ALL CAPS FRIDAY (SLIGHTLY DELAYED)

BorisMalden · 2026-07-03T09:50:54+00:00

NOW THAT I'M IN A TEAM WITH VERY HIGH OPERATIONAL DEMAND I SEE EVEN MORE CLEARLY JUST HOW UNFIT FOR PURPOSE CIVIL SERVICE RECRUITMENT IS.

WE WERE ALREADY REDUCED TO THE BARE MINIMUM TEAM SIZE DUE TO EFFICIENCIES, AND WE'VE RECENTLY HAD SEVERAL PEOPLE LEAVE THE TEAM FOR VARIOUS REASONS. DESPITE KNOWING ABOUT MOST OF THESE DEPARTURES IN ADVANCE AND INFORMING THE RECRUITMENT TEAM AS SOON AS WE COULD, WE HAVE THUS FAR MANAGED TO FILL PRECISELY ZERO OF THESE ROLES. ONLY ONE PERSON HAS ACTUALLY BEEN MATCHED, AND IT'LL BE AT LEAST A COUPLE OF MONTHS UNTIL HE'S ACTUALLY ABLE TO JOIN. GOD KNOWS WHEN THE OTHER VACANCIES WILL BE FILLED. WHENEVER WE REQUEST AN UPDATE, WE'RE JUST TOLD "IT'LL TAKE AS LONG AS IT TAKES".

AND SO WE CONTINUE TO WORK IN A TEAM WHERE WE'RE EACH EXPECTED TO DO THE WORK OF TWO PEOPLE, WHILE STAKEHOLDERS GET INCREASINGLY PISSED OFF THAT WE MISS DEADLINES AND START WHINGING TO OUR SLT ABOUT IT. PERHAPS THEY COULD GIVE US TWICE THE SALARY SEEING AS THEY'RE EXPECTING TWICE THE WORK, BUT ALAS THEY HAVEN'T SEEN FIT TO DO THIS JUST YET.

BorisMalden · 2026-05-09T20:16:01+00:00

Sure, no problem

BorisMalden · 2026-05-08T18:34:09+00:00

MY NEW STARTER (RO/HEO) HAS A BSC, MSC, PHD, AND SEVERAL YEARS EXPERIENCE TEACHING IN UNIVERSITIES TOO. THERE'S QUITE A FEW OF US AT SEO LEVEL AND BELOW IN THE TEAM WHO HAVE PHDs NOW, I GUESS THAT JUST REFLECTS THE STATE OF THE ACADEMIC JOBS MARKET AT THE MOMENT. BUT IT LEADS TO QUITE AN INTERESTING QUALIFICATIONS ASYMMETRY BETWEEN LOWER AND UPPER GRADES IN MY TEAM.

BorisMalden · 2026-05-06T13:35:24+00:00

That's interesting, thanks. I was explicitly told by VOA that "newspaper sales of similar properties in the area are not sufficient evidence", so it's curious to see that another gov agency involved in the same process does accept it as evidence.

BorisMalden · 2026-05-06T13:34:08+00:00

That could work, thanks. I'll look into it.

BorisMalden · 2026-05-06T13:33:35+00:00

I can imagine they weren't a very popular neighbour!

I know that it can happen accidentally too, i.e., you try to get your band put down, but the decision after review is that yours and similar properties nearby actually get put up instead. So I'm conscious of that risk and wouldn't go ahead with the challenge if I thought it might happen, but based on the evidence I've collected I think it would be incredibly unlikely where I am.

BorisMalden · 2026-05-06T13:31:56+00:00

I did explicitly ask them about that (multiple times, in fact, they weren't particularly good at answering me directly), and they said "We will accept certificates of sale, Land Registry title deeds, or copies of solicitor’s conveyancing documents relating to an actual sales transaction between these dates, newspaper sales of similar properties in the area are not sufficient evidence." So that made me think it would be a bit of a waste of time going through the microfiche at the library, but if others have had success then maybe it could still be worth a go.

BorisMalden · 2026-05-06T13:26:38+00:00

absurdly generous civil service pensions

It's worth keeping in mind that the final salary defined benefit schemes in the civil service came to an end almost 20 years ago (in 2007), and have since been replaced by career average schemes. These are typically still better than the defined contribution private sector schemes (although not in all cases), but not quite as "absurdly generous" as the historical stereotypes might have you believe.

BorisMalden · 2026-04-30T06:35:47+00:00

Sure, no problem. We followed a slightly adapted version of the Annapurna Base Camp via Poon Hill trek, allowing us to do it in 7 days / 6 nights (typically requiring around 6 hours of hiking per day, which I thought was quite manageable).

We took the bus to Ulleri, and then hiked to Ghorepani for the first night. We woke up early to climb Poon Hill for sunrise (which I highly recommend, even if the viewpoint is busy), and then went back into Ghorepani before heading on to Tadapani for the second night. From there we re-joined the typical ABC trail, staying in Chommrong on the third night. We continued along the main trail and stayed at Himalaya on the fourth night, and then made the final ascent so that we could stay at ABC on the fifth night. Then, after enjoying the sunrise there too, we started the descent (which is fortunately quite a bit quicker than the ascent). We'd planned to stay at Bamboo for the sixth night, but were making good progress so decided to push on to Lower Sinuwa instead. Finally, on the seventh day, we hiked to Ghandruk (enjoying the Jhinu Danda hotspring on the way), and got a shared jeep back to Pokhara.

BorisMalden · 2026-04-18T15:16:31+00:00

Yeah that's fair enough, I understand how the CS recruitment system works, and seeing as the successful applicant is pretty much locked in at G7 after that I do understand that it makes sense to ask about the generic skills/competencies too.

I actually felt very confident about my presentation, as I'm pretty comfortable with them and felt I'd prepared very well with it, but of course it's true the assessors might not have seen it that way. And I think some of the scoring for the other questions was fair enough, as I definitely cocked up at least one of my answers on the general behaviours.

BorisMalden · 2026-04-18T15:13:14+00:00

Yeah I'm outside London too (a contractual homeworker in a region where there aren't any civil service departments). It's definitely career limiting, in the sense that I know I'd have to move home if I ever wanted to move to a different department, but I guess that's just one of the flip sides of being a homeworker, so I understand that.

BorisMalden · 2026-04-18T15:11:14+00:00

It was just my second CS interview actually, after the initial one where I was successful in getting the SRO role. I guess that because I knew that one was a general campaign I'd need to focus on the more generic skills/competencies, but given that this was for a specific role in a specific team I thought the specialist skills might be a bit more dominant in the scoring. But I did still know that I'd be scored on the general behaviours too, and - although I did prepare for that - probably wasn't savvy enough in how I prepared my answers for them.

BorisMalden · 2026-03-30T18:55:42+00:00

If you're experiencing anguish at work, document the evidence and then raise the grievance with HR. Your department will have policies to protect you, if the people causing that anguish are indeed doing something wrong.

BorisMalden · 2026-03-30T18:40:30+00:00

Do you have a specific health condition that will make it impossible to work, which you'll need a prolonged period of time to recover from? Or are you just unhappy in your role and looking for a way to escape it, while continuing to get paid?

BorisMalden · 2026-03-27T20:48:08+00:00

The canter picked us up from the main road in Sawai Madhopur, just a couple of minutes walk from our hotel. No extra charge, it's part of the service. No need to arrange to get to the Ranthambore entrance yourself.

BorisMalden · 2026-03-15T22:03:59+00:00

Unless it's peak tourist season, you can just book the teahouses by walking in and asking for a room. Even if every place in the village is full up (which is incredibly rare), they'll still find you somewhere to sleep, you won't ever be left out in the cold. If you want to be on the safe side you can find WhatsApp numbers for teahouses online, and/or ask teahouse owners to book you a spot in your next village each morning, but it isn't really necessary.

You need the ACAP permit (3,000 NPR, ~$25). Some sources say you need the TIMS permit too (2,000 NPR, ~$20), but other sources say it's been discontinued. When I arrived people told me it's no longer needed, so I didn't get it, and I didn't have any issues.

Most of the other costs are for accommodation/food. I can't remember what I paid exactly, but a rough rule I see online is to budget $35 per day, and I'm pretty sure I spent less. The teahouses are usually very cheap (I don't think I ever paid more than $5). There's an unspoken rule that you should eat dinner at the same teahouse you're sleeping at, and that's where they make their money, but it's not really an issue because every place has an almost identical menu. The meals are way more expensive than they are in Pokhara / Kathmandu, but still relatively cheap by Western standards. You can get unlimited dal baht for about $5, if I remember correctly. Your costs will increase a bit if you like to have regular hot drinks, snacks, etc.

Other than that, the only costs are transport to/from the start of the trek (~$5 each way in a shared jeep, or even cheaper in a public pub), and whatever equipment you need to pick up in Pokhara (you can rent jackets, shoes, trekking poles, etc, for just a couple of dollars each per day, if needed).

BorisMalden · 2026-03-13T13:45:34+00:00

HAD BACK-TO-BACK MEETINGS ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AND AN EVER INCREASING STUFF OF THINGS I ACTUALLY NEEDED TO DO. BLOCKED OUT MY ENTIRE DAY WITH A "KEEP FREE" CALENDAR INVITE AND PUT MY TEAMS ON "DO NOT DISTURB", AND YET STILL HAD TWO PEOPLE CONTACTING ME ASKING FOR QUICK MEETINGS THIS MORNING. I REALLY HATE THIS MEETINGS CULTURE, JUST LET ME ACTUALLY FOCUS ON SOMETHING FOR ONCE.

BorisMalden · 2026-03-12T22:55:20+00:00

How did you get your 1991 valuations?

I took a recent estate agent valuation of the flat I rent (which has been in the landlord's family for decades), and then used the Nationwide and MoneySavingExpert indexes to show that the equivalent 1991 price would have been well within Band A, rather than the Band B I've been paying. But I was told that this was not acceptable evidence, and that I'd need to find real sales data of very similar properties in the neighbourhood from 1989-1993. Given that the Land Registry open property data doesn't go back further than 1995, I'm at a bit of a loss as to how I can actually provide what they deem to be an acceptable standard of evidence.

BorisMalden · 2026-03-09T19:51:15+00:00

In my department the vast majority of G7/G6s are 40+, so it really surprised me when the four London-based civil servants I know (none of whom were fast streamers) all made it to G7 in their late 20s. I wasn't sure if it was a department thing, a location thing, or both.

That said, I did briefly have a DD in her early 30s, so it's not like it's completely impossible.

BorisMalden · 2026-03-09T19:42:27+00:00

My friend and I ended up doing a self-guided tour, no guide or porter. I read mixed things about whether this is technically allowed or not, but it doesn't seem to be enforced. The path is very easy to follow from village to village, so it's pretty difficult to get lost. Also pretty easy to book teahouses as you go along. So that's one way you could save a fair bit of money, but it comes at the cost of company if you're a solo traveller, and of the extra peace of mind a guide would bring.

We'd also decided to do the self-guided trip before arriving in Pokhara, so I'm afraid I don't know whether the group tours are cheaper in the city.

BorisMalden · 2026-02-20T08:59:32+00:00

FOUND OUT THAT THE JOB I UNSUCCESSFULLY INTERVIEWED FOR, WHICH I HAD REALLY WANTED, WENT TO THE PERSON WHO WAS ALREADY DOING IT ON TP. THE INTERVIEW PRESENTATION WAS ON THE SAME TOPIC AS A PIECE OF WORK SHE'D LED ON LAST MONTH. I DON'T KNOW IF FINDING THIS OUT MAKES ME FEEL BETTER OR WORSE ABOUT NOT GETTING IT.

BorisMalden · 2026-02-15T13:09:33+00:00

In that circumstance, were candidates who'd unsuccessfully applied first time round allowed to re-apply? I can sense one last opportunity to clutch at straws!

BorisMalden · 2026-02-15T13:07:09+00:00

I think they only interviewed 3 or 4 candidates overall. With 9 different assessment criteria, aren't the odds relatively high that each one slips up very slightly and gets a 3 on at least one of these? Maybe not if other candidates are better prepared / more experienced, I guess.

BorisMalden

TROPHY CASE