GCF – How to apply | Civil Service Careers

Ready to join us? It’s a great decision.

We want you to get the most out of this experience, so take the time to understand our processes – and give yourself a head start on joining the Government Commercial Organisation.

There are a couple of things that you should know about us.

Firstly, we’re a really supportive and inclusive employer. We know that we can achieve the best results when our workforce is reflective of the diverse society that we represent. We are also a Disability Confident employer, and we work hard to ensure that our recruitment practices are open to all. When you apply for a position here, you can feel confident that your life circumstances and lifestyle choices will only help us get a full understanding of who you are, what you want to achieve in your career, and how we can support your ambitions.

So what can you expect when you apply to join us? It’s a simple Five-stage process…

CV Hints and Tips

Make it clear and concise – Headings, dates and information detailing the work you carried out within each role should be easy to read and extract information from.
Don’t use the same CV for each role you apply for. Your CV should be a working document and should be tailored to each role you apply for.
Think ‘Commercial’. You are applying for a commercial role so think and list the ££ values you have worked with and use the terminology that shows your breadth of experience. Evidenced complexity
Length – 2 / 3 pages max. No more and no less. Hiring managers have a lot of applications to look through so lengthy CV’s are best avoided. Most recent roles should have the most information.
Avoid generic, overused phrases such as team player, multitasker etc. We would assume all of this for the grade you are applying to.

How To Write Your CV

Technical Assessment

Read the job specification so you are clear about the job requirements
Outline the skills and experience that you have that are relevant to the job and use examples to help demonstrate this.
Try to include specific facts and figures that demonstrate the tangible results of your work
keep to the word limit – if your statement is too brief it will not provide the required depth of detail and evidence to be assessed fully
Proofread your statement before submitting it to make sure it is clear, easy to read and relevant
Think S.T.A.R – situation, task, action, and result
For all roles focus on your specific experience in relation to the Technical (Essential) Criteria
TOP TIP: Make sure you use YOU instead of WE. This is your opportunity to show off your show off!

Civil Service Success profiles

The Selection stage starts at sift. This is where all the
applications are reviewed and those meeting the essential criteria may be called forward for further selection stages.

Pre Sift

The Recruitment Account Manager must review all applications and triage into one of the three categories listed below:.

A (Recommended)
B (Marginal)
C (Not Recommended)

This is a high level sift assessing both CV and response to technical questions. The Hiring departments panel members will receive and review ALL applications.

Panel Sift

The aim of the sift meeting is to decide which candidates should be called forward to attend
the Assessment Centre.

This decision must be made in strict merit order and against the
essential criteria detailed in the job description.

ALL candidates scoring and selection is always made in strict merit order and follows the Civil Service Commissioners’ principles of fair and open competition.

Assessment and Development Centre

The Assessment and Development Centre (ADC) supports our ambition to become the best commercial function in the UK. We want capable people, with the right leadership and technical skills, to grow for the future.

The ADC is a day made up of various interviews
and simulated role-play exercises. It has been
designed by commercial subject matter experts
and occupational psychologists, guided by the
British Psychological Society’s standard on
assessment design and delivery.

It is used to assess the commercial expertise,
skills and capability of individuals against the GCF
People Standards for the Profession. This includes
individuals at levels:

Senior Commercial Specialist
Commercial Specialist
Associate Commercial Specialist
Commercial Lead

Purpose

Assessment as part of a recruitment campaign
Development for individuals to understand their
strengths and areas for development

Benefits

For you: a comprehensive report with expert
insight on your areas of strength and areas for
development to help you develop in your career.

For employers: a robust, objective and independent assessment of their staff and prospective new recruits against the GCF People Standards for the Profession, which can help inform resourcing and organisational challenges.

For the GCF: a baseline understanding of capability and specialisms that exist within the profession, which can be used to help shape the future of the commercial function.
Fairness

You will assessed by a number of different assessors on the day. This means your score comes from multiple people and multiple exercises, before going through a robust moderation process. The results are continually reviewed and evaluated; the structure and content is adjusted to stay in line with best practice.

ADC Brochure

Final interview…..

Part of the assessment process will usually involve an interview. Generally, this will be face-to-face in person or via video.

The purpose of all interviews is the same: to assess your suitability for the job. An interview will usually last 45-60 minutes and you may be asked to describe specific occasions when you have demonstrated a certain skill or behaviour.

Before you attend an interview, look carefully at the job description and think about examples you can give of times when you have previously demonstrated the behaviours outlined. You may also wish to consider how you would handle similar situations in the future.

You may also be asked questions about what interests you and what you enjoy doing. These questions will help the interview panel assess your strengths and preferred style of working. Strengths are one of the Success Profiles elements.

Before the interview, it would be helpful to reflect on what you feel are your personal strengths and preferred ways of working.

Hints and Tips

Questions will be mapped to Technical / Essential Criteria.
Check your tech prior to the interview – Wifi good, sound, room setting etc
Use the STAR format – Situation, Task, Action, Result
Be specific and succinct with answers. Practice with a colleague!
Don’t be afraid to ask for the question to be repeated
Panel interviews – typically 3 panel members.
If you know the panel, assume this is the first time you have met!

Unsuccessful

Key points to remember:

It’s normal: Don’t feel discouraged if you haven’t gotten a job offer after an interview – it happens to most people at some point.
Learn from feedback: If you receive feedback after an unsuccessful interview, use it to improve your interview skills for future opportunities. The panel will provide constructive feedback for you to take forward alongside your detailed ADC report
Focus on your strengths: Even if you didn’t get this particular job, highlight your skills and experience when applying for other roles within the GCO. We look forward to receiving your next application.

Merit List

What is the GCO Merit List?

The commercial Resourcing Hub maintains a list of individuals that have been found appointable (but not yet offered a role) This is called a Merit List.

Individuals on the Merit List can be placed into other roles across goverment GCO departments, that have the same or very similar criteria. We will, by default consider all candidates on a merit list before commencing a new recruitment exercise.

Your place on the merit list expires 12 months from the date you have been found appointable.

Offer

What happens next?

The successful candidate through fair and open competition will be offered a position within the GCO based on merit. All candidates will be able to access the GCO rewards and benefits package.

Your Recruitment Account Manager will work closely with you to navigate the offer process. All offers are subject to HR approval and security clearance.

The GCO have a specialist onboarding team who will ensure your journey into the GCO is as smooth as possible.

Veterans Scheme

The Great Place to Work for Veterans scheme aims to encourage more veterans to join the Civil Service when they leave the armed forces

As part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to those who served, this is an opt-in recruitment scheme which allows former members of the armed forces who meet the minimum criteria to progress to the next level.

About our Veterans Scheme

Disability confident Scheme

The Civil Service wants to encourage disabled people to apply for jobs and give them an opportunity to show their skills, talent and abilities at the interview stage

The Civil Service runs a Disability Confident Scheme, offering an interview to a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum selection criteria for the job.

About our Disability Confident Scheme

Reasonable Adjustments

We want to support you if you need an adjustment during the recruitment process.You can also discuss ongoing adjustments before starting a new job.

The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone.To help you during the recruitment process, we will take into account any adjustments that could help you

Reasonable Adjustments

The Civil Service

What do Civil Servants say?

Early Careers

Experienced Hires

Supported Schemes

Applying for a Job

Supporting your Application

How to apply to
Government Commercial Function

Ready to join us? It’s a great decision.

We want you to get the most out of this experience, so take the time to understand our processes – and give yourself a head start on joining the Government Commercial Organisation.

There are a couple of things that you should know about us.

CV Hints and Tips

Technical Assessment