civil service summer diversity internship 2014

Reply 360

Treacletart_01

Yup - my fault for not choosing a department I guess

Reply 361

BPPP

Hi, is anyone here going to be with DWP? And who is going to the opening reception? :smile:

Reply 362

Sbr101

Original post by BPPP

Hi, is anyone here going to be with DWP? And who is going to the opening reception? :smile:

Hi I'm going to be with DWP too! But I haven't heard anything yet have you? I'm going to the opening reception too :smile:

Reply 363

SupercoolGuy

2

I have got the DWP placement too. My placement will be in Blackpool.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 364

Owlish

Not sure if people have noticed this already or if it's just been released but my application online has feedback now - just in case anyone is interested to read how they got on =)

Reply 365

Khodu

19

Original post by BPPP

Hi, is anyone here going to be with DWP? And who is going to the opening reception? :smile:

I am

Hope to see you all there!

Reply 366

Khodu

19

Original post by Owlish

Not sure if people have noticed this already or if it's just been released but my application online has feedback now - just in case anyone is interested to read how they got on =)

Brilliant, thanks for letting me know. Where do I check?

Reply 367

BPPP

Original post by Sbr101

Hi I'm going to be with DWP too! But I haven't heard anything yet have you? I'm going to the opening reception too :smile:

Hello, oh thats good, finally someone! Nope but I did email Wendy to ask which location I will be based at and about the start date. She said I was going to be based in London and that my line manager had only just received my paperwork and that they will be in contact, but its been two weeks now :/. Same! :smile:

Reply 368

BPPP

Original post by Khodu

I am

Hope to see you all there!

Have you heard anything in regards to the start date and location?

Reply 369

Khodu

19

Original post by BPPP

Have you heard anything in regards to the start date and location?

Yep the FCO dept is very organised; which is fab! We have been told our Induction Date and other important stuff

Reply 370

Dannyb233456

Hi

I am DWP but based out of London. My Line manager has contacted me start at end of June for 6 weeks with provisions to extend based on performance for an additional 3 weeks. I am doing market research in the disability space of DWP. I will be at opening ceremony and hope to see you all there 😃

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 371

Toki_Premium

4

Hi guys - I'm thinking about applying for this for next year, out of curiosity how do you know what function you will be working in e.g Finance, HR, etc - How does the allocation work on that?

Reply 372

jellybomb

6

Hi- am applying to this scheme now can anyone give ANY kind of advice? Would be much appreciated!!

Reply 373

rm436

4

Hey

are you just about to complete the first round of tests? My advice would be to take as many practice maths and verbal reasoning tests as you can. Go to your uni careers centre and ask them for support too. They helped me to get a good grade in my maths and verbal! When I first took the practice tests I failed, but I practiced and practiced and passed with flying colours. I can't remember if you need to do the competency test too or if that's just for fast stream. If you do, my advice is to take your time (for my fast stream application I took about two hours on it!) and have the civil service competency framework (google it) open in another tab and use it. Also, don't be afraid of being confident in your abilities - it seems that those who were modest failed this element. Hope this helps. Feel free to contact me again if you have any questions. I completed this SDIP this summer and will help as much as I can!

Reply 374

jellybomb

6

Hi! Thanks for your reply!
I am exempt from Verbal and maths tests but am quite worried about the Competency test and confused how to work for it. Have just made an appointment with Careers. From talking with other Interns or on reflection what do you think made a successful applicant? Also what kind of Degrees did people have (ie mostly finance or more varied?) Thanks for the help again!

Original post by rm436

Hey

are you just about to complete the first round of tests? My advice would be to take as many practice maths and verbal reasoning tests as you can. Go to your uni careers centre and ask them for support too. They helped me to get a good grade in my maths and verbal! When I first took the practice tests I failed, but I practiced and practiced and passed with flying colours. I can't remember if you need to do the competency test too or if that's just for fast stream. If you do, my advice is to take your time (for my fast stream application I took about two hours on it!) and have the civil service competency framework (google it) open in another tab and use it. Also, don't be afraid of being confident in your abilities - it seems that those who were modest failed this element. Hope this helps. Feel free to contact me again if you have any questions. I completed this SDIP this summer and will help as much as I can!

Reply 375

rm436

4

My advice for competency: get used to the civil service framework and use it to get an idea of what a good civil servant is, be honest and consistent throughout, and don't be modest. I know people who have failed this element because they didn't take it seriously and did it quickly without much thought. As long as you take your time and think about the answers you will be okay though, it isn't too hard.
I would say all of the good interns (and fast streamers) were really hard workers, very proactive and super super friendly. I think these things made them good at their role as well as good at the application process, because they were the type of people to work hard at the tests and come across well in the phone interview etc.
Degrees were very very varied but mostly social sciences and humanities. I cant really remember any maths/finance students, they were mostly on the economic internship. I'm awful at maths (and hate it) and I was fine.

Reply 376

abzy1234

14

Original post by rm436

x.

Heya, your advice so far has been really helpful, thank you! Was wondering when you received the first indication as to whether you had passed the first round? Thanks! :smile:

I've read that some don't know until the end of January or later? Makes it quite difficult to plan for the summer :tongue:

Reply 377

rm436

4

Ummm I found out a few days after I did it, which I think was late December or early Jan. But like I said, I found out late because I applied late. One thing you will have to get used to is a lot of waiting, and the Fast Stream team constantly telling you 'you'll know tomorrow/by the end of the week etc' when you won't! This was especially bad when finding out the final results after our phone interviews and I'm now dealing with the same for my Fast Stream application. Unfortunately all you can do is wait :frown:

You probably won't find out if you've actually got a place on the SDIP until April!

Reply 378

SmaugTheTerrible

15

Original post by rm436

Ummm I found out a few days after I did it, which I think was late December or early Jan. But like I said, I found out late because I applied late. One thing you will have to get used to is a lot of waiting, and the Fast Stream team constantly telling you 'you'll know tomorrow/by the end of the week etc' when you won't! This was especially bad when finding out the final results after our phone interviews and I'm now dealing with the same for my Fast Stream application. Unfortunately all you can do is wait :frown:

You probably won't find out if you've actually got a place on the SDIP until April!

Do you have any tips on the competency questions in the application for and how to do well in the interview?
What kinds of things did you do that you feel increased your chances of success?

(also how long was the interview?)

Sorry for asking so many questions :colondollar:

thanks!!

Reply 379

rm436

4

Yes, certainly.

Competency questions in the application and the interview are really quite similar. For both, google the Civil Service Competency Framework and use it to help you. All CS recruitment is basically done by measuring people up to this framework, and it's certainly what you'll be quizzed on in both the application and the telephone interview. For both, also make sure that you use as many different examples as possible. Say you've spent years in your uni Law Society, it can be tempting to use your experience there for all of the examples, but don't. They want to know that you've done a range of things, so the more experiences you can use the better. Don't feel like they have to be super exciting either, I just spoke about choosing my dissertation topic for a whole answer in my interview! Also for the interview, listen to the queues that the interviewer gives you and DONT let them put you off. My interviewer (she interviewed a lot of my intern friends too) was so harsh. She interrupted me, told me what I was saying didn't make sense/wasn't relevant etc. It was scary! But just take a deep breath and remember that they are actually only trying to help you tick the boxes that they have in front of them. Like I said, she told me off constantly but I still got through so it wasn't a bad sign. Finally, for the interview you get told beforehand which competencies you will get quizzed on. Write down examples of your experiences for each competency to help you when you're feeling under pressure on the phone. I had them in front of me and it really helped.

I think the main things I did to increase my chances of success was the experiences that I had (involvement in societies etc) and faking confidence! The experiences helped because I obviously had more to talk about, but also because being on committees and working with the uni and union had made me feel more confident about my ability to do things like this, and therefore I was more confident on the phone. I also faked it a bit though - I was nervous as hell when she called me but I just pretended I was super happy and confident!

I can't remember how long the interview was, but I think around 45mins to an hour. You will get told beforehand though :smile:

Feel free to ask me any questions that you have!

civil service summer diversity internship 2014

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