarding systems design question.

Assessment centre and virtual interview.

After applying, I had to fill in a ~10 question text interview (unlimited time, but with a deadline) which asked about your experiences and alignment with company values. I was then contacted a few months later for an online video interview.

1 interview with someone from HR and 2 tech leads.

I had an online interview which consisted of three members of the company - A hiring manager, Senior Software Engineer and Junior/Graduate Software Engineer. Overall Structure was info about me, answering questions then a technical question assessment.

Register my interest in program to be notified when graduates were being recruited. Applying for role providing my resume and university grades. Invited to complete questionnaire and tasks. Final step was completing a live online interview with 3 Leidos personnel.

Pretty straightforward. Lodge Application. Questionnaire. Behavioural and Technical Interview.

Online written interview + interview with HR and your work manager.

Theoretical questions and questions regarding software architecture and design.

One question I remember was "talk about a time where you achieved something through overcoming significant challenges/obstacles". The other questions were more technical questions that required you to think about a problem and talk about the steps you'd take to solve it.

A mix of technical and behavioural questions.

The in person interview had the stock standard questions, as well as some regarding our willingness to participate in the security clearance process. As far as technical questions, I was asked to create a high level system to solve a given problem, which had more of a focus on thought process and questions asked rather than getting the technical aspect of it correct.

I can't recall much about the culture side of it but the technical interview involved me walking through how I would design an application and what sort of things I would think about and use to fit a set of criteria I was given.

Normal interview questions (e.g. why did you apply?) and some technical questions (e.g. in this scenario, how would you structure your tech stack?)

What are my skills. What do I enjoy doing. What I am looking for in a graduate job. Problem solving questions.

Questions that judged both character, work habits and thinking patterns.

Technical questions, understanding of the software development process, what languages I have coded in before.

Design me an x system. Give me a time you experienced X and what did you do? etc.

Interview mainly consisted of behavioural and situational questions, with a few technical questions sprinkled in. Was then given a software engineering case study and asked to sketch up a design for a solution.

Mostly about my familiarity with the tools they used.

Questions aligned with company values. Personal achievement questions. "Time when you..." formatted questions. Technical problem question.

Past experience in different situations, whether in the workplace or university. Technical questions were also asked.

Can't really remember but general behavioural interviews. Technical interview was going through the interviewer a systems design process. Also, demonstrating and explaining the rationale behind each decision.

Questions about system engineering and my understanding of how to frame a question.

Technical, cultural and critical thinking questions.

A lot of the confidence asked me to reflect upon difficult circumstances in my life and how I overcame them. Other questions asked me to touch on my personality, education and interests.

From memory, a lot of the interview questions were scenario based, asking what my reaction and/or action was to a challenging or difficult circumstance. This was a great way to help me communicate my value in the workplace and some of my life experiences that help inform my skills and behaviours.

Scenarios based on the Leidos values. Experience and reflection questions. As well as, problem solving questions.

They should prepare by being ready for the role they are applying for and to learn more about Leidos.

Do a little bit of research into the areas Leidos works in (Defence, ATO, Bureau of Meteorology) and have an understanding of the area you're applying for because the technical questions usually surround that.

Have a rough answer prepared for the stock standard HR questions, but also think of how to expand on the answer if asked for it. Understand the thought process and approach required to solve complex system questions.

I would recommend reading up about what Leidos does, particularly in Australia.

Research what the company actually does

Be confident in what they know as the interviews in my experience are looking for at the individual and how they act last look at solving problems rather than if you get the correct answer or know all the answers.

Sounds cheesy but be yourself, don't worry so much about your level of knowledge, but more about how willing/eager you are to learn.

Do your research on the company values and how you can portray them. Be as honest and as direct as you can. Be open to being wrong, and show how you can rectify a problem if you discover you're wrong.

Be familiar with software development in a practical setting - how it is actually developed from the initial requirements stage to processes followed to build it.

Practice answering questions using the STAR method. Practice systems design and leetcoding questions.

Review the company values and try to think of concrete situations in which you've aligned with them and applied them. Also reflect on your uni and work experience and use them to answer interview questions.

Have an idea of what makes you special.

Research company to prepare a bit for value questions that might arise. Be comfortable with speaking with new faces. Be honest with your answers and overall knowledge of topics (mainly for technical question) - not knowing things isn't bad, showing willingness to find the answer is desired. Have some "Time when you..." question answers ready so you're not stumbling for an answer.

I would definitely recommend the STAR method. I researched typical questions that are asked in interviews and wrote down my answers , then memorised them so I could answer when put on the spot.

In terms of behavioural interviews, just be yourself. Research about the company and explain to the interviewer why you want to be part of Leidos. For technical interview, just conduct some research on systems design

Having security clearances will greatly reduce the overhead required before you can work in actual projects.

The number one recommendation to candidates is to not overthink your answers, be open and more importantly, be honest. This will give the panel a great gauge into what value you can bring to the company. Another piece of advice would be to think about times in your life we're there's been adversity or a challenge, and how you were able to address it. This has significant implications for working in a company for Leidos, so it's best to think about these challenging situations.

Talk about your experiences, personal, academic and other can all help the panel get to understand you.

Research up on what the business does, have a base level of technical competence and be authentically yourself.

My advice to someone who is applying for a role at Leidos is to really focus on times in your life where you have overcome a barrier or a challenge and how you overcame it, because you will be confronted with these kind of questions. Another tip I would give someone is to not overthink your answers, be yourself and most importantly, be honest. Overcoming that anxiety is difficult, however, it will give the interviewers a good understanding of what value, skills and experience you can bring to the table.