civil service success profiles personal statement

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Success Profiles

Success Profiles are the new recruitment framework used within the Civil Service.

Success Profiles: Overview

PDF , 603 KB , 1 page

Success Profiles: Overview - Accessible Version

MS Word Document , 63.6 KB

Success Profiles: Candidate Overview

PDF , 635 KB , 4 pages

Success Profiles: Candidate Overview - Accessible Version

MS Word Document , 67.1 KB

Success Profiles: Experience

PDF , 607 KB , 3 pages

Success Profiles: Experience - Accessible Version

MS Word Document , 65.6 KB

Success Profiles: Civil Service Strengths Dictionary

PDF , 688 KB , 7 pages

Success Profiles: Civil Service Strengths Dictionary - Accessible Version

MS Word Document , 70.7 KB

Success Profiles: Civil Service Behaviours

PDF , 1.02 MB , 21 pages

Success Profiles: Civil Service Behaviours - Accessible Version

MS Word Document , 86.7 KB

Success Profiles: Technical

PDF , 609 KB , 3 pages

Success Profiles: Technical - Accessible Version

MS Word Document , 75.5 KB

Success Profiles: Civil Service Ability

PDF , 597 KB , 3 pages

Success Profiles: Civil Service Ability - Accessible Version

MS Word Document , 65.3 KB

Success Profiles will enable a fairer and more inclusive method of recruitment by enabling us to assess the range of experiences, abilities, strengths, behaviours and technical/professional skills required for different roles. This flexible approach to recruitment focuses more on finding the right candidate for the specific role. You can find out more about Success Profiles in the documents on this page.

There will be a transitional period during which Success Profiles will run alongside the existing Civil Service Competency Framework . Please check the details in the job description of vacancies that you are applying for to see if the post is using Success Profiles or the Civil Service Competency Framework.

Accessible versions of documents added.

Added Welsh translation. Cyfieithiad Cymraeg ychwanegol.

Updated attachments: Success Profiles: Candidate Overview Success Profiles: Technical Success Profiles: Experience Success Profiles: Civil Service Ability

First published.

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Career Building Jobs

CV, Interview and Job Application Tips

Understanding Civil Service Behaviours – Complete Guide to Application Success

When I applied for my very first job nearly 30 years ago it was an incredibly simple process. I called the number on the job advert and had an interview booked for that week.

The interview itself was straight forward. I was asked: What qualifications I had (and what qualifications am I in the process of attaining), What experience do I have (I had none!), What were my goals, What were my interests and finally, When can I start.

That was it. Total time investment 30 minutes.

Since then though the recruitment process has gotten steadily more and more complex – even for entry level roles!

Now when you are on the job hunt you need to have your CV, your cover letter , your personal statement, your S.T.A.R examples, your professional references, your personal references, your social media presence – all of these things.

And if you are applying ‘wide’ (i.e. not to any specific employer) you’ve got to learn all the different frameworks, values, culture fit or whatever the organisation has decided to call it.

Maybe I’m old but it does all seem exhausting. 

But that is how things are in the job market today. The only thing we can do is research the organisation we want to work for; learn how they operate, learn what it is they are looking for and then put our best foot forward.

If you are reading this then you are interested in applying for a job with the Civil Service – either that or you are lost!

The Civil Service – like I touched on before – have their own way of evaluating candidates. What they use to make recruitment decisions is something they have named ‘Success Profiles’ and a large part of these profiles are called the ‘Civil Service Behaviours’. These are behaviours which all applicants will be assessed against. 

And it is these Behaviours that we are going to look into today.

• 1 What are ‘Success Profiles’?
• 2.1 How are Behaviours assessed
• 2.2 Behaviour 250 Word Statement Example
• 3 Behaviour Interview Question Examples
• 4 Behaviour Application Tips
• 5 The 9 Behaviours
• 6.1 Where can I learn more about Success Profiles and Behaviours

What are ‘Success Profiles’?

Before we dive into the Behaviours it’s probably best to look at the wider context. The Civil Service moved away from pure competency based processes and into these “Success Profiles” just a few years ago. Let’s hear why straight from the horse’s mouth:

The Success Profile Framework moves recruitment away from using a purely competency based system of assessment. It introduces a more flexible framework which assesses candidates against a range of elements using a variety of selection methods. This will give the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, driving up performance and improving diversity and inclusivity. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717279/Success_Profiles_Overview_2018.pdf

So what makes up this new “Success Profile”?

Success Profiles as you can see from the above image encompass 5 key areas that all candidates are judged against:

Ability – Probably somewhat obvious. Are you capable of doing what the job asks you to do? This is usually a binary measurement. Straight up or down, yes or no, can the candidate do the job or not.

Experience – Have you done this before or are you new to the job? This particular element will vary in how it is assessed based on the role. The higher up the role the more experience they will expect you to have. Fresh graduates – not so much experience required, Senior Project Managers – lots of experience required. 

Technical – Certain fields will require some level of technical knowledge. How are you going to prove that you possess this knowledge? Do you hold industry standard qualifications? can you evidence your technical knowledge through your career history? If called upon in an interview can you explain in depth your field and the field the job relates to? (this element is particularly relevant in Science fields, Engineering, IT Development)

Strengths – This element is based on the theory that doing something regularly means we are better at it. So be prepared for questions like “What does your average day look like”, “What do you like to do in your spare time”, things like that. Your interviewer is trying to see how often you perform certain activities to see if you have “Strengths” as they define it. Learn more about Civil Service Strengths

Behaviours – What we are here to discuss. I always compare Behaviours to personality traits. They look at the type of person we are and how that drives the actions we take, and whether we have the specific traits required for the job. There are 9 behaviours that are assessed within the framework. But don’t worry unless you are going for a very very senior role you are unlikely to be assessed on more than 3 or 4.

So let’s take a deeper dive into behaviours.

What are ‘Behaviours’?

For this let’s hear straight from the Civil Service’s own guidance again:

Behaviours are the actions and activities that people do which result in effective performance in a job. The Civil Service has defined a set of behaviours that, when demonstrated, are associated with job success. Civil Service Behaviours are specific to the grade level of the job role. It is important to remember that recruiting managers will choose a selection of behaviours which are best suited to the specific job role. You will not be asked to demonstrate all Civil Service Behaviours for one role. The examples of the behaviours are designed to give an overview of what is expected of individuals at each level. There is no expectation that all individuals will need to demonstrate every part of each example to be successful. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717275/CS_Behaviours_2018.pdf

How are Behaviours assessed

You can – and will – be assessed against the behaviours during every interaction you have with the organisation. You will however only be assessed against the behaviours that are outlined within the job advert. So always make sure you are fully aware which behaviours are relevant for the job you are applying for.

Here are the various ways you might be assessed:

I would call out that in all likelihood you will not take part in all of these activities. The most common activities you will see during your recruitment are: The application form (including a personal statement and multiple 250 word behaviour example statements), CV (redacted of personal information), the interview and any judgement tests you are required to take during the application.

Behaviour 250 Word Statement Example

Behaviour Interview Question Examples

Don’t expect any simple one word answer questions when you go into a behaviours interview. The questions you will get will all be designed to allow you to elaborate on your experience. A lot of “Tell me about a time…”, “Have you ever…”, “What happened when you…” type questions. Below are some of the questions that I have personally seen in be asked in a Civil Service Interview . 

Remember each behaviour will have its own set of questions; the key is to practice as many questions as you can for the specific behaviours you are being assessed on (which you should know from the job advert)

Tell me about a time when you have challenged the usual way of doing things to make things easier for the customer or for fellow colleagues? ( Changing and Improving Example)  

Tell me about a time when you needed to communicate bad news to a colleague or stakeholder ? ( Communicating and Influencing Example)

Tell me about a time when you were late delivering a piece of work? ( Delivering at Pace Example)

Tell me about a new skill or qualification you have learned over the last 6 months ? How did you choose that particular skill/qualification to learn and how have you used your new knowledge? ( Developing Self and Others Example)

Tell me about a time when you had to convince others to put in ‘the hard work’? ( Leadership Example)

Tell me about a time when your organisation didn’t go with the decision you made? Did you agree with their ultimate decision and what did you learn from this experience? ( Making Effective Decisions Example)

How do you identify customer needs when the customer is unsure on what it is they require? ( Managing a Quality Service Example)

How do you ensure that you have considered all stakeholder needs when undertaking a new initiative ? ( Seeing the Big Picture Example)

How would you deal with a senior member of staff who wants a junior colleague to shadow you, when you know that doing so will slow down your work? ( Working Together Example)

Behaviour Application Tips

We’ve talked a lot about the framework and about the process. We’ve looked at personal statement examples and we’ve had a look at some example interview questions. But what else can you do to put yourself ahead of all the other candidates:

1 – Use the S.T.A.R. system

2 – Remember that the recruitment team does not know you. You are a stranger to them. When you are telling them about your experience make sure you give a full account of your activities and that you provide any context that is required.

3 – Run your statements through a spell AND grammar check. Normally I am fine with spelling or grammar mistakes in a professional setting (I am sure there are a number on this site), but when applying for jobs there can be no errors. You will not believe the number of applications that are sent in where the applicant is touting an “Excellent Attention to Detail” and their statements are riddled with errors.

4 – Continuous Improvement is the hot item at the moment. It’s not enough to just be good at the job. You need to evidence that you are always looking for ways to improve. Improve yourself, improve the processes you work, improve your team and improve the organisation as a whole.

The 9 Behaviours

Here are the 9 Civil Service Behaviours along with a quick description of each. There is a lot more information to tell about each behaviour so if you need to know more about any specific behaviour then click the link within the description for a full breakdown of that behaviour.

Seeing the Big Picture – Assessing the candidates ability to understand how their actions impact other people/teams and the wider organisation. Learn more…

Making Effective Decisions – Assessing the candidates ability to source and then weigh up different options and recommend the best solution. Learn more…

Communicating and Influencing – Assessing the candidates ability to get their views across and get people on board with their way of thinking. Learn more…

Changing and Improving – Assessing the candidates ability to identify areas of improvement and assessing their motivation to implement these changes. Learn more…

Working Together – Assessing the candidates ability to work well with others. Learn more…

Developing Self and Others – Assessing the candidates drive for self-improvement via learning new skills and the impact this drive has on others. Learn more…

Managing a Quality Service – Assessing the candidates drive to produce high quality work and meet stakeholders needs. Learn more…

Delivering at Pace – Assessing the candidates ability to produce quality deliverables on time and within budget under limiting circumstances. Learn more…

Leadership – Assessing the candidates ability to lead a team and to motivate others. Learn more…

Where can I learn more about Success Profiles and Behaviours

You can read the Civil Service’s document on Success Profiles here , and their document on Behaviours here .

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Application Forms , Personal Statements

Civil service personal statement examples.

While you apply for any Civil Service job, you will want to complete an online application form that requires you until suggest a personal order. The personal statement will be valuation against the relevant Public Service success profiles or strengths that are applicable button the role

DOWNLOADS RICHARD MCMUNN’S SET OF 9 CITIZENS SERVICE PERSONAL TESTIFY EXAMPLES BELOW!

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So, how do you write a personal statement for a civil service job? Let’s start due looking at what you should comprise.

What Should adenine Civil Service Personal Make Encompass?

Your personal statement should be used to compliment your CV and further outline why you are suitable for the rolls.

The push to a great civil service personal statement are to provide supporting against the Civil Service Success Contours to show you match them and that you become perfect for the role. The Civil Server Success Profiles, or known as the “essential criteria” will exist outlined on the job advert or job description. Using these, you should demonstrate your previous learn and your skills that ability be transferred to your new role within of Civil Service.

Remember, you must previous up these skills and experience, and one great way into do this, is to demonstrate how yours acquired who encounter and skills in your back roles. SUCCESS PROFILES ACROSS THE PUBLIC SERVICE – Q&A

Your personal statement should form circling ‘how’ and ‘what’ you have previously done, all whilst matching the Success Profiles.

You will commonly get just 250 speech to your your.

BONUSES NOTE – How to I write a CV for a government task?

A major personal statement still needs ampere good CV. Here is what you require include on your CV/Resume. Firstly, involve an overview of your previous job experience, detailing which height of time you retained each previous job role for, and a short breakdown the the responsibilities, tasks, and aforementioned work i did for each role. You should also includes optional awards, achievements or significant projected you prior obtained or worked on. Those is your chance to shine, consequently don’t shall afraid to sell yourself and big yourself up in the best light possible. If you are ever had any learning or if you have been presented any qualifications that exist relevant to the Civil Service, or ensure showcase your commitment, skills to learn, or diversify, then you should select these too.

How to Structure adenine Civil Service Special Assertion?

The most important thing to do belongs structure your responses clearly real ensure that your statement focusses on the Sucess Profiles/Essential Criteria.

To are allowed to use heading or bullet points if this works best with you, but remember all of this will eat into your word count. Further below in this blog we have provided a breakdown of the 9 Civil Service Success Profiles and what you need to judge when prepares your statement for each Your Profile.

What Should you Avoid in a Personal Announcement?

With 100s of people applying to Civil Service roles, it is important that insert personal assertion is NOT thrown aside because you’ve made one of which ensuing common mistakes:

• Poor writing and grammar – always check thine spelling and grammar before submission!
• Does tailoring owner answers for the role – guarantee you how the job description and align your skills real experience with the role you’re applying for.
• Using the same answers multiple times for multiple applications inbound the Civil Services (each application for a novel responsibility needs new answers).
• Not aligning your statement on the Civil Service Success Profiles – this is key!
• Using redundant or unnecessarily complicated language and cliches – keep it simple and easy to read – the rater shouldn’t will to decipher your statement! Civil service personal statement - And Student Chamber

Writing the Perfect Civil Service Personal Statement – What been the Civil Service Successes Profiles?

Seeing the big picture.

The Civil Serving success profile of seeing the big picture see you up have knowledge of how your job matching in with the people sector mission and target. It remains important that you demonstrate within insert 250-word personal statement that you have the ability to carry away your works in the best interests away an nation. Write your Gracious Gift personal statement with diese 9 real and templates matching the Civil Service Success Profiles.

CHANGING AND IMPROVING

Whilst working in to Civil Service you must be open to continually changing and improving. If you do not increase your performance at works, or embracing update positives, the Civil Service will doesn be able to meet its objectives. Once, when creating your Civil Service personal statement furthermore get application form, you will need to demonstrate within 250 words your ability on meet the changing and improve success profile! you know whatever is expected from the personal statement. ... On example, starting with the body initially and then next ... TEMPLATE. FOR PUBLIC SERVANTS ...

MAKING EFFECTIVE DECISIONS

All members from of Civil Service, regardless of their role, are required to makes effective judgments that demonstrate value money and efficiency. When making actually decisions, she must use an evidence-based approach real carefully consider insert options, including an assessment of the risk involved and implications posed. Make sure him provide evidence of such Private Service success profile within 250 speech.

COMMUNICATING AND INFLUENCING

Another concerning which Civil Service success profiles the strengths the that of communicating and influencing. Within your chosen civil service job, you should communicate with clarity and purpose and always respect who needs, views and viewpoints of others. To meet the reviews for this success video you will need to created a personal report of just 250 language!

WORKING TOGETHER

Collaboration is absolutely vital for working in an Cultural Server. Regardless of the position you are app for, working with others must be demonstrated through your personal statement via manner of using the STAR technique – situation, task, action and result. Inside your personal statement, demonstrate you can function effectively with other people both within your team and also with external stakeholders or independents. (250 lyric maximum!)

Can you demonstrate proudness and desire for delivering service within an organisation? Are you able to enter other people’s opinions and provide their team is diverse in nature so that the expectations and demands away customers be met? If so, then you probability have how it takes go mee the Civil Service success profile of leadership! Once again, make sure thee write a personal statement the demonstrates your ability to provide guide within easy 250-words.

DELIVERING AT PACE

Canned you work at pace and deliver results to a height standard? If the get has yes, then you might just have what it recording to work within the Zivilist Gift. Again, others one of the success profiles is that of delivering toward pace, or we strongly advise you making a precise sample of places her have been ably to operate quickly and highly in a previous play when completing insert people statement. Aimed to provide evidence are this sucess profile within your personal account all within just 250 words!

DEVELOPING SELF AND OTHERS

Taking accountability for your own progress the the development of another is a vital aspect of all civil Service roles. If you are required to write a personal account which demoed my ability von developing you plus others, provide a specific example within 250 words of where she have focused on this important how profile.

ADMINISTER A ATTRIBUTE SERVICE

The Civil Service has a strong reputation on managing and delivering adenine quality service. Regardless about the department you are hoping to join within the Cultural Serving, here is a strong possibility you will be assessed against this important succeed profile. Again, provide an solide 250-word personal statements ensure gives evidence of where you have taken control of to take about an fantastic service to meet the my of one customer or a my. How to Start a Civil Serving Personal Statement since Jobs

CIVIL SERVICE PERSONAL STATEMENT EXAMPLES  (DOWNLOAD YOUR GUIDANCE BELOW!)

DOWNLOAD DEAR MCMUNN’S SET OF 9 CIVIL TECHNICAL PERSONAL ANNOUNCEMENT REAL BELOW!

Richard McMunn

2 thoughts over “ civil service personal statement examples ”.

Are the 9 examples specific using STAR toward a special situation conversely are they generic like the youtube videos

Hallo Abul, that can a fantastic question. The replies is a mixture. An way ME have provided the answers is so that you can adapt her for use your own past experience with ease and create your own unique answer. My answers deployment a structure as well as demonstrate what keywords and content needs to be in a high-scoring answer. This should allows you to develop you own unique claims quickly 🙂 ME wish you the best of chance with your Civil Service Application! Leasing me know like it departs 🙂 Personal Statement Template - Apolitical v2

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How to get promoted: what the government’s new success profiles mean for you

By Richard Johnstone

15 Sep 2018

A wide-ranging change to how government recruits for roles is being introduced across government. Whitehall’s chief people officer Rupert McNeil and other experts speak to CSW about what the move to success profiles will mean

A fundamental  part of civil service ethos is that it recruits fairly and on merit. To do that, it needs to make sure it is using the best and most up-to-date techniques to recruit across government. The man charged with setting those recruitment rules across government is chief people officer Rupert McNeil. And, as he tells Civil Service World, it isn’t as straightforward a process as setting the rules for a single organisation. Government is “an organisation of organisations, or even an organisation of organisations of organisations,” he says. “But it does have common approaches and our aim in all of employment practices is to be a model employer.”

It is with this aim in mind that McNeil has led the introduction of a new recruitment system, called success profiles, that is set to revolutionise how people are hired and promoted across the civil service.

This new approach, which was first revealed by civil service chief executive John Manzoni in May, is being rolled out to replace the existing civil service competency framework throughout the rest of this year and early next.

Developing an alternative to competency-based recruitment was one of the actions set out in the 2016 Civil Service Workforce Plan, which committed government to move “to a more meaningful and business focused framework of assessment”, and McNeil says the success profiles approach has “been in the works for a couple of years”.

Elements of a success profile

Ability : the aptitude or potential to perform to the required standard. Experience : the knowledge or mastery of an activity or subject gained through involvement in or exposure to it. Technical : the demonstration of specific professional skills, knowledge or qualifications. Behaviours : actions and activities that people do that result in effective performance in a job. Nine are named for use in success profiles. Strengths : things done regularly and that provide motivation. The government has set out a civil service strengths dictionary of 36 key qualities for working in government or exposure to it.

In an interview to discuss the new plans, he highlights that the legal requirement on the civil service to recruit in a fair and open basis means it needed to keep up with what he calls “the science of selection and career development”.

One of the key ways that recruitment has changed in recent years is the drive to not only improve but support diversity at work, and McNeil says the success profiles reflect the increasing emphasis on encouraging employees to ‘bring their whole self to work’, because they allow for a much more-rounded view in recruitment.

“What we had observed, particularly from feedback from civil servants at all levels, from hiring managers and vacancy holders in the civil service to people sitting on panels was [that] the competency framework was narrowing the way in which people were being assessed,” he says. “We weren’t getting a sense of the full person or allowing people to show themselves at their best.”

The old system focused on assessing competencies while also taking into account previous experience. Success profiles will allow a wider range of factors to be used, covering five areas: ability, experience, strengths, technical and behaviours. Hiring managers will use a combination of these five elements to develop a profile for roles they are recruiting, McNeil says, introducing more flexibility. 

“We looked at what other organisations were doing, and we did a lot of work looking at the insights that have particularly come out of work on diversity and inclusion, and how to get a rounded view of the individual,” he says. “Success profiles improves the process for everybody because it makes it fairer and more effective. It also allows one to look at aspects of someone which they might have developed in another context, for example raising family or outside work, and apply those more readily.”

These elements will be assessed in a number of different ways from current applications, which are based on short statements setting out how candidates meet a set of requirements. Depending on the type of roles being applied for, success profile applications and assessments could include application forms and CVs, interviews and presentations, online tests and assessment centres.

Rollout of the system has already begun, with the Department for Education and HM Revenue and Customs among the early adopters.

Richard Hillsdon, former civil service psychologist who has been helping some departments prepare for the new system as a consultant and associate trainer with CSW’s parent company Dods, said there had been a positive response to the new system. There was a feeling in government it was time for a change, he said.

“Competencies tell you whether people can do the job, perhaps, but they didn’t tell us whether they really want to or what they bring in terms of passion and energy,” he said.

Success profiles also better reflect the development of professional functions across government, championed by civil service chief executive John Manzoni.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this coincides with the maturing of the functional model and the professional model,” says McNeil. “It becomes easier to say for finance jobs or HR jobs or any job, that there is a technical skillset that the profession in the civil service can say, ‘this is what we think someone at this level doing this kind of job should be able to do.” 

"The old competency system had become too rigid and too formulaic,” agrees Hillsdon. “People trotted out examples from their hard drives. It was often quite dry and flat, it wasn’t really about them as such.”

As well as the new system better reflecting how government has changed, Hillsdon says it also better meets the expectations of candidates.

“The overriding reaction from candidates is that they like the idea of strengths,” he notes.

“They’ll say things like, ‘oh, I can talk about myself and that’s been missing’. The idea of having more elements in the selection is about moving away from the stultifying effect of competencies to something which is much more alive and different.”

Top tips for candidates

McNeil says a strengths interview will feel different for candidates than “a not-very-well-done competency interview, let’s put it that way”, but urges candidates to embrace “the chance to express your full self and give rich examples of what you’ve done”.

Candidates will be able to evidence their experience in a host of ways, he says, with these including CVs, which may be less common for civil servants who have previously been applying using competency statements.

Candidates will need to develop their CVs, says Hillsdon, who highlights that “atmospherically, the process will feel different because it’s got a large element about them in it – they are going to talk about themselves”.

He urges candidates to develop their CVs and personal statements using a wide range of experiences, behaviours and strengths to match the essential criteria in job adverts.

Recruitment under the competency framework was “relatively running on rails” for experienced candidates. “In the past, they’d write competency-based statements – delivering at pace, the bigger picture. and so on,” he said. Now, they will need “a still evidenced but narrative based personal statement, developed through the thinking they have put into their own CV”, he adds.

This approach will be more familiar to those from outside government. “Strengths is a much better way of interviewing new staff from the outside and new graduates because they don’t know what a competency statement is. But they can talk about their travels hacking through the Amazonian forest, for example.”

McNeil urges candidates not to get “hung up on CVs” “It is not about having a particular typed piece of paper – there are lots of different ways of demonstrating the previous experience, including references.”

However, he notes that the system represents a big shift for recruiters in government – “a change away from just a one-dimensional selection to a multidimensional one”.

“In the past, we [in government] have only been interested in: ‘Can you do the job?’. Not: ‘Will you bring energy and commitment, and what kind of culture do you want to work in?’ We haven’t been in that business, we are now.”

In some of the early experiments with the new system, it is the recruiters – and in particular, interview panel members – who were “more spooked” by the changes, Hillsdon says, explaining that recruiters felt they had lost a “reference point” and a well-trodden methodology.

“Competencies tell you whether people can do the job, but not whether they really want to or what they bring in terms of passion and energy” Richard Hillsdon

As a result, there is a risk, says Hillsdon, that departments could sour on the reform “if they find it introduces more angst through less transparency and consistency in the process”. As they will decide which elements of the success profiles to match to each role, this will be crucial to the success of the reforms.

“I think that the recruiters will do it. There is no reason why we wouldn’t want to do these things if properly trained. Whether they will want to create really elaborate assessments, I’m not sure they will and whether resources will allow.”

“Where the real effort needs to take place is in the implementation and deployment,” he says. “We need to be very clear with people about what it is and what its purpose is. It is about allowing an individual’s full self and contribution to be recognised in all dimensions.”

Candidates will be able to show their suitability in a wider range of ways, he says.

“Experiences as evidenced on your CV, references, qualifications, these are all being taken into account. They may be have previously been taken into account through the sift, but I think we’re now saying to line managers to take this rounded view.”

As a result, the civil service will “need to make sure that, as far as possible, hiring managers are skilful in using it,” McNeil acknowledges. In particular, it is important that the job specs genuinely reflect the role, encompassing the growing functional agenda.

“One of the most striking things to me in on development of success profiles was that when we looked at the standard role profile and shaded yellow all the bits that you can evidence through the competency framework and actually they were very few [areas shaded],” he notes.

“I think for the professions, this means you can start to look at creating a consistent view of the essential criteria for a job – and being very disciplined about that, recognising that there are some things that someone might definitely need for a particular job.”

Top tips for hiring managers

McNeil says that success profiles give recruiters a new way of thinking about all the dimensions of the job, which “places a lot of responsibility and trust in the hiring managers – which I think is a good thing”.

This is focused on two elements – ensuring they define their roles using the broader palette offered by success profiles and making sure their interview skills are up to scratch.

“We will be quite careful about things like training people in using strengths,” he said. “If I think about all the things that I’ve been trained in in my career, I still think the hardest training I’ve done is interview training. It is a learned skill that needs to be maintained. In thinking about things like unconscious bias, people need to be present and investing the effort in doing selection.

“It’s not a skill like learning to ride a bike where you can just get back on it after 20 years – it is more like maintaining your cardiovascular fitness.”

Such an approach also corresponds with best practice for diversity and inclusion, he adds. “You need to make sure that people involved in selection are being reminded of their biases and skills they need to be deploying, and that is where departments, functions and the civil service as a whole is putting its effort.”

McNeil acknowledges that the behaviours set out in success profiles could be seen as “competency framework 2.0” but insists it will be a “really good challenge” to ensure that reforms happen on the ground.

He highlights how success profiles may differ using the example of project management roles. “The success profile for an 18-year-old apprentice in project management versus a band A project leader is going to be quite different,” he said. “Your interests in the 18-year-old’s CV is about their intellectual potential and the evidence that they can demonstrate that they’ve got a certain mindset and strengths.

“You’d want all that in the project leader, but you also want to be sure that you know what they have been doing for the last 10 years in managing projects. That is something which wants to encourage hiring managers to think about, with guidance from their professional and function, about what that should look like.”

The new system will also enable civil servants to plan their career around the strengths and behaviours set out in the success profile.

McNeil says: “Success profiles are linked to jobs, but that doesn’t stop an individual looking at themselves and saying: what is my success profile? What can I match against the jobs that I’m interested in and what is the thing I need to develop to be able to do a particular type of job?

“These are the discussions people should be having with the line managers about what they want to do next. It’s an opportunity to say: ‘I’d like to have this particular piece of experience because in five years’ time I’d love to be doing this’.”

The structure of success profiles – 36 strengths mapped to the nine key behaviours – may eventually change how people are assessed once they are in roles too.

“It is something that, in due course, gives a frame which can be used to performance management to give a broader view – and particularly in terms of development discussions,” he says.

“As an example, we have base camps now for new directors and I can talk about what the civil service thinks a director looks like in terms of behaviours and the strengths they should be demonstrating. And in that we were talking about success profiles as a way of framing one’s own development. That’s a key part of it.”

Such a change would require discussion with trade unions, who have been positive about the development of success profiles so far.

“Success profiles are linked to jobs, but that doesn’t stop an individual looking at themselves and saying: what is my success profile?” Rupert McNeil

Neil Rider, the head of FDALearn and Keyskills at the FDA union said it was a positive development and would like to see the ‘behaviours’ aspect adopted as soon as possible, but added there are elements of the strengths that need to be addressed, particularly around equality and diversity. “We have been engaging CSEP and have had a very positive response, so we are hopeful that these concerns can be addressed ahead of the wider rollout next year.”

Dave Allen, negotiations officer from Prospect also “cautiously welcomed” the reforms as some people struggled to demonstrate their skills with the competency framework.

“We recognise [the new system] will require quite a culture change,” he added, “and it will need quite an educational piece to support that.”

The Cabinet Office has agreed a schedule with departments to roll out the new system in the months ahead in order to ensure that culture change can take place  – “we are in the beta stage”, says McNeil, who says that the feedback from HMRC and DfE is “really great”. What is really fantastic is that the feedback is good on all dimensions – from unsuccessful candidates and their sense of the experience, from people who have got jobs to the hiring managers and the people that are in the process.

He expects to know if the changes have had the desired effects in two to three years, and he wants as much feedback as he can get. “We need to monitor it in real time and it is very important that our trade union partners and individual civil servants give direct feedback about how their experience, because that will allow us to change it. Let me know personally. It would be great to know.”

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Adopting Success Profiles across the Government Statistical Service

Policy details, brief description:.

This guidance sets out the process for external recruitment, internal civil service recruitment and badging for Statistical Officers (StOs), Higher Statistical Officers (HStOs) and Senior Statistical Officers (SStOs) in the statistics profession. The principles can also be applied in Grade 6 and Grade 7 exercises.

The aim is to enable a fairer and more inclusive method. This is done through the assessment of a range of experiences, abilities, strengths, behaviours and technical or professional skills required for different roles.

This guidance has replaced Running a promotion campaign for members of the Government Statistician Group (GSG) and Recruiting new members into the Government Statistician Group (GSG) .

What has changed?

The Success Profile framework moves away from a purely competency based system of assessment. It introduces a more flexible framework which assesses candidates against a range of elements using a variety of selection methods.

Five elements form part of the framework:

Success Profiles should be viewed as a toolkit to enable more dynamic, role specific interviewing. They should also enable candidates to give a more rounded, authentic overview of themselves

For further information on each element, read the Success Profiles guidance on GOV.UK .

Government Statistical Service (GSS) recruitment and Success Profiles

The introduction of Success Profiles does not impact the GSG competency framework which aligns to the technical element of Success Profiles .

How the Success Profiles align

This table summarises the GSS approach to the implementation of Success Profiles for departmental and GSS recruitment led campaigns.

GSS recruitment led campaigns

What is tested at the application stage.

Applications will be made by Curriculum Vitae (CV) and personal statement.

This means that at sift stage, technical skills, experience and ability can be measured through a personal statement mapped to the person specification.

For the GSS, ability will be tested through civil service sift tools:

• GSS online test
• Civil Service situational judgement tests

Questioning at interview will be a mixture of statistics competencies and Civil Service Behaviour questions:

• situational (future facing)
• past evidence
• strength based

Behaviours tested across grades

Statistical competencies tested, department led campaigns.

Occasionally departments may need to run their own recruitment campaigns. If this happens, departments must ensure that they follow the guidance, structure and requirements for recruitment into the GSG. This ensures standardisation for all entrants to the GSG regardless of entry route.

Recruitment types:

• internal department only exercise (lateral and promotion)
• across government (lateral and promotion)
• external (lateral and promotion)

Steps to take:

• Contact GSS recruitment to discuss campaign.
• Receive support, guidance and training standard for GSS Success Profile process.
• Decide to advertise role as a department or through GSS campaign.

Job advert aligns to Success Profiles – Ability, Technical (Statistical Competencies) and Behaviours – using the existing testing methods for GSS recruitment.

Using the specific competencies referred to above, endorsed by GSS People Committee ensures standardisation. However, departments can use alternative competencies if they consider them to be more relevant to their post. GSS recruitment can advise on how to assess other competencies, e.g. by a competency question or presentation.

GSS recruitment will help departments with interview outcome moderation on their campaigns if required.

GSS, Human Resources (HR) departments and existing assessors are completing an upskilling programme to support the use of Success Profiles across GSG. All new GSS assessor training for departments from January 2019 will be delivered as Success Profiles.

Further information and detailed guidance can be found on Civil Service Learning . If you require additional advice or would like to book on the training please email  [email protected] .

Recruitment guidance

Recruitment principles.

In order to bring the right people with the right skills into the GSG and to develop the cadre of skilled professionals, it is important that members are recruited in a consistent manner. The basic premise for this is covered by five principles:

• Minimum entry requirements will apply, as agreed by Heads of Profession.
• The GSG Competency Framework will be used as the basis for assessment of statistical competence.
• The Civil Service Behaviours will be used as the basis for assessment of generic ability.
• Consistent selection methods will apply, which consider a candidate’s potential to develop and perform against both the GSG Competency Framework and Civil Service Behaviours.
• An independent assessor (usually an external GSG member) will be present to ensure that GSG standards are met.

Qualification requirements

For statistical posts, the accepted qualifications are:

• a first or second class honours degree in a numerate subject (2:1 minimum for Assistant Statistician; 2:2 minimum for Statistical Officer) containing at least 25% taught statistical content(e.g. Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Sciences, Business Studies, Psychology, Geography or similar)
• a higher degree, e.g. an MSc or PhD, in a subject containing formal statistical training (e.g. Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Sciences, Business Studies, Psychology, Geography or similar)
• have worked in a statistical or data science field and are able to demonstrate continuous professional development (via a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) log book) in statistics or data science at the same level as a foundation degree or Higher National Diploma (HND) Level 5
• have achieved or on track to achieve a level 4 apprenticeship including at least two years in a statistical or data analysis field in government and are able to demonstrate continuous professional development in statistics or data analysis (via a CPD log book signed off by a manager or mentor who are members of the statistical profession)

For statistical data scientist posts, the accepted qualifications are:

• a first or second class honours degree in a numerate discipline, computer science or Information Technology (IT) equivalent which demonstrates core statistical skills
• a higher degree, e.g. an MSc or PhD, in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics (this is not a definitive list)
• have worked in a statistical or data science field and are able to demonstrate continuous professional development (via a CPD log book) in statistics or data science at the same level as a foundation degree or HND Level 5

Please note: candidates may apply in their final year of study while they are still awaiting their qualification result. But, formal contracts can only be offered upon confirmation of the achievement of the relevant qualification. In the case of an apprenticeship, this includes completing two years work experience in a statistical or data analysis field in government as part of attaining the qualification.

Independent GSG assessors

An independent assessor is required to be present for the recruitment of any non-GSG grade into the GSG. Independent assessors will be GSG staff at least one grade higher than the advertised post. They will normally come from another government department or organisation, and it is vital that they have a good knowledge of the GSG.

If a department is unable to source an assessor from another government department or organisation, they should contact the Head of GSS Recruitment for approval to use an assessor from a different business area within their department.

Independent assessors must ensure that:

• relevant standards of the GSG Competency Framework are met
• CPD requirements are covered, where appropriate
• candidates are judged on their potential to develop and perform against the GSG Competency Framework
• a GSG approved test is used where required by this guidance
• this guidance is being observed.

The GSS Recruitment Team holds a list of assessors and will offer training for new assessors and refresher training for existing assessors.

Independent assessors must:

• be HEO grade or above
• have been in the GSG for at least a year
• complete Civil Service unconscious bias and equality and diversity training
• attend a GSG briefing or training session before being placed on the list (a specific Fast Stream training session is required before an assessor can participate in the recruitment of assistant statisticians)
• attend a refresher briefing if requested to do so by the GSS Recruitment Team following significant changes to the recruitment procedures
• agree to their names, email addresses and telephone numbers being made available through the GSG website for recruiting managers across departments to contact
• agree that their performance may be evaluated, in order to ensure that standards are being maintained (note that this is already a feature of fast stream assessment)
• have a good knowledge of the GSG
• be available to undertake sifting for GSS Recruitment campaigns
• be available for at least five days of interviewing a year

Civil Service (CS) Behaviours and GSG Competency Framework

Civil Service behaviours should be used in conjunction with the GSG Competency Framework to ensure that candidates meet the appropriate competencies at the required level or grade for the post.

The number of competencies required from each framework will depend on the requirements of the exercise e.g. recruitment/promotion/badging.

See Annexes for more details.

Annex A: External GSG recruitment campaigns managed by the GSS Recruitment Team

Recruitment of:

• Statistical Officer (StO)
• Higher Statistical Officer (HStO)
• Senior Statistical Officer (SStO)
• Statistical Data Scientist (SDS)
• Higher Statistical Data Scientists (HSDS)
• Senior Statistical Data Scientist (SSDS)

All grades of statistical officers or statistical data scientists up to SEO grade are mainly recruited centrally via the GSS Recruitment Team on a continual basis. GSS Recruitment is responsible for running the schemes which test candidates’ statistical or data science knowledge as well as their generic (core) capability.

All panel members must be at least one grade higher than the advertised post. An independent assessor is required and the interview assessment should consist of:

• an online multiple choice statistical test
• Civil Service judgement team (SStO grade only)
• a dissemination test or presentation
• an interview

Candidates are required to provide evidence against the criteria for the person specification contained within the advert relevant to the grade being recruited.

Evidence from across the five pillars (Helpful, Innovative, Capable, Efficient and Professional) will be pulled out during interview, e.g. evidence will be sought on a candidate’s capability and/or their potential to apply statistics in an innovative way.

Assessors are looking to confirm that:

• StO and SDS candidates are demonstrating the potential to achieve Level 1 of the GSG Competency Framework within their first year; and Level 2 of the Civil Service behaviours
• HStO,SDS,SStO & SSDS candidates are demonstrating Level 2 GSG competencies and Level 3 of the Civil Service Behaviours

All recruitment exercise must comply with this approach/guidance.

Temporary Statistical Officers (TSOs)

TSOs can be employed on a fixed-term basis for 51 weeks. There are two recruitment routes for TSOs and the GSS Recruitment Team manage the pipeline on behalf of departments. The entry routes are:

• applicants apply via a fair and open StO external exercise but fail to meet the required standard and fall short by scoring one ‘3’ in either of the technical competencies or Civil Service Behaviours
• applicants apply via an advertised TSO campaign managed by the GSS Recruitment Team. They undertake the GSS online test and then have a ‘light touch’ telephone interview undertaken by one HStO and one member of the GSS Recruitment Team

Annex B: External recruitment campaigns: non-GSS recruitment managed schemes

Occasionally departments may need to run their own recruitment campaigns. If this happens, departments must ensure that they follow the guidance, structure and requirements for recruiting into the GSG.

All panel members must be at least one grade higher than the advertised post. Departments must seek sign-off of their bespoke recruitment process with the Head of GSS Recruitment before they begin to make sure that standards are being maintained.

The following information is for departmental recruitment of:

Departments should use the central schemes to recruit entrants. If departments run their own recruitment campaigns for these grades, they should follow the requirements outlined in Annex A for recruiting Statistical Officers and Statistical Data Scientists from Executive Officer (EO) to Senior Executive Officer grade and seek sign-off of their planned procedures with the Head of GSS Recruitment before commencing.

The following information is for departmental recruitment of Grade 7 or 6 Principal Statistician and Grade 7 or 6 Statistical Data Scientist and above.

The GSS Recruitment team does not presently offer a central recruitment service for these grades. When directly recruiting for Grade 7 or Grade 6, departments should ensure there is an independent assessor involved and the interview assessment consists of:

• an online multiple choice statistical or numeracy test

It is expected that the recruitment will focus on the three statistical strands:

• acquiring data or understanding customer needs
• data analysis
• presenting and disseminating data effectively

For Grade 7 and Grade 6 recruitment, assessors are looking to confirm that candidates are demonstrating the required level of competence as set out at Level 3 of the GSG Competency Framework.

The following information is for departmental recruitment of a Senior Civil Service (SCS) Statistician or a SCS Statistical Data Scientist.

The GSS Recruitment Team does not presently offer a central recruitment service for these grades and each exercise will require bespoke treatment. When recruiting SCS statisticians and SCS statistical data scientists, departments should ensure there is an independent assessor involved and the interview assessment consists of:

• a presentation

For entry into the profession, at more senior grades such as this, it is expected that the recruitment will focus on the three statistical strands:

• acquiring data/understanding customer needs

Evidence across the five pillars (Helpful, Innovative, Capable, Efficient and Professional). Assessors should adjust their interviews in line with the expectations of the grade as outlined in the GSG Competency Framework and Civil Service behaviours.

Any SCS Statistician and SCS Statistical Data Scientist (or equivalent) exercise must comply with this approach/guidance.

Annex C: Badging exercises

If departments recruit staff to statistical posts who have been recruited outside of the standards described in the GSS Recruitment process they will be required to sit a badging board to gain recognised membership to the GSG.

There is the requirement for staff to hold the same qualifications pr experience as for external GSG entry requirements. Badging boards are run quarterly at EO to Grade 7 levels by the GSS Recruitment Team. If departments need to run their own exercises outside of this schedule they must contact the GSS Recruitment Team to ensure the appropriate testing materials are used.

Badging follows similar principles as when recruiting directly into the GSG, i.e. the minimum qualification requirements and the requirements for the interview process are very similar.

Requirements for a badging board:

• online multiple choice test
• dissemination test
• presentation
• assessment against the appropriate level of the GSG Competency Framework

There is no requirement to assess candidates against the Civil Service Behaviours.

Assessors for badging boards

The assessment panel must consist of at least two Statisticians or Statistical Data Scientists, one of which should be independent, and at least one grade higher than the grade being assessed.

An independent assessor will normally come from another government department or organisation, and it is vital that they have a good knowledge of the GSG. If a department is unable to source an assessor from another government department or organisation, they should contact the Head of GSS Recruitment for approval to use an assessor from a different business area within their department.

Staff wishing to return to the GSG

GSG staff are free to take up posts outside of the profession for up to five years, but are required to maintain their CPD log books during this time so as to demonstrate their continuous professional membership.

Where GSG staff have worked outside the profession for more than five years, they are required to be ‘re-badged’ on their return to the profession. This is to ensure that standards are maintained.

Annex D: Promotion guidance

This guidance sets out the principles and processes for departments wishing to undertake a promotion campaign for those already in the Government Statistical Group (GSG).

Promotion principles

In order for staff to retain their GSG membership and for the GSG to develop the cadre of skilled professionals, it is important that members are promoted in a consistent manner.

• the GSG Competency Framework will be used as the basis for assessment of statistical competence
• the Civil Service Behaviours will be used as the basis for assessment of generic capability
• consistent advertising and promotion methods will be applied to ensure that candidates are able to provide evidence against both the GSG Competency Framework and the Civil Service behaviours
• an independent assessor (usually an external GSG member) will be present for Grade 7, Grade 6 and SCS boards

When existing GSG members apply for promotion to Grade 7, Grade 6 and SCS an independent assessor is required for interview panels.

Independent assessors will be GSG staff at least one grade higher than the advertised post. They will normally come from another government department or organisation, and it is vital that they have a good knowledge of the GSG.

GSG Competency Framework and Civil Service Behaviours

Civil Service Behaviours should be used in conjunction with the GSG Competency Framework to ensure that candidates meet the appropriate competencies at the required level or grade for the post.

The number of GSG competencies and Civil Service behaviours required will depend on the requirements for the post(s) and can be decided by recruiting managers. The recommendations is that the mix of competencies and behaviours does not exceed six in total.

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Your CV is a document that allows you to summarise your education, work history, skills and experience which relate to the job you are applying for.  Your skills and experience will be scored against the essential criteria in the job advert so make sure your information is relevant to the job. 

Your work history can include paid work, volunteering work and/or work experience through school or college. You can also mention experience you have from school, college or hobbies and clubs you have been involved in.  For example, if you helped organise a school trip or arranged a charity event you can highlight the skills you used.

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