Civil Service applications

[Whycantiwinmillionsandsquillions]

Hi,
Not sure if this is the right place to post but I’m hoping for some advice.
I’ve applied for a couple of jobs through the civil service and haven’t been successful with my applications.
I’m hoping someone could give me sone advice.
I’m completing the application forms and tailoring them to give examples of how I meet the essential experience.
So for example I’m trying to use the STAR method and trying to give one example.
eg must be a team player. I’ve used an example of when I have demonstarted this.
So far I’ve not had any success.
Do I need to also write about the specific job specification.
Example; working in X department is flexible and carefree. Do I need to state that I too am flexible and carefree?
I hope someone can advise me.
Thanks.

I would love to hear some advice on this too.

Yes for one of the roles I have had lots of specific experience but in the private sector.
The advert talks about lead criteria and ‘sifting.’
I think I need help on writing the right thing if that makes sense.
For the job I do now, I failed the interview the first time. The panel were looking for quite specific phrases.
It’s a minefield if you don’t know the specific things to write or say.

What scores are you getting? I've been on the panel for a couple of jobs recently and they've both had a large number of applications, so we've only interviewed the top 7 or 8 - even if others have technically 'passed' the mark.

Secondly, are you really emphasising what YOU did, not the team, but YOU.

What grade are you trying to get? That will help give a bit more tailored advice.

Yes, for CS jobs it’s good to use the STAR format but also to show how your experience might impact you in the role - so what did you learn from the experience and what would you do differently or the same in this role. Make sure you’re very familiar with the behaviour in the Success Profiles and use those as the basis for writing your answers - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5b27cf2240f0b634b469fb1a/CS_Behaviours_2018.pdf

What grade roles/kind of roles are you applying for?

Civil service applications are a job in themselves, I hate writing behaviour statements (seasoned civil servant!)

I would add that you should tailor your STAR examples to match the person specification as much as possible, to prove you are a good fit for the job.

Apply to lots, it can take time. Good luck 🍀

(In your personal statement)

Thanks for the replies. So it’s mainly entry level EO, one was the level above that.
All of them have said that they received lots of applications and it has taken them weeks to get back to me ( this might be normal?)
They haven’t given me scores, just said that I didn’t meet the benchmark requirements.
I have used I instead of the team because I was advised to do that, to make sure I showed what I did and not the team.

ToiletTroubles thank you. I’ve been tailoring my statements towards the experience listed rather than personal specification so that does make sense.
It’s very time consuming!

When they say you haven’t met the benchmark requirements, do you know exactly what that is? I’m not familiar with what it would mean.

I feel for you, they’re really time consuming!!

Which department are you applying to?

EO trawls are getting tonnes of applications these days so it might be that, especially in the core operational depts like HMRC and DWP.

Civil service recruitment is notoriously slow!

You need to include detail on the actions you took. The panel needs to understand exactly what you did in the example you are giving . People often waste too many of the 250 words on generic background info. Ensure the example meets the expected success profile criteria for that behaviour ( link provided a few posts up ) and make sure STAR format is used- with the bulk of your words on the A - actions. It is definitely time consuming ! But if you get it right you’ll be getting those interviews :)

Thank you.
I think I need to angle my approach differently.
That’s good advice about talking about the actions more and I’ll look more into my behaviours if I can.

Have a look for Jac Williams on YouTube. He offers great advice for entry level civil service applications.
The CS recruitment process is a skill in itself - you need to separate out each behaviour into bullet points and then make sure you address each one. Don't waste more than 10% of the word count on background info. Say what the result was and HOW you achieved it.
If you want someone to review your behaviour examples and give feedback then I'm happy to have a look for you if you PM me.

emsyj37. Thank you that’s really helpful.
Its hard to know if and how I’m missing the mark when they don’t give specific feedback.