Do you want to work in the Civil Service? Then it is essential to know how to prepare and answer Civil Service interview questions. The interview questions are very similar whether you are being interviewed in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland. In England, you will be assessed against the Civil Service’s Success Profile Framework as the interview questions are drawn from this framework. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, interview questions will be drawn from their own competency framework. In England you might be asked a broader range of questions as the Success Profiles has five areas of assessment. In this post, whilst we focus on preparing for interview questions under Success Profiles, the interview questions asked under Behaviours is very similar to Competencies in Scotland and Northern Ireland so you can prepare in a similar way. Additionally, if you are applying to Northern Ireland, you might want to read our post on Northern Ireland Civil Service Interviews.
Understand the Civil Service Success Profile Framework
The Civil Service Success Profiles framework is an essential component of the recruitment process, shifting away from traditional competency-based assessments to a more comprehensive evaluation of candidates. This framework focuses on five key elements: behaviours, strengths, ability, experience, and technical skills.
At Interview Skills Clinic we have over 10 years of experience coaching candidates with one-to-one interview coaching for all types of Civil Service Interviews. For more information about coaching for your interview you can book a free consultation. Additionally, for entry level candidates at AO-EO level we have a online interview course which is cost-effective and immediately available for your next interview. You can find out more about our online AO-EO coaching course below:
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Behaviours encompass the actions and activities that lead to effective performance. Each role within the Civil Service will have specific Behaviours associated with it, and interviewers will evaluate how you have demonstrated these in your previous roles. Strengths, on the other hand, are the tasks you regularly perform well and find motivating. Recognising your strengths and aligning them with the role is crucial. The Ability is often assessed through various exercises and tests to determine your aptitude for the role. Experience covers your work history and relevant skills, providing context for your suitability. Lastly, Technical Skills are specific to the job’s requirements and are typically evaluated through practical assessments or during the interview itself. Understanding these elements allows you to tailor your responses and showcase your suitability for the position effectively. By reflecting on your past experiences and how they align with the Success Profiles framework, you can present a well-rounded picture of your capabilities and potential contributions to the role.
This means that Civil Service interviews take a blended recruitment approach involving both Behaviour questions and Strength questions at application and interview stage. At the application stage, many candidates are asked to write 250 word Behaviour examples together with a Personal Statement around the job criteria. Once a candidate is sifted to interview, they will be asked interview questions around the same Behaviours specified in the job specification. If you are an external candidate it can be very challenging to write Behaviour examples and prepare examples for interview. Interview Skills Clinic have extensive experience of coaching clients for Civil Service interviews. We are an approved interview training provider across the Civil Service departments such as The Treasury and CPS and we have extensive experience helping clients succeed in their applications and interviews from EO level to Director General as well as deliverng internal training for The Foreign Office and Dept of Trade. If you are interested in one-to-one coaching you can Book A Free Consultation from our website.
Five Types Of Civil Service Interview Questions
Depending on the role, you could be assessed on five areas:
1. Behaviours: These are very similar to competencies. A Behaviour is the knowledge, actions, and skills that it takes to deliver a successful project or objective. The Civil Service has defined 9 Success Profile Behaviours:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Changing and Improving
- Making Effective Decisions
- Leadership
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
- Managing a Quality Service
- Delivering at Pace
Some commonly assessed Behaviours are Delivering at Pace, Seeing the Big Picture, Making Effective Decisions, Leadership, and Working Together. Less frequently asked are Developing Self and Others, Managing a Quality Service, and Changing and Improving. Behaviour competency questions are always looking for a specific example which can substantiate the Behaviour. You can easily identify a Behaviour question as the question often starts with the phrase: …
- Tell me about a time when …?
- Give me an example when ….?
- Describe a time when…?
In most Civil Service interviews you will be told the Behaviour that is being assessed before the question is asked. For example, “With regards to Communicating and Influencing, tell me about a time when you needed to influence a stakeholder or stakedholders who had a different perspective to yourself?”
The criteria for each Behaviour depends on the level of the role that you are applying for, details of which can be found in the Success Profile Framework. Unless you are applying for a Senior Civil Service (SCS) role, you will only be assessed against a specified number of Behaviours, usually between 3-5, which best match the criteria of the role. If you are applying for a SCS role, you should expect to meet all the 9 Behaviours. The Behaviours merge to demonstrate your leadership capability.
If you are applying for Civil Service roles check out our other posts:
- Applying to the Civil Service
- How to Ace a Civil Service Interview
- Civil Service Success Profiles: How to prepare for Strength Questions
- Northern Ireland Civil Service Competency Interviews
- Looking for Graduate Job Opportunities – The Civil Service is Worth Considering
- How to Answer a Civil Service Questions Managing A Quality Service
2. Strengths: Strengths are your natural strengths, the things that energise and motivate you. The thinking behind assessing a candidate’s Strengths is that if you are doing a job which plays to your natural strengths you are more likely to enjoy the role and exceed expectations. The Civil Service have 36 defined Success Profile Strengths that are split across the 9 Behaviours which are outlined in the Strength Directory. For example, Delivering at Pace has 7 Strengths associated with it:
- Adaptable
- Disciplined
- Catalyst
- Focused
- Organiser
- Resilient
If you are being assessed on Strengths, then reading the Civil Service Strength Directory will help you understand the definitions behind each Strength.
3. Experience: Candidates are assessed on their knowledge or skills to do the job, gained by their involvement and expertise gained through exposure to it. It’s important to read the job description to know what experience is required. For example, if the job description requires strong evidence that you have expertise to develop and deliver policy, then it’s only worth applying for the role if you have policy experience. Experience can be assessed through your written application, presentation, and interview questions.
4. Technical: This is the demonstration of specific professional skills, knowledge, or qualifications to do the job. The job description will clearly define the technical skills which are relevant and required for the role. Technical skills can be assessed through qualifications, tests, presentations, and interview questions.
5. Ability: This is the aptitude or potential to perform to the required standard. This can be assessed through tests and a range of different types of questions such as situational and strength questions.
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How To Use The Civil Service STAR
A Behaviour question will sound identical to a competency-based interview question which you are likely to be familiar with from other interviews in the public and private sector. Each Behaviour question needs to be answered by giving a specific example using the STAR framework. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result.
- SITUATION. First of all, they want to hear about the background to your example. What was the situation? Why is this relevant to the question? Why was it challenging?
- TASK. What was your role and responsibility? Who else was involved?
- ACTIONS. What actions did you take? How did you prioritise these actions? What factors did you consider? What methods/resources did you use? Describe how you worked to support and challenge those you were working with.
- RESULT. What was the final outcome? What impact did this decision or information have? In hindsight, what could you have done differently?
STAR gives you a structure to prepare your written and interview examples.
Delivering At Pace Interview Questions
Graduates who apply to join the Civil Service Fast Stream join at level 3. Additionally there are many graduate opportunities at level 2
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Typical Level 2 & 3 Questions
- Tell me about a time when you managed a complicated project to a demanding deadline?
- Tell me about a time when you had to multitask to cope with conflicting priorities?
- Tell me about a time when your organisational skills contributed to the success of a project?
- Give us an example when you had to manage a setback on completing a project or task?
Typical Level 4 Questions
- Tell us how you monitor your work and your team’s work in order to keep priorities on track?
- Tell us about a time when someone in your team wasn’t performing and jeopardising the outcome of a project. What did you do to resolve the issue? How did you coach and support the colleague?
- How have you gone about bench marking the performance of an area of your business, encouraging greater performance amongst your team?
- Tell us about a time when you were working on a project and the objectives and priorities kept changing. How did you keep your team motivated?
How To Answer Behaviour Questions In An Interview – 3 Key Tips
- Answer the question directly rather than just relying on your written Behaviour examples. There is a chance that your written application example may not be relevant to the question. It’s likely that you will need additional examples to draw on in the interview.
- Answer the question in a conversational style. You are telling a story to substantiate your experience, not regurgitating in ‘parrot-fashion’ your written example.
- If your written example is relevant to the question, add more depth to the answer by putting a greater emphasis on why you did what you did, and how.
Depending on the level of the role, the interviewer will allow 5-7 minutes for each Behaviour question and will ask you additional questions to explore your example further. For more advice read How To Ace A Civil Service Interview
