Most interviews with us will be conducted by an interview panel – these will be the same people who reviewed your application and shortlisted you for interview.
A typical interview panel will normally be made up of 3 people (this could vary depending on the nature of the job), one of which will be the line manager of the post you’re applying for. Senior management posts will consist of a larger interview panel of up to 12 members.
You can expect your interview to last anywhere between 30 – 60 minutes (or longer if there are additional selection methods) and it will generally follow a similar format:
- Welcome and introductions
- Get a bit more background from the panel on the job and working with the Council
- Provide the panel with more examples of how you meet the job criteria by answering ‘behavioural-based’ questions and/or through the use of other selection tools
- Ask the panel any questions you have
- Find out the next steps and when you can expect to hear the outcome of the interview
Selection tools
Some interviews may be a straightforward series of questions, others may involve the use of other selection tools such as:
- Group exercise
- Critical reasoning tests (verbal and numerical)
- In tray exercise
- Managerial situational judgement
- Written exercise
- Presentations
- Situational interview
- Telephone interview
- Psychometric assessment
If you’re required to complete any of the above as part of the recruitment process, you’ll receive information when you receive your invite to interview.
If you’re applying for a senior post or any post with line management responsibility, you can expect to undertake one or more of the above activities, including a traditional panel interview, as part of an assessment centre. In these instances, every effort is made to include the dates for attending an assessment centre as well as the panel interview at the time of advert.