External candidate recruitment guidance: appendices

Navigating the application form

The fields marked with an asterisk ‘*’ are mandatory, therefore you must provide a response, or you will not be able to submit your application.  Fields without a ‘*’ are not mandatory, as they may not be relevant to all candidates.  Select ‘Save & Continue’ once you have completed all the questions on a page to proceed (this will save what you have completed on that page). You can also select ‘back’ at any point to return to the previous page.  Alternatively, you can select a specific page you want to return to by clicking on a link to the page in the Progress Tracker.

Progress tracker

A green tick by a section shows that you have responded to all the questions in that section. A blue tick shows that you have completed all the mandatory questions in that section. A cross indicates that you have left some mandatory questions unanswered; therefore, the application cannot be submitted. You do not have to complete the whole application form in one go.  Once you have completed a section, ensure you click the ‘Save & Continue’ button to save all you have done in that section.  You can then log out of your account and return to your unfinished application at any point up to the closing date for the vacancy.  To return to the application form, simply log in to your account, select ‘My applications’ and click on the relevant vacancy title, which should be in your applications history.

Introduction

The purpose of these questions is to determine if you are eligible to apply for this opportunity. You will be asked as part of your eligibility, to confirm your nationality details and that you are legally allowed to work in the United Kingdom. You will also be asked if you meet the Civil Service Nationality requirements Nationality rules on GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)  This is a requirement for working within the Civil Service. If you do not meet the eligibility criteria as set out in the application form, your application will not be taken further.  If it becomes apparent at a later stage in the process that you are not eligible to apply, your application may be withdrawn, or offer retracted.

Personal details

Complete the fields regarding your personal details such as your name, address etc. It is essential that you provide correct and up to date information, as the information is needed to progress your application.

Education & Professional Qualifications

Please provide us with details of your education history.  The ‘place of study’ refers to the school, college and university you have attended, and the ‘subject/qualification’ will be what you studied there. You can add another instance of the boxes to input your information if there are too few to enter your qualifications.

Civil service history

This section is to determine whether or not you are an existing Civil Servant.  If you select ‘no’ you will continue to the next step of the application form, if you select ‘yes’ you will be asked to provide further details.

Employment history 

Complete the fields regarding your current (or most recent) employment and then add any previous employment. To add the details of an employer or role, respond ‘Yes’ to the ‘Do you have any employment experience?’ question.  This will add an instance of the employer details section.  It is essential that you provide correct and up to date information.  If you have further instances to add, click ‘add another instance’.  Please also ensure that any gaps in employment are accounted for under ‘Gaps in employment’.

You will need to provide details of the name of your previous employers, position(s) held and reason(s) for leaving, for at least the last 3 years (unless you have not been in employment for this long, please provide as many details as you are able).  If you have no employment experience, select ‘No’ to the ‘Are you currently serving as a civil servant?’ question, and then insert ‘No employment history’ in the ‘Employer Name’ box.

Welsh Language

Select your level of Welsh language ability for the various skills areas listed, as well as your preferred language for assessment.  Your level of ability will only be considered if Welsh is identified as being essential or desirable for the role, we are matching successful candidates to. If Welsh is essential for a role, it may be necessary to assess your Welsh language skills.

Inclusion and accessibility

As an employer we offer various guaranteed interview schemes as set out in the candidate guidance document.   

If you have any reason to need recruitment adjustments that would allow you to take part in this recruitment exercise, please note here an overview of any requirements you may have, or any information you would like to make us aware of regarding your requirements.

If you have an impairment or health condition, or use British Sign Language and need to discuss recruitment adjustments for any part of this recruitment process, or wish to discuss how we will support you if you were to be successful, please contact SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales. We can only work with you to arrange adjustments if we are made aware of your requirements prior to your application submission, test or interview.

We are committed to the employment and career development of disabled people and encourage you to talk to us about adjustments if you need them.

Providing your evidence

This section of the application form will be titled according to the assessment process outlined on the job advert (for example Statement of Suitability or Behaviours, Technical, Experience, CV). 

Statement of Suitability

A statement of suitability is similar to a covering letter and can be used by the applicant to provide evidence against the job criteria.

Remember, don’t include any personal information that could directly identify you.

Behaviours

Behaviours are defined by the Civil Service Success Profiles dictionary as: The actions and activities that people do which result in effective performance in a job.

You may wish to prepare your evidence offline and then copy it into the below boxes to avoid being timed out of the online recruitment system.

Above each evidence box, you will find details of the behaviour criteria that you are being asked to provide evidence against. You must ensure that you provide evidence against each of the criteria listed otherwise your application may be deemed incomplete and this could mean you may not be successful at the shortlisting stage.

CV

If required you will need to input a name-free CV, including your employment history, relevant experience, skills and key achievements.

Remember, don’t include any personal information that will directly identify you, you will be asked to tick a box to confirm that you have removed any information that may identify you.

If only a CV has been requested as part of the application process, please ensure that you review the ‘Other vacancy related information’ box on the job advert to ensure that you are aware of the criteria that is being tested at the CV sift to allow you to tailor your CV accordingly. 

Experience

Experience is defined by the Civil Service Success Profiles dictionary as: The knowledge or mastery of an activity or subject gained through involvement in or exposure to it.

Above each evidence box, you will find details of the experience criteria that you are being asked to provide evidence against. You must ensure that you provide evidence against each of the criteria listed otherwise your application may be deemed incomplete and this could mean you may not be successful at the shortlisting stage.

Technical

Technical skills are defined by the Civil Service Success Profiles dictionary as: The demonstration of specific professional skills, knowledge or qualifications. 

Above each evidence box, you will find details of the technical criteria that you are being asked to provide evidence against. You must ensure that you provide evidence against each of the criteria listed otherwise your application may be deemed incomplete and this could mean you may not be successful at the shortlisting stage.

References

You will need to provide the names of two referees (one must be your current or most recent employer) that cover at least the previous three years of employment. If you have just left school or college and have no previous work experience, please make sure that at least one of your referees is one of your teachers, lecturers or your head teacher or personal tutor. References are not requested until the point that we offer successful candidates a post.

Relationships and Declaration of Interest

In this section you are asked to declare whether you are in a close relationship with or are closely related to a current Welsh Government employee or a Welsh Assembly Member. Use links provided within the application form for further information.

Equality and diversity data

The Civil Service is committed to achieving a workforce that reflects the society it serves at all levels including the most senior. Collecting this information enables us to identify whether we are recruiting from the widest possible pool of talent and check that all groups are being treated fairly throughout the process. This form will not be disclosed to anyone involved in assessing your application. If you do not wish to provide a response to a particular question, you should complete the ‘Prefer not to say’ option. We are sensitive to the fact that some people would rather not complete diversity forms. We assure you that all information provided is kept strictly confidential, used purely for statistical purposes, and will not be used to influence recruitment decisions.

Source of application

Please provide information on how you found out about the vacancy (this is for monitoring purposes, to ensure we are using the most effective means of advertising our vacancies).

Declaration

Please ensure you read the declaration statement. If you agree to the statements regarding data protection, equal opportunities and how your application will be processed, select the tick box to confirm your agreement.

Select ‘Submit’ ONLY if you are content that your application is complete and you do not wish to make any changes.

Application updates

Once you have applied for a vacancy, you will be kept updated on the progress of your application via your registered e-mail.  You can also check on the progress of your application by logging in to your account and viewing the ’My Applications’ section of your account.

See Civil Service Success Profiles on GOV.UK.

As a Civil Servant, you are appointed on merit based on fair and open competition and are expected to carry out your role with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values.

See the Civil Service code on GOV.UK.