u/SantoPellegrino

Had a civil service interview at a prison today for a non-prison office role. I had a very vague location on the email which described a place that didn’t make any sense.

After getting there and the main visitor building being closed, I called up the number provided which took me through to a call centre on the other side of the country. The lady was helpful and sent an urgent email to the interviewer as they were unable to provide me their email or phone (GDPR I suppose).

I went to the main prison entrance and they sent me to another building with a bunch of “no entry” and “authorised personnel only” signs as well as a gate with barbed wire and all that. I waited for another 20 minutes and eventually, half an hour after I was due to start the interview, I gave up and left. Once driving I saw someone come out look like they were looking for someone. May have been a coincidence but may have been my interviewer? How was I supposed to know? I drove off and a few minutes later got a call which rung three times and stopped. No voicemail, no email. Nothing.

Wasted over an hour of my life including getting ready and driving to the place and driving back and to top it all off… I came off a night shift this morning. I guess the only positive is I am in work at the moment (but desperately want to change careers) so this isn’t a set back or reliant for claiming JSA. But, a wasted half day off nonetheless

I've got an interview next week for mentor instructor at a prison (Cat C I think) next week and while I understand the job description and what the job will entail (e.g. leading prison workshops for job/life skills I guess?) I'm curious what the job is like on the ground? Are you generally working with well behaved prisoners? Is the job dangerous at all (obviously not in the same sense as a Prison Officer). Are the hours generally sociable or do some workshops get held on evenings/weekends?

Basically just looking for any additional info as the only thing I can find on Google is generic job descriptions and, for want of a better word, promo videos directly from MoJ advertising these types of roles, which are obviously more positive.

Thanks in advance