DWP Recruiting Again - 2012

Twenty_Twenty

stargazer30 wrote: »

I would just like to say something...(trying to be as diplomatic as possible I might add)

A number of us on here have now been to interview and are trying to be as helpful as possible to those waiting to be interviewed.

Myself and others have answered questions as much as possible, but I think it is unfair to ask for specific questions (which do vary district by district) from others interviewed in your district.

I have been pm'd a number of times for specific questions I was asked, and while I am more than happy to give general guidance, I personally am not willing to give up the questions to all and sundry. It gives people an unfair advantage, and this forum is not meant to be a 'cheat sheet' q and a.

Maybe some posters will not agree with me, but I feel terrible having to reply back and say I won't give them the questions I was asked (met with a pretty aggressive reponse ), as I try to be as supportive as possible.

So, those waiting to be interviewed, please think about the position you are putting those who have been interviewed in by asking for the questions, and perhaps what you might do if the tables were turned.

Thank you

I totally agree with you and I feel that most of the posters who have had their interviews have been very helpful without actually revealing the questions. I have mine next week and shall be preparing for it as best as I can. Then Que Sara.....

sherrilou

MakemBill wrote: »

How have those of you who have received your interview scores done in comparison to your initial sift?

I had a really good sift (88887) but I'm a tad nervous as I await my interview scores. One thing that was mentioned within a brief for this process which was distributed within DWP (I have friends who sent it to me), was that they would mark your 5 competencies and also your communication skills at interview.

So far I’ve only seen 5 scores and no mention of communication skills. I assume then, that they’re building communication skills into your answers to the 5 questions.

I’ve just been reading the last few pages of posts and would just point out that there are too many people getting hung up about this interview.

The interviewers are trained to find the best in you that you have to offer. They do this with open, leading questions while treating you with courtesy. If they think you’ve got more to add with the right question, they’ll lead you. They fully understand that people have nerves and don’t want to pass a perfectly fine candidate by who may have fumbled their words but in whom they saw a spark which an additional question might ignite. Some interviewers are deadpan, others are humorous. Don’t let their demeanour put you off.

The best advice I could give is take in brief notes about your examples, not War and Peace. Write just enough to jog your memory; maybe 10 key words per competency which can direct you in telling your story. Know your main examples inside out and be confident when you describe them. Take a second example for each competency in case, but don’t get hung up if you can’t find one; or if you think it’s weak. It’s not likely that you’ll need it as they do not know what your first examples were or how they were scored. They will encourage you to use your notes but do not read from them verbatim or keep checking them constantly.

Be relaxed. Drink the water on offer…it buys you time and more importantly calms you down. Maintain eye contact with the questioner but check the writer is managing to keep up occasionally. Not that you really care; it’s just nice to remember they’re there too.

Smile a lot, stay calm and do not ramble. Take breathers between points and allow your points to sink in. There’s plenty of time for crying later if you get rejected. However, even then, remember you did great to get this far.

Good luck everyone!

Fantastic advice and post bill. If anyone takes anything from this site read this post because will keep things real and in perspective with regards to interviews and is very very true

Hope you done ok today Bill im sure you did if you followed this

Sherrilou

Lorac05

mommarat wrote: »

Well must say my situation has now become a complete joke. Just to recap originally B and S marked me all 1s which freaked me out initially but found that was ok because it's not my home district. BC then followed suit and feedback said refer to Brum for feedback who didn't give me any. Had email last week apologising for the confusion neither were my home district. I therefore thought it must be shrops/staffs marking my comps. How stupid I am! Had feedback from S/S today all 1s saying refer to Black Country for feedback. I had withdrawn from B & S. So who the hell is marking my sift they will be recruting again before I know what I have. Must just be me left now

That is just silly - have you called the recruitment line to see if they can shed any light on the subject?

Lorac05

stargazer30 wrote: »

I would just like to say something...(trying to be as diplomatic as possible I might add)

A number of us on here have now been to interview and are trying to be as helpful as possible to those waiting to be interviewed.

Myself and others have answered questions as much as possible, but I think it is unfair to ask for specific questions (which do vary district by district) from others interviewed in your district.

I have been pm'd a number of times for specific questions I was asked, and while I am more than happy to give general guidance, I personally am not willing to give up the questions to all and sundry. It gives people an unfair advantage, and this forum is not meant to be a 'cheat sheet' q and a.

Maybe some posters will not agree with me, but I feel terrible having to reply back and say I won't give them the questions I was asked (met with a pretty aggressive reponse ), as I try to be as supportive as possible.

So, those waiting to be interviewed, please think about the position you are putting those who have been interviewed in by asking for the questions, and perhaps what you might do if the tables were turned.

Thank you

I agree with you - and sorry to hear you have had some aggressive responses from some posters!! General advice is one thing - and highly appreciated I assure you. But to request you give people specific questons for your region is definitely a no-no. You did the right thing in refusing I assure you.

mommarat

Lorac05 wrote: »

That is just silly - have you called the recruitment line to see if they can shed any light on the subject?

Hi it is a bit of a joke isn't it. I have sent an email from work today cut and pasted all the responses. I am going to reply to the email I got from them on Friday to my home email box in a bit attaching shrop/staffs response I had today. I have to laugh though because how can we be judged on our competencies when they can't get this right. Just imagining my other district I have applied for and still under review will say see shrops/staffs for feedback. Lol

stargazer30

mommarat wrote: »

Hi it is a bit of a joke isn't it. I have sent an email from work today cut and pasted all the responses. I am going to reply to the email I got from them on Friday to my home email box in a bit attaching shrop/staffs response I had today. I have to laugh though because how can we be judged on our competencies when they can't get this right. Just imagining my other district I have applied for and still under review will say see shrops/staffs for feedback. Lol

A BIT OF A JOKE??? It's a downright mess - I've been following your progress through the thread, and it's awful that they just can't seem to get their act together - it wreaks havoc with the mind and causes sleepless nights (at least it would for me - I had nightmares just waiting for comp scores that never came to fruition!).

I REALLY hope you hear something positive from them soon - fingers and toes crossed for you.

vindallou

MakemBill wrote: »

Hi Vindallou,

The press releases regarding Youth Contract were all about the influx of new money. Theses are mostly Job Centre Advisor jobs and will be primarily dealing with 16-24 year olds coming in as part of the Youth Contract Initative.

The announcement about Youth Contract was here:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2012/feb-2012/dwp014-12.shtml

and;
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/welfare-reform/get-britain-working/

Internally the DWP said it needed to recruit p to 4000 new Personal Advisors to deal with the new programme.

If this is the new job, then I really really hope I get it. This kind of thing would really interest me. Thanks for this insight

northerntake

mommarat wrote: »

Hi it is a bit of a joke isn't it. I have sent an email from work today cut and pasted all the responses. I am going to reply to the email I got from them on Friday to my home email box in a bit attaching shrop/staffs response I had today. I have to laugh though because how can we be judged on our competencies when they can't get this right. Just imagining my other district I have applied for and still under review will say see shrops/staffs for feedback. Lol

i have also been following your progress.They couldn't have made a bigger mess of this if they had tried.I found out recently that 1 office in out area had done an internal progression exercise ,yet the rest of us had to apply externally.
What is fair and open about that !!
SHAMBOLIC MESS !!!!!!!!!!!:mad:

tsimehC

vindallou wrote: »

How do you know this role is for Youth Contract? Did someone tell you?

Yes, from interviewers and ex-colleagues. It's a given if you look at when the new staff start and when the programme starts.

Anyway, I seriously can only remember one question vaguely as the questions were long-winded and I didn't really pay much attention to them (just keywords). I got prompted more than twice on each question hence the reason why I think I did badly but I'm not going to think hard on specific questions because this is bad way of preparing. I did this myself and none of the questions I prepared for were asked and I had to change my examples on the spot and gave half-answers (never a good thing in interviews).

Also, please note that I'm terrible at interviews so you'll do better than silly old me.

edit: Another thing, did anyone hear about AO roles being advertised later in the year?

mommarat

stargazer30 wrote: »

A BIT OF A JOKE??? It's a downright mess - I've been following your progress through the thread, and it's awful that they just can't seem to get their act together - it wreaks havoc with the mind and causes sleepless nights (at least it would for me - I had nightmares just waiting for comp scores that never came to fruition!).

I REALLY hope you hear something positive from them soon - fingers and toes crossed for you.

Thanks. I would be having sleepless nights too but things seem so unreal it seems to be going over my head now. To be honest I think I am taking things ok because I actually work for them, and have been for the past 18 years (not all JCP) I think if I were not working in the dept it would be affecting me more I cant put my finger on why because its not that I know anymore. Sorry for the ramble.