u/spacecrustaceans

I'm debating whether to choose CareADHD. Whatever provider I look at, someone has had a negative experience, or there are negative reviews on Trustpilot or Google. What I actually want to know is who carries out the assessment. My GP has agreed to refer me and agreed to shared care - but only on the condition that the assessment is carried out by a psychiatrist. She's not comfortable taking over the responsibility of shared care, if it's not carried out by a Psychiatrist. So, I am not sure if CareADHD can even do this or not.

Hello 👋 I'm trying to decide whether to go with HarrowHealth for my ADHD assessment and/or titration. I'm a bit concerned, though, because I have a prior diagnosis of Mixed and Other Personality Disorders under the ICD-10 from around 2017, and I was discharged from the community mental health team in 2018 after completing DBT. I went through the DIVA form with my mum, since I struggled to remember details from ages 5 to 12. I'm 35 now, so that's a long way back for me 🤣 She could answe Yes, to a lot of the questions, and had lots of different examples from my childhood.

Anyway, I'd like to hear from people with a prior mental health history, either similar to mine or otherwise, who can share their experience of how HarrowHealth treated them. My concern isn't specifically about HarrowHealth. Some people have reported negative experiences with different providers during ADHD assessments and/or titration once the provider learns about a prior mental health history, including being dismissed entirely or refused an assessment outright. I am just worried, that due to my prior mental health history, I will be dismissed, and they'll blame my diagnosis, rather than taking me seriously.

I was going to go with Health Harmonie Minds, now called Medinet Minds, but I've read some concerning reviews, so I won't be choosing them. The providers I'm looking at are Xyla Services, Berkeley Psychiatrists (though they haven't responded to any of my emails, so I probably won't choose them either), Harley Street Mental Health, Well Life ADHD, Mentalwell, Skylight Psychiatry, and Insight Diagnostics. All the other providers I looked at have too long a wait for initial assessment and/or titration. The ones I've listed have either no wait or only a couple of weeks.

I am applying for a diary management role and the job advert states that the personal statement should be:

"A Personal Statement of up to 750 words, explaining your motivation for applying to this role, and evidencing how you meet the essential and desirable criteria listed in the job specification."

I've never come across a role that specifically asks you to explain your motivation for applying, so I'm not sure how much of the statement should be dedicated to this or what sifters are generally looking for. I also need to cover five detailed essential criteria within the 750-word limit, so I'm wary of spending too many words on motivation at the expense of evidencing the essential criteria, which I'd imagine carry a lot more weight.

I am also not sure how to approach the desirable criterion, which states:

"Experience of supporting senior leaders or working in a business support, private office, or team coordination role."

I do have some potentially relevant experience? 😅 I've volunteered as a Company Secretary, providing administrative and governance support to the Directors of a Community Interest Company, and I've also chaired the board of a non-profit organisation, supporting the Directors in day-to-day decision-making and, on occasion, representing and deputising for them in their absence. I'm just not sure whether this aligns with the type or level of experience they're looking for.

My instinct is not to address the desirable criterion if I do not feel I have directly relevant experience. However, I am unsure whether that is the best approach. Should I simply omit any reference to the desirable criterion, or would it be better to include a brief explanation that I do not have direct experience in this area? I just want to make sure I don't risk being sifted out because either way I did not address the desirable criteria.

I am looking at applying for a HEO Policy Adviser role at HM Treasury, but the application format is unlike anything I have seen before, and I am not sure what is expected or how best to approach it.

Unlike EO roles I have applied for, there is no essential criteria listed. This is my first time applying at HEO level, but the role states no specific qualifications or experience are needed, and people who have reviewed my behaviour examples in the past have said they are what they would expect to see at HEO, so I figured it was worth a shot.

I am under no illusion that I will remotely be in with a chance for an interview, I understand competition for this will be fierce, but I still want to put my best foot forward. I am more treating it as an opportunity to practice writing STAR examples at the level that is expected at HEO.

Instead of the usual essential criteria, I need to write a single 250-word statement covering three behaviours:

1. Delivering at Pace: Ability to plan, prioritise and deliver on a broad portfolio of work at pace and to a high quality, in an often busy and uncertain working environment.

2. Working together: Ability to build and maintain relationships with a wide network of stakeholders and collaborate to deliver results

3. Changing and improving: Ability to identify and implement improvements to processes and/or ways of working and support people to manage change.

My question is about how targeted the examples need to be. Previously when writing behaviour examples, I have kept things fairly general, drawing on work, volunteering, hobbies and so on, and matched them to the broad success profile descriptors at the relevant grade. But each behaviour here has a specific description attached to it. For example, Delivering at Pace is described as the ability to plan, prioritise and deliver a broad portfolio of work at pace and to a high quality in a busy and uncertain environment. Does that mean my examples need to speak directly to that specific description, rather than just demonstrating the behaviour in a general sense? Or is the description just there for context?

I should probably mention I am neurodivergent, which for me means I tend to overthink things and take wording very literally, so I wanted to check with people who have more experience than me rather than second guess myself.

If you are currently in an HEO or Policy role, or have experience sifting HEO applications, I would particularly welcome your input. And beyond the obvious point that the criteria are different, are there any general tips for writing behaviours at HEO level compared to EO?

Any advice welcome.

I'm currently applying for Personal Assistant roles in the Civil Service and may have an interview coming up with the Ministry of Justice. I have some PA experience from a previous role at a small not-for-profit, but I'm aware the Civil Service is a very different world and I want to go in with realistic expectations.

I'm less focused on interview prep and more just wanting to hear from people who've actually been there, on either side of the relationship. Things like:

• What should I realistically expect in the first three to six months? How steep is the learning curve and how much support is typically there?
• What is actually expected of you day to day, beyond the job description?
• What separates a genuinely good PA from an average one in the Civil Service?
• Is there anything you wish someone had told you before starting, or that you wish your PA had known coming in?
• How different is it to a third sector or private sector PA role in practice?

Any honest reflections welcome, whether you were the PA or the person being supported.

I interviewed for a role on Tuesday, and I'm feeling slightly misled. Something really feels off about the position, and I've spoken to friends who are civil servants who all independently raised very similar concerns.

I'm based in the North East and came across this role as it was advertised across all the regional offices for this particular department, including Edinburgh, Manchester, Belfast, London and beyond. The essential criteria stated that "frequent travel to London" would be required.

When I initially made contact with the Hiring Manager, she was adamant that if I were successful at interview, I would need to cover the cost of travel myself. I challenged this after making a post about it here and being told that the department would, in fact, cover the costs, and I highlighted the relevant policy in my email. My message went unanswered, which I felt was a bit rude, as though she didn't want to admit that what she had told me was factually incorrect.

I later contacted the Resourcing Team, who confirmed that I had indeed been given incorrect information, and that yes, the department would of course cover all travel and accommodation expenses. They also clarified that the expectation would be up to two days a week in London, and that this wouldn't be all the time, only as and when needed. I can only presume this would be for meetings where I'd be required to attend in person.

I continued with the application, partly because I wanted the feedback on my examples. It was my first application at EO level and I thought the experience would be valuable to me regardless. I was invited to interview, and it all seemed to go rather well, until the end, when the Hiring Manager said that this would be considered a London-based role. She said the department would cover the costs, but that I would be expected to be in the London office a minimum of three days a week.

So it now seems I would be expected to be in London three days a week, yet wouldn't be entitled to London weighting because technically my home office would be outside of London, despite the majority of my time being spent in the London office. I can't help but feel that at some point they wanted the role advertised for London only, were told no, and that it must be advertised across their regional offices, and that this is simply their way of getting what they want and making it a London-based role by default, and a way for them not to have to pay a candidate outside of London the London-weighting pay.

I didn't have an issue with occasional travel to London, but a mandatory requirement of three days a week, with the expectation that I'd travel two and a half hours from where I live down to London, and two and a half hours back, for three days a week at minimum, is a bit much. Especially when I'd only be entitled to around £29k, compared to the £36k I'd receive if I were truly London-based.

I want to withdraw, but I'd like my interview feedback first so I know how my examples scored and where I can improve. My worry is that if I withdraw now, I won't receive that feedback before the results are announced.