The inside story: How to get a job at the Asylum Seekers Centre

Ever wondered what hiring managers are looking for when they recruit for Australia’s most sought-after ethical organisations?

In this series, we interview the people who hire at the organisations where you want to work — and we’ll give you the inside knowledge you need to make your next job application amazing. 

This month we speak to Andrea Watkins, Head of People and Practice at the Asylum Seekers Centre, an organisation that provides practical help for people seeking asylum in New South Wales and advocates for fair and humane policies for refugees and people seeking asylum.

(You can check out the roles the Asylum Seekers Centre is currently advertising here) 

Hi Andrea, thanks for chatting with us! To kick us off, can you tell us a bit about what the Asylum Seekers Centre does?

For 30 years the Asylum Seekers Centre (ASC) has provided a place of welcome and support. We offer practical help for people seeking asylum in New South Wales and advocate for fair and humane policies for refugees and people seeking asylum. 

We run a centre in Newtown, Sydney and activities at Auburn Centre for Community that offer a range of services to support people while they wait for the government to consider their refugee applications. We have a dedicated team of 45 staff and hundreds of volunteers who work to provide a welcoming community, connect people to the support they need and advocate for respectful and fair processes for people seeking asylum. 

What are some of the things that might attract candidates to apply to Asylum Seekers Centre?

We have a truly fantastic team of staff and volunteers who are dedicated, encouraging and incredibly talented – they are great to be around and to learn from! The shared values and professionalism of the team make collaboration possible.

All of our team are motivated by the opportunity to do something practical and meaningful to address how Australia treats people seeking asylum. And the people we support, who come from almost 100 countries, bring so much richness to the organisation. ASC is a wonderfully culturally diverse place where you can learn so much from every person who walks through the door. 

We also offer a very flexible and supportive workplace that includes allowances for study leave, an employee assistance program, clinical supervision for our frontline staff, learning and development opportunities, salary packaging options and a Parental Leave program. 

So walk us through the recruitment process at Asylum Seekers Centre

We advertise roles on our website and through EthicalJobs.com.au. We also go out to our staff and volunteers with all opportunities, in case of interest and to help us expand our reach. Around 50% of our staff were volunteers or people supported by the ASC before they were employees. 

Candidates are shortlisted by the relevant managers for first and second-round interviews. 

For some roles, where we receive a large number of candidates, our hiring managers will conduct phone calls with shortlisted candidates to get conversations going and see who is best placed to move to the interview stage. 

We like to use small panels to interview candidates, with managers and staff best placed to represent the role to the candidate and to help assess how they might benefit our team. We prefer to hold interviews at our centre in Newtown so candidates can get a first-hand look at where they might be working and what an average day is like in our busy centre. The interview process may also involve a skills assessment, relevant to the role, such as a writing test or presentation.  

For our selected candidate, we run through some standard checks including professional references, Working with Children Checks, and certain registrations or qualifications depending on the role. We then make an offer and, once accepted, we celebrate with our fabulous new team member!

What are the top things you look for when assessing a candidate application?

For us, the most important thing is a commitment to the work that we do – a strong belief in human rights and a determination to uphold the rights and dignity of people who seek asylum. No matter what the role, our organisation’s purpose and the people we work with are at the heart of what we do. 

We look for candidates who show they have taken the time to read about the role and our organisation and whose application makes clear links between what they are offering and what we are asking for. 

We do have a high-performing team so we look for candidates who not only show how they meet the role requirements but who may offer something more in the way of life experience, qualifications or professional development. Diversity, inclusivity and representation are very important to us, so we strongly encourage applicants who have lived experience of seeking asylum and those with strong cultural competencies. 

What’s the most common mistake you see candidates make in their applications?

The most common mistake is not including a cover letter with their resume. We ask for cover letters to help us see the person behind the resume, their motivations for working with us and how they would approach the role. We often get large numbers of applications and those with cover letters that demonstrate an understanding of the role and join the dots to what they offer will always go to the top of the pile. 

And if they make it to interview, who is a candidate most likely to meet on an interview panel at Asylum Seekers Centre?

It’s really important to us to have our key team members, who will be working with the candidate, involved in the whole interview process. Our hiring managers are very hands-on and invest a great deal of time in considering and meeting candidates. We’ll also often involve relevant team members who can provide insight into what it’s like working with our team, help to give feedback and ask questions to determine if the person is the right fit. 

What advice would you give candidates to improve their interview skills?

As hard as it can be – try and relax! We are a people-focused organisation and we will try and put you at ease in order to get the best from you during our meeting. We use face-to-face interviews to try and get to know the real person behind the written application. We’re really keen to learn about what’s brought a candidate to apply for this role, what their ambitions are and what they and their life experience could bring to our team. So breathe, take your time in considering questions and think of this as an opportunity for you to assess us and whether we are the right fit for your professional ambitions. 

I also recommend reading through our website, our annual reports and our social media. These are all prepared by our team and contain very considered and useful information on what we do and how we work. Know your stuff, rather than guess at the services we offer or the people we support.

And finally, ask us questions on anything – from describing what a regular day looks like to where the best lunch spots in Newtown are! Interviews should be a two-way process to help everyone determine the right fit all round, so we’re very happy to respond to and discuss any questions you may have. 

Finally, what advice would you give to someone who wants to work at Asylum Seekers Centre but perhaps doesn’t have the right qualifications or experience?

A great way to start working with us, if the right paid role isn’t available or you’re seeking a career change, is to volunteer with us. We’re really proud that nearly 50% of our current staff started with us as volunteers. Volunteering is a great way to understand the organisation and to see what sort of training, study or professional development you could do to move your career in a particular direction. If you can’t volunteer just yet, sign up to receive our newsletters and follow us on social media – these are great ways to become familiar with our work and our team.

While some roles will need a certain level of qualifications and experience – and we’ll specify these – life experience or adaptable skills can also bring a wealth of goodness to a role, possibly in a way we hadn’t considered. The nature of what we do means we understand how a student or professional pathway may not always go to plan or be linear. If someone can demonstrate that they thoroughly understand the role and show us what transferable skills or comparable experiences they could offer in response, we’d love to hear more about them.

I always encourage people to get in touch with us and ask questions about what the role involves – we are always happy to chat about what we are looking for. We’re really open to having conversations upfront about how we can support people through the recruitment process if needed. We value compassionate, collaborative and innovative people and we love seeing what each applicant could bring to our team and to the people we support.

Thanks Andrea!