If you’re interested in applying for one of our vacancies, you’ll be required to complete an online application via our recruitment portal. The portal requires first time applicants to create an account, which enables you to track the progress of your application and stores some of your information, should you wish to make further applications.
We recruit on an anonymous basis, so you’ll be asked to fill out our application form, instead of submitting a CV. You’ll also be asked to provide:
- employment history, qualifications and any professional memberships
- responses to demonstrate how you meet the essential, and possibly desirable, criteria listed in the candidate information pack
Your responses to the published criteria are used to decide if you will progress to the next stage, so it is important you give as much evidence, using examples, of how you meet these criteria.
We recommend you use models to help structure your responses to the application questions. There are three models that you may find useful:
The WHO model:
What was your personal role?
How you did it?
What was the Outcome?
The STAR model:
Situation: briefly describe the context and your role
Task: the specific challenge, task or job that you faced
Action: what you did, how and why you did it
Result: what you achieved through your actions
The CAR model:
What was the Challenge you faced?
What Action did you take?
What was the end Result?
Where possible, we recommend using one of the models above to help you structure your answers to questions.
Make sure you check your application before you submit to spot any spelling or grammatical errors.
Once you’ve submitted your application, you’ll receive an automated message confirming receipt. Please note, due to the high volume of applications we normally receive, we can only offer feedback following interview.
Shortlisting
We will undertake a shortlisting exercise, where the panel will review the information you have given in your application form, against the essential (and possibly) desirable criteria for the role.
Shortlisting is usually undertaken within the week after the closing date. You will receive an email letting you know if you have been shortlisted, and if so, what happens next.
Interviews and Assessments
We want to give you the best opportunity to demonstrate your skills and knowledge, so for some roles, this means we may ask you to complete an assessment task. This could be an ability test, or an in-tray exercise, or a presentation. It will depend on what the role will involve, and the candidate information pack will outline if there will be any assessments in the process.
We will always give you at least five days’ notice of your interview so you can prepare and make any arrangements you need to.
We usually conduct our interviews via Teams so you will need access to a device that can make and receive video calls. We recommend that you download this and test it before your interview, so you are comfortable in using this system. You will receive a link to your Teams interview before the day of your interview. Please ensure you accept this invitation, so we know you are attending.
Interviews typically last between 45 minutes to an hour. Here’s some tips to help you have a great interview:
- Make sure you are in a quiet area where you are unlikely to be disturbed. Some people prefer to wear headphones or a headset to reduce any background noise
- Check the room is well lit so the interview panel can see you – experts now believe that over half our communication is through body language, so we think it is important for you and the panel to see each other to be able to give the best impression
- Treat the interview like you would if you were attending in person – this means joining the Teams call a few minutes early and dressing smartly
- We know that technology can sometimes not work as we want it to – if you experience any technical issues, please contact HR as soon as possible so we can try to help you resolve them
Where possible, we recommend using the STAR model above to help you structure your answers to questions. The panel want to help you be your best, so we may ask some follow-up questions to make sure the question is answered as fully as possible.