Civil service applications

[Omgx]

I’ve just had feedback from a civil service application, I found it a bit bizarre in many ways.

I seemed to do well in the test (84%, 73%) but these were only to get through to the next stage.

The essential criteria was really really brief, it was hard to go beyond and sell myself- particularly as it’s pretty sort the box you can write in.

I scored 4, I just don’t know how to raise this if I apply again. I gave evidence clearly meeting it in more than one way. I was clear about impact, not just writing what I did. It was so brief though.

For those who’ve got through it, any tips?

Following as I am just about to apply for a civil service job.

What do you mean the box was pretty short? Was there a word count?

For civil service applications you need to give specific examples. You can’t just say eg “I have managed communications campaigns for 5 years”, you need to describe a specific campaign.

You’re going to need to provide a bit more information for anyone to be able to help. There are lots of different professions and grades in the civil service and not all applications are the same.

What kind of role and grade did you apply for? Advice will be different whether it’s an EO role in ops or a G7 in policy, for example.

What did you have to write - a personal statement evidencing how many essential criteria and to what word count? And/or behaviour statements? As the previous poster said, what do you mean about the ‘box’ being short - presumably there was a word count either on the screen or in the advert?

Civil service applications are scored on the things you are asked for in the advert. You need to follow instructions and do what you are asked for, not try to ‘go beyond’ and answer things you haven’t been asked for.

“I gave evidence clearly meeting it in more than one way”

What do you mean by ‘it’?

Jac Williams does lots of videos on Youtube about how to do CS applications- both the forms and interviews. Well worth a watch.

You also need to have read all the guidance, for example https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles/success-profiles-civil-service-behaviours - this explains how they define each behaviour and what they are looking for at each grade. https://defradigital.blog.gov.uk/2023/04/14/how-to-improve-civil-service-job-applications-and-ace-your-interviews/

Think about STAR technique in how you answer questions. They are not looking for you just to state that you have the relevant experience but for concrete examples.

The boxes for each answer should have a word limit. You don't need to fit your answer into the visible bit of box, if you see what I mean.

Follow STAR. But also it is subjective. One application will grade you a 4. Another a 6 for the same example.

Thanks, it was a single box for a statement.
A pretty tight word count with it. The whole application seemed so brief.

About 5 broad essential criteria to work with. It just didn’t feel like there was much to work with. For example one was ‘experience working in xxxxx’. I have extensive experience, I detailed as well as clearly stating the developments I led and their impact. Beyond ‘working in’.

It felt pretty simple to meet the criteria, they weren’t detailed. Obviously I did to the ‘acceptable’ level, but I didn’t feel there was much guidance on being a strong candidate.

Just one box to type in a statement and one for work history

I’ve actually had a follow up email. Due to the amount of applications they were only scored on the CV (mine was 4). So I’m not even sure from that my statement was taken into account, so maybe it’s not what I wrote in that

’Thank you for your interest in this vacancy.
Due to a high volume of applications received for this role, the minimum score required to progress onto the next stage was raised to 6 on this occasion.

Additionally, applicants were only assessed on how their CV matched the Essential Criteria.’

@Omgx sorry to say not unusual at the moment for sifts to be done solely on CV's. It's why you should always specifically tailor a CV to an application in the Civil Service although it is frankly ridiculously time consuming.

I said on another thread the other day, but I've hired for three roles recently - these were open X-WH (so existing civil servants only), at three different grades (6, SEO, EO). I had at least 50 applications for each role. We sifted based on CV to cut down to 20, anyone below a 6 didn't make it past that initial sift. It's the only way to do it, otherwise it just takes up too much time.

I also know people being rejected recently with scores like 6,6,5 (CV, statement and competency). I've never known anything like it - the job market at the moment is brutal and people will take anything😞

It’s completely maddening and seems designed to keep outsiders out. I was a CS many years ago and have built my career, qualifications and experience significantly since then. I recently applied for a CS role it would be hard to be better qualified for. Didn’t get an interview. Feedback was that due to high volume of applications, of the three written elements (CV, ‘prior experience’ and personal statement’), they had only considered the PS. I had referred to my CV and my prior experience in my PS, but as a standalone document, things would have seemed less strongly evidenced.

My daughter had a similar experience where they raised the bar to 6 on one of the behaviours.

Surely at the start of the process they know what they will prioritise in the event of a lot of applications. Just tell people at the outset. For all the box ticking non-bias talk, this basic lack of transparency is disappointing.

Yes, my statement enhanced my CV- how it was relevant and the impact. CV alone didn’t really do justice to my application. I invested most time into a statement!

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