Civil Service Fast Stream 2019/20

Got a PM but thought my response might help others. The question was what can I do to prepare now?

"Bear in mind the first few stages (really up to FSB) are all the same for all schemes, so really you want to show how rounded you are. Think what the schemes have in common: you will need organisational, leadership, and people skills, you will need to be engaging and proactive, and most of all you need to be a team player.

Lots of people enter this having experience of private sector recruitment but you need to remember that the CS works completely differently - it's all about everyone contributing what they can for the public good not about winning or scoring points against others. This is really key for the situational judgement and behaviour tests at the start especially!

So focus on the Success Profiles as they give you a good flavour of the person they want - look at Grade 7/6 as that's the job you get at the end of the scheme. You don't need to know it word for word but it should put you in the right frame of mind.

To get more specific practice the tests online (there's loads of free ones). Take your time - if I remember rightly they weren't timed so you can go get a cup of tea, pace, calm yourself down etc. between questions. Most of the questions the key is working out what the wider problem is.

Say you get told an apprentice is struggling on a project with time management. You will typically have options such as support them on the project, give the project to someone else, or arrange longer term support for the time management skill. Most people think of the problem as the project not being delivered, and yes this is important and effective responses tackle this. But the most effective responses also solve the underlying problem, the skill gap. So look at whether each option resolves the short term problem or also the long term problem.

It's these strategic and long term planning leadership skills that they are looking for. "Seeing the Bigger Picture" is a good Behaviour to look at for this. This is why focusing on the Success Profiles is really all you can do for now, besides maybe grabbing opportunities for things to talk about at interview in your current role.

I would also advise you really research the schemes and think about what you want for the next 4 years. The order is very important and you should put what you really want first and go from there. If you're not interested in a scheme don't put it down just to fill up the slots - it's really a waste of your time if ultimately you either get rejected at FSB because you don't have the passion or worse you get an offer and start and hate it.

I hope that helped for now - there's not really much prep you can do except think about what you want and what they want. I'm more than happy to help again later down the line, or with Comms, if you want to message back"

Hello Alex congrats on the communication scheme.

Can you give any advice for standing out from the crowd as só many people apply for the same role .. or any tips on what experiences I should highlight in the application process ?

Congrats on your new role! I was going to PM you but this is great advice, thank you for being so helpful and sharing your experience.

Hey all, I’m about to start Year 2 of the FS, I’m a generalist so happy to answer any questions. Apologies to anyone who may have PMed me recently and have not had a reply; RL has gotten in the way! Please resend or quote me here

having seen the whole process with my partner last year, and joining the CS through a different process myself, I've decided to give this a go in 2019 for the diplomat scheme... I'm currently learning Japanese, my long term goal being to try and get some good experience to try get a CS job out there.

My question is this - does anyone know which offices the diplomat postings can be in? Is it literally any of them? Seems a lot to choose from. I wonder if they'd put you in one closer to home, or but you in one more relevant to your language experience...