Civil Service EO Interviews (HMRC Compliance Caseworker): How I Scored 6s and 7s

Hi everyone! I went through the application process for an Executive Officer (EO) role in the Civil Service and received feedback indicating my answers exceeded expectations for the grade. I wanted to share a few things that really helped me prepare strong answers for the interview and sift process – hopefully they’ll help you too.

1. Read the Unofficial Guide (and Use STARLET!)

If you haven’t already, I’d recommend finding the Unofficial Civil Service Application Guide (it’s easy to find online). They actually just released a new one specifically for interviews, so check that out. Their first guide introduced a helpful structure called STARLET, which builds on the classic STAR format:

S = Situation

T = Task

A = Action

R = Result

LE = Learnings from the experience

T = Transferable skills for the role

Although the new guide reverts back to suggest STAR, using STARLET helped me go beyond just describing what I did – I was able to reflect on what I learned and show how my experience prepared me for an EO role. If you have the time to include the Learnings and transferable skills, try it.

2. Prepare Flexible Examples

I prepared answers for each of the Civil Service Behaviours, but I made sure my examples could be adapted to fit different types of questions. For instance, I used the same scenario for both "communicating complex information" and "influencing stakeholders", just by emphasising or omitting different details to suit each question.

This helped me reduce the number of scenarios I needed to memorise, and meant I could answer more flexibly on the day.

3. Aim for the Next Grade (Where Appropriate)

One strategy I believe made a big difference was referencing some of the higher-level behaviours (like those for HEO roles), especially where they aligned with the EO ones.

For example, for Making Effective Decisions at EO level, you’re expected to “talk to relevant people to get advice”, whereas at HEO level you’re expected to “consult with others to consider impacts”. These are similar, so I tried to incorporate the higher-level phrasing and expectations where I could do so credibly.

I believe this helped me stand out, as the feedback suggested I had exceeded expectations for the EO grade.

4. Build a Bank of Examples

Start preparing early – I began about a week before and even that didn’t feel like enough time. I highly recommend building a Google Doc or spreadsheet where you:

- List all the Civil Service Behaviours

- Add criteria and example questions under each

- Write out potential answers in full

- Include multiple scenarios for each behaviour if you can

If you can prepare two or three examples per behaviour, that gives you flexibility to tailor your answers to specific question focuses. For example, you might want one example that shows technical skill, one that shows teamwork, and one that shows problem-solving – all under the same behaviour.

If your experience is more limited, that’s fine – just make sure your example is detailed, and be prepared to tweak it during the interview.

5. Break Down and Rebuild Your Examples

Here’s a tip that really helped me: write your answer out in as much detail as possible first. Then, unpick it:

- What’s this example actually demonstrating?

- What criteria does it meet?

- What’s missing?

You can even use ChatGPT or another tool to help you analyse your answers.

From there, group key points from your answer by which criteria they meet. This lets you rework your example for different questions. For instance, if your example involves writing a macro to streamline a manual process, that could demonstrate both “working with others to identify improvement opportunities” and “using technology to drive efficiency” – which align with different aspects of Changing and Improving.

Once you’ve grouped the points, it becomes easier to tweak your actions and tasks while keeping the same overall situation and result. This helps you create polished, tailored answers for a variety of questions.

Final Thoughts

You’ll find your own rhythm over time – it definitely gets easier with practice. Understanding how to tailor your responses to the Civil Service Success Profiles is a skill you can develop, and preparing well will make a huge difference.

Good luck with your application! I hope this post helps you feel more confident and better prepared.

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 1

Own_Refrigerator

This is informative! Thank you.

Reply 2

RLY425

Original post

by Own_Refrigerator

This is informative! Thank you.

You're most welcome! I do hope it helps you if you're looking to apply or anyone else you know doing the same ☺️

Reply 3

Duaalava

Thank you for this!

Reply 4

VegGem

This is great, could you offer any advice on a skills and experience based interview as oppose to behaviours, it has changed for this intake.

Reply 5

RLY425

Original post

by VegGem

This is great, could you offer any advice on a skills and experience based interview as oppose to behaviours, it has changed for this intake.

I didn't realise they would change it this year. I think that makes it much more like a traditional job interview and much of my advice would remain the same, but with less focus on the civil service behaviours.

However, the behaviours do provide a good foundation for skills that you should be identifying in your own experiences that you'll be drawing on.

You'll likely still want to try and give your answers in a STAR format, especially as this is what assessors will be used to. So whether it's subconscious or not, they'll likely still give good marks for answers that would have done well in previous campaign formats too.

I can't give you more specific advice and much of what I wrote in the original post will still be relevant. I can't find the job description, but use that and run it through ChatGPT to see what kinds of questions they might ask. Prep for those along with other common experience based questions you find online 🙂

Looking at threads online, people seem to think the questions aren't that hard. So you'll probably be ok!

Reply 6

Beckydot

Thanks for this.

Reply 7

RLY425

Original post

by user311807

Thank you for this helpful post. Do you have similar tips for the in-tray exercise? Thank you.

I'm not sure what format it will take this time, so not really.

My general advice is to make sure you understand the instructions and all "must haves" for the final submission.

If there are calculations, make sure you're paying attention to detail and using the correct numbers but don't overthink it. Your natural instinct is likely correct.

It also helps to present information clearly. So do your best to keep things simple, easy to read, and easy to understand.

If i think of anything else, I'll add it here :smile:

Reply 8

civilservicehelp

I was wondering if it was possible to provide an example answer. I have been struggling to hit those higher scores even though I feel like I provided a good STARLEt example.

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