Civil service interview

Lockthedoor

Good afternoon all, new user here.

I have a civil service interview scheduled for Thursday. Grade 7, so fairly senior position. Needless to say, I am very surprised I was offered an interview, as I have never worked nor applied for the civil service, so the entire format is new to me.

Anyway, I have a couple of questions and I hope someone who has experienced similar issues in the past might be able to shed some light.

1. The job ad specified 5 competencies, and was told I would be tested against them. Would it be wise to prepare for the other competencies as well, in case they ask?
2. I was told I would need to make a presentation on a topic that will be assigned on the day. I have absolutely no idea what to expect. If someone has gone through this, my question is: will the presentation be about a policy area covered by the department (thus testing my technical knowledge) or will it be on an unrelated topic (for example, presenting on a research project I have conducted)?

Thank you so much to anyone who can help

strawb_shortcake

The interview should not stray from the 5 competencies specified. Being a couple of grades below 7 I'm not sure about the presentation; on my last promotion I had to a presentation but was made aware of the topic prior to the interview.
My presentation was related to the function I work in and would have been applicable to any government body. However I do know the recruitment structure for grade 7 and 6 posts is different and usually includes an Assessment centre.
There are increasing numbers of external applicants being recruited into the civil service so don't worry about that aspect too much.

Good luck!

ssparks2003

I went into the MOD as a grade 7 from industry a few years back (since returned to industry) at my interview I was given a scenario to read, couple of pages and 10 or 15 mins prep time. Then I went into the interview room we talked over what process I would follow, what good looked like etc. They were more than content that I was not aware of civil service processes and I just answered the questions from my own perspective. I did state that I would liaise with other staff to understand processes so as not to put the MOD in the position of receiving a challenge from industry.

marlot

Lockthedoor wrote: »

...
1. The job ad specified 5 competencies, and was told I would be tested against them. Would it be wise to prepare for the other competencies as well, in case they ask?
2. I was told I would need to make a presentation on a topic that will be assigned on the day....

They'll only focus on those 5. Make sure you've got some really good examples. Use the STAR method or similar to set out (briefly) the situation and task. Spend the bulk of the answer on the actions you took ( why), and the results you obtained.


The presentation would normally be an opportunity for you to show that you can do the job. When I went for a grade 6 head of strategy job, the presentation was on how I'd construct the strategy, what it'd look like etc. It was pretty intense - I had an hour to prepare and used every second of it.