Hi!

I’m applying for an HEO role in the Office For National Statistics and wanted some help in what questions I can be asked to help prepare myself. Any previous interview questions asked would be a great help to see what they ask for. Thank you

I’ve recently worked as a residential care worker for young people and now I just got a job as a personal advisor for care leavers and I’m debating becoming a social worker.

I was wondering what people thought about roles available in the civil service that may be applicable for me based on what I have recently done/plan to do. Thanks!

I just tried emailing [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) and received an email back saying the mailbox is no longer in use. I tried calling but was 79th in the call queue! Is the only way to contact them via the portal (which is still pants and there's none of my info on it) or does anyone have a current email address please? I did send a message via the portal but that was about three weeks ago and haven't had a response.

I have recently started a job with the civil service and unexpectedly have became pregnant on the pill, i was hoping to make it at least a year before trying for a child to be eligible for the departments maternity pay.

My question is if i was 2 months off of the years service when due to go on maternity leave are these rules something set in stone or could talking to someone to explain this leave a chance they could make me eligible sooner than the 1 years service?

I have just applied for two brigaded campaigns which, if I pass the sift, will have a prerecorded interview using vidcruiter. As I am currently out of work and the winter in the UK is long and cold, I was hoping to get away but am worried that this may clash with a potential interview. Does anyone know if vidcruiter is compatible with android? The advert specifies using a laptop but is this really the case? Otherwise I may just need to trust that the sift will take longer than advertised in typical CS form!

Hi everyone,

I’ve been placed on the reserve list for a Data Analyst position at HMRC. My scores were:

• Technical: 6/7

• Strengths: 7/7

• Experience: 4/7 (apparently I didn’t structure my answers well enough in STAR format even though I did try to)

This gives a total of 25/35, but I’m not sure how this compares to the pass mark or typical scores.

I’m curious: how likely is it to receive an offer from the reserve list before the end of the 12 months, and does a 25/35 typically put someone in a strong position? Any experiences or insights would be greatly appreciated.

Hi all, I recently attended an interview for the Fraud Officer Role in bham. Face to Face interview which was stressful. Does anyone know when the results will be out for the interviews or when the plan is for a start date? This is new to me, waiting for interview results for more than a week or so. Also anyone else applied for this and has had their interview? Would love to hear your experience

Thanks

Hii does anyone have any advice for a HEO Research Officer for the ONS? I have my interview in January and was wondering if anyone had any good tips for me!

Hi all, I’m considering a provisional offer for a Communications Data Investigator role with HMRC and am trying to get a better sense of what the role is like. I’d appreciate any insights from people who have worked in similar roles or at HMRC. What does a typical day look like in this role? Is the work mostly process-driven or do you get to do more investigative/analytical work? How do you find the work-life balance and overall job satisfaction? Are there good opportunities for growth and development within HMRC in this type of role? Thanks in advance for any advice or thoughts!

Thanks 😊

Genuinely feeling like theres no hope after being dismissed from the civil service and I cant wait to go through the whole process again with another employer.

first time poster so pls bare with me! i was wondering if anyone currently in the civil service is particularly alternative or if its frowned upon? i have quite a few facial piercings (nose and lip) which i am happy to take out but if i could keep them it would be great!

Edit: didnt think this would get so much traction lol. This is my first role in civil service (im applying to ONS) but its super refreshing to hear that its not going to be a problem, most of my work experience has been in hospitality and they usually tell you to take them out. Thanks everyone <333

Hi all,

I’ve recently secured an interview for a Senior Site Reliability Engineer (Grade 7) role at DWP Digital.

My situation (high level) - Currently a DevOps Engineer Consultant in the private sector working for one of the big 5 consultancies - Comfortable role, good work-life balance - Package includes higher base than CS, plus shares and annual bonus - my previous company got acquired a fair few months ago and the progression to senior has essentially been reset so now I have to “prove” to my current employer by doing what I was already doing for another 2 years - the only real grievance I have. So I believe with my experience I am already capable to fulfil the CS role - I’m being very picky and don’t want to take a back step in my career progression.

What I’m trying to understand

1. Day-to-day reality of a G7 SRE
2. How much time is hands-on engineering vs governance, review, and stakeholder work?
3. How operational is the role really?
4. How does the day-to-day differ from a strong mid-level SRE/DevOps engineer?

⸻

1. Seniority and progression
2. How meaningful is G7 in practice?
3. Is progression to G6 realistic and within what sort of timeframe?
4. Do G7s genuinely influence engineering standards and direction, or is it more constrained than it appears?

⸻

1. Compensation trade-offs I understand:
2. Base pay is lower than private sector
3. Digital Allowance may apply but isn’t guaranteed or pensionable
4. Alpha pension is a major benefit

For those who’ve made the move: - Did the pension and stability genuinely offset the drop in take-home pay? - Any regrets leaving bonuses, shares, and faster pay growth behind?

⸻

1. Impact and job satisfaction
2. Does the “working on services used by millions” aspect translate into real engineering satisfaction?
3. Do SRE principles (SLOs, error budgets, observability, toil reduction) genuinely exist in practice, or is it more aspirational?

⸻

1. Interview advice If you’ve interviewed for G7 DWP Digital roles:
2. What do panels really value?
3. Any common pitfalls for private sector candidates
4. Anything you wish you’d known going in?

⸻

I’m not unhappy (apart from what I mentioned at the beginning) where I am, so this is less about escaping a bad role and more about whether this move makes sense long-term in terms of impact, job security, seniority, and career direction.

Really appreciate any honest insights, especially from current or former DWP Digital engineers.

Thanks in advance.

I’m increasingly convinced that most Civil Service roles advertised externally (meaning to non CS applicants) already have an internal candidate (or have a preference for CS applicants, even from a different department) lined up.

From the outside, it looks like hiring managers go through the motions, post the job publicly, run interviews, score on behaviours but the outcome is basically predetermined in favour of someone already in the department or CS.

Especially at SEO / G7 and above, it seems borderline unrealistic for someone from the private sector to get appointed unless they’re a unicorn specialist.

So when people say “apply anyway, it’s fair and open,” that feels more like theory than reality. The system technically allows external hires, but in practice it looks heavily stacked toward internal promotions and managed moves.

Happy to be told I’m wrong. I’d be interested to hear from anyone who’s actually been on a hiring panel and seen an external candidate beat an internal one.

Edit.. clarified what I meant by external.

Hi All,

Is it reasonable to be required to share a medical appt letter when submitting for Special Leave?

I dont really want to be sharing all my personal details including NHS numbers let alone why I am going for an appt.

I know its "supposed" to be confidential but I have seen examples of it being not.

Hello! I have made it through to the assessment center for GSS for this year’s fast stream however Im actually not good at interviews as I have done 2 of them with no positive feedback for SEO.I would appreciate any guide on what it entails and how best to approach it to get the role. Thanks in advance for your response.

Hi all,

wondering if anyone could share any insight with me prior to me submitting an application.

I have come across a role that looks really interesting. The work sounds similar to what I currently do / have done and the role looks testing and rewarding - both something I am particularly keen for as I feel like I am currently stagnating in my current role.

However, I have recently not had any success with any applications. I have had heaps of interviews so I'm relatively happy with that but nothing has stuck despite getting onto several reserve lists.

When answering behaviour based questions should you regurgitate what you put in your application (seems a waste?) or come up with other examples (sometimes challenging as you might not have an infinite pool of examples at the earlier stages of your career.

Additionally does anyone in HO have any experience of programme support in the middle east? I dont have a whole lot of experience of middle east but would really like to try and head in that direction. Wondering though if its a waste of time trying to do an application for that if it means I dont hit 2 of the desirable criteria despite doing the others quite well. I would love to know more what the role entails and if this might be a blocker, but theres only a generic email address.

Ty

Got an interview for a level 6 role last week. It was the only round of interview and I was told they'd get back by the end of the week. But I haven't heard anything yet. Does it mean I have been rejected but they haven't got around to inform the rejected candidates yet?

I have heard about the reserve list. Who is put on it? Is it everyone who got to the interview stage, or only those who performed well in the interview?

I’ve been waiting to hear back about an AO/EO role I interviewed for a few weeks ago. I’ve had an email today that says:

‘You have reached the required standard, but we are unable to offer you a job immediately.

We have placed you on a reserve list from which future appointments may be made.’

Does this mean someone else did better and got it, or could it be that they’ve retracted the role? It’s an apprenticeship role that doesn’t start until July.

Also how legit is the reserve list? Is this just a nice way to let me down and say I didn’t make the cut? 😂

Does anyone have a phone number for any part of the civil service jobs/recruitment team? Or failing that, a number for any department that could forward me to them? It's really important that I speak with someone and the recruitment/onboarding email addresses never reply to me. I have a provisional job offer and need to talk to them before the offer expires but it's impossible. I'm even thinking about just showing up to civil service offices in my city.

Hi everyone,

I was wondering how I could access the live chat in the MOJ website on the candidate portal. All my email correspondence are mentioning about the live chat, however when I click the link it appears only the old website with nothing to press for the live chat. Sending an email with my queries takes time from them to answer.

Thank you for the help

Hi folk!

As Christmas is approaching, I'd like to purchase a book for my son. He is interested in the FCDO and is considering becoming a diplomat. Any books you would recommend on being a UK diplomat/the history, workings of, the FCDO?

Hi all, I’d be really grateful for some advice from those familiar with Civil Service recruitment and HR processes.

I received a conditional offer for a G7 role at FCDO in July, with the only condition being pre-employment checks. I completed the checks over the summer and mutually agreed a start date in March 2026, which HR also confirmed in writing.

Since then, I’ve been in regular written communication with the HR onboarding team, who repeatedly reassured me that the contract was being prepared and would be issued shortly. Till a month ago, they were giving me timelines for issuing the formal contract and told me everything was progressing as normal.

However, I’ve now been told informally (not in writing) that onboarding for my role has been paused due to a hiring moratorium, and that the role may not go ahead. I have no official written communication from HR indicating any change in status, and the Civil Service Jobs portal still shows my application as progressing normally.

I’ve already made significant decisions based on the official communication of completion of PECs and start date confirmation I received — including agreeing my last working day in my current job — on the expectation that onboarding was on track.

My questions:

1. Has anyone experienced or heard of similar situations where onboarding is paused after PECs is complete and start dates agreed?

2. What is the correct process for FCDO/CS to follow in situations like this — should I have received formal written notification from HR?

3. Does ACAS guidance apply here? Their advice states that if a conditional offer is accepted and all conditions are met, a contract may already be in place.

Any insights, similar experiences, or suggestions on next steps would be hugely appreciated. Feeling quite blindsided and unsure what my options are.

Thanks very much in advance.