Applying for a job in police - behavioural competencies

[PsGirl]

Can anyone please help with this?

I understand I have to provide written evidence about the following:

• we take ownership
• we are collaborative
• we deliver, support and inspire
• we analyse critically
• we are innovative and open minded.

So is the written evidence in relation to current role. Just a bit unsure? Has anyone done this recently?

I haven't done these for the police (and always find this sort of form a bit irritating) so I'm no expert but would say:

we take ownership

• show where you have been responsible for something - been independent in your approach

we are collaborative

• show examples of where you have worked with others in a team and note how you contributed/supported/encouraged the group towards a good outcome.

we deliver, support and inspire

• Show examples of success in your present role and how it was or could be used to help lead others to similar success

we analyse critically

• show that you are reflective about things you have done and that you can pick out the essential matters - whether good or bad - in order to learn for next time

we are innovative and open minded.
-Show that you have been imaginative in your approach to challenges and have fresh ideas. Show that you are willing to adapt to new things

Hi @PsGirl did you not receive any guidance? Usually there are indicators to accompany each area, so for example where @1Wildheartsease has written a bit more under each area, there will be indicators to meet.

You need to make sure you can give specific examples for each area about a job you're doing now (or have done very recently, ideally). Use the STAR framework if you can (situation, task, action, result).

An important thing to consider is always talk about what you have done rather than what your team did. Always write I rather than we. I've done these for civil service in the past, and there, you wouldn't score the point if you hadn't been clear about your personal involvement in a situation. I expect the police would be similar in that regard.

Best of luck!

Thanks for replies. It seems all the jobs advertised within the force have this same requirement. I did look on the guidance but it didn't seem that clear. I thought that is what it meant but I just wanted to make sure.
It says the limit is 500 words for each piece so should I try and aim for that or will it matter a lot if it's a bit shorter?

Complete change from my current job but I need a challenge!

Yes there examples of what you have in terms of experience or done in real life at the interview you will probably be asked for examples of these in your current role or general life. I have applied for police job before and printed off all the forms which were helpful but confusing. Take time to read through them all and use the buzz words as you can in your application. I took a lot of time to do my application but when you apply again it's there ready to copy and paste for another role if you applied for something else in the force. I got an interview then they withdrew the role due to budget cuts but I wrote it off as experience as been in the same job for 20 years good luck

I've had to do one of these last year. I quite like them. But I guess I'm used to them because they've be using them for about 15 years in our force.

Your examples can be from anywhere, so your current job, a previous job or if you volunteer, help out with a social group etc. You can also use examples from your personal life, but I generally avoid that (although I did mention being put at risk of redundancy while pregnant in a section about handling change well!).

Is there a personal specification or job description attached for the role at all? On ours they have a person spec which lists the competencies for the role and then gives more detailed points about what is required. I find that a lot more useful than just the summary 'take ownership' etc.

If you have any questions, let me know and I'll help where I can. What kind of role is it?

My force uses the STAR method for answers too- Situation, Task, Action, Result I would imagine they're all the same as it's a standardised application. You basically need to describe what happened what you did and the result. Doesn't have to be exactly in 500 words but if you follow STAR you'll probably find your about right.
Good luck, if it's PC you're applying for it's the best job in the world!!!

What role are you applying for?

Have a look on the college of policing website, there's a really useful document called 'Competency and values framework for policing', it kind of breaks down each point and give examples of the behaviours. So for competency 'We are collaborative', example it give of the behaviour is 'I work cooperatively with others to get things done, willingly giving help and support to colleagues' so think of a situation where you can demonstrate doing that. As others have said above, use the STAR method to answer.

There should be a framework for you to follow within the guidance, normally a link you click through to, that should explain the requirements, if they say 500 words, you should stick as close to that as you can.

@Fatted it's a counter terrorism security advisor role.

I'm in the process of writing up my competencies now.

Is there anyone willing to have a look over this for me once it's done please?

@PsGirl ooh! Good luck!

I've got to analyse critically and really am stumped on this one 😕

Hi @PsGirl has there ever been a time when you've had a situation where there have been options to consider and you've had to pick the best one? That's the kind of thing I would cover for critical analysis. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each option, weigh them up and justify which one is best.
That's just my best guess though; the guidance should give you the framework or the indicators for that section which will explain it a lot better.

In general, if the indicator is eg taking ownership, be sure to use that word to make things really clear. As a previous poster has said, try to use words like collaborate, valuing diversity and that sort of thing. If you have relevant experience to apply for that role, you'll know the sort of thing to cover I'm sure.