Careers at National Australia Bank
Formed in 1982 from a merger of Commercial Banking Company of Sydney and National Bank of Australasia. In the following years, offshore expansion saw offices created in the US, Asia and Europe.
Today, National Australia Bank (NAB) has over 30,000 employees in 900 locations, serving more than 9 million customers.
NAB has an overarching mission of being 'More than Money', and as part of that there are several business areas that you can choose to work in, whether you are looking for early career options or coming in as an experienced professional, including:
- Personal Banking
- Corporate and Institutional Banking
- Business and Private Banking
- Technology Enterprise Operations
- People and Culture
- Risk
- Finance
- UBank
Working at NAB comes with many benefits, from a competitive salary package to Employee Assistance Program, excellent work/life balance thanks to the extensive leave options, useful rewards, discounts and offers on goods and services, as well as banking and financial services discounts.
Learning and development is really important at NAB; the business wants to recruit and retain the very best minds and ensure that they reach their potential through mentoring and training. This means that every employee has an Individual Development Plan (IDP), based on cutting edge courses, tools and technology focused on professional growth.
Alongside this, the NAB has an Early Careers program that focuses on internships and graduate development. Graduates programs start in February, and applicants can choose the business area that they want to focus on. This provides an opportunity to learn and develop while getting involved in the business and being paid as a full-time employee.
To be eligible for the rotational graduate programs, you must be a permanent Australian or NZ citizen, and have either completed a graduate or postgraduate degree in the last three years or be due to complete one by the January before the February commencement.
National Australia Bank Application Process
The application process to join the graduate programs of your choice is simple and straightforward, designed to ensure that you have the skills, experience and competencies to be successful.
Throughout the process, you are more likely to be successful if you research the position, the business and the wider financial industry, so that you can demonstrate that you have sound knowledge of banking and can outline exactly why you want to work for NAB.
NAB Online Application Form
All roles at NAB are shared on the careers page of the website, and to begin the process you will be asked to complete an application form.
This will include your contact information as well as some details about your relevant skills and experience. If you are looking to join a graduate scheme, then you will have an opportunity to choose your preferred business area.
You will also be asked to upload a recent academic transcript, or your undergraduate/postgraduate results if you have completed your degree. Your GPA or final results are not considered; the transcript is used to assess the classes and learning that you have completed.
NAB Aptitude Tests
If the details on your application form match the expectations of the recruitment team, you will be invited to complete a series of online assessments. These are completed at home in your own time and are designed to test your competency with data in the form of numbers and written information, as well as your logical problem solving and how you behave at work.
NAB Personality Assessment
The personality assessment is designed to test your behaviour at work, looking at your motivations and values as well as the way you prefer to work.
In this assessment, you will be provided with a series of descriptions, and need to pick the one that best describes you.
There are no right or wrong answers in a personality assessment. The recruitment team will have answers that they want to see, but the most important thing to do in a personality test is to be honest and answer as yourself in a work situation.
NAB Verbal Reasoning Test
In a verbal reasoning assessment, you are provided with a paragraph of text that you will have to quickly read and understand, with questions to be answered afterwards.
This test is assessing your ability to identify key points in dense text, so you need to be able to pick out the relevant information at speed to answer the questions.
The questions have multiple choice answers, and there is no need to have any background knowledge to be successful as all the information that you need to answer the questions is provided in the text.
You might also see some questions that will test your vocabulary and grammar knowledge.
NAB Numerical Reasoning Test
As you are applying for a role in a financial institution, it is expected that you will have some competency in working with numbers. The numerical reasoning test is not a maths test; instead, it is an assessment of your ability to work with numerical data in different forms.
Questions in the numerical reasoning assessment are often based on data in the form of tables and graphs, with multiple choice answers to questions based on that data. You will have to complete some basic arithmetic to answer the questions and calculators are not allowed.
There might also be some word problems and number series questions to answer too.
NAB Logical Reasoning Test
The logical reasoning test assesses your logical reasoning and problem-solving skills. This test presents a series of images that are linked through a pattern.
You need to find the rule that governs the sequence and identify the missing image from a set of multiple choice answers.
This assessment is used to see how you process unfamiliar information and look for data to find a specific conclusion, which is an important skill for problem-solving and decision making as well as critical thinking.
NAB Video Interview
Once your online assessments have been scored, you will be invited to a video interview. This takes place on a separate platform and consists of a number of questions that you need to answer on video.
These are pre-recorded, so not live - which means that you have time to prepare beforehand. You can expect some questions about your motivation - why you want to work at NAB - and your experience. You should treat it as a face-to-face interview.
The recruitment team is looking for answers that are about 90 seconds long.
NAB Engagement Centre
The Engagement Centre is another name for an assessment centre, and you can expect face-to-face interviews and group exercises.
During the day, you will be under constant assessment from the recruitment team. They are looking at your communication, leadership and teamwork skills as you work through the exercises, which include things like practical activities, problem-solving exercises, and discussions or debates.
On this day, you will also complete at least one face-to-face interview, which is generally led by a manager in the business area that you have applied for. These are known as 'behavioural event interviews' and they are based on questions about your behaviour in certain situations.
To answer these questions, you will need to provide examples of your behaviour and actions when faced with the scenario presented. Questions might include 'describe a time when you received poor customer service’.
These are usually quite straightforward, as long as you can think of examples quickly. If you can think about the competencies and behaviours that are required for the job role you are applying for, you can begin to think of answers before you attend the interview.
There will be an opportunity for you to ask questions during this interview, and this is a good time to demonstrate the depth of research that you have completed before applying - by asking thoughtful questions.
