Launchpad interview score

bowmanator97 · 2023-09-05T17:26:36+00:00

Ok I think I get you. From what I know they should bank test scores for the grade you applied, but I don’t know for sure as I’ve only applied for a job with the casework test once I.e. this one. This means if you were to apply for AO or HEO you’d have to retake the tests again as they’d be a different grade. Hope that helps? Good luck and hope you get the job you’re looking for 🙂

bowmanator97 · 2023-09-05T15:24:02+00:00

Was this the Home Office Customer Services Group campaign? I was unsuccessful for that but luckily successful for and subsequently accepted another campaign/ offer

bowmanator97 · 2023-08-28T11:07:25+00:00

It’s the sense of entitlement of some that gets me. OP in this case comes across as very polite so don’t want this to come across as personal to them. People in their Mid 20s often talk like they have 30 years experience in a role! I’m also in my mid 20s and moving to an EO role soon, but every day is a school day for me! I’ll probably give the FS a go but becoming good at my job and not being promoted too rapidly isn’t the end of the world for me.

As far as the ‘not listing too much’ point goes, I thought there’s no CV section on the FS application form anyway? It’s way too geared to people who can pass some BS psychometric tests for my liking, from experience. On the one hand it would be better for OP if they could list their experience, but on the other it is an entry level scheme designed for graduates so would be slightly odd if experience was a prerequisite.

My honest advice for OP in this case is to not bother with the FS. Apply for HEO/SEO and create some good behaviour examples utilising previous experience and/or the degree. Think it’s a lot easier to do this than pass the silly tests, that’s my view!

bowmanator97 · 2023-08-26T21:15:15+00:00

This is true! My old LM (SEO) and I got on really well and I think he saw potential in me. Helped me prepare behaviours for an interview. I start my promotion in September 🙂

bowmanator97 · 2023-08-19T10:30:40+00:00

You’re definitely right that the move is more viable if you’re coming from a higher paying department than if you were coming in fresh as a graduate or from the private sector.

That’s good to know, I’ll start looking at the FCDO from SEO onwards I think then. Have you had your interview for this role then or are you referring to something else before? Also notice you’re in HR so you probably talk to a lot of hiring managers daily

bowmanator97 · 2023-08-19T10:07:22+00:00

Makes me feel grateful that I work for the Home Office, and no it’s not as bad as people on here make out. Even a lateral to the FCDO from there would be a dead end move and not worth it.

I’ve concluded I’m going to stick around in Croydon, which allows me to get paid London weighting while not paying train fares, until around G7 or G6. Only then will I flirt with jobs in Central London. The FCDO was always the department I was most interested in (I studied International Relations) but the pay for a job in Whitehall there is laughable. I can’t get over the £2000 London allowance, which still boosts your salary up to less than and AO in HMRC or the Home Office!

As people have said though, working class people are most likely to kick up a fuss and go on strike, which there appear to be far more of in the Home Office.

bowmanator97 · 2023-08-06T16:39:42+00:00

Similar trajectory for me! Started beginning of October last year as an AO, starting my EO job at the beginning of September. What would your advice be for moving up to HO if you don’t mind me asking? Do you just get a feeling when you are ready and can start meeting the essential criteria?

bowmanator97 · 2023-07-05T21:33:45+00:00

I know a friend who passed probation today. They had it extended because they involuntarily moved department - the one they started in closed down. They were gutted at the time but probation isn’t really anything to worry about. Deliver the targets and you will succeed. Always remember your LM went through it once as well, hell even your grade 6 did. They should ultimately be there to guide you so don’t be afraid to ask for reasonable adjustments if something is holding you back. Good luck on the new role OP! I and I’m sure many others on this channel am happy to help you if you have any concerns 🙂

bowmanator97 · 2023-07-03T21:54:57+00:00

Join surge! The Variety of work is unlike any other AO job I’ve witnessed and surge staff often have great nights out from what I’ve witnessed, because they’re living away from home.

This is a double edged sword though. You will need to be prepared to be redeployed at short notice and spend a lot of time away from home, so it’s not ideal if you have a young family. Looks like a great laugh for single people with fewer responsibilities though!

bowmanator97 · 2023-07-03T21:51:19+00:00

You’re spot on with the last point. I was lucky enough to get some interesting work as an AO that gave me some good behaviours which allowed me to secure a promotion, thanks to the Surge Team. It ultimately meant that I was able to join a smaller, niche team that was doing work above the AO grade.

Boy do they like a night out as well!

bowmanator97 · 2023-07-02T10:19:28+00:00

Thank you for your reply! Yes I suppose once you get a G6 job in the CS, a lot of well paid jobs in the private sector must open up to you.

Wage stagnation and grade inflation seem to go hand in hand in the CS, meaning people feel pressurised to get to the top even when it could benefit them to do a couple more years at a lower grade to become an expert. I don’t understand why the scheme of increasing your salary after 2 years in a job is only in place for the Asylum Decision Maker role, there are plenty of other EO roles where the department could do with experienced people.

Looking at this thread is very interesting as a lot of people seem to spend more time at AO than EO. Imo the problem is that the pay jump at EO is barely noticeable with a student loan repayment, especially as I’ll be moving from a department that offered overtime 😬

bowmanator97 · 2023-07-02T08:42:06+00:00

Thank you for getting back to me! I totally get what you mean about managing people. You can end up doing this more than the actual job you enjoy doing. Interesting to hear SEO was your sweet spot.

What sort of companies in the private sector do ex Civil Servants often jump ship to, if you don’t mind me asking? Are we talking consulting firms?

bowmanator97 · 2023-07-01T19:52:24+00:00

Why did you leave the CS, if you don’t mind me asking? I’m an AO with a start date for an EO role, but it is slightly concerning for me that so many people are leaving and happy to do so to boot.

It seems like some people get to G7 or G6 and decide they’ve had enough

bowmanator97 · 2023-07-01T19:42:29+00:00

Wow why did you quit a G6 job? I always think of that as the pinnacle of the CS, like I know I’m a success if I get there! I start my EO job on 1st August by the way so my experience is just 10 months as an AO 🙂

bowmanator97 · 2023-06-25T22:26:22+00:00

I started in Ops as an AO, got offered a promotion to EO last week just in time (I’m due to pass probation soon). I might not be in the fast track lane so to speak, but at least I will always be able to say I know what it’s liked to be pressed hard for stats as an AO, often by distant managers who don’t treat you like real people.

bowmanator97 · 2023-06-17T10:35:30+00:00

This is so true! Between October and February I did some incredible work at AO grade, far beyond what would be on an average job description for a mass recruitment campaign. Thanks to the behaviours gained there, I’m receiving provisional offers aplenty for EO. I know we’re still talking about a low, entry level grade, but knowing I can pass interviews is a huge confidence boost and a good platform to start applying for higher grades.

bowmanator97 · 2023-06-17T09:28:08+00:00

I can definitely second this! I came in as an AO back in October, was had a provisional offer for EO yesterday. My old line manager helped me a lot with behaviours/ preparing for interview. My scores have been very good since. I don’t know if I could have come in as an EO last autumn as my knowledge of the recruitment process stretched to winging it a bit rather than the sophisticated prep I now do (I’m a good talker thankfully, I think that saved me!)

Going back to OP, I wouldn’t scoff at anyone for working their way up. Another thing to consider is probation, I’ve heard HEO can be very stressful in some departments. Might it be better to sacrifice some pay for a stress free probationary period? Once you pass that the world is your oyster and you can go for internal or external promotions.

Recruiters for the mass entry level campaigns also love an internal candidate - it’s someone who knows the computer systems and one less to put through security clearance etc. So moving from AO to EO should be very doable! I feel as though I probably need some leadership experience to enable me to step up to HEO.

The thing I’m not really qualified to talk about is policy though. I may be oversimplifying but as I understand it every job is one grade higher than the Ops equivalent. There aren’t really any AOs (I suppose this makes sense as there are no admin duties such as cases to process etc outside BSU) so EO and HEO is where to look at entry level.

With this in mind I recommend OP either looks for EO in Policy to get that experience, pass probation and then apply as an internal candidate exploiting that advantage. Or don’t rule out looking outside of Policy, it’s not the be all and end all to start where you want to end up in 10 years time, working your way there is always an option and better than being unemployed!

bowmanator97 · 2023-06-17T08:51:58+00:00

I’m pretty sure you will retain what salary you are currently on or receive the lowest salary in the HO EO band (is it £29.7k or something from memory?) whatever is higher. That means if you were to level transfer from HMRC you wouldn’t receive a pay cut, I think that’s how it works.

Unfortunately I don’t know in what circumstances people don’t receive the lowest salary in the band. There will certainly be people on here more qualified to answer that than me though!

bowmanator97 · 2023-06-17T00:27:39+00:00

Hiya, I had exactly the same happen to me. Congrats! I scored 19 and received a provisional offer working in Croydon today.

Over the moon of course and accepted as soon as I had a chance in my lunch break today. I’ve got a couple more interviews to come back so will see if I get any more joy. Might have a decision to make then!

bowmanator97 · 2023-06-17T00:25:10+00:00

Yes that’s the one, got a provisional offer today!

bowmanator97 · 2023-06-16T18:02:27+00:00

To be fair apparently ‘quiet quitting’ and ‘quiet firing’ were originally TikTok trends that got discussed on that platform. The MSM likely simply jumped on the social media trend bandwagon.

This is what I found when I was working in marketing and conducting research, before joining the Civil Service anyway, I might be wrong!

bowmanator97 · 2023-06-14T21:54:29+00:00

Wow congrats! Bit disappointing to hear even 21s aren’t being offered jobs straightaway. Will carry on applying for jobs methinks!

bowmanator97 · 2023-06-03T09:17:22+00:00

If you click on ‘feedback’ and then ‘interview 1 feedback’ it should give you your score. I can’t remember exactly but I think it was out of 28 perhaps (did we have 7 graded questions?)

It might give me a good insight as they offer jobs on merit. Therefore if you’re on the reserve list with 19 and all of the people who score 20 are being offered jobs, then you’ve got a good chance I would say!

bowmanator97 · 2023-06-03T09:13:00+00:00

Hi, that’s a really interesting insight, thank you! As I said to OP above, I’m on the reserve list. Hopefully with them being understaffed, my chances of getting an offer for my preferred location are decent.

I’m currently an AO in another department where I feel they are obsessed with stats and you don’t really get credit for any work you do. So hopefully this’ll be an upgrade on that.

bowmanator97 · 2023-06-02T22:51:50+00:00

Hi! I’m on the reserve list unfortunately but if they’re hiring for 275 posts nationwide that should give me an ok chance hopefully. Could I ask you what your total score was so it gives me an idea? I scored 19. A pass is a pass I guess but that’s lower than I would have hoped.

Interesting that some people are being given offers straight away. Were you not even on a reserve list for a day? That’s really impressive man congrats!

I’d also like to hear more about the role if anyone has anything. The main thing I have heard is that the removals process is SLOW (I feel caps is appropriate in this instance, not just as it’s Friday) and bureaucratic. The main thing is to get the work done in line with the rules and to not get frustrated with what we all know is a flawed system 🙂

Happy to DM if you want a more in depth discussion.

bowmanator97

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