job rejection

[cutieee]

hiya i just applied to a new job within civil service, i got rejected after completing the test. the feedback has informed me that i scored better than 28% of test takers. i’m quite upset i don’t really know what to do 😞

See where you went wrong and try again another time?

I’ve been rejected for jobs loads of times and that’s all you can do really.

Ask for feedback and work on your weak areas ready for the next job. Not really much more you can do.

Did you know on the test where you were going wrong? If not, I'd look at revising the skills the test covered in general.

it’s a bit difficult with the civil service roles it doesn’t inform which questions i got wrong rather it tells me i was below average. it wasn’t a high grade role it was a customer service for hmrc

It might also have been a very high scoring test. For instance, if everyone got between 80 and 90% on it, it would only be a few percent difference for you to be in the bottom third.

not really, but i have decided to email recruitment if there is anything i can do to improve for next time. they do have these roles advertised quite regularly with a large availability.

possibly i wish they would give a bit more feedback tbh

Was it a written/verbal reasoning test? I hate them, much prefer numerical ones.

There are a few sites where you can practice free reasoning tests.

The upside is that sometimes you can have a banked score with civil service. I scored really high on a numeracy test so when I applied for equivalent grade or job spec jobs I didn't need to sit the test again they just used my previous score.

it was the Customer Service Skills Test it was multiple choice questions. thank God this one wasn’t banked. could you link those sites, it’s a dream of mine to work in civil service i do want to be prepared for next time! the role in question wasn’t high grade i feel daft tbh i didn’t really know how to prepare

Have you read this? www.gov.uk/guidance/preparing-for-the-customer-service-skills-test

Ah I used it for numerical testing.

PP above has linked the gov site and there is a practice on there. I just attempted it. I think that they are just looking for your gut reaction to common issues so I tried not to overthink it.

Civil service can be a hard slog. I ended up on about 7 different reserve lists until an HEO post opened up. I started in May and have just been promoted to SEO on a temp basis so progression can happen really quickly once you get your foot in the door.