Civil Service Success Profiles explained

Success Profiles are the framework the Civil Service uses to decide who gets a job. Each vacancy picks from five elements instead of marking every candidate against one list of competencies: Behaviours, Strengths, Ability, Experience and Technical. The job advert says which elements will be assessed and at which stage, so read that before you write a word.

The five elements

Element	What it measures	How it is usually tested
Behaviours	Actions that lead to effective performance, such as Delivering at Pace	Written examples in the application, interview questions
Strengths	Things you do regularly, do well and are motivated by	Interview questions you have not seen in advance
Ability	Aptitude or potential to perform at a level	Online tests: verbal, numerical, judgement
Experience	Knowledge or mastery gained from what you have done	CV, personal statement, interview
Technical	Specific professional skills or qualifications	Qualification checks, technical questions or tasks

The framework replaced the old Civil Service competency approach. A policy adviser and a prison administrator should not be assessed in exactly the same way, so the recruiting manager chooses the mix that fits the role.

Behaviours

There are nine behaviours: Seeing the Big Picture; Changing and Improving; Making Effective Decisions; Leadership; Communicating and Influencing; Working Together; Developing Self and Others; Managing a Quality Service; Delivering at Pace. Each has a set of indicators described for each grade, from Administrative Assistant up to the Senior Civil Service. The indicators for Executive Officer differ from those for Grade 7, so read the version for the grade you are applying for.

Most adverts name a handful of behaviours rather than all nine. You write a short example for each in the application, and may be asked about the same behaviours again at interview. Our guide to Civil Service behaviours covers how to write those examples.

Strengths

Strengths questions ask what you enjoy and what energises you as well as what you are good at. You do not get them in advance, and they tend to come quickly, one after another. The framework’s examples of strengths include being an Adaptable person, an Analytical thinker, a Team leader or an Organiser. Interviewers listen for natural, quick answers more than polished stories. Our guide to strength-based interviews covers how they feel in the room and how to prepare without scripting.

Ability

Online tests assess Ability, mostly at the start of the process. The common ones are the Civil Service Judgement Test, the Civil Service Verbal Test and the Civil Service Numerical Test. Some campaigns, such as the Fast Stream, use their own versions. The tests often act as a sift: score below the cut-off for that campaign and the rest of your application may go unread. See Civil Service online tests for what each one involves.

Experience

A CV, a personal statement or interview questions about your background assess Experience. The advert usually lists the experience wanted under essential criteria. If it asks for a personal statement, write it against those criteria in order; our Civil Service personal statement guide sets out how.

The experience does not have to come from a paid job in government. Volunteering, caring, study and work in the private or charity sector all count, as long as you show the panel how it matches what the job needs.

Technical

Technical covers professional skills and qualifications, for example an accountancy qualification for a finance post, a law degree and practising certificate for a government lawyer, or specialist digital skills for a DDaT role. Technical requirements are often pass or fail at the sift, since you either hold the qualification or you do not, and may also be tested at interview with a technical question or exercise.

How the elements fit together in one campaign

A typical Executive Officer campaign might use online tests for Ability, an application with a CV and four behaviour examples, then an interview with behaviour and strengths questions. A specialist role might drop the tests and add a technical presentation. A senior role might use a personal statement for Experience and Behaviours, then a panel interview and a staff engagement exercise.

The job advert and candidate pack hold everything you need. Look for a heading like “Selection process details” or “Things you need to know”, which lists the elements, the behaviours, the word limits and whether there is a lead behaviour. When there are many applications, the sift is often run on the lead behaviour alone first, so that example needs to be your strongest.

Scores are recorded against each element, usually on a numbered scale set out in the candidate pack. Your total decides your place in a merit list. If you pass but are not first, you may go on a reserve list and be offered a similar job later.

Things that affect who can apply

Nationality rules apply to every Civil Service job. UK nationals can apply for any post. Around 75 per cent of posts are also open to Commonwealth citizens and EEA nationals with the right status, and reserved posts in national security are open to UK nationals only. The advert says which category the job falls into.

Many departments run a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria, under Disability Confident. You can also ask for adjustments to tests and interviews. Jobs are advertised on Civil Service Jobs, where the full candidate pack is attached to each vacancy.