Graduate Selection Process: What Asahi Beverages Publishes and What Smaller Employers Can Copy

Most employers know what a graduate selection process should do. Fewer have seen a real one written down, step by step. According to Asahi Beverages' graduate page, its sequence runs from a tailored CV and cover letter, through online cognitive assessments and a one-way video interview, to an assessment centre and a formal offer. The page currently shows an "Applications closed" banner, so this is a look at the design, not a prompt to apply.

Staged graduate recruitment suits any intake that draws more applicants than you can interview. Early steps are cheap to run, everyone gets the same task, and expensive human time is saved for those who get furthest. Below is what each step is for, what it cannot tell you, and a three-step version that a smaller employer can run.

Key Takeaways

• A staged process lets you spend cheap, standardised checks early and keep scarce interviewer time for the candidates who reach the later stages.
• Scoring every candidate against the same written criteria at each step makes decisions easier to explain, compare and defend.
• Each step shows something different: a test shows reasoning, a one-way video shows communication, and only a work task shows how someone handles the job itself.
• A smaller employer can copy the logic with three steps: a short skills test, a structured interview and one work-sample task.

The five steps Asahi publishes

The list below follows the order and wording on Asahi's page as closely as possible.

1. Application. Candidates submit a tailored CV and cover letter through the careers portal for the role they choose.
2. Online cognitive assessments. The page names cognitive, verbal, critical reasoning and personality tests.
3. Video interview. Candidates complete a one-way video interview, which the page says helps Asahi learn more about their experience and interest in the position.
4. Assessment centre. A mix of group activities, an interview and a case study presentation.
5. Offer. Selected candidates receive a formal offer.

The page presents these steps as the application process for its graduate program, which it describes as 12 to 15 months with options in sales, marketing, revenue management, business insights, data science, supply chain and logistics. It invites Australian or New Zealand citizens, or permanent residents, who graduated within the last two years.

The page does not publish how long each step takes, how results are scored or how many candidates move between stages. Treat anything beyond the five steps as a design choice for your own process. Because applications are shown as closed, check the page directly before telling any graduate that the program is open.

What each step is for

Asahi does not explain why it chose this order. What follows is analysis of what an employer can and cannot learn at each stage, so you can decide which ones your own process needs.

Application: eligibility and basic fit

A tailored CV and cover letter confirm eligibility and give you a first sample of written communication. They are also the easiest step to polish with software, so treat them as a check of basic fit rather than the main evidence.

Cognitive and personality tests: consistent early screening

Cognitive and personality tests for graduates give every applicant the same questions in the same conditions, which makes early results comparable across a large pool. They show how someone handles reasoning problems on the day. They do not show whether that person will do the job well, and Asahi's page makes no such claim. Personality questionnaires describe preferences and style rather than ability, so they work better as prompts for interview questions than as pass marks.

Because online tests usually run without supervision, it is worth knowing how skill assessment fraud works and what checks reduce it. A separate guide to graduate hiring methods covers aptitude testing more broadly.

One-way video: communication, not job skill

In a one-way video interview for graduates, candidates record answers to set questions with no interviewer on the other end. It shows how a person organises an answer and presents themselves, and a panel can watch at a time that suits them. It does not show job skill, and a rehearsed answer can sound as good as a real one. Pair it with a live follow-up that asks for specifics, using a method for telling coached answers apart from real experience.

Assessment centre: behaviour with others

Group activities show how people behave alongside others, the interview lets you probe, and a case study presentation shows how someone structures a problem and explains a recommendation. It is the most expensive stage because it takes assessor time, which is the usual reason to place it late. If yours runs online, the guidance on securing remote campus recruitment covers test integrity for remote candidates.

A smaller-employer version of the process

You do not need five steps or a large cohort. The aim is the same: standard checks first, human judgement last, and the same scoring for everyone. This graduate assessment process in Australia can be scaled to a small hiring team, and the table maps each published step to a version you can run.

• Application - Smaller version: Short form that confirms eligibility and role interest; Who scores: Hiring manager, against a written checklist
• Online cognitive assessments - Smaller version: One short skills test matched to the role; Who scores: The test scores itself; the manager sets the pass mark first
• Video interview and interview - Smaller version: One structured interview with the same questions for everyone; Who scores: Two interviewers, scoring separately
• Assessment centre - Smaller version: One work-sample task with a short debrief; Who scores: Hiring manager plus one colleague
• Offer - Smaller version: Offer after a reference conversation; Who scores: Hiring manager

Step one: a short skills test

Pick a test that matches the work the graduate will actually do, keep it to about 30 minutes, and set the pass mark before anyone sits it. One practical option is Righteo, whose AI skills assessment page describes tests on technical, personality and cognitive skills, chosen from a library of pre-built assessments or built yourself. Its skill tests library lets you describe a role and see matching tests. A test that grades itself means nobody marks scripts by hand.

Step two: a structured interview

Write five or six questions tied to the role, ask them in the same order and score each answer on a simple scale, with a line describing what a weak, adequate and strong answer sounds like. Two people score separately before they talk, so the first confident voice does not set the result.

Step three: one work-sample task

Replace the group activities and case study with a single task drawn from real work. For a commercial graduate it might be a one-page recommendation from a small set of sales figures, presented in five minutes. For an operations graduate it might be a plan to fix a late-delivery problem. Score against the same criteria for every candidate, then talk through how they approached it.

Keeping the graduate selection process fair

Asahi publishes its stages, who can apply and its list of streams on one page, so candidates know what is coming before they apply. Copy that habit. Tell people how many steps there are, roughly how long each takes and what you will assess, and keep the information current.

Build in room for adjustments. According to the Australian Human Rights Commission's guidance on disability at work, a person can ask for reasonable adjustments to the interview and recruitment process, for example a one-on-one interview instead of a group interview. Say in your invitation how a candidate can ask, and treat the request as routine.

Finally, score against the same criteria at every step. Write them before applications open, score before you discuss, and never use personality results as a pass or fail mark. A consistent process is easier to explain to a candidate who asks why they did not progress.

Related Resources

• Asahi Beverages' graduate page
• AI skills assessment for hiring
• Preventing skill assessment fraud
• Telling coached answers apart
• Graduate hiring methods for junior talent
• Securing remote campus recruitment
• Disability at work: reasonable adjustments

Common Questions About the Graduate Selection Process

1. How many steps should a graduate selection process have?

Asahi publishes five, but that count includes the application and the offer, so three are assessment stages. For a smaller employer, three assessment steps in total is a workable size: a short skills test, a structured interview and a work-sample task. Add a step only if it tells you something the others do not, and drop any step you cannot score.

2. Are cognitive and personality tests worth using for graduates?

They are useful for consistent early screening, because every candidate answers the same questions under the same conditions. Asahi's page publishes the tests but makes no claim about how well they predict job performance, so treat them as one input. Weigh cognitive scores alongside interview and work-sample evidence, and use personality results to shape interview questions rather than to reject anyone.

3. Is a one-way video interview a good way to screen graduates?

It works as a convenience for a panel and a first look at communication. It does not show job skill, and a polished answer can be rehearsed. If you use one, keep the questions identical, tell candidates how long they get to answer, and follow up live with questions that ask for specific detail from the candidate's own experience.

4. Can a small business run an assessment centre?

Yes, in a reduced form. You can swap the group activities and case study for one work-sample task and a short debrief conversation. Two scorers, a written brief and the same criteria for everyone make the result fair and repeatable. A full day with several assessors is only worth the time if you are hiring a larger cohort.

Map Your Steps Against the Five

Asahi's published sequence is a useful yardstick because it shows how a staged process is put together, even if you will never run it at that scale. Lay your current graduate steps next to the five and note what each one tells you that the others do not. Remove one step that tells you nothing, then write down the criteria you will score the rest against before your next intake opens.