Applying and interviews
Supporting statements, Success Profiles, DBS checks, interviews and the checks that come after an offer.
Access to HE diplomas for nursing and healthcare
How an Access to HE diploma gets adults without A levels onto nursing, midwifery and other health degrees, what it costs and how to pick the right one.
Acting up and honoraria
How you are paid for acting up or covering higher duties in the NHS, councils, schools and the Civil Service, from higher-band pay to honoraria and TLRs.
Agency work vs bank work
Agency and bank work compared for public sector staff: who pays you, hourly rates, the 12-week rule, holiday pay, pension and umbrella companies.
Applying for public sector jobs with a criminal record
A criminal record does not bar you from most public sector jobs. What you must disclose depends on the DBS check level, filtering rules and the role.
Apprenticeships in the public sector
Apprenticeships in the NHS, schools, councils, the Civil Service and police: levels from 2 to degree, 2026 apprentice pay rates and how to apply.
Asking for feedback after a rejection
How to ask a public sector employer for feedback after a rejected application or interview, what to say, when to ask and what you can expect back.
Asking for reasonable adjustments in recruitment
Your right to adjustments in public sector applications, online tests, assessment centres and interviews, with examples and how to ask for them.
Assessment centres
What happens at a public sector assessment centre: group exercises, in-tray tasks, written exercises, role plays and interviews, and how each is marked.
Changing career into nursing
Routes into nursing for adults: degrees, shortened courses for graduates, apprenticeships, the funding available and what you earn once registered.
Changing career into teaching
Routes into teaching for career changers in England, the bursaries and salaried options for 2026/27, what you earn once qualified and whether age matters.
Civil Service apprenticeships
Civil Service apprenticeships are advertised by individual departments, pay set locally and use Success Profiles. How to find them, apply and what to expect.
Civil Service behaviours and how to write examples
The nine Civil Service behaviours, how panels score your written examples, and how to fit a STAR answer into the word limit on the advert.
Civil Service online tests
The Civil Service Judgement, Verbal and Numerical tests: what each one measures, when you sit them, how results are used and how to practise.
Civil Service personal statement
How to write a Civil Service personal statement that matches the advert's essential criteria, fits the word limit and gets through the sift.
Civil Service Success Profiles explained
Success Profiles are how the Civil Service assesses candidates: five elements called Behaviours, Strengths, Ability, Experience and Technical.
Competency-based interviews
How competency-based interviews work in councils, the NHS and the Civil Service, how panels score answers and how to prepare examples.
Conditional job offers
What a conditional offer means in public sector recruitment, the checks it usually depends on, what can lawfully lead to withdrawal and when to resign.
Cover letters for public sector jobs
When a public sector job wants a cover letter, when it does not, and how to write one for schools, councils, the NHS and the Civil Service.
DBS checks: basic, standard and enhanced
What basic, standard and enhanced DBS checks show, what the barred lists are, who pays and the fees from 5 October 2026, with Scotland and NI equivalents.
Disability Confident and guaranteed interviews
How Disability Confident interview schemes work in the Civil Service, NHS and councils, what meeting the minimum criteria means, and how to opt in.
Explaining employment gaps on an application
Why public sector forms ask about gaps in your work history, and how much to say about caring, illness, study or unemployment when you explain one.
Fast-track routes into social work
Frontline, Step Up to Social Work and Think Ahead compared: who each suits, how training and funding work, and how they differ from a social work master's.
Fixed-term contracts in the public sector
Your rights on a fixed-term contract in schools, the NHS, councils and the Civil Service: equal treatment, the four-year rule, renewal and redundancy.
Health and Care Worker visa
Who can still get a Health and Care Worker visa after the July 2025 changes, the salary rule for NHS jobs and which employers can sponsor you.
Hospital work experience
How to get hospital work experience, the age limits trusts usually set, and what to do instead if placements are full or you are too young.
How long does a DBS check take?
The stages a DBS check goes through, why enhanced checks take longest, what causes delays and what you can do while you wait to start a new job.
How long NHS recruitment takes
The stages of NHS recruitment from advert to start date, which ones cause delays, and what you can do to speed up references, DBS and occupational health.
How shortlisting works in the public sector
How NHS, school, council and Civil Service panels score applications against the criteria, what a sift is, and why strong candidates still miss out.
How to get a council job
Where councils advertise jobs, how NJC grades and spine points work, what the application and interview involve, and the pay, leave and pension in 2026/27.
How to get a job in a school with no experience
School jobs that take people with no experience, what they pay on the NJC spine, how volunteering helps and how to write an application that works.
How to get into the Civil Service
Entry routes into the Civil Service: AO and EO jobs, apprenticeships and the Fast Stream, nationality rules and how applications are assessed.
How to read a job description and person specification
What the job description and person specification tell you, how essential and desirable criteria are used to shortlist, and how to turn them into a plan.
How to use Civil Service Jobs
Searching Civil Service Jobs by grade, department and location, setting alerts, reading the advert, and how applications and nationality rules work.
How to use the NHS Jobs website
Setting up an NHS Jobs account, searching by band and location, saved searches, how Trac fits in, and what happens to your application after you submit it.
How to write an NHS supporting statement
How to build an NHS Jobs supporting statement around the person specification, what length to aim for, and how to show NHS values with real examples.
Internal vs external vacancies
What internal, external and ring-fenced vacancies mean in the NHS, schools, councils and Civil Service, who is allowed to apply and how to find the closed ones.
Mandatory training in new public sector jobs
The statutory and mandatory training you do when starting in the NHS, a school, a council or the Civil Service, and whether you are paid for it.
National Graduate Development Programme (local government)
How the NGDP works: who runs it, how placements are structured, how host councils pay and employ graduates, and what selection involves.
Negotiating starting salary in the public sector
How much room there is to negotiate pay in NHS, teaching, council and Civil Service jobs, and how to ask to start on a higher pay point with evidence.
NHS apprenticeships
NHS apprenticeships run in clinical and non-clinical jobs, from healthcare support to nursing degrees. See how they work, what they pay and where to apply.
NHS bank work
How NHS staff banks work: who can join, how bank shifts are paid on Agenda for Change rates, holiday pay, pension, tax and what you give up.
NHS jobs you can get without a degree
NHS roles open to people without a degree, from band 2 healthcare assistant and porter jobs to band 4 posts, with 2026/27 pay and apprenticeship routes.
NHS values-based interviews
What an NHS values-based interview tests, the six NHS Constitution values, how trust values fit in and how to prepare honest answers.
Nursing interview questions
The questions NHS nursing interviews ask: clinical scenarios, safeguarding, raising concerns, values and the drug calculation test many trusts set.
Occupational health checks
What an occupational health check involves for NHS, school and council jobs: the health questionnaire, vaccinations, screening and adjustments.
Panel interviews
Who sits on a public sector interview panel, how each member scores your answers, and how to handle questions from three or more people at once.
Police Now
Police Now's graduate routes into policing explained: the neighbourhood and detective programmes, constable pay, training, checks and the commitment.
Pre-employment checks
The checks public sector employers run before you start: the six NHS Employment Check Standards, school checks, Civil Service vetting and DBS fees.
Preparing a presentation for an interview
How interview presentations work in schools, the NHS, councils and the Civil Service: reading the brief, timing, structure, slides and the questions after.
Probation periods in public sector jobs
How probation works in the NHS, schools, councils and the Civil Service: who sets the length, how reviews run, extensions and your rights.
Public sector graduate schemes compared
How the Civil Service Fast Stream, NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme, NGDP, Teach First and Police Now differ in work, pay and commitment.
Questions to ask at the end of an interview
Good questions to ask a public sector interview panel in schools, the NHS, councils and the Civil Service, plus the ones to leave until you have an offer.
References in public sector recruitment
Who to give as a referee for NHS, school, council and Civil Service jobs, how references are checked, and what happens with gaps or no recent employer.
Returning to nursing
How to get back on the NMC register after a lapse: return to practice courses, the test of competence, funding, jobs while you train and pay.
Right to work checks
How public sector employers check your right to work in the UK: the three methods, which documents count, how share codes work and when the check happens.
Safer recruitment in schools
What safer recruitment means when you apply for a school job: application forms, gaps, references, online searches, interview questions and DBS checks.
Secondments explained
How public sector secondments work: keeping your substantive post, who pays you, pension and continuous service, and what happens when you return.
Situational judgement tests
How situational judgement tests work in Civil Service, NHS and police recruitment, the main answer formats and how responses are scored.
Strength-based interviews
What strengths questions are, how the Civil Service and NHS use them, how they are scored and how to prepare without sounding rehearsed.
Teach First
How the Teach First training programme works, what trainees are paid, the two-year commitment, how QTS and induction fit in, and how selection runs.
Teaching assistant interview questions
The questions teaching assistant interviews usually ask, from safeguarding and behaviour scenarios to SEND support, with notes on what a good answer covers.
Teaching in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa
How overseas teachers get a Skilled Worker visa: the £25,000 rule for education jobs, school sponsorship, QTS recognition and teacher pay.
Teaching interview day: what to expect
A teaching interview usually means a taught lesson, a student panel, a formal interview and safeguarding questions, often with an offer the same day.
The DBS Update Service
The DBS Update Service costs £15 a year and lets you reuse one certificate across employers. Here is who can join, what it covers and where it falls short.
The STAR method for public sector applications
How to use STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) in NHS, school, council and Civil Service applications and interviews, with worked examples.
Using Teaching Vacancies to find school jobs
How the DfE's free Teaching Vacancies service works for teaching and support staff jobs in England: searching, job alerts and applying through the site.
Video interviews
Live and recorded video interviews for NHS, Civil Service, council and school jobs: setting up your tech, the room, and how recorded answers are scored.
Volunteering to get experience for public sector jobs
How volunteering in hospitals, schools and councils can help you get a public sector job, what checks you need, and how to use it on an application.
Where councils advertise jobs
Where to find council jobs in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: council websites, shared regional portals, national boards and school sites.
Working as a nurse in the UK with an overseas qualification
The NMC registration steps for internationally educated nurses, the two-part test of competence, visa routes and pay before and after you register.
Writing a CV for public sector jobs
Which public sector employers want a CV and which use application forms, plus how to lay out a CV so it scores well against a person specification.
Writing a teacher application statement
How to structure a teaching application statement, what evidence schools look for, and how safer recruitment rules shape the form you fill in.