Civil Service very low application scores

[Ffssleep]

I am in the midst of relocating and have to get a new job. I have been working at my current employer for almost 8 years so I am a little out of touch with applying for jobs, but I have recently applied for two jobs with the CS and received feedback scores of 2 and 1 on my applications. I am so disappointed as I spent a long time on the applications. I have read the spec, the attached blurb on CS jobs framework, watched Youtube videos on CS job applications and interviews, read up on the STAR technique, ensured I used lots of "I" & "me" and focussed on the A & R rather than the S & T, included figures rather than general waffle in terms of evidence...where am I going wrong?! Both the roles were for EO level and reading the job spec I am more than capable of this level.

I am currently on 26k pro-rata working 4 days and these CS roles paid similar, all the other part time is pretty much minimum wage and I can't afford that. I have read that getting into the CS is a bit of an art but I really feel I have done my research an still failing.

My time for applying for jobs is extremely limited as my two children wake up for day anywhere from 4.30/5am and by the time they are in bed and all the household jobs are done it is usually 8/8.30pm by which time I am absolutely shattered and so applying for one job takes several evenings worth of focus. Any helpful hints with CS applications?!

Why not focus on the private sector instead? Civil service is very frustrating once in.

What else did the feedback say other than the scores? Do you have experience in the area relevant to that CS role?

@Ffssleep

I am in the midst of relocating and have to get a new job. I have been working at my current employer for almost 8 years so I am a little out of touch with applying for jobs, but I have recently applied for two jobs with the CS and received feedback scores of 2 and 1 on my applications. I am so disappointed as I spent a long time on the applications. I have read the spec, the attached blurb on CS jobs framework, watched Youtube videos on CS job applications and interviews, read up on the STAR technique, ensured I used lots of "I" & "me" and focussed on the A & R rather than the S & T, included figures rather than general waffle in terms of evidence...where am I going wrong?! Both the roles were for EO level and reading the job spec I am more than capable of this level.

I am currently on 26k pro-rata working 4 days and these CS roles paid similar, all the other part time is pretty much minimum wage and I can't afford that. I have read that getting into the CS is a bit of an art but I really feel I have done my research an still failing.

My time for applying for jobs is extremely limited as my two children wake up for day anywhere from 4.30/5am and by the time they are in bed and all the household jobs are done it is usually 8/8.30pm by which time I am absolutely shattered and so applying for one job takes several evenings worth of focus. Any helpful hints with CS applications?!

One of my closest friends is considered one of the best analysts in her field. She applied for a CS role at her level and within her experience level and also kept getting low scores - then she applied for a more senior one and got it. Feedback after she got the job was that the hiring manager felt she would find leadership more interesting. So it you like the area then apply for slightly more junior and senior positions too.

Are you actually matching the indicators on the behaviour/competency?

It sounds silly but you’d be surprised how many people don’t.

Hmm. Do your examples tick all the relevant lines of each behaviour and do they demonstrate initiative/leadership? And do you explain clearly what you did and why it was important?

Are you sure your examples are actually evidencing the behaviours? To get those scores consistently is an indication of some sort of issue with your approach.

Happy to offer some assistance if you’d like to PM them to me. I’m an experienced CS recruiter.

I do a lot of recruiting within the civil service. To score 1 or 2, typically the applicant would not have given one specific example, and instead talked generally. For example “I work in a fast paced environment and have delivered a project saving the company £200k. I also mentor people and have led a team of 40. I have implemented a new IT system to provide better quality service.” Each of those might be a good behaviour in their own right, but trying to get them all into one example will never work. It needs to be one single example of something with specific details of what you did.

Alternatively, low scores may be because the example is something completely irrelevant or low level. For example, I had some use the example of pasting something into excel as an example for changing and improving.

As someone else said, make sure it is relevant to the description and indicators for the requested behaviour.

Definitely worth getting feedback from someone inside the CS and I see a pp has offered.

To get 1 and 2 then I think there is something wrong. Either way too general or not ties to the behaviours. That's where I give those low sorts of scores.

Or in some cases where it's an awful example. Like the candidate who when asked about making good decisions said that he'd visited a staff member in hospital to give them a warning letter for attendance but they'd unfortunately died before the attendance meeting could take place . I gave him a 1 as HR said a 0 wasn't allowed.....

I’ve joined the civil service in the last 8 months or so and went through one interview where I didn’t get offered a role and two (both higher) where I did. Sounds like you are doing all the right things on paper Ito focusing on the core behaviours, what you personally added alongside star format : have you had any feedback alongside your numbers? If not I’d maybe suggest asking if they can provide any. As others have said I’d guess you’re either being too broad or possibly not giving enough detail in your answers. I found that I had to squeeze each example dry and talk about stuff I really thought wasn’t of value ;-)

Writing behaviour examples is a real art, and you really need someone to read them for you and help you shape them. I have been sifting today and it is really surprising that even current civil servants are bad at writing examples and fail to follow the requirements of what they need to do to demonstrate the behaviour. If you don't address the specific behaviour (refer to the publicly available Success Profiles booklet) then it doesn't matter how impressive your narrative is, it won't score well.

I write DH's promotion applications for the civil service and he's never failed. The key is to hit every indicator and borrow the wording from it to use in your actual phrasing. Then know it inside out for the interview.

Im sorry i know nothing about the CS. But I do know that working 16 hours a day for 7 days a week will destroy your health.

Im assuming you are a single parent with no family or friends to help you? Are you on benefits or could you buy in any help ? You must be utterly exhausted.

Why not focus on the private sector instead?
Honestly this. If you find the recruitment practices baffling and frustrating imagine what it's like to work there! I judge any employer that expects hundreds of applicants to spend hours on an application for a role where a CV would be adequate for an initial sift, it demonstrates a very decadent attitude to resources.

I judge any employer that expects hundreds of applicants to spend hours on an application for a role where a CV would be adequate for an initial sift

Once you know your way around the CS process it doesn't take hours, my current G7 job I spent less than an hour on the application and did no interview prep. I know it's hard to get your head around it as an external applicant (my first CS job I spent hooouurs as I didn't understand it), but as soon as I did I got multiple interviews and job offers. It's then easier if you're doing multiple CS applications for the next jump.