Civil service open recruitment

[Frizzbeol]

Can anyone offer advice please? I'm a long serving civil servant who has been working at the next grade up for just under a year on temporary promotion. The promotion has been extended several times as i have been considered to be doing the job well and was assessed as 'good' at my end year staff aplraisal at the higher grade. My role along with several others at this grade (HEO for anyone who is aware) has recently gone out for open recruitment and I applied. My line manager told me today that I didn't make it through the sift stage and won't be offered an interview - for a job i have been doing for a year. The sift was done on one competency and my example was based on one of the key duties of the HEO role i am currently doing. My question is how much of a duty of care does my department have to give me a fair crack at getting the job as an existing employee with the relevant experience against having a fair and open recruitment process to those not already in the civil service. Would really appreciate any other perspectives on this.

Your department does not have a duty of care in terms of pushing you forward. They don't own or manage your career. However they and the recruiting department should ensure the process for candidate selection is objective and fairly run. They should also ensure (and it is in their best interests so to do) to ensure that unsuccessful candidates are given well-communicated specific feedback to help them the next time, otherwise people like you end up feeling demotivated and indeed cheated especially if you are already performing the role and have been getting positive feedback.

My line manager told me today that I didn't make it through the sift stage and won't be offered an interview - for a job i have been doing for a year

So, did your manager just say this, or did they give you clear and specific indication of why you didn't make the cut in this occasion? Just saying you won't get and interview but no reason why is an unhelpful way to break the news.

How awful for you (ex-Civil Servant) so totally understand your pain! What a ridiculous system this is, I never had much success 'getting through sifts' even though, like you, I was quite capable doing the job. I ended up leaving after 6 years!

Thank you both for your replies. Is it a ridiculous system and fundamentally unjust to anyone in similar circumstances to me. I've spoken to my line manager and asked for my experience to be acknowledged. Best i can hope for. Where did you end up Tink if you dont mind me asking? Difficult to imagine anything else as well and truly institutionalised now I think!

Fortunately, I managed to get a role working on a project alongside the Civil Service, i felt a little unsure leaving, but am happy with my decision and am a good equivalent level without any LM/Reporting Officer responsibilities, people (including me) have been overlooked in my place, when they are more than capable. It will be an interesting time when those going for a level transfer have to retake the selection test which has just been introduced - I know many who attained C2 15 yrs plus ago that probably wouldn't second time around! I am sure you are not 'institutionalised', believe me, I work with some who definitely fit that description. Good luck 😀

Traditional competency based applications are being phased out for something worse. There is always standard setting by the panel and if you submit the same example for more than one application you will find that you often score differently as each panel sets their standards differently. As an HEO you know there is no duty to you as far as promotions are concerned however a half decent line manager would have helped you once you approached them. Get yourself a mentor off the website and apply for a better job.

Believe me the grass isn't greener elsewhere - industry is no different in terms of its recruitment methods, most particularly if you are already in the organisation and try for an internal promotion. You can get passed over, you can get rejected even if you have excellent skills purely because your "face doesn't fit", discrimination can happen ie someone on Mat Leave can get passed over for promotion in favour of a man - all these injustices happen no matter which organisation you work in.

Seek support from your LM, keep trying until you get the job you want, and don't let these barriers dampen your enthusiasm to make a positive change in your career. At least you know it isn't personal, we've all experienced seemingly 'unfair' decisions made! There are always winners and losers, I'm afraid.

Do try to get good quality feedback to help you next time round.

I have seen this a few times. An internal person might help fill a temporary stop gap but they aren't the right person (yet) longer term. There is absolutely no duty of care or other obligation but you might be able to use it as leverage to get more training and you can certainly use it in future job rounds as proof.
Ask them why you didn't get the tile with a view to finding out what training areas you should follow.
I know it feels shit but don't let the feeling fester and become a grudge.

Role not tile.
My Dh had this. Now promoted and loving his job. Took a while. As in a couple of years.

There's an obligation in the CS to have free and fair recruitment. Which means the people doing the recruitment have to say up front have to say how they are going to decide who is the best person for the job and stick to that- no other info (like whether someone has been doing the job) can come into play. It also has to be a level playing field, so no setting criteria that only one person could meet. We get audited and have to provide evidence of how we have complied with the principle of free and fair recruitment.

Learning how to be successful in recruitment exercises (eg writing competencies) is a really key skill to help you progress. If you can volunteer to get involved in a recruitment for a lower grade then that will give you a good insight. As around to find out if there is someone willing to coach you. I do this and have even had people of a higher grade come to me for help with their forms.

Lastly, although this must be absolutely aweful for you, think about how you are coming across when dealing with this setback. I know someone who is going through this sort of thing. They are currently causing no end of disruption, insisting that their experience be taken into account when there is no way it can be and stirring their team up against the candidates who were successful. They are doing their reputation a LOT of damage as their behaviour is completely unprofessional, especially as it is a management role they were after. As one of the SLT commented- theor behaviour at being rejected clearly shows they weren't ready for the role longer term and the recruitment processes picked that up.

In my CS experience, those who dust themselves off from a recruitment setback and start again developing new skills do better (and more quickly) than those who grumble loudly in public.
Grumble in private by all means but keep it really private.

I've seen this happen a few times. They can't promote you permanently without opening the role to fair and open competition. And they can't take your previous experience into account if it's a competency based process, it's all about what was in your application. So I don't think they've done anything wrong.

Having said that, it sounds like your line manager is a bit rubbish. Any decent line manager would surely help you to write your competency examples (maybe not directly but they'd have helped you find a mentor/coach who could advise) to give you the best chance possible of getting to interview. And they'd have given you decent feedback on why you didn't make it through the sift.

I understand how frustrating this must be but as others have said there's nothing to be gained from complaining about it, if I were you I'd find a supportive mentor, brush up your competencies and apply for jobs on promotion elsewhere.

Thanks for your replies and for the advice, particularly showing resilience and not complaining too loudly. Its just such a faceless, autocratic system that i guess i feel someone should acknowledge when the process does has these effects. Although i've been in the CS for a long time I'm new to the process of trying to move up. I am feeling a bit better today so your points have been very helpful and will be taken on board. Thanks