Students who prepare for the wrong one lose weeks. This guide goes by employer type and sticks to what employers publish.
01At a glance
Product and big tech
- What they run
- Timed online assessment, live coding, values interview (Canva, Amazon, Google, Atlassian)
- Coding test?
- Yes
- Prepare by
- Easy to medium problems, explaining trade-offs aloud
Trading firms
- What they run
- Proctored coding plus timed numerical tests, phone rounds, on-site day (Optiver, SIG, Akuna)
- Coding test?
- Yes, plus maths
- Prepare by
- Fluency in C++ or Java, timed numerical reasoning
Banks
- What they run
- Psychometrics, one-way video, virtual assessment centre (Westpac, CommBank, ANZ, Macquarie)
- Coding test?
- No
- Prepare by
- Video on a timer, group exercise, STAR stories
Consultancies and tech services
- What they run
- Immersive online assessment, video or job simulation, assessment day (Deloitte, Accenture, EY, KPMG)
- Coding test?
- No
- Prepare by
- Situational judgement, group case, presentation
02Product companies and big tech
Canva publishes its process in full. After a recruiter call comes a peer technical interview with a problem-solving challenge, then a final session of about three hours mixing technical problem solving with behavioural questions mapped to its skills framework: craft, strategy, communication, leadership and coaching. Engineers do not do a take-home. The whole thing takes four to five weeks.
Canva changed its first technical screen in June 2025 and said so publicly: the computer science fundamentals round became an AI-assisted coding interview in which candidates use Copilot, Cursor or Claude and are assessed on how they break down ambiguous requirements, the technical decisions they make and whether they spot problems in what the tool produces. Practising to code without help is the wrong preparation for this round.
Amazon runs the other way. Its Australian graduate listings describe an online assessment to complete within five business days, a 50-minute work simulation plus a 10-minute work-style assessment, followed by three virtual interviews built around its Leadership Principles, and the assessment must be your own work.
Google's graduate listing asks for experience in Python, C, C++, Java or JavaScript and data structures and algorithms through coursework or projects, with a resume and unofficial transcript to apply. Atlassian recruits from February to June and says to apply early.
Worth knowing
Difficulty at Australian graduate level is easy to medium algorithmic problems. The differentiator is the follow-up: why that structure, what breaks at scale, what you would change with more time.
03Trading firms
These are the most technical processes in the market and they say so. Optiver's graduate software developer listing requires knowledge of object-oriented design and states that experience with C++, C# or Java is required for its technical assessment; it also asks for out-of-classroom projects that show a passion for software. SIG's quantitative trader program runs an online assessment of quantitative and problem-solving ability, two phone interviews, behavioural and technical, then an office day with a trading-floor visit, and asks for a Distinction average. Akuna's entry-level role is C++ and says no finance experience is needed.
The pay matches. Levels.fyi shows a first-year IMC software engineer at around 229 thousand dollars total, and Optiver's 2024 graduate listing advertised 250 thousand.
04Banks
Westpac's own student guide lays out its technology engineering program: a ten-minute online application with resume and transcript, a psychometric assessment within 48 hours, a one-way video interview that cannot be paused or restarted, then a virtual assessment centre with an interview, an individual presentation and a group exercise. Four to eight weeks end to end. No coding stage.
CommBank asks for a 70 WAM in its technology engineering and cyber streams, against 65 elsewhere, and runs assessment centres in late September and October. ANZ's technology program rotates graduates across three areas over 18 months. Macquarie's spring intake lists technology engineering among its groups.
Worth knowing
A bank technology graduate who turns up having drilled algorithm problems has prepared for a test that will not happen. Practise the one-way video and the group exercise instead.
05Consultancies and technology services
Deloitte describes an immersive online assessment, situational plus numerical, verbal and diagrammatic, then a short video interview or job simulator, then an assessment day with a group case study, one-to-one interviews and possibly a presentation. Accenture's technology analyst program takes computer science, engineering, data and cyber degrees at 70 to 80 thousand dollars. KPMG and EY run technology streams inside the main graduate round.
Again no coding test. The skills under assessment are reasoning, communication and teamwork.
06How to prepare for the right one
- Find out which type your target is before you open a practice site.
- For product companies, do timed easy to medium problems and rehearse explaining trade-offs aloud.
- For Canva specifically, practise building something with an AI assistant and narrating your decisions.
- For trading firms, be fluent in C++ or Java and practise timed numerical reasoning.
- For banks and consultancies, practise a one-way video on a timer and a group discussion, and skip the algorithm grind.
- Keep your GitHub or portfolio current. The product companies ask for it and the trading firms want projects outside coursework.
Common questions
Do Australian banks give graduate software engineers a coding test?
Not in their published processes. Westpac's technology engineering program runs a psychometric test, a one-way video interview and a virtual assessment centre with no coding stage, and CommBank, ANZ and Macquarie describe assessment centres rather than coding rounds.
Can you use AI in a coding interview?
It depends on the employer. Canva requires it in its AI-assisted coding interview and assesses how you use it. Amazon's assessments must be your own work. Check each employer's stated policy before the test.
What programming languages do trading firms expect from graduates?
Optiver requires C++, C# or Java for its technical assessment, and Akuna's entry-level role is C++. No finance knowledge is expected at either.
Prepped's mock interviews run the one-way video and behavioural rounds every employer uses.
Run a mockGeneral information, not personal career advice. Program details and dates change, so always confirm specifics on the employer’s official page.