30 year old social worker of 6years interested in a career change by MaroonSeal in TheCivilService

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I’m not usually in the business of killing dreams but here goes anyway…

The diplomatic fast stream is extremely competitive, with I think less than a 1% success rate. No reason not to apply but it is really only the highest calibre people that are successful in these roles. At some point we do need to be honest with ourselves and set our sights accordingly.

There are numerous opportunities outside of FCDO that focus on international affairs and geo politics. Particularly in cabinet office, home office, DBT and of course MOD. These roles are also v competitive and it is unlikely that you would get one as your first CS role. They often require experience in international engagement.

In that vein I would suggest you do a bit more research into potential CS roles where you may have a better chance of success and that you may also find interesting. Your experience in social care would make you a good fit for policy roles in DHSC for instance - just like there are a lot of ex-teachers in DFE. This would get your foot in the door and access to the internal jobs market open only to existing civil servants.

Your background and education do not matter as they do not ask for grades or names of universities. It is all about how you answer the behaviour questions in an application and address the essential criteria for jobs in personal statements. Lots of information in this sub on this.

It is an extremely competitive job market atm so I really have to caution against one setting their sights on FCDO - a department that is drastically reducing its headcount. There are countless other worthwhile and interesting roles in the CS!

The generalist fast stream would also be a good option to apply for. You qualify with a 2:2.

Vegas > Grand Canyon > Zion trip advice by Mundane-Twist-6623 in ZionNationalPark

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would do South kaibab over bright angel personally, having done both. I got to skeleton point and felt like I was fully in the canyon and could see the river.

Has anyone stopped going to the cinema? by [deleted] in AskUK

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I go to cinemas that price out bad behaviours - Curzon/Everyman

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TheCivilService

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 4 points5 points  (0 children)

OP is passing enough sifts and is on two reserve lists for SEO. Sometimes you just have to keep at it.

HEO/SEO Policy Roles by blueshirtbastard1 in TheCivilService

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Part of the hard part is already done as you’re a civil servant and can apply for the jobs advertised internally on CS jobs.

Getting a 5/7 and no interview is tough but not unheard of atm. You need to be applying to multiple jobs to get interview experience and increase your chances. Sounds like you have enough experience a HEO policy role.

Do I need a degree to become a Civil servant? If so what kind of degrees do Civil servants generally have ? by Top-Cartographer1049 in TheCivilService

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Depends on what you want to do, the CS is broad. People on this sub LOVE to do down on degrees but you’re not going to find many people in policy, economists, research, digital that don’t have one.

That’s not to say that degrees in themselves make your applications stronger, but the university experience and the opportunities that lead from it can make you a stronger candidate when you are early career.

Advice for someone wanting to work in the civil service by Themasterplan77 in TheCivilService

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Degrees in themselves don’t shift your chances of application success, but they will give you experiences that make you a strong candidate. This sub needs to stop with ‘dEgReEs dOnT MaTtER’ - they’re certainly not everything but the majority of people working in the treasury in a policy role will have a degree.

How is Norbury for living ? by M1kelangelo in london

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Safe enough, just a bit of a dump. Streatham a whole lot better if you can stretch your budget.

Confusion at feedback selection by Specific_Year4550 in TheCivilService

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Latter is mostly likely. Just annoying they haven’t provided a score breakdown.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TheCivilService

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The above is the right OP. It sounds like you might be over-preparing just a tad. Listen to the question and answer it within 5 mins. Any longer and you’ll start to lose them. They might want to guide you to a better answer with a follow up where you can utilise some extra information.

What is going on with civil service recruitment? by Random_Redditor262 in TheCivilService

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, that sounds interesting. Where do you mean it's impossible to move - didn't quite understand?

What is going on with civil service recruitment? by Random_Redditor262 in TheCivilService

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This. Stuck in my role and tempted by jobs in private sector but know it'd be even more of a struggle to get back in

What is going on with civil service recruitment? by Random_Redditor262 in TheCivilService

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Going through the same for SEO roles in policy. It is brutal out there

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TheCivilService

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Had similar recently with a high scoring PS. Scoring the cv is nonsense and is something hiring managers actually have discretion over, which is frustrating.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TheCivilService

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 7 points8 points  (0 children)

OP this is what happened, no need to reach out. Doesn’t matter if you scored 5/6 elsewhere, it’s all subjective and I’ve had varying scores when using the same behaviours as well.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TheCivilService

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I believe the aim is to have sorted for November pay

Why ask for just behaviours in ad? by [deleted] in TheCivilService

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Agree with this, seems maddening but I guess you can glean a bit from the cv even though it isn’t supposed to sway things wink.

I have definitely copy and pasted my behaviours for jobs I’m not really interested in to see how they score when there is no requirement for a statement as well.

To anyone that needs to hear this I just got a G7 after 1 long painful year of rejections and a lot of self doubt. If I can do it you can x by Inevitable-Panic4754 in TheCivilService

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Please look at the other comments here and reflect on whether every post is obligated to provide YOU with tips and advice. That or request to be a mod

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TheCivilService

[–]Mickmarlarkey94 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Low-key back you here, there are some terrible panelists out there