IDP_澳大利亞商澳洲國際文教發展股份有限公司台灣分公司

The interview process sounded comprehensive, the office was bright, and the policies appeared to be well established and considerate of employees.

Staff turnover is extremely high. The probationary period is six months, and after six months you are considered highly experienced. Office politics are very pronounced, and infighting is severe, so you need to know how to protect yourself.

The Study Abroad Department works extremely long hours without overtime compensation. You also need to be careful never to offend senior consultants. Even with good performance, there are countless reasons for extending your probation. The IELTS Department is understaffed, but the colleagues and supervisors are relatively easy to get along with. However, the workload is exhausting: each person takes on multiple roles and often travels for work. The Marketing Department frequently faces unexpected situations, and employees must remain on call even while on leave. Everyone has performance targets, so there is some backstabbing.

During exhibitions, the company often requires employees to work consecutive days, and business trips can last more than seven days. This has not changed in ten years. There is only compensatory leave, with no additional compensation. In addition to being understaffed, the company shows disregard for labor laws.

A typical Australian company with Taiwanese-style management: when business is poor, salaries may be cut, and to receive profit-sharing bonuses, you need to know how to flatter the right people.

The interview atmosphere was friendly.

Interview for the administrative assistant position at the KH office

The interview process consisted of three stages.

The first stage was a phone interview with HR. HR gave me a general introduction to the company and the position and confirmed the interview time and location with me.

The second stage was an in-person interview at one of the branch offices with the office director. The interview lasted approximately one hour. The first 30 minutes consisted of a written test, with questions generally similar to those commonly asked in interviews: a self-introduction, the type of work you aspire to do, your areas of expertise, achievements and setbacks from previous work experiences, and so on. During the final 30 minutes, the office director spoke with me and provided another overview of the position.

The third stage was a phone interview with the Finance Department and the CEO after passing the second stage.

****Because my interview took place during the company’s study-abroad exhibition season (March and July each year), the office director directly asked me at the end of the interview whether I could help with on-site translation at the March 16 education exhibition. It also felt somewhat like soft coercion. It seemed that if I did not agree to participate, I would not have the opportunity to proceed to the next stage of the interview. It also made me wonder whether they had decided I was unsuitable after the interview but, since I had already come in, simply asked me to work as a temporary assistant to help with the event (although it was paid). This inevitably left a poor impression. Even if they were short-staffed, they should not have handled it this way!