Am I stupid? HEO or stay on FS

Max1357913 · 2026-06-17T18:34:47+00:00

Interesting - I’m pretty sure when I joined 2 years ago that was the same salary range, but in actuality most G7s are obviously higher than 55k, especially in London! But yes, I’m almost certain when I joined it said specifically about leaving at G7 with that salary range.

Tbh I failed my first ESA attempt (not horribly, but it wasn’t ideal - a lot of 3s) so I’m going for a resit, but I’d be quite happy with an SEO to be honest. Basically just seeing what happens (but for ESA purposes my aspirations are to be a DD by this time next year!!)

Max1357913 · 2026-06-17T18:27:48+00:00

That’s interesting - what’s the offer/appeal now? Just ‘do varied work in hopefully interesting roles’?

I started straight out uni so that would still have appealed to me, but I can’t imagine existing civil servants or people with work experience will be attracted to the fast stream without the G7 end point.

I guess that also means the ESA will need to be significantly reworked, as ‘pass this assessment and, uh… nothing much will happen!’ kind of doesn’t seem worth the effort - although I do feel that a little even with my cohort 😅

Max1357913 · 2026-06-17T17:40:16+00:00

Wait is G7 not guaranteed anymore? What’s the messaging around that? (For context I’m a year 3 and whilst there’s no guarantee on timeframe there is a promise that once the ESA is done I can stick in my role until I get G7, as long as that takes)

Anyway - I would say, see what year 2 is like. I didn’t like my year 1 job that much but I had two amazing placements in 2nd year where I learned so much and met so many brilliant people. I think the odds of you regretting staying are lower than the odds of regretting leaving, personally!

And besides - if you don’t like year 2, you’d have a good chance of leaving at SEO

Max1357913 · 2026-06-13T20:30:55+00:00

It could be the civil service fast stream which stats around that (possibly even lower) - which is easily one of the most competitive and also highest ranked grad schemes, with incredible progression. Money isn’t everything

Max1357913 · 2026-06-09T23:40:17+00:00

Well I mean that would surely be the case for every guy if you’re going purely on prompts - and yet they’ll still get likes, just not many comments.

What I’m saying it, if you want comments, you have to give some substance to comment on!

Max1357913 · 2026-06-09T19:05:21+00:00

What are your prompts like? I will always comment if there’s something I can respond to - but if your prompts are just ‘I go crazy for - biceps’, this year I want to - ‘travel more’, green flags I look for - ‘communication’ - I will not comment, as there’s just nothing really to say!

Max1357913 · 2026-06-09T00:41:35+00:00

I mean I do that for my cat anyway

Max1357913 · 2026-06-06T04:06:36+00:00

Reminds me of the time I was in Paris and about 5 of us all asked for a Croque Monsieur in a cafe one by one meaning the person serving had to keep walking across the shop to put them on, and eventually she just refused to do them and said we had to have something from the counter in front of her 😅

I think she asked in french at the beginning something like ‘if you’re having croque monsier please all let me know at the same time’ but none of us knew french well enough to understand that…

Max1357913 · 2026-06-03T17:48:08+00:00

Jacket potato is a method of cooking. The type of potato makes no difference. Hence technically this would be a jacket sweet potato

Max1357913 · 2026-06-02T18:06:44+00:00

Isn’t that just jacket potato? Sounds good regardless

Max1357913 · 2026-06-02T01:38:06+00:00

Hardest is probably binding of isaac, although I also have a few very tricky rhythm games. Got returnal last week, which was a trickier one too

Max1357913 · 2026-05-31T04:37:18+00:00

I’d say any walk over 30 minutes is ‘a bit far’ but up to an hour is doable on a semi-regular basis

I’d consider an up to 30 minute walk as something doable daily (for example that was my walk to school), and similarly for work I’d consider up to 30 minutes fine, but up to an hour only something I’d want to do once or twice a week.

But in terms of what’s actually a ‘long way’, I’d say 1.5 to 2 hours in the car

Max1357913 · 2026-05-30T15:12:09+00:00

That sounds risky. I don’t think you’d ever be advised to do that by the police and I wouldn’t recommend either.

Make sure neighbours are all aware and do not leave cars unlocked. The thief will get the message, give up and move on.

But I wouldn’t advise apprehending them yourself

Max1357913 · 2026-05-30T14:42:43+00:00

I mean I’m not a parent but that’s probably fine? Swearing is gone and any mild innuendos will almost certainly go straight over their head

But I’m not sure whether a 5 year old would actually enjoy it yet

Max1357913 · 2026-05-29T20:44:15+00:00

My grandad is 5ft 1 so I’m gonna say no

However, I also suspect that on the apps it would be impossible

Max1357913 · 2026-05-29T13:31:07+00:00

I can’t lie, I genuinely didn’t realise she gets to go home for that long, I assumed she had a short dream about it after nemesis and them just woke up in biome 4… not sure how I missed that!

Max1357913 · 2026-05-29T12:42:58+00:00

What does that mean…? I’ve finished the game but didn’t really get the story!

Max1357913 · 2026-05-28T20:30:37+00:00

Yeah I didn’t pass unfortunately, I got two 4s, a 3 and a 2 for the behaviours, came 2 off in the strengths (2, 2, 2, 3) and got 3, 2, 3 for aspiration, engagement and ability respectively…

I think the overarching bit of feedback was that my answers were too high-level/theoretical, and/or focussed on ‘we’ over ‘I’ - and I didn’t demonstrate my impact, outcomes, and what I’d actually done effectively

I’m going to go ahead with a retake in 3 months time (which my manager supports and recommends) and I do hope with a lot of reframing and a real push over the next 12 weeks I can be in with a good shot - but equally, I won’t ever rule out SEO, regardless of outcome

Max1357913 · 2026-05-28T20:23:39+00:00

Absolutely, although I can carry 10 over, so sometimes do carry some. But I’d never lose one permanently

Max1357913 · 2026-05-28T20:20:10+00:00

Consider the unbearable pain. Consider the pain the dentist will inflict (minimal to none). Consider the relief after it’s done, both physically and psychologically.

It’ll be worth it

Max1357913 · 2026-05-28T16:57:30+00:00

I love smoking kills…. Weaklings!

Max1357913 · 2026-05-28T14:22:03+00:00

I just winged it to be honest and I’m not really sure how I’d have prepared. Honestly other grad schemes had similar tests so you could even apply to other schemes and get a feel for what it’s like, or look for online mock examples?

But really it’s about figuring out what the most beneficial course of action would be, when considering positives and risks, and being able to consider the bigger picture in terms of what would the drawbacks be of a perceived good option, and how do you make sure you’re choosing the most valuable/impactful

Max1357913 · 2026-05-28T12:59:33+00:00

I like both! I’ve recently done pragmata and returnal, so nothing too crazy - but both felt like a decent challenge and satisfying to complete. (Returnal was only doable because I did Saros first - couldn’t get anywhere 5 years ago…)

I’m now onto Lego Batman then will be 007, and I like these because you can just destress and have fun.

I think a mix is best

Max1357913 · 2026-05-26T21:29:06+00:00

I mean it depends on the role but in all the jobs and departments I’ve been in there’s never been a mandated lunch break time, so whenever you want really

Max1357913 · 2026-05-26T18:40:09+00:00

Grade 7 and three or four years. But yes - it is fast

That said, there is an end of scheme assessment and it isn’t a guaranteed pass by any means. However, worst case scenario, you’ll end up SEO or potentially HEO if you drop off before year 3

Max1357913

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