The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) and the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR) Reviews

Each year you have the possibility of progressing. You complete a personal development plan that has goals and expectations on it. If your manager believes you have met these goals you will progress to the next stage and so on. I think it can generally take you about 10 years to progress from the bottom of one tier to the top of it. Having said that though - nothing is stopping you from applying for jobs on a higher tier - you'll find out one way or another if you don't have the required skills yet.

Nothing specific is done by the department itself (being the public service) but employees often run fundraisers which are well-publicised.

In my experience, the Department’s culture is very supportive and nurturing for new employees, it prides itself on diversity and inclusiveness along with emphasising the opportunities to work flexibly. Personally, my fellow team members help to create a very friendly and jovial work environment, whilst supporting each other and utilising the capacity within the team to cooperate and achieve key outcomes. Outside of office hours, my immediate team are quite social and we generally enjoy catching-up for drinks and/or dinner once a month or so.

My work environment had a good mix of female/males and different cultures.

I research and write sections of our reports, investigate particular areas of Victoria and find out how it is being used and what its key values are, fieldwork to ground-truth what is suggested by research, come up with creative ways to communicate complex ideas to the public.

My manager has been a very good mentor and always offers good advice.

Uniforms in the regions. smart casual to corporate wear in the city.

Stage 1 - Written Application - personal details and had to answer 3 questions Stage 2 - An Aptitude Test - answer as many questions as possible in 30 minutes from different categories e.g. mathematical, problem-solving etc. Stage 3 - Assessment Center - Involves 3 activities - A group task (you will be given background information on an issue and then you will have to discuss as a group), a written task (you will be given another separate issue in which you have to outlay answers to questions they give you within the time limit) and an individual interview (Use the STAR technique)! Stage 4 - Interview with a group who will possibly take you on (again Use the STAR technique), examples don't necessarily have to be from that particular work area - think of extracurricular activities, volunteering, other jobs, uni etc. *Note that questions can have two parts - and it's okay to ask the interviewer to repeat the second part if you need. Tell me a time when you've worked in a team and something hasn't worked out or Tell me a time when you've showed teamwork? What projects have you managed? Describe a time when you have not been able to meet a deadline. What happened and what did you do? Look up and be familiar with the STAR technique when answering interview questions. Be honest with yourself! In written applications think of anything and everything that will make you stand out - Think outside the box

I'm just really grateful to get a stable income and have a manageable budget while living out on my own. Free meals when you're doing the hard yards in emergency management with 12-hour workdays.

The company provides great internal training for all staff.

I'm quite often in the field - meaning the need for driving to field sites or farms is essential, this sometimes causes the work week to be more than the 38 hours. In general, hours are quite flexible in reason, if you have an appointment, children or something this can usually be accommodated.

Each office has a Green Team who is responsible for setting up E-waste recycling, composting/worm farming, applying for solar panel grants, recycling paper, water capture and supply. Recently, I introduced a project to ban single-use plastics within the DELWP offices. The Port Phillip management team was extremely enthusiastic and supportive. We are developing plans to eliminate single-use plastic around the office and fire department.