Competency based questions for civil service

[CLAWS]

Hi everyone,

Need some help with an application for an IT job in the civil service. This is the first time I am applying for a position in this sector as I have always worked private sector and have only ever had to just ping a server over to potential employers.

I am completing some competency based questions where you have to give evidence of having enacted the competency. I have managed to answer a number of the questions but I am struggling with two of them -

Be interested and positive about what they and the team are trying to achieve

Check own and team performance against outcomes, make improvements suggestions or take corrective action when problems are identified

I'm not looking for someone to answer them for me, just some pointers really on how to start and if possible any examples from an IT support perspective. Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Josh107]

They don't appear to be questions for starters? What context are these in?

EDIT: Re-read, now I get it! A bit slow at the minute, early shift this morning!

 

[big_white_dog84]

So much nonsense! Made up by HR to keep a couple of them in a job managing the process. We had a huge recruitment round 4 years ago using competency based questions. We got a lot of new people.....around 10% of whom had the necessary qualifications under the electricity at work regs to actually carry out the tasks in hand. Turns out that wasn't one of HR's questions. We are still suffering from it to this day.

 

[BunnyKillBot]

I think I would shoot myself if I had to answer such inane dross questions. Common sense 101.

 

[semi-pro waster]

Be interested and positive about what they and the team are trying to achieve

Check own and team performance against outcomes, make improvements suggestions or take corrective action when problems are identified

I'm not looking for someone to answer them for me, just some pointers really on how to start and if possible any examples from an IT support perspective. Any help would be greatly appreciated

General tip - use the STAR format, that is Situation, Task, Action, Result. It helps focus your examples because the word limits are often quite tight - the first part should be very short, it's really the Action that you can score in - you don't get points for long explanations and you want to maximise the opportunities for scoring points against the relevant criteria. The person reviewing your application will be interested in what you have done so focus on your actions, you may be part of a team but think about what it is you've done and added to the task. Try to use active verbs when describing what you did. It's better if you can use an example where there's a successful conclusion generally but that's not always possible, if it wasn't successful then you've got to think about the lessons learned and try to show that your contribution were effective even if it didn't achieve the desired outcome, if it hasn't concluded yet then explain what you've done and show how it looks likely to lead to a good conclusion.

I can't help from an IT support perspective particularly but for the first question I'd probably be picking a project that I was enthusiastic about and explaining more about it - it's a bit of a tricky one though without seeing what the competency framework requires, often they give some examples of what "good" looks like so you can see what it is that is being looked for.

For the second do you have any examples where you've demonstrated good customer service, identified problems and taken action to improve the service you provide? These things can usually be big or small but if for instance you've noted that customer complaints were hitting a bottleneck or taking too long to get resolved then implemented a solution to make it better - maybe you've brought in dedicated call handling (i.e. encouraging ownership) from the start of the call to a conclusion you could show that customers appreciate the fact they've got one point of contact and someone who takes the trouble to call them back.

I think I would shoot myself if I had to answer such inane dross questions. Common sense 101.

Maybe but it's the way that the system is set up so you either answer the competency based questions or you shoot yourself (apparently...). One benefit is that it's a known set of criteria you're being measured against, another is that even if it's a pain to write up the competencies the first time you can often re-use them.

 

[CLAWS]

Thanks for that Semi!

The context of the question is basically this - I have a table headed Delivering at Pace, within that table are two columns - Effective Behaviour and Ineffective Beahviour

Under effective behaviour it says People who are effective are likely to -

Bullet point

Bullet Point

Be interested and positive about what they and the team are trying to achieve for which I have written -

As we are such a small team that looks after a large and very busy user base it is important that I do not lose sight of my objective and the objective of the team, which is to provide an efficient and reliable service. Recently I have looked into how we deploy updates to software such as Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader and Java updates. I currently have to go round to each users PC/laptop and install the necessary update(s) which is not very efficient. I have looked into methods to do this via group policy but have been unable to find anything that is simple and can be implemented in a short time frame. I have however discovered some software called PDQ Deployment which works in a similar fashion to Windows Server Update Services in that it downloads all the necessary updates for Flash, Adobe Reader, Java and many other software’s. Once downloaded, the updates can be deployed to users PC’s and laptops silently. I have been trialling this software since Christmas and so far it has been a success with every update. Additionally it has also allowed me to push out software applications such as an anti-virus package to users silently. I am now looking to purchase the full version of the software in order to unlock its full potential and help my team to be that much more efficient.

Is this even correct or is my approach to this all wrong?

 

[semi-pro waster]

Is this even correct or is my approach to this all wrong?

My advice would be to answer the overall question which is about delivering at pace (this is perhaps the most confusingly titled of the competencies) as it's really about delivering quality outcomes on time and (usually) as part of a team so you've got to be able to show you motivate the team and are enthusiastic about it. If you can hit every point on the effective behaviours while doing that then great but remember they're examples and sometimes what you've actually done won't lend itself to every single point. You've probably got 200-250 words so make the most of them and hit the points as well as you can.

I don't know if there's a specific IT competency framework but from a more general point of view the example looks like it's on the right sort of lines but could do with being tightened up quite a bit - there's a lot of words and description in there that is just setting the scene. Apologies if this sounds a bit negative but your aim should be to maximise the number of points you can score and do so in as few words as possible because that gives you more room to bolster the example.

I am part of a small team looking after a large and very busy user base to whom we provide an efficient and reliable service. Recently I have looked into how we deploy updates to software. It is currently a manual process to install the necessary update(s) which is not very efficient. I have researched methods to do this via group policy but determined that this was not suitable for my organisation or could be implemented in a short time frame. I identified some software called PDQ Deployment which downloads all the necessary updates for the installed software. Once downloaded, the updates can be deployed to users PCs and laptops remotely on command. I have been trialling this software since Christmas and it has been a success with every update. Additionally it has also allowed me to push out software applications such as an anti-virus package to users silently (does this bit add much or could it be included in another sentence?). I am recommending (n.b. unless you can sign it off yourself?) we purchase the full version of the software in order to unlock its full potential and help my team to be that much more efficient. (can you include anything about how much more efficient?)

I've had a very quick go at rewriting the example and that saves around 50 words (not including the bits in brackets) - hopefully I haven't lost anything important but remember that a lot of the time it won't be an IT expert reading the competency and even if it is they probably don't need great swathes of technical detail. If it's linked to the standard competency framework then you'll probably need to include something about how you've clarified roles and responsibilities, adjusted performance levels to deliver quality outcomes (e.g. have you found that your resources weren't sufficient so you need to do something differently?), encouraged your team etc?

//edit don't worry if you write too much initially, it's almost always easier to pare it down if you've come in high than to build it up if you're short on the word count.

 

[Sudden]

Have to say, that first question seems very odd to me. I've had to do my share of competency questions (though not in an IT role), but a 'be interested and positive' is a new one. I wonder if you need an example which demonstrates the qualities of encouragement more? Like - someone came to me with an idea that would help the team, but would require more work for me/need me to let him go from some regular duties etc., but I did it anyway and supported them?

Your answer seems good too (though full disclosure - I read semi-pro's version ), but would perhaps add in what it eventually achieved. So what was the effect of being able to push out apps silently? Increased efficiency, reduced churn, better user experience etc.

 

[JoeBoi]

May be a silly question, but have you downloaded the civil service compentency frame work to work from?

This will help you massively. If you read the key points of what is expected at the level / grade you are applying for at each compentency. You should include an example which hits as many notes as you can.

 

[CLAWS]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the pointers so far. Ive got all the necessary framework documentation as it was already attached to post.

What I should have done instead of writing up my draft statements was get online and see how the application works. As it turns out (as per Semi Pro Wasters post above) I have to respond to the Delivering at Pace competency as a whole as opposed to each bullet point under that competency. Things just got that little bit harder as I now have to try and cram in as much as I possibly can within 250 words

 

[Sudden]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the pointers so far. Ive got all the necessary framework documentation as it was already attached to post.

What I should have done instead of writing up my draft statements was get online and see how the application works. As it turns out (as per Semi Pro Wasters post above) I have to respond to the Delivering at Pace competency as a whole as opposed to each bullet point under that competency. Things just got that little bit harder as I now have to try and cram in as much as I possibly can within 250 words

That's always very tricky. As semi-pro mentioned, the STAR approach helps you structure and focus it. I normally do struggle to stay within the word limit. Would write out everything you want to say, keeping it as short as possible, and then start cutting down what isn't absolutely essential.

 

[Robosapien]

Lie.

Lie, and do it well.

 

[Josh]

As semi said use STAR, it is used a lot in the Civil Service - when I did my interview and got my results back the competency framework was graded 1-5.

IT is the Civil Service is easy, everything is outsourced. Depending on what department you are working for depends on the level.

Good luck bud

 

[mid_gen]

There are still companies that use this BS? I wouldn't go near them!

For advice though, just make up whatever ******** HR buzzword-bingo laden dross a jumped up recruiter wants to hear.

 

[CLAWS]

Just a quick update on what happened with this. So after putting all the hard work and effort into doing my competency statements and re-engineering my CV according to their template, I submitted the application on Thursday last week at 2230.

After submitting I was prompted to take a 20 minute assessment. This was not easy at all (or maybe I'm just dunce ) as there were a number of situational questions regarding using your judgement on what should be done. Then there were some mathematical questions which I'm pretty sure I messed up completely. In any case after I submitted my answers for the assessment I was told that I have been unsuccessful in making it through to interview stage.

So after all the hoo-haa of digging deep to get my statements done I am now left with the reminder of how unintelligent I am

/RANT

 

[semi-pro waster]

Sorry to hear it hasn't been a good experience for you, I didn't know that they did further assessments but maybe it depends on the route taken for applications. One positive you might be able to take from it is that you've now got a bit of practice in competency based assessments. I don't know whether the recruiter will even have been sent the application after you didn't proceed from the application stage but if they did it's often worth asking for feedback to see what you did well or badly in the examples used.