I am informed by the Public Appointments Service (publicjobs), a body under the aegis of my Department and the centralised recruiter for the Civil Service, that each recruitment competition is designed to reflect the specific requirements of the role, the anticipated volume of applications, and the expected level of demand from an associated panel. As a result, competitions for general Civil Service grades may comprise several assessment stages, which can include an initial online assessment, shortlisting, presentations or other exercises, and interview.
While, in certain high-volume competitions, such as Clerical Officer (CO) and Temporary Clerical Officer (TCO), the information provided in the application form forms part of the initial assessment process, for most general competitions candidate applications are not reviewed until after Stage 1 assessments have been completed. The Stage 1 assessments for general grade competitions are typically online tests which, depending on the level, assess capabilities such as verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning and situational judgement. The tests are used where there is an expectation of large volumes of applications as a means to create an order of merit using a method that has proven predictive validity (i.e. research has shown they are good predictors of performance). Where competitions attract many thousands of applications for roles, it would be impossible to examine these applications and assess experience in a fair and consistent manner at the first stage assessment. The application and experience of candidates is always considered and assessed at subsequent stages.
For CO and TCO, I am informed that PublicJobs apply a different approach to other grades, where questions on experience are asked as part of Stage 1 and the information, along with other capabilities, are assessed and used to create an order of merit.
Where shortlisting is used, candidate applications are reviewed and assessed against criteria informed by the essential requirements and key capabilities for the role in question. Applicants who do not demonstrate the required experience or fail to meet the essential criteria do not progress beyond this stage.
At interview, the candidate’s application form is available to the interview board. Assessments at this stage are conducted using the Civil Service Capability Framework, which takes a holistic approach to determining suitability for the role. This framework considers a broad range of factors, including a candidate’s past experience and behaviours, skills, strengths, knowledge, values, motivation, and interests. Interview boards seek to engage candidates in a natural dialogue that provides insight into their experience, readiness, and overall suitability for the position.
