Does anyone work for the council? What is it like? How do you get in?

[mumznet]

please share your experiences of a council Job. Thanks

[dancemom]

I work for my city council.

Have done for over 10 years.

I saw the post advertised, applied and got it. The "jobs for the boys" thing is either a long ago practice or just a myth.

Pay rubbish but job security and good terms and conditions at least.

[mumznet]

what do you do dancemom? is it an admin job?

[dancemom]

I work in Finance.

[pissflaps45]

I've worked for the council for 20 years. There are more cuts this year and a lot of staff being made redundant. Its not a secure place to work any more. Still worth a look though. A lot of posts advertised are fixed term now.

[mumznet]

thank you everyone.

how do you get in I mean what are the interviews like?

thanks

[FruitBadger]

I work for a Local Authority.

There's relatively little external recruitment now, all vacancies have to be advertised internally first and / or reserved for those who are deemed at risk of redundancy. External recruitment is only automatically approved for key roles, such as Children's Social Workers.

In terms of interviews (and application forms) the public sector is very formulaic. There will be key phrases and words used in the job profile or questions you're asked, try to reflect those phrases back and use them in your answers. It really is literally a case of ticking boxes and adding up who scored the most points.

[OutandIn]

Dont work for one but know someone who does.

Interviews will most likely be competency based - lots of advice on how to answer these type of questions online (and use of STAR answers)

Many jobs are only ever recruited for internally due to the current reduction in staff numbers going on. They will always try and fill roles internally first before seeking approval to go external.

One way in is as an agency staff member (try find out what agencies they use) often agency staff can apply for internal jobs.

[OutandIn]

PP is correct - your responses to the questions will be scored, say 1-5, added up and the person with the highest score should be offered the job.

[mumznet]

when I last looked online there were numerous jobs for the council
in particular non-teaching roles?

however, I have been hesitant to apply because I heard that the council does advertise jobs externally only due to adhering to the rules and they already have an internal candidate chose internally who gets the job in the end, is this true?

[mumznet]

i meant they already have an internal candidate selected for the job and they only interview because of the rules/policies.

[ExplodedCloud]

No they usually only advertise externally after internal recruitment has not yielded a candidate.

[mumznet]

fruit badger....when you say keywords do you mean something like....
'adheres to work policies' and then in my answer I need to use this and say 'I made sure staff are aware of work policies when dealing with abusive behaviour??

thanks

[Lilaclily]

It's a wide area though op

Local authority jobs cover care work , bin men often, library staff, admin roles etc etc

Do you know what area you are interested in ?

[FruitBadger]

Pretty much, yes. Make sure you always follow it up with an example too.

[Alonglongway]

I work for local authority - have done for 15 years and would still recommend council as a good employer.

We are real when we advertise - we do internal only first for certain jobs and then go out. I have a job out for ad at the moment and there may be a few internal candidates but they won't get preference - we take the fairness very seriously

[mumznet]

i am starting work for civil service job in admin but fixed term so thats why looking at my options...

would you guys say if you compare the two which is better? or is it silly to compare the two?? (civil sercive and city council jobs?)

[Busybrie]

I work for a Local Authority. It is a good place to work but like the other poster said it is definitely not a job for life any more, with regular restructures and job evaluations. Most councils have a jobs page on their website and the days of getting a job through contacts long gone, although those staff at risk through restructure obviously can apply first; at our LA once that process has been completed then they are advertised externaly.
My interview was competence based with me presenting feedback on a scenario that I was emailed prior to interview.

[SillySongsWithLarry]

I work for the local Council in a finance admin role. Moved from banking. Council is not as lucrative as private sector and there is no scope for bonuses or pay rises beyond your annual increments, but they are a supportive flexible employer and great for fitting around a young children. They are also sponsoring me to study which is good. The council I work for employ through Reed, even for permanent posts.

[mumznet]

than kyou SillsongsWithLarry.
what sort of study is it what level? is it apprenticeship or uni level? thanks

[SillySongsWithLarry]

Right now it's tech level 3 which is A level equivalent. I have the option of going right up to diploma level though which is degree equivalent. It's distance learning though so although it's sponsored it's all in my own time.

[pissflaps45]

Also the council I work for has frozen the incremental pay rises. We got 1% rise last year. We also have a Xmas shut down which is unpaid and was agreed through the unions. This saved a lot of jobs though. We pay for car parking and mileage claims were slashed. There are 2 electric pool cars and staff are encouraged to use those for going to meetings etc. Nissan have loaned them to us. Good advertising I suppose.

[MagdaS]

I have worked for local authorities for 15 years. I am a recruiting manager and believe me if we are advertising externally it's because we want to see external people. If we have suitable internal candidate I wouldn't use my ever more stretched budget to pay to advertise a post.

It's no longer a job for life but if you're bright and work hard you will do well. It fits in well
with family life too. I don't get flexi time anymore but no one blinks if I pop off to the nativity for example. I'm assessed on my results, not at the hours at my desk.

[beanfilledfish]

the person with the highest score should be offered the job but I've work at the council and know that isn't the case. Jobs for people who know people ime and people once they're in the council rarely leave. It's a dull place to work though

[mumznet]

glad to hear it was just rumours that I heard about council jobs recruitment....
it really put me off applying

beanfilledfish what do you mean by 'dull place to work'? is it because of staff not being friendly etc?

thank you

[MagdaS]

I have had dull jobs at Councils and brilliant, exciting ones. It isn't about working for the Council - every Council and team within it is different. It's about the people. I wouldn't employ someone I thought wasn't a good fit, but I write the interview questions to bring out those competencies too.