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Procter & Gamble

4.4
  • 50,000 - 100,000 employees

5 insider tips for graduate interviews at Procter & Gamble

Brianne Turk

Careers Commentator
We asked recent graduates at Procter & Gamble for the inside scoop on how to prepare for a P&G graduate interview.

We asked recent graduates at Procter & Gamble for the inside scoop on how to prepare for a P&G graduate interview.

1. Buckle up for a thorough process

P&G covers all bases in their recruitment, including a cover letter, CV, personality test, maths test and a series of interviews. To best prepare, work out where your strengths lie and brush up on the processes that are most challenging for you. GradAustralia.com offers plenty of tips on writing stellar cover letters and CVs, and you can search for practice personality and reasoning tests online.

When asked about the recruitment process, a mid-level grad said that it was a “long but necessarily thorough process.” A Melbourne grad said that they sent in a cover letter and resume, which was followed by a written assessment, two interviews, then the offer. A Brisbane graduate said that it was a “thorough hiring process that was more in depth than other companies.”

One Melbourne graduate started with an online personality test, a verbal/mathematical/reasoning test and also went through three interviews, with a range of interviewers. A Sydney graduate said, that the ”psychometric testing was fairly easy - certainly easier than KPMG, IB’s etc.” They said that the “second round interview was challenging - the aim is to push you until you cannot answer or answer with great struggle.”

2. Brush up on your behavioural questions

Respondents were almost unanimous in their advice regarding interview questions. They shared that Procter & Gamble will ask candidates to describe situations from their past where they demonstrated a particular quality or skill (behavioural questions), and that candidates should have specific scenarios prepped that can be quickly adapted on the spot.

P&G are especially interested to hear about times when candidates displayed leadership, teamwork and innovation.  

Graduates were asked:

“Questions to display experience in leadership, innovation, sales and time management.”

- Graduate, Brisbane

“Can you tell me about a time you had to innovate?”

- Graduate, Sydney

“Describe a time in which you used mastery to achieve an organisational goal. Name a task in which you used data to achieve an organisational goal.”

- Midlevel, Sydney

Graduates were asked to share examples of when they had led a team, made a significant contribution or overcome challenges during high school or university. A number of grads noted that it is useful to know the STAR or CAR interview technique, “where a candidate is required to delve deep into his/her past experiences.”

These same grads also provided advice on how to prepare for these questions:

“The company is typically looking for well-rounded candidates with experience in a range of areas, so try to describe those experiences in your answers.”

- Graduate, Melbourne

“Have scenarios where you can demonstrate the company values.”

- Midlevel, Melbourne

“Prepare by reflecting on situations where you have demonstrated key competencies, and ensure you are able to adapt the situation to different questions asked.”

- Graduate

3. Get well versed on the company

Recruiters want to see that you’re interested in their company – that you’ve taken the time to do some homework. Don’t offer up a generic CV and stock-standard interview responses. Do some research, align yourself with the company purpose, values and principles (PVP’s) and jot down some talking points relevant to the company and/or market.

“PVP's are everything. Know them, live them. We take pride in our history, so know it. Go deeper, read the annual report, show some critical thinking on the CEO's comments. Have scenarios where you can demonstrate the company values. Sales is about teamwork, costs and revenue, when have you been a leader in these things? Have examples.”

- Midlevel, Melbourne

“Know the company's PVPs’, the culture and the history. Understand the PEAK performance factors and come prepared to demonstrate your values that resonate with the company.”

- Graduate, Melbourne

4. Show your tenacity for life

Books can only get you so far. Life experience plays an important role in professional success.

“Studying commerce gave me good foundational knowledge for my role, however I believe that the most important thing is what you do outside of university. Getting good grades is a start, however going on exchange, having a part-time job, travelling, and volunteering are all great ways to develop yourself as a person and make yourself stand out.”

- Graduate

“Partake in extracurricular activities such as sports or on-campus roles. Part-time job and internship experience in the industry are also highly regarded.”

- Midlevel, Sydney

“Explore the world – There is no better time than now to travel! So see the world and learn new things.”

- Graduate

5. Demonstrate outcome-focused thinking  

P&G put their focus on outputs, not how many hours are worked. Demonstrate that you align with this thinking by offering examples where you managed and/or adapted commitments to achieve an outcome, or went above and beyond to reach a target.

“P&G rate output, not 'facetime', as the important driver for success.”

- Midlevel, Sydney

“Company is very flexible, hours aren't monitored, just the output of work.”

- Midlevel, Sydney

“Flexible. We believe in the work done and not the hours.”

- Graduate, Melbourne

“It's not a 9-5. Average ten hour days. Start and finish when you want just get your work done. I study after hours and the company is flexible around that.”

- Midlevel, Melbourne

“37.5 hours per week, however most work longer. Work from home one day per week. Very flexible as long as work gets done.”

- Graduate, Sydney

For more info on Procter & Gamble’s graduate program, head to their page at GradAustralia for graduate stories and reviews.