Public Sector Interview Questions & Answers

My one to one interview went really well. It felt quiet informal and mainly centred around my motives and ambitions, and I was asked a lot about my personal experiences that had led to me wanting to train as a Mental Health Social Worker. I had to discuss why I felt Mental Health is an important area of health and social care, and then it was very clear to me that they expected us to ask questions ourselves at the end so it was lucky I had prepared for this and had a few questions ready to spark some discussion at the end of the interview.

"Should a service user be able to chose who their social worker is?"

Make sure you've got some relevant work experience before you apply as much of the activities you do will be centred around how you would handle tough situations which you only learn to do by having that background knowledge. Prepare a list of questions you want to ask and really research the area so you have examples and statistics to draw upon when you're in the group discussion and so on.

The assessment centre day consisted of each of us being give a personal timetable of the day's activities. The first thing was a 1-2-1 interview discussing my motives for applying and my career goals. This was followed by a role play where an actor played the role of a service user and I played the role of the social worker. She played the role of an alcoholic woman who had Bipolar and had had her daughter removed from the family home and I had to try and get her to engage with me despite her hostility and mania. After the role play I went to a reflection room with an assessor to discuss what I had done right and what I could improve on. There was then a written task where you were given a scenario to read and have to answer exam-style questions in the allotted time highlighting key points and actions that could be taken to resolve the scenario. We then had a group debate based on different case studies, and then went off in pairs to be simultaneously interviewed by a service user.

The interview starts off with why you want to work for the IPCC, and then there are questions about what you know about the company and its aims - so it is good to do your research. You are also asked questions about what kind of things you expect the role to incorporate, and about your experiences working with people of different backgrounds. You are also asked about examples of problems with communication in your life. BEWARE: They want very specific examples so make sure you have some case studies ready.

Can you tell me about a time when you have learnt something new and then been asked to apply it in your work?

Overall, the interviewer was friendly and helpful - but there are times when she was writing notes and so you feel as if you're talking to yourself. Also, be prepared for them to stop you in the middle of an answer in order to get a concise answer from you if you are going off topic.

Also, the whole process - from applying to being rejected - was just over two months. The next stage of the process was to be an assessment centre, in Quinton, Birmingham, I believe.

You are given a pin number in the invitation email, which is then used when you call the given number on the day of your interview. After a quick identification check you are put through to your interviewer who explains the process. Subsequently, she said that she did not have the information to answer many of my questions about the role, so I imagine that the interviewers are outsourced and not directly employed by the IPCC.

I was interviewed by two ladies. Both within the industry, but not specific within the role I was applying for.
Questions about me and what I've done (great opportunity to fill in some points about how your skills match up to skills relevant/needed for the role)
Usual competency based questions were included - example of team work, time you demonstrated leadership, How do you manage your time well?
General questions about role - Why Network Rail, What interests you about the project management scheme, how will you cope with the University course in the first year?

Interview lasted around 40 minutes.

Very comfortable interview. The questions didn't try and catch you out - they tried to make you feel comfortable and if you looked stuck on a question/didn't answer question fully, they asked a follow up question to get the points out.

Industry based questions - can't remember them all - I checked after and they were general Project management jobs - such as describing risk management. Put me on the spot as I wasn't expecting that at all.

Be prepared. Prepare knowledge of what challenges the company may be facing, on the projects they are currently working on.

For assessment day - read the finance section of a finance section on an a-level revision website (basic understanding will help you)
Fell confident during it - it isn't as intense and scary as it may seem, everyone is very friendly. You also get a great lunch at the staff canteen!

Assessment centre was based in Warwick.

It consisted of:
one to one interview
group exercise
presentation exercise


Presentation exercise - I would recommend brushing up on knowledge of break even/ revenue/ profit/ loss - as you will need to work out lots of data and compare.
- It is a fun exercise - important to read through all documents first, to ensure you get an overall understanding of all the information (this will make more sense once you're there)

After applying online I completed several psychometric tests, including verbal and numeracy. Following this I completed an E-tray exercise where you given a fake email account and answer emails based on a fictitious scenario.

If you are successful you are invited to attend the assessment day.

Arrived at 7.30am to the Assessment Centre in London. There were around 30 of us being assessed that day.

A series of different assessments judged by a variety of assessors.

It lasted till about 4-5pm depending on the timetable you were given.

You must have examples to prove you fulfil their competencies. When they interview you they have a check box based on how you demonstrate you fulfil the competencies - make sure you have LOTS of examples.

You MUST learn the competencies that they assess you by! Memorise each one, and develop strong arguments/evidence as to how to fulfil each one. It is the ONLY thing they assess you on. No points for personality if you don't fulfil the competency criteria.

Time management - you will be given a LOT of information to read in the exercises. Think carefully about how you read and select data.

Try and find someone who has done the assessment day already, ask them about the feedback they received and what they learnt.

We were divided into groups of 6 and then given timetables for our day. It comprised of:

- one group exercise - given limited time to read a booklet of information on different policies and your 'views' on them, which ones your supported and didn't support. Then sent into room with your group to argue why your policy was best and come to unanimous conclusion. Assessed by 3 diff people.

- leadership exercise - given scenario as a manager, given limited time to read information. Then had to present to an assessor, answer qu's.

- written policy exercise - 2 hours

- interview

Throughout the day we have to do our own self assessments on how we feel we did in each exercise.

I was asked on my previous work experience and asked to provide examples of situations I had been involved in that showed my ability to work with others, show assertiveness and good judgment, ability to write a good report and being able to be articulate in communication. There was a one to one interview that was followed by a written task in which I was given a scenario and asked to write a report and make recommendations to an adviser who was to implement the findings of my report. Yes, there was an overall format that had to be followed and finally the group activity had to be undertaken to enable the assessors to ascertain the suitability of candidates to work with others. The whole assessment exercise took half a day and the people who carried out the written exercise were not the same as the those who carried out the interviews or the group activity. The recruitment team sought to be fair and very transparent in their recruitment exercise!

The most difficult one were the examples I needed to give in order to determine the level of my competency to carry out the job. These were a bit more difficult because probation work is more hands on and demands direct supervision of ex-offenders which makes it a bit tricky if one has not been in the police force or prison service.

Be prepared to for the assessment and strive to remain composed at all the times. There is need for one to work very quickly in dealing with the scenario presented as time is limited and flies faster than one can imagine. Whilst the pressure is immense it is important that one has a good night's sleep and is relaxed by the time they get to the interview. Always try to remain relevant to questions asked and don't try to over-elaborate one's answers. If the interviewer wants a further information to an answer given they will ask a further probing question of to help you along.

We were split into four groups of six each and asked to study a scenario in which each candidate had to participate in giving their views as to how they can best handle the situation and why they chose to handle it the way they did. It was nerve wrecking trying to study the scenario in very limited time and asked to come to a decision under the hawkish gaze of the recruitment team in an atmosphere in which one knows that they are contesting with those who are sitting on the table with them for a limited number of positions to be filled.

Arrived at main entrance and after a short wait I was greeted by a home office employee and taken upstairs to an interview room. After they sorted some paperwork I was called in to face a panel of two. They were competency based questions and were quite similar to those I had answered in the initial online application. They asked around the civil service competency framework and asked for examples of how I have shown to have a particular quality.

How would I use my skills and experience of customer service in this role. I found this incredibly difficult to answer as the job I applied for was administration based and mostly individual work with very little contact with other parties. I felt that this question was quite irrelevant to the job I was applying for.

Don't be disheartened if you are not selected for interview the first time. Myself and my friends have all applied for jobs here and those who were overqualified didn't get a chance at interview. The initial selection process - I believe - is just luck of the draw. They focus so much on buzzwords also, so read up on those.

There was no assessment centre for this role.

The graduate scheme did not require an interview initally. It began with an application followed by online tests. I was then called into the London office to do some tests at an assessment centre. That was followed by a days worth of assessments which included an over night stay. The tests included group work and individual.

Analysis of data sheets. I misinterpreted the information as i was under pressure

Read the questions given, don't lose concentration in nerves

My overall experience was good. We were given dinner the night before in which we got to know other members of the group. This helped us familiarize ourselfs with eachother so the group work went a little smoother the following day

My interview lasted around 25 minutes. It was quite stop starty, and that was quite unnerving and difficult. I was asked to demonstrate what abilities in my previous experience and education showed I was capable of undertaking a job role in which I would have to communicate with the public under difficult circumstances. I was asked about what I knew about the company, I researched this a lot and am glad I did even though it didn't mean I got this role.

Describe a specific incident of when you had to deal with communication problems in your previous work experience? How did you overcome this problem? What were the results?

Be prepared to be interrupted and don't let it fluster you like I did. For my interview they wanted very specific examples of ways you've demonstrated the companies values. A lot of the time I gave too much information and was stopped throughout.

N/A

It was a panel interview with senior members of staff from a variety of departments. They launched straight into typical competency questions, without any informal chat to start. The interview lasted around 10 minutes.

What is your proudest achievement?

What are your three most valuable attributes?

Research the organisation and learn about an area of their work you are interested in, as well as some key facts and figures to show you've done your research.

First we were each given half an hour to prepare a 10-15 minute presentation on the same topic that we had previously completed a written assessment about. We were then split into groups of 6 and were made to do a group exercise where we roleplayed a meeting aimed at cutting a certain figure of a public service spending, each representing different departments.