Civil servant interview!!

Cheeseandchutney · 2021-08-18T14:46:32+00:00

I have an interview for a civil servant position next week. I REALLY want the job. It sounds so interesting and would make a big difference to my family money wise. It's for the MOJ. Any tips or advice please??

MrsSquirrel · 18/08/2021 18:03

Prepare as much as possible. Do you know about the STAR method? Your answers should be in STAR format.

languagelover96 · 19/08/2021 11:07

This is my advice. Go to your local library and find some good books on interview preparation. Also practice with a friend or family member in advance so you feel better and get feedback afterwards. Focus on your skills and qualities during the mock and real interviews.

Make sure you look decent, no alcohol and have brushed your hair and teeth too. Smile at the interviewer occasionally in addition and relax. Print off one copy of your CV to refer to during the interview on the day. Arrive in time in case. Find out about train times and so on beforehand, check online etc. Fill out any paperwork correctly.

SuperheroBirds · 19/08/2021 13:08

Read the job advert carefully. All Civil Service jobs normally list the things you be assessed against. The “behaviours” are you examples that should be given in the STAR format. Each behaviour should be one specific example not a broad generalism.
If it says they will also interview on strengths, they don’t normally tell you which strengths. They will be “rapid fire” questions along the lines of “do you agree that all problems should be approached the same way?”. With these, the trick is to be enthusiastic. The top scores can only be given if you seem positively engaged - smile, move your hands, be expressive, etc.

eleanorsos · 19/08/2021 13:19

Good luck OP.

I work in CS and have interviewed and been interviewed lots. They run on 'success profiles' now so I would suggest really getting your head around them - all the detail is here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles

They will have listed key 'behaviours' and 'strengths' in the job ad that are key to the role. Be prepared with as many examples as you can that demonstrate each of those qualities - as a PP says using the 'STAR' format will help you score highly. So give the situation, the task you were faced with, the action you took and the result of that action. Be prepared to adapt your examples to the question - lots of them will be along the lines of 'Give me an example of a time when.....'

They'll score each 'behaviour' and use that to compare candidates. And whatever happens ask for feedback, they will usually have it and it can be really helpful.

Hope it goes well and happy to answer any other questions

SusieSusieSoo · 19/08/2021 13:27

Agree with pp. very important to give star answers to q's. The job profile will tell you what's being assessed. The success profiles information linked above is quite odd in my view but you need to read it really carefully so you understand exactly what's being asked. The strengths q's are very odd in my view but still need to ask them & they are really important too. Good luck!

user97495 · 19/08/2021 16:23

Don't go for the STAR format for strength based questions though, that's not what they're designed for and you won't have time, a strength based question should be answered in 2 mins. It should be a natural response with some evidence but you don't need to talk the evidence through as a STAR. They should make it clear whether you are in a strength based section or behaviours (the latter of which you absolutely do STAR).

If you go back to the job advert it should tell you how they will be assessing you to see if strength based questions will be included.

jclm · 19/08/2021 16:27

Agree with pp above.
In addition, for some jobs, there are technical requirements. Are you going for a general policy job or is the job part of a particular profession?

Fivefourthreetwo · 19/08/2021 16:36

I've name changed for this for obvious reasons
I work for the MoJ and regularly interview. What grade/role are you applying for?

friskybivalves · 19/08/2021 16:37

And weirdly, one's instinct is to portray oneself as a team player - 'we did this, and the outcome was that such and such happened.' But the interviewers will want to know what you did that made the difference in an awkward situation. So not 'We' but 'I was asked to complete three projects by three different managers all with competing deadlines. I used my initiative to triage each commission, going back to the relevant team leader to assess the real urgency of their request and making sure my boss was aware of the situation at all times'. It feels unnatural but you have to blow your own trumpet in short sharp bullet points. (To mix metaphors)

Herewiththepopcorn · 20/08/2021 23:42

I had an interview for a CS job earlier in the week and found out I got it today!

Look at the behaviours and the technical skills listed in the advert, think of a scenario for each and work it into a STAR method like others have said, for a scenario that didn’t relate to the job I was going for I mentioned how the skills I learned from the particular scenario can be transferred into the position I was going for and they said they really liked that! So think STAR with an additional bit for skills.

Also if they don’t phrase the interview question as ‘tell me about a time when you displayed this behaviour….’ You can say ‘does this question cover off x behaviour’ so that you know you’re covering off the right thing

Also always I never we

Hope this helps! Good luck!!

Ginflinger · 20/08/2021 23:49

Keep in mind that hiring people to CS is really painful - if you have got to interview stage, they will most probably really want to hire you and will really be on your side, wanting you to do well and succeed. Good luck!

Thesaltandthesea · 15/09/2021 22:47

@Ginflinger

Keep in mind that hiring people to CS is really painful - if you have got to interview stage, they will most probably really want to hire you and will really be on your side, wanting you to do well and succeed. Good luck!

This is good to know as I too have a CS interview next week and really really want the job.

How did you get on OP? Any advice?!

IamJuliaJohnson · 15/09/2021 22:52

I would agree with the above and I would also say that if the interview feels really awful it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing badly. I left what I thought was a really terrible interview to be offered my choice of four roles once!

Nat6999 · 15/09/2021 23:16

Write bullet point cards for each example you gave on your application & if possible for one other example for each category, not the whole thing but brief pointers to help you if you use your thread. Have they said if it is an interview board or just one person interviewing? Which department are you applying for & what grade?

Thesaltandthesea · 15/09/2021 23:50

@Nat6999

Write bullet point cards for each example you gave on your application & if possible for one other example for each category, not the whole thing but brief pointers to help you if you use your thread. Have they said if it is an interview board or just one person interviewing? Which department are you applying for & what grade?

It's a HEO role with HMRC if that helps.

Bullet points on cards is a great idea - particularly for STAR questions. Thanks

Nat6999 · 16/09/2021 00:17

I'm ex HMRC, you are lucky they are recruiting, they have got rid of 2/3 of staff, there aren't many offices now, just processing factories.

ssd · 16/09/2021 10:42

Good luck

russetbella1000 · 19/10/2021 22:57

Just wondering how you get to know what your score is from civil service interviews? I got an offer but have no idea where this information is.

Ilikewinter · 20/10/2021 07:53

Sign into the job portal and goto applications, the job you applied for will be there and then click on review. You can see your feedback which will include the scores.

russetbella1000 · 24/10/2021 19:44

Hi @Ilikewinter, when I go to my portal I can go into review status, review communications and review description but nowhere seems to show me 'results'? Any idea where they might be?