How your application is assessed - Success Profiles

When you apply for a role with COPFS you will be assessed against the Success Profile outlined in the application pack for the post.  

We recommend reading through details on Success Profiles available on the Civil Service website - Success Profiles’ 

Success profiles will allow you to bring your whole self to the fore when applying for a job, demonstrating what motivates you and what you enjoy. 

It also gives COPFS the best possible chance of finding the right person for the role, maximising performance and improving diversity and inclusivity. 

Success Profiles assesses you against a range of elements and using a variety of selection methods. They allow boards to assess applicants against five key elements. These five elements are: 

• Behaviours: the actions and activities that people do which result in effective performance in a job 
• Strengths: (not currently being used within COPFS) the things we do regularly, do well and that motivate us 
• Experience: the knowledge or mastery of an activity or subject gained through involvement or exposure to it 
• Ability: the aptitude or potential to perform to the required standard 
• Technical: the demonstration of specific professional skills, knowledge and qualifications 

Full information on each of these elements is available here 

Not all of the elements are relevant to every role, and will vary depending on the profession, level and type of role. Information about what elements are required for the specific job you are applying for will be stated within the advert and/or application pack. 

Please ensure you have read through all detail on the elements of the success profile being used to assess you for the role you are applying for. Any questions please contact recruitment@COPFS.gov.uk 

The assessment is dependent upon the type of role and level you have applied for. A range of assessment methods helps COPFS to more accurately match you to the essential requirements of the role. For example, you may be asked to complete an application form, a personal statement, or to provide a CV, which may help us assess experiences, technical qualifications and behaviours, or you may also be asked to attend for an assessment or complete an online test to assess abilities.  

Often a combination of these approaches will be used, and more than one element may be tested within the same assessment method. Details of which elements will be assessed and how we will assess against these will be included in the advert / application pack. 

Personal statement

The majority of application forms will request you complete an application form, consisting of questions relating to you, name, address, contact information etc. and also a personal statement, which will be used to assess your suitability for the role you are applying for.  

To prepare the personal statement you should read the advert and application pack carefully, considering how you can show you are a good match to the post. You may wish to consider the following points: 

• How you meet the essential criteria for the post 
• Include examples of how you have tackled similar tasks or demonstrated the skills outlined in the advert/application pack  
• Think about outlining why you are applying for the role and how it aligns with your aspirations, passions and career goals.  

You will need to be concise as there is a maximum total word count of 750 words. 

Within your personal statement you should consider the behaviours outlined in the success profile.

You should aim to provide examples of how you demonstrate the behaviours, how actions and activities you have done or would do result in effective performance in your role.  

You may wish to use the STAR method for outlining their behaviours but do not have to.  

Some hints and tips:

• Assume the board know nothing about you – if it’s something implicit to your role make it obvious 
• Get straight to the point. 
• Avoid using clichés e.g. ‘I am a team player’ – it doesn’t tell the vacancy holder anything about your skills and it won’t set your personal statement apart. 
• Sell yourself: write in the first person – use ‘I’ (but be careful to avoid it becoming a list). 
• Be positive in the words/language you use to describe yourself. 
• Stand out from the crowd – concentrate on what you can offer that will match what the vacancy holder is looking for.   
• Keep your sentences short and punchy, avoid acronyms and jargon. 
• Check your spelling and grammar. 
• Consider getting someone else to read your personal statement, will it make sense to someone working in a different area? 
• Read it out loud and make sure it flows. 

Key takeaways:

Your personal statement is about you – your work ethic, your skills, your strengths, your experience. Do not be afraid to sell yourself. 

Do not assume that you can use the same personal statement for every role. 

The best personal statements are those that reflect you as an individual. 

The board members can usually get an understanding from reading them, alongside the rest of your application, for the skills you will contribute and whether you will be a good fit for the role. 

After you submit your application

The first stage of the application form will ask some questions to establish your eligibility to apply for posts.  

The HR Resource Team will undertake a pre sift to ensure applicants are eligible for appointment to the Civil Service. Your application will be checked to ensure they meet the following rules: 

• COPFS has exemptions from the conditions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and will not usually accept applications from external candidates who have previous convictions relating to violence, dishonesty or drugs. 
• COPFS must adhere to strict Civil Service Nationality rules – further details can be found on the Civil Service website. 
• Consideration will be given where candidates have a conflict of interest, secondary employment and any past or pending complaints by any professional body of which they are a member. 

For all internal appointments the pre sift process includes checking whether you are eligible to apply for specific posts. The HR Resource Team will check applications submitted to ensure they meet requirements for the specific post.  

Should you not meet the requisite eligibility criteria your application will be sifted out by the HR Resource Team before it can proceed to the formal sifting/interviewing stages. 

The sift

The second part of your application form will be sent to the board to sift.

To ensure that only relevant information is considered when sifting, ‘blind’ recruitment will continue to be used. This sees your name, personal information and biographical data and education dates being removed before the application form is reviewed by the sift panel. This ensures you can be judged only on merit and not on your background, race, gender, or other protected characteristic. This same blinding process is for all other application types such as CVs.

The board will undertake an initial sift of all applications, including your personal statements based on the essential criteria for the post. In some circumstances a second stage sift can be undertaken looking at any desirable criteria for the post should this be required.  

Where the post attracts a large volume of applicants, personal statements will be “sifted” and a shortlist produced. Applications will be sifted using the scoring system below will be used to help rank applications in an objective and consistent manner. 

The results will identify the most suitable candidates to progress to the next stage of assessment. A board will use the content of the application to look for appropriate evidence that you meet the success profile for the role. 

Applications are scored using the 7 point scale noted below: 

This formal action will be conducted by a Board who will usually (but not always) be the same as the Selection Board.

Disability Confident Interview Scheme   

We are committed to valuing diversity and to equality of opportunity.  

Part of this commitment is that we guarantee an interview to any eligible candidate who has declared a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010, provided that they meet the minimum criteria for the post in question. The essential minimum criteria is set out in the job advert and application pack.  

As a Disability Confident Employer we will make reasonable adjustments to support disabled candidates and give reassurance to those who fall within the Guaranteed Interview Scheme guidelines and meet the minimum criteria set at sift; a guaranteed invitation to interview.  

Great place to work for veterans scheme    

We have opted in to the Great Place to work for Veterans Scheme Office for Veterans’ Affairs | Civil Service Careers (civil-service-careers.gov.uk)   

For the purposes of the scheme, the minimum criteria to qualify for interview requires adequate demonstration of all required elements and to meet the essential criteria to qualify for interview, as well as the below eligibility.    

To be eligible for this scheme in the Civil Service, you must:   

• have served for at least one year in His Majesty’s Armed Forces (as a Regular or Reserve); this includes time spent training  
• be in transition from, or ceased to be a member of, HM Armed Forces  
• not already be a civil servant, or be employed by a Civil Service Commission accredited public body  

There is no maximum time limit from when you left HM Armed Forces to be eligible for this initiative.  

Further adjustments  

We want to ensure that there are no barriers in our recruitment process for those who wish to apply and welcome any adjustment you might want us to consider that would help you. There will be space within the application form where you can note any adjustments you feel would be useful throughout the recruitment process or you can contact a member of the recruitment team directly.

An adjustment can be considered to support a disability or meet a reasonable request that is going to help you perform during your assessment. These are often practical and can range from accessibility requests to supporting early arrivals to assessments made in person. You might prefer to have a chance to put yourself at ease before beginning, or you might prefer that our panel avoid small talk if this helps you focus. You might just want to ask that a window can be opened if needed. We can support a diverse range of adjustments.

If there are any adjustments that would make the recruitment process more suitable for you, we want to support you and provide this where possible.

When at interview, the Selection Panel will try to put you at ease. The Chairperson will explain what is going to happen and who will ask the questions. You can also ask questions, seek clarification or add extra information at any time and will be given a specific opportunity to do so at the end.    

The selection panel will comprise at least two members.  If you find that someone with whom you are familiar is interviewing you do not be surprised if they treat you formally, they must treat all candidates equitably and must not give you an unfair advantage through over-familiarity.    

If the person interviewing you is someone with whom you have a personal relationship we ask that you identify this either at the application stage if possible or as soon as you are aware. This will allow an adjustment to the board to be made.

For any particular post, everyone’s interview will be similar in that all candidates will be asked the same core questions.  Any follow-up questions will depend on the answers you give and won’t necessarily be the same as those for other candidates.   

The purpose of the interview is to assess your suitability for the role against the success profile for the post.  

Interviews will normally last 30-60 minutes and you may be asked to describe specific occasions when you have demonstrated a certain skill, or behaviour.

Generally interviews will be face-to-face or via Microsoft Teams.  

Examples of the assessments undertaken for each element of Success Profiles can be found within the elements document here  

You may be asked to give examples of how you tackled real life problems (behavioural), or how you would tackle a problem should it present itself to you (situational). Before you attend an interview, look carefully at the advert and think about examples you can give of times when you have previously demonstrated the behaviours outlined.  

We recommend you consider how you would construct your answers based on the STAR model (Situation, Task, Action, Result). You may also wish to consider how you would handle similar situations in the future. Candidates are reminded to use ‘I’ and not ‘WE’ so that the selection panel obtains a full understanding of what you did within a specific example.  

Candidates should be prepared to talk about their example in a lot of detail.  The Selection Board will ask you probing questions to ensure they fully understand the situation you are describing.  The Board will also be interested in the outcome of the situation and whether there was anything you learned from the experience.  

Our current best practice methods of selection will continue based ‘on merit’ on the basis of ‘fair competition’ allowing the best person to be selected free from bias on the grounds of protected characteristics.   

Candidate notes 

You may bring personal notes to your interview.

However it is good to remember that the interview is a conversation with a purpose and therefore the board are not looking for answers by rote.

Notes should only be used as reference material.

Further assessment

You may be asked to undertake a further assessment for the role such as an assessment centre, or completing an online test to demonstrate your abilities.

You may be told the subject of the assessment in advance to allow you to prepare, or it could be given to you on the day. Supplementary assessments may be in the form of presentations, in-tray exercises, or on occasion online assessment however, not all roles will require a further assessment to be completed. Each vacancy will be considered on a case by case basis, taking into account the key requirements, core skills, complexity and volume of applications.

Details of which elements will be assessed and how we will assess against these will be included in all adverts/application packs. 

Interview scoring

Behaviours, experience and technical skills are scored on the same 1-7 rating scale used at Sift.  

The score from any supplementary assessment will also be taken into consideration. 

Benchmarking

A board may set a benchmark for interview where there is a job and business need. A benchmark is a score that a candidate must achieve for a single or combination of elements. I.e. Candidates must score a 5 on the lead behaviours noted in the pack or an overall score of 20 must be scored across the 4 behaviours.  

Please note, we set a standard benchmark for all their assessments; candidates must demonstrate the minimum essential criteria for all roles, this includes scoring 4 or more in all behaviours.  However, a candidate can score a single score of 3 where scores for all other behaviours are high.  

Where a further benchmark has been set this will be detailed in the application pack and invite to interview letter so candidates are aware during their preparation. 

Results

Results will be sent via email after all interviews have taken place. Candidates will be able to request feedback on their interview in the form of a Candidate Rating form. 

Please note that we will not meet any expenses you may incur in association with a recruitment exercise (tests or interview), nor if you have to relocate to take up appointment (this is also applicable to any current COPFS staff who may make an application for an externally advertised post).

Appeal

All candidates are entitled to the right of appeal against any selection decision (i.e. at sift or interview).  

Appeals against selection decisions can be made on the following grounds:  

• There has been a procedural irregularity that can be seen to have materially disadvantaged the individual candidate; and/or  
• There has been an infringement of COPFS’ equal opportunities policy causing actual disadvantage  

Appeals out with these grounds will not be considered.  The appeal must be submitted in writing, justifying the grounds, to the HR Resource Team within five working days of receiving the results or feedback (if available). Where an appeal is upheld, COPFS will take steps to remove disadvantage or compensate for actual loss.  

COPFS recruitment policy is founded on the principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as stated in the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles.    

Where candidates believe that COPFS has breached these requirements, a complaint can be made to the Civil Service Commission directly. Candidates are required to raise the matter with COPFS in the first instance, however if you are unhappy with the response, you may make a complaint to the Commission.    

Further information can be found on the Civil Service Commission website.   

We are proud to be Diversity Champions and continue our long-term commitment to inclusion within our workplace, and celebrate the diversity of our employees, and the communities we work in.  

As an employer, we provide equality of opportunity and will not tolerate discrimination on grounds of age, belief, disability, gender, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sex and sexual orientation – or any other grounds.  

We make everyone feel welcome within the organisation by regularly reviewing and refreshing our policies to ensure we use all-inclusive language, and have a number of network groups within the company which include: Proud in COPFS; Equality Ambassadors and the Staff Disability Advisory Group.  

View further information on the Civil Service’s diversity and inclusion policies, and how equality and diversity are monitored.  

You can read about our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy online. 

To learn about how we handle your information during the recruitment exercise, please see our privacy policy.