Multiple interviews and competency tasks - the reality of job hunting

Tuesday, 11 February 2025

Jobseekers in a tough Wellington market are facing lengthy application processes, multiple interviews, competency tasks and ghosting.

Communications specialist Lisa, who does not want her surname used, spent six months job hunting before landing a job at a government agency at the end of 2024.

Her contract was a casualty of last year’s public sector cuts.

“There were very few jobs out there. I just felt Iike I’d apply, and apply, and apply, but I’d get no response,” she said.

“It started to become such a heavy admin load and it took up so much mental space. Even when I got an interview, trying to figure out all your answers, trying to think about what they’re going to ask, making sure you have examples for x, y, z.”

Fortitude Group recruitment managing director Haley Pickard said “ghosting” was bad, but multiple interviews and tasks were normal for certain roles.

“Hiring teams are receiving crazy numbers of applicants. They are so swamped, they probably don’t have time to go back to people.

“If someone has had an interview, that does deserve feedback. But if it’s just an application via a job board, be prepared [that] you may not get a response.”

Jobseekers need to be more proactive, she said. “If you really like the role, and think, ‘that’s for me, I could see myself as part of that team, they seem amazing,’ phone them.”

People also need to make sure they supply correct contact details. “Sometimes people get ghosted because they haven’t given the right phone number or email address.”

Multiple interviews and competency tasks are typical for technical and senior roles. For VP, executive level, technical and niche roles, applicants should expect three or four interview rounds.

“What I’m seeing is a whole lot of candidates who’ve been in a role with a company for five, 10 years, they’ve suddenly been made redundant and are now going back out to the market place where they’re more senior,” Pickard said.

Operations specialist Beth, who also didn’t want her full name used, worried a restructure at her organisation could mean she could be back job hunting.

A public servant in her 60s, she’s had some “shocking” experiences in the past.

“Some of the interview question I’ve had have been so silly. They aren’t relevant or they ask you to describe a time when something happened, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the role.

“The people I work for now gave me the set of questions beforehand and we all knew what the role was about. That interview went really, really well.”

Questions that seem unrelated to a role or organisation were generally about culture fit, Pickard said.

“It’s the ones who stand out or make the interviewer laugh or just click and gel, or there’s a vibe - you’ll know when that happens.

“Of course, when people are applying for so many jobs, some of the questions are going to sound repetitive. Don’t forget, an interview is also an opportunity for you to see if you want to work with the company.”

Employers were receiving hundreds of applications from people who had used AI tools to regurgitate a CV based on a job ad. That leads to applications sounding the same, so questions and tasks helped to determine whether skills actually matched what’s on a CV.

“Competency tasks are to make sure candidates are actually competent and are able to carry out the role should they be offered it.”

Pickard said the good news was the market should start to improve later this year.

“If you can ride the wave, do it. If you can register with any temp agencies, anything short term, do it. If it’s what you’ve got to do to survive, do it.”

Wellington ICT consultant Sunit Prakash is riding things out. He’s worked in IT for nearly 40 years, but is now out of work and is taking a “lifestyle break”. He has founded the New Zealand Centre for Digital Connection with India, which aims to build connections between the IT sectors of both countries.

“It doesn’t make me money, but it keeps me busy and it gives me a sense of self worth, and that is very important,” he said.

It was the toughest New Zealand market he had seen, and he worried about what would happen to people.

“I’m quite senior. Where am I going to? There are so many people like me who have decades of experience servicing organisations.

“You’re whittling down costs, saving money … but what is going to happen to everyone? Are they just collateral damage? Where is the strategy for human capital development?”

It’s not “all doom and gloom”. Prakash said the economy went through cycles. “Nothing is permanent. It will change. Mental resilience is key. It is darkest before the dawn.”