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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.

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.

You can book a interview consultation www.interviewskillsclinic.co.uk/book-free-consultation/. I look forward to talking to you.

Behaviour questions need to be answered like a competency based question with the STAR structure whereas Strength questions need a shorter more natural answer with multiple anecdotes to support your answer. If you have time watch some of the other Interview Skills Clinic videos to watch how to answer both Behaviour and Strength questions

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.

@@interviewskillsclinic thank you!

Sorry I am not sure of the above to comment

@@interviewskillsclinic I'm saying that people whose origin is from the north of England (usually) are unable to realise that the word 'one' is pronounced 'WUN' ie rimes with 'fun'. They still retain their regional pronunciation of its riming with 'gon' when southernising or americanising their accents . This includes the governor of the bank of England, popstars, actors etc. It's a psychological insensibility.

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

How did this go?

I am sorry you haven't had a great experience. It is often the case that Hiring Managers haven't had any formal interviewer training. We do run an interviewer training course for organisations www.interviewskillsclinic.co.uk/services/interviewer-training-course/. Of course as a candidate you can have some control over the direction of the interview though your answers. Ie if you mention the strengths you bring to the role in your openign answer then the Interviewer is likely to ask you follow up quesitons. And then it really about consistently giving evidence that you have the skills to do the job. Most Hiring Managers want to know 3 things, 1 - Have you got the skills to do the job 2 How do you stand out from other candidates 3 Are you genuinely interested in joining them and will you stay. I hope this is helpful.

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

No I think a live interview on Teams is always better and more natural than a pre-recorded video interview. I hope it goes well :)

@@interviewskillsclinic Thanks so much! Your videos have been extremely helpful, I've watched all the CS ones!

You don't need to use a detailed STAR example but ideally multiple anecdotes as if something is a strength of yours you will be doing it frequently.

You need to reach out to contact on the job advert/specification as it is normal for them to specifiy the Behaviours. Additionally, from the Behaviours you will be able to know they Strengths. Meanwhile look at the job criteria and try and match the job criteria to the Behavours so you can start preparing whilst you wait for a reply. For example if it says, 'you will be leading a high performing team' Leadership is likely. Or ' you need to be able to delivery a programme of high quality work to a ambitious timetable' then Delivering at Pace is likely. Good luck with the interivew.

@@interviewskillsclinic that's great, thank you very much, really appreciate it!

This sounds very disappointing. An overall score of 6 out of 7 would normally get your the job and often you can get offered roles whilst sitting in the reserve pool but it does depend on the size of the team you applied to. There is a great deal of competition for some roles and it sounds like you have been unlucky. It the interview the experience you have will have strengthen your Behaviour examples. I assume if you achieved a 6 out of 7 you had a Behaviour interview? Normally, this result would be enough to get the job so don't give up.

@@interviewskillsclinichighly disappointing. It was an AO role and it was just one behaviour which was delivering at pace which I scored a 6 out of 7. I am on a reserve list for this AO position until February next year. I’m also on a EO reserve list after I was considered a strong candidate after that interview but I didn’t get much more feedback other than that. Hopefully something comes up and my luck changes.

No because you haven’t got time to include a detailed STAR example but you need to share recent anecdotes to support your answer. If something is a natural Strength of yours then you should be doing it all the times so you can’t share examples from years ago. A Strength answer should be no more than 2 minutes. Your answer should feel and sound like a natural conversation but you still need to share evidence to support what you are saying. Good luck with the interview.

I am glad it has been useful

Great, thank you

You are right we host our website videos on UA-cam so this video is introducing about our online graduate course. However, if you go to the landing page www.interviewskillsclinic.co.uk/how-to-succeed-at-graduate-interviews/ you can sign up for a free preview of three of the trainign videos which will be helpful for you if you are interviewing for placements, internships or graduate jobs. Additionally, we have 18 free relevant videos for students on our channel so check them out ua-cam.com/play/PLUYpygLXtp7m4bXDzFqX8pGNh2vtDHbty.html. Good luck with your interviews

Hi Caroline, if the job specification only mentions Behaviours and Experience then you are very unlikely to be asked Strength questions. The Interviewers can ask what they want in the interview but most interviews following the job specification. Sometimes, when you get invited to the interview they will change the criteria and include Strengths or even a new Behaviour so check this. Good luck with your interview.

I look forward to discussing coaching options with you later today. Whether you should look at your webcam or computer screen depends on the device you are using and whether the webcam is. Some devices position the webcam at the bottom of the screen which is not a good angle (camera looking up nose!) and it might be better to raise the device. You need to test it out and see what looks better. Try and get a wider framing if at all possible as I demonstrate in the video. Absolutely, you are allowed to have notes for the interview but it is better not to look as if you are reading notes. Having some sticky notes positoned around the screen can work well.

Pre-recorded videos are tricky because you are not having a natural conversation but talking to a webcam. It's a good idea, I will cover a video on how to handle them for the Civil Service. I hope your interview went well. The thing to remember is that most people find them difficult too. Thanks for your comment.

Great to hear!

Glad it was helpful!

It is really frustrating. Depending on the grade you are applying for they normally don't expect government experience but you need to match the essential skills to do the job.If you really want a role in within the Civil Service we have a free Interview Preparation Guide that might help you www.interviewskillsclinic.co.uk/civil-service-competency-interviews/. As well as one to one coaching we offer a online course as well.

I have been a civil servant for 21 years and I agree and it's no better when you are already one as well.

The best place contact us is www.interviewskillsclinic.co.uk/. I am glad you found the video helpful

Hi Lydia, I agree with you. Interviewers shouldn't be distracted by the quality of the background or the audio but many can be even at an unconsious level. It's the same when you have an interview in person, first impressions count. In a competitive job market candidates want to ensure that they are presenting the best of themselves and simple techniques like changing the set up so the window is positioned infront of a person rather than behind them makes a big difference.

I am glad you find the videos helpful. From our experience the Civil Service normally give a candidate around 5 days notice for an interview, this can be sufficient time to prepare if you have sufficient time during the day but if you are working and have a busy home life it could be stressful. If the roles you have applied for are assessing you again similiar Behaviours then I recommend going ahead and preparing your examples before you get invited to interview. Many of our clients have two coaching sessions and we normally recommend that we start with the preparation session before they get invited to the interview. I hope you get shortlisted 😊

You've obviously got lots of experience which is great. Depending on the sector you've worked in the Civil Service interviews can seem more formal than other sectors. There are advantages and disadvantages. As a candidate you know exactly how you are be assessed and the criteria which can really help with preparation and increase your chance of success. The disadvantage is that the interview can feel formal and often most of us perform at our best in an interview when it feels more like a natural conversation. Don't give up, even some of clients who have failed at 11 interviews before they have had coaching with us quickly succeed once they understand how to prepare properyly.

Hello, you need to look at the job specification. It will same specifically which Behaviours you are being assessed on. It might be just Making Effective Decisions or one of the other 8 Behaviours. If it is only Making Effective Decisions you will have other types of questions in the interview. It will say, something like, "You are being asessed by Success Prfoles' and then it will specify whether you are being assessed on Behaviours, Strengths, Ability, Experience or Technical. Most roles normally assess you against 2-3 of the criteria. Good luck with the interview.

Hi Peter, did you have pre-recorded video interview or a live interview on Zoom? Unfortunately most organisations have moved interviews online post Brexit. I sympathise, personally, I think pre-recorded video interviews more difficult to do if you are only able to use your mobile but some candidates (particularly students) seem very comfortable using their mobiles for interviews. I know some candidates even prefer online interviews as it means they can apply for roles nationwide without having to travel to the location for the interview. I suspect it is just more cost-effective for organisations and I think unlikely to change.

I have an in person one on Friday and I really wish I was done online. It’s going to cost me more to do, I’ve had to take an entire afternoon off work to attend, and I feel my appearance will be judged more harshly in person.

It can be confusing. Success Profiles is a blended assessment process. It is up to the dept and hiring team to decide how they want to assess candidates. For examples, one role can be assesssing you against Behaviours, Strengths and Experience. Another rolea agains Technical, Experience and Strengths. Technical can be assessed by tests, presentation or technical questions (relating to the role and marked against a specialised framework). If you download the job specification, (it's not aways on the job advert) it will tell you how candidates are going to be assessed. If you are not sure how you being assessed you can use the contact email to clarify how you are being assessed. I hope this helps :)

@@interviewskillsclinic thanks very much for this - it helps a lot :)

Fantastic scores, well done. I am glad the cideos helped. The pre-employment checks take some time but you'll soon have a start date.

The job specification should give you an indication of the Strength you might be asked. For example, if you are being assessed on Behaviour Working Together then you could predict being asked a Strength question around being a Challenger, Emotionally Intelligent, Inclusive, Negotiator, Networker, Relationship Builder of Team Player. If they job specification does not mention being asessed on Behaviours then you need to look at the Essential Criteria and ty and match this agaiinst the 36 Strengths.

Hi James, thanks for your comment. I would be interested in what role you were interviewed for? Or what Department you work in? In our experience, ( we haver access to banks of questions across many of the Civil Service Departments and clients share their questions with us weekly) the vast majority of Behaviour questions still start with, ''tell us about a time.. can you give an example or describe a time". Success Profiles is a blended interview approach and a role can be assessed at interview with just Experence and Strength questions. An interviewer may then ask Situational questions, this is a popular style for more technical roles. Border Force and the Department of Education tend to favour Strength questions at EO-SEO level. However, it's very useful to share your experience and remind candidates that the Interviewers can choose to ask any style of questions. in recent years we have seen an introduction to questions such as 'how would you ... or have you ....'questions. For example, for the Behaviour Changing and Improving, 'Have you ever met resistance when implementing a new idea or policy?' This still requires a STAR example. Overall, to do well in a Behaviour interviews candidates should prepare Behaviour examples.

I am glad you are finding the videos helpful - yes social media is not my expertise!

I find your content really helpful. Thanks very much for sharing. I hope more people get to dig out this gold mine.

Can you help me with Civil services interview? I mean, F2F meeting if that possible? Or, virtual meeting if that suits you?@@interviewskillsclinic

Thanks Neil, I am glad you found it helpful. Good luck with your interview

Glad you like it! I hope your interview goes well.

Glad it was helpful! Good luck with your interview

Hi Isaac, coaching is on Zoom with video recording so you can play back the session afterwards. You can book an intial consultation here to discuss coaching further www.interviewskillsclinic.co.uk/book-free-consultation/