Civil Service - How To Prepare For Civil Service Interviews - Your Questions Answered Part 2

[@phyllidaacworth5212]

Thanks for your videos. I have watched a few about civil service interviews and interview nerves. I have been a civil servant for nearly 20 years and can certainly confirm the 'tell me about a time when you...' is still the predominant question style for success profile based interviews. I haven't come across strength based questions or the civil service strength dictionary. I have an interview on Monday and am very nervous and I was interested that you don't recommend doing a lot of writing or trying to learn scripts. I have been doing both and only stopped writing yesterday. I have read through what I have written today and will probably go through it again tomorrow. I had a practice interview on Wednesday and I was encouraged to find I could answer questions without relying on the scripts I have written because I know I won't be able to memorise them by Monday. But I have got to remember to use the STAR format when answering. Any tips on the best use of my time for the rest of the weekend?

[@interviewskillsclinic]

Good luck with your interview today. It sounds like you are taking the right approach by not scripting or learning your answers. Still try and keep to the STAR stucture as it will help you to focus on you, what you did and how you did it.

[@heatherbaguley9298]

Hello I’m preparing for a return to the Probation Service. This has been helpful - knowing how to prepare is key and finding examples that will flow in success style interviews is proving challenging. Do you have any advise on pinpointing examples

[@hanabliss9534]

I am in the stage 1 for interview, it is presentation & group discussion exercise via Teams and it's mentioned that " Applicants will be observed and assessed on how they perform during the discussion, how they interact with others, reasoning, judgement, adaptability and their behaviour, as outlined in the Communicating & Influencing Success Profile" any advice?

[@interviewskillsclinic]

Good luck with the group discussion and presentation. The recruiters have been very transparent about how they are assessing you. For group exercises you will be assess to work well in a team and for the presentation you are being assesses on your communication and influencing skills. Read the Behaviour profiles but a lot of the criteria is common sense. To work well in a team, you have to listen, engage actively with others and participate in the discussion. For the presentation, you need to answer the presentation question and be clear, well strucutured, timely and engaging.

[@evgeniyadancer8784]

Thank you so much for publishing these videos. I find them really helpful. Just a quick question: if it says on the job description that at interview they will be assessing Behaviours and Experience, should the answers be structured using the STAR format? Many thanks in advance for your answer ❤️

[@interviewskillsclinic]

Yes if you have a Civil Service interview which mentions key Behaviours in the job specification, then you need to prepare STAR example to answer questiosn on the Behaviours. Good luck with the interview

[@interviewskillsclinic]

Hi Heather, choose you most relevant examples for each Behaviour but focus on your most recent challenging examples. Example more than 5 years ago are often seen as dated and it is more difficult to remember the details. Sometimes, we have to draw on more than one role so that the examples don't sound very similar, it depends on what you do. Good luck. Elizabeth

[@adam_meek]

I've been informed: _There is no expectation or requirement for you to prepare for the strengths-based questions in advance of the interview_

[@interviewskillsclinic]

Adam, you'll often be told that you don't need to prepare for Strength questions because the idea is that if they are natural strengths of yours you'll be able to answer fluently, up to two minutes with lots of anecdotes. After coaching thousands of clients for Strength questions at all levels, everyone finds preparation and practice is essential to do well.

[@adam_meek]

@@interviewskillsclinic thank you!

[@andrewrose838]

Hi i have an interview coming up and i will be assessed on the below, will they include strength questions as well? Interview: There is one interview stage for this vacancy and as part of the interview process you will be required to provide evidence of the following: Behaviours • Making Effective Decisions • Changing and Improving • Managing a Quality Service • Delivering at Pace Experience • You will also be assessed on experience relevant to the job description.

[@interviewskillsclinic]

Hello Andrew, there should be a paragraph under the job specification which say specifically how you will be assessed. It normally says something like, ' your interview will be assessed using the Civil Service Success Profiles framework.' And then it will tell you whether you are being assessed on Behaviours, Technical, Strength, Experience and Ability. From what you have sent me, it suggests that you might be assessed on Behaviours and Experience but I can't be sure without seeing the wording of that paragraph. If in doubt, I recommend that you preparae for Strengths as well. I hope your interview goes well. Elizabeth

[@shahking9653]

How did this go?