Re. DWP Online Test For AO

heathertheblether · 12 August 2011 at 10:30AM

Also remember it is I, I, I - not we, we, we! They don't want to know what anyone else did - only YOU!

rockyrach · 12 August 2011 at 10:42AM

Thanks so much heather!

Ahh i am really scared!

I think I have the customer service one covered. But the implementing change and helping a collegue I am stuck with.

I hope you done well in yours. Now you can relax!

SilverCloud_2 · 12 August 2011 at 12:03PM

heathertheblether wrote: »

Thats me just back from the interview - having a coffee and a fag to recover! It took about half an hour for them to trawl through the paperwork, then I was taken upstairs to a room, where the interviewers were waiting - one man and one woman. They were very nice and tried their best to put me at ease. They explained fully about the interview and then asked two questions each, based on the four competencies:-
Describe a time when you helped a colleague in the course of your work;
Describe a time when you gave excellent customer service;
Tell us about a situation when you had to introduce change and how you went about implementing it and what the results were;
During the course of providing customer service, tell us about one customer who needed your help and how you achieved this.

If you haven't given them enough of the information they need, they will prompt you with a more direct question.

It took about half an hour, then downstairs to complete disclosure form.

That was it! I am sure I fouled it up as I got stuck for words a couple of times when my mind went blank!

Good Luck to you - let me know how you get on!!!

Thanks for telling us your questions. But arent both of those ive put in bold based on the same competency? delivering a customer focused service?

heathertheblether · 12 August 2011 at 12:12PM

SilverCloud wrote: »

Thanks for telling us your questions. But arent both of those ive put in bold based on the same competency? delivering a customer focused service?

Yes they do seem to be similar, don't they? For the second one they wanted more of a one-to-one viewpoint, rather than a generalisation, I guess. Those were just the two interviewers that I got - there were six interviews going on at the same time with different folk. I suppose they all have their own ways of asking the questions, so as to get the response they are after. Hey-ho - just the endless waiting now! :eek:

SilverCloud_2 · 12 August 2011 at 12:15PM

heathertheblether wrote: »

Yes they do seem to be similar, don't they? For the second one they wanted more of a one-to-one viewpoint, rather than a generalisation, I guess. Those were just the two interviewers that I got - there were six interviews going on at the same time with different folk. I suppose they all have their own ways of asking the questions, so as to get the response they are after. Hey-ho - just the endless waiting now! :eek:

Atleast your interview is over with

, mine is this sunday and im scared now! I found a thread from 2 years ago with questions people had on and ive prepared for them, but seeing the questions you got asked makes me think they have changed the questions alot since then.

What were you competencies if you dont mind me asking?

heathertheblether · 12 August 2011 at 12:24PM

Follow the advice in the posts from a couple of years ago, and you won't go far wrong. I was interviewed then too and they are basically looking for the same kind of stuff. This interview was for a contact centre position, so the questions were geared towards that. The competencies were:
Delivering a Professional service, delivering a customer focused service, analysing improving and changing and building capability.

Good luck with your interview on Sunday! I am sure you will do very well and REMEMBER it's What YOU did, not someone else. They are sticklers for that. They make notes the whole time you are speaking, which is a little disconcerting to begin with, but you quickly forget about that!

SilverCloud_2 · 12 August 2011 at 1:02PM

Thanks for your advice :]

Yes i can imagine being a bit distracted by the notemaking! I'm just trying to think of an answer to the question about implementing change which im struggling with, hopefully something will pop into my head soon.

tupac662 · 12 August 2011 at 3:09PM

Thanks a lot Heather!
I'm hoping to do 2 or 3 mock interviews before my interview next Sunday, based on the questions they asked you.
Much appreciated and do let us know once you've been offered the job.

rockyrach · 12 August 2011 at 4:26PM

Hi everyone!

Well I had my interview at 12.30.

My questions were: A time where I gave excellent customer service
A time where I implemented change to improve performance
A time where I supported a colleague.
I can't actually remember the last one but it was similar to supporting a colleague.

The interviewers were really nice and helped you relax a bit. However there were tons of people being interviewed so don't know what the chances are of getting a position.

heathertheblether · 12 August 2011 at 4:46PM

Hi there!

Same kind of questions, basically, just worded slightly differently. How do you think you did? Better than me, I hope! I had practiced zillions of scenarios and when the time came, I found it hard to apply them to the questions because I was so nervous! In retrospect, I should have taken a few notes to jog my memory. Notes are allowed, so to all who have still to attend their interviews, I think taking some notes would help you not to flounder the way I did (unless you are super-confident)!

Yes, there were loads of folk being interviewed. I got a glance at the appointment sheets - enough for a small book! Still, there are 70 positions available, so there is still hope!

Re. DWP Online Test For AO

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