Usually an online test, then a video or phone interview, then an assessment centre, then an offer. Smaller employers often compress that into one or two stages. Many don't look at applications until the closing date has passed, so a few quiet weeks is normal.
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The estimate covers the likely next steps, a rough timeline, the tests to practise and what to do now. For a saved application it uses the date you applied and the listing's closing date; for a pasted listing, add the closing date if you know it. It only gives specific dates that the listing or those dates support.
The usual sequence
- Screening. Your application is checked against the entry requirements, sometimes automatically. If the listing sets minimum grades, this is where they are applied.
- Online tests. Situational judgement tests are common, often alongside numerical or verbal reasoning. The invitation usually comes by email with a deadline to complete them.
- Video or phone interview. Often a recorded interview: questions appear on screen and you have a set time to answer each, with nobody on the other end.
- Assessment centre. In person or online. Typically a group exercise and an interview, sometimes with a presentation or written task.
- Offer. For school leavers, the offer is usually conditional on your exam results.
How long it takes
It depends mostly on whether the employer recruits on a rolling basis or reviews everything after the closing date. Rolling schemes can move from application to test within days. Closing-date schemes can go quiet for weeks, then move quickly. On large programmes the whole process, from application to offer, can take several months.
The application timeline covers when the major employers open and close applications through the year.
What to do while you wait
- Start practising tests now. Invitations can come with a short deadline. Practice aptitude tests covers the common types.
- Prepare your examples. Pick four or five situations from school, work or activities you can talk about in detail. Interview prep helps with the questions.
- Keep applying. Competition for places is high, so waiting on one application at a time is a slow way to an offer. See how many you should apply to.
- Check your junk folder and the employer's portal. Test invitations are often automated emails, and those can end up in spam.
- Track it. Keep the role on your applications board and update it as it progresses, so every application you have in progress is in one place.
When to follow up
If the closing date has passed and a few weeks have gone by with no word, check the employer's application portal first, since status changes often show there before any email arrives. If there is still nothing, a short, polite email asking where your application is in the process is fine. Chasing before the closing date rarely achieves anything.