Civil Service Fast Stream 2016/2017

Hello, does anyone know how long it's taking or likely to take to get the e-tray results?

I personally think that expressing your disappointment at Parity and/or Civil Service Resourcing is the most appropriate way forward here if you feel people gained an unfair advantage through crashing servers. Dumping on people who are plunged into an unfair situation due to circumstances that are also outside of their control, repeatedly, on forums, is also unfair.

Unless you expect them to withdraw, which is not appropriate, it is not adding anything constructive to the discussion.

Hi guys,

Am about to do the e-tray exercise in a couple of weeks. Hated the tests because those ones where you have to say what you are like as a person I always do badly on, I have no idea why I am a nice person I swear!

Messed up my e-tray last year so fingers crossed this time.

Does anyone know how long it takes to hear back after the e-tray?

I think I've made a mistake on my application form, but already submitted it. I received 25% extra time in exams at school and uni, but I didn't realise that I could be allowed extra time in the etray exercise. I do have a very mild disability that may affect my performance on this test, but I'm not officially disabled by the government ( I receive no benefits, etc.). Is it worth telling the civil service recruitment team?

Yes, I cannot stress this enough. If you were entitled to extra time in school or university exams, you are entitled to reasonable adjustments both in the assessments and the workplace. I have Asperger's and Celebral Palsy, I do not receive benefits and yet I am entitled to additional assistance in my office at work. The assessment stages of the Civil Service are no different, so let them know as soon as you possibly can.

Thank you for your help. I have cerebral palsy also, though it is mild. It's hard to decide what counts as a disability and what doesn't, as everyone is affected differently. There's a part of me that always says "well, your not as badly affected as some people"

All communications point to us hearing by mid November :-)

I have to say I'm very interested in this new process and the changes they've made. I read the Bridge Report showing that people from a lower socio-economic background only made up 4.4% of successful candidates in previous years. That is such a demoralising figure.

If you look at the statistics from 2014 for example. 20,072 people took the online tests and just 915 people were recommended for appointment. That means just 40 of those 915 people were from a lower socio-economic background (LSEB).

No wonder they've made an effort to change it.

I suspect this is a statistic that an awful lot of graduate schemes will be trying to desperately improve on. Where I live, the average graduate living wage, full time, is approximately £12,000 - £14,000 a year - the reason being that graduate roles are so few and far between, minimum wage jobs are the only option. I live on a smaller package and for many people in my boots, a move to Central London for instance is economically implausible unless you have been saving for years. It's scary stuff, eh? Let's hope these changes help break the mould a little for this year.

Yeah I expect that too. It doesn't surprise me that people from poorer backgrounds are put off from even applying. Opening an assessment centre in Newcastle and making the length of time you spend there shorter sounds so much more favourable if you live in the North as well. Can you imagine having to book a hotel in central London? I guess you could buddy up with some other fast streamers and find a house to share or something, bit like uni. But yeah, the cost of living in London is just . I hope so, I really want to experience more of the process at least.

You could claim back the cost of your overnight stay in a hotel, plus train tickets to/from London, tube tickets, I even claimed back my bus fare from my house to the train station! I'm so glad it's only a half day assessment centre this year (if I get through), 8am-5:30pm was too much.

You do have to have the money available to you in the first place though, which could be a big ask for some.

Finally got 5 minutes whilst actually fully awake to sit down and do the tests. Tried registering on the site and got an error message...
If I do get to apply it will be my 3rd time, first time I didn't get passed the tests, second time I flopped the etray, this time who knows.

You got a step further the second time though. Now the process has changed, who knows how far you might get . Perseverance is a great quality to have.