r/TheCivilService

Whenever your talking to someone outside of work and it gets to the topic of where you work, on the rare chance it gets which department you work for, what do you say?

Im sure most departments are grand to announce that you work for, but I work for HMRC and always find it a bit risky to say I work for them, especially with neighbours.

Bare in mind, im the bottom of the pyramid (Customer service) but I always feel the need to just say i work for a different department that isn't HMRC to be safe.

People in a similar position, are you honest or are you similar to me?

Hi all,

so I have one example that fits one of the behaviours really well but also fits one of the technical skills really well (obviously presented from a different angle). Am I ok to use the same example in this case? That’s one of my strongest examples for both that particular behaviour and that technical skill.

Hi all,

I've just been offered/am about to start a Work Coach role at DWP. I wanted to prepare myself before my start day I just wanted to be more knowledgable of the role before I start. So was just asking if anyone has done it or had a bit of experience about it what things do I need know or learn of that could help before I start. Just to add I had also worked in Advances telephony role.

Any tips for managing a caseload effectively once you're up and running, especially with a mix of claimant types?

Any common mistakes new Work Coaches make that I could try to avoid?

Is there anything you'd recommend brushing up on beforehand (systems, terminology, legislation, etc.)

Thanks

I’m applying for a role in a policy team that I currently work with closely. I’m based in an ALB, and part of my current role is to influence that department’s policy team.

One of my behaviour examples includes a result/impact that I think contributed to a shift in direction for a major publication. The challenge is that the impact was strategic rather than a clear “I delivered X” output and probably had a few things feeding into it.

I’m also conscious that, because I’m applying to a team I already work with, I don’t want to do anything that could look like I’m seeking an unfair advantage or putting someone in an awkward position. My aim would only be to check that I’ve described the impact accurately and at an appropriate level of detail, not to ask for feedback on the application itself.

Has anyone dealt with this before? Would it be appropriate to ask a contact in the policy team lead to sense-check whether my description is accurate before I submit the application? I don’t want to look cringey or like I’m asking for special treatment… I just want to avoid overstating my impact in front of the people I’ve supposedly impacted.

If it is okay to ask, how would you phrase it?

Hi all 👋🏼 I’m joining the civil service tomorrow and I was just wondering how long it would take for a salary advance once/if it was approved. I’ve been out of work 6 weeks and find myself in financial hardship and just scrapping by.

I know it’s 65% of the salary and I want to avoid using and pay day loans. TIA

I've applied to the job referenced in the title.

I'm an ACCA part qualified accountant with 5 years experience in private sectors - how likely is it that I will go far in this process and what can I expect?

First time I have applied for a Civil Service role so all help is appreciated!

Thanks

I recently was lucky enough to start an AO role at the CPS after a year of failed job applications post graduation. This role is advertised as being open to those who have GCSE’s so I assumed that I would be the only graduate starting. Much to my surprise - my entire (relatively large) cohort was made up entirely of other graduates.

Has it always been the norm for these roles to be made up of graduates or is this a result of the current job market?

P.S: I should clarify I don’t mean to demean the role in anyway or to suggest that it is ‘lesser’ in some way for a graduate to be working in the role, but you’d assume that graduates would be working in graduate roles, no?

OP On this post has recorded his interview. Is this a common occurrence?

https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/s/pBCaE8l2A4

Edit: just so we are clear I think it’s very bad form recording like this, regardless of whether the OP answered the interview questions or not.

I’m going to parliament for the first time and its of course its formal wear to enter, but wondering goven the heat if its needed to wear a blazer? I hope to god thats not the case

UK based, potentially moving from private fully remote to public sector, London hybrid (2-3 days a week but verbally described as "very flexible").

I'm after advice from people who've left a comfortable but dead-end WFH job for something with more purpose, growth and opportunity.

I've been fully remote for years. Super comfortable job, I'm very good at it and love the work when I'm left alone to do it. I don't want to come across entitled, but I still feel unsatisfied and incredibly frustrated.

The problem is it's a dead end career wise and the company culture is dishonest and corporate in all the cliche ways. I've been lied to multiple times by HR and management about progression and pay, passed over for promotion, and rewarded with more work and responsibility for being a high performer. It's become clear I'm too valuable in my current position to be moved anywhere else.

Most of all, I'm constantly looking over my shoulder. I'm the last one left in the UK on our team, having survived three waves of layoffs, and our department head, through 'initiatives' is looking to replace us with AI or offshoring.

I've now got an offer for a senior role in a central government digital department with a strong reputation in my industry. Pays about the same, but the pension is roughly three times what I get now, more job security and I'd actually learn and grow, with real opportunity after.

The catch: the office is in London and I'm about 3 hours door to door. Could be anywhere from 1 to 3 days a week in office, still waiting on the exact expectation. I've done the maths and it works, even in the worst case.

I'm mid 30s and realistic that it won't be a cakewalk and I'll lose a lot of time to travel. But I feel like staying somewhere that doesn't value me is wasting an opportunity.

On the other side, I know I'd be trading something a lot of people would kill for. The devil I know for one I don't, and it could be just as bad or worse. I know the public sector varies heavily by department and line manager. I'm also aware the civil service has been going through hiring freezes and voluntary redundancy. I'll be possibly working in a digital team under the Department for Science and Innovation.

For anyone who's made this trade in either direction: how did it turn out, and what do you wish you'd known or done differently?

I'm about 85% sure Ill take this job, but want to weigh all things consider and find things I've missed.

Not looking for "just do it lol" or hypotheticals. Lived experience only, please.

Thanks in advance!

My niece is 18, has just finished her A levels, and has never had a paid job. She's interested in applying for an HMRC Executive Officer role.
Realistically, does she have a chance of being successful, or is it unlikely without any work experience?
I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who works for HMRC or the Civil Service. Have you seen school leavers get EO roles? What would you recommend she does to improve her chances?
Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hello all, I need some advice please.
I work at the Home Office and I’m considering reporting a colleague for suspected misconduct.

This colleague is constantly giving “tips” how to cheat the system, put overtime through, dodgy expense claims, claiming overtime and delay repay when on work travel, using a mouse jiggler etc etc

It’s really starting to irk me the amount of fiddling this person does and gets away with it and seemingly boats about it by telling people in an advice sort of way how to do the same. It’s a smugness and injustice of it all that really annoys me.

I know there is PSU and I want to report them, but I want to do it anonymously if possible. Reason being this person is known for making other’s lives difficult.

Is there a way I can do this?

I received a provisional offer for the Compliance Caseworker role (588R). I accepted the offer (this was done on 26th June).

Identification was submitted on Monday, 30th June. The same day, I logged in and saw that 5/10 PECs had been completed.

However, today when I logged in, the status had changed to “Successful at Interview” with the following message: “Congratulations, you have been successful at interview. We will be in touch soon.”

Does anybody know what this could mean? Any information/advice would be much appreciated :)

Hi,

I have a question regarding the recruitment process for probation service officer roles.
Last week I made a few applications. There were some probation service officer roles going in different locations of my county. So basically the same position but in different places, so separate applications. I got invited to do the online tests for all the ones I applied to. I have done one and then moved onto the next invite but noticed my candidate ID in the invitation email is identical to my candidate ID in the previous email. So I checked all the emails for the different applications and they all have the same candidate ID despite the locations being different.
Does that mean I only need to do the online test once or should I click on the link on each email invite and do it again for each location?
Not sure if I’ve been very clear.
If I hadn’t noticed the same candidate ID I wouldn’t have queried this.
Thanks in advance!

Hi, just looking for advice on managed moves. If you're unhappy with the team you're currently in, is there a process for looking for a managed move into another area within a directorate that doesn't require going through formal job applications?

I'm looking at moving into the civil service and I get the impression project management qualifications help.

Are there any specific courses, levels of course or specific training institutes that the civil service prefers?

Oh and would getting experience with power BI help too?

FUCK RECRUITMENT