How to complete your application form
The application form plays an essential part in choosing the right person for the job. It is the information contained in your application and supporting statement that will decide whether or not you are invited for an interview or to the next stage in the selection process.
1. Selection criteria
Selection criteria are the skills, abilities, knowledge and perhaps qualifications necessary for you to do the job. These are shown in the person specification. They are based on the key responsibilities of the role which are shown in the job description. The purpose of the selection criteria is to help us to recruit the best person for the job objectively and fairly. The selection criteria are an essential part of our recruitment process and will be used to decide who is invited for an interview or the next stage of the selection process. The person specification should help you to match your skills, abilities and knowledge against the selection criteria.
2. Personal details
Where it says ‘known as’, this is for example of your official documentation shows you as ‘Elizabeth’, but you like to be known as ‘Liz’.
3. Working in the UK
Under the Asylum & Immigration Act 1996, you will be required to provide proof of your eligibility to work in the UK. We always need to see original documents. You will only be able to work for us once we are sure that you are eligible to work in the UK. If you are unsure about your status then you should contact the Home Office.
4. Current or most recent employment
We need you to provide us with your complete employment history, and any gaps in your employment history of more than one month should be explained - for example, carers and childcare responsibilities. We may ask for references to cover a full five year history, which may include time spent at school/further education. For this five year history please provide full postal addresses, including postcodes.
If you were employed by an agency during that time we need to know the agency details and the companies that you were placed at.
If you have been self-employed during the last five years, this means that we will need to see your tax returns for that period if you are successful.
If you have been claiming benefits in the past five years we may contact the Benefits Office to verify this if you are successful.
5. Qualifications and training
Please give details of your education, qualifications and training, starting with secondary school.
If we have requested that you have a professional qualification for this job (like GSCC, DfES, etc.) you will need to provide us with the relevant original certificates/registration documents.
6. Supporting statement and achievements
This section is your opportunity to tell us how you meet the criteria in the person specification. Take each relevant item and tell us about your skills, experience, knowledge and achievements.
Give specific examples of what you have done which prove your ability. If the person specification says, ‘able to organise activities’, you must do more than say, ‘I am an organised person’. Give an example by describing something that you have done which tells us about the skills that you used and the steps that you took.
You can use examples from your home life, time spent in education, voluntary work or from your hobbies/interests if you do not have any formal experience.
7. Declaration
Please read this carefully before completion.
The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), an Executive Agency of the Home Office, provides wider access to criminal record information through its Disclosure service. This service enables organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors to make safer recruitment decisions by identifying candidates who may be unsuitable for certain work, especially that involving children or vulnerable adults. The CRB was established under Part V of the Police Act 1997 and was launched in March 2002.
Our borough’s Criminal Record Bureau & Rehabilitation of Offenders Policy is available upon request and further information is available here.
You can get more information about the CRB at www.crb.gov.uk.
We do not exclude people who are related to, or have a close personal relationship with our councillors, employees or school governors. We will make sure that they do not take part in the selection for this post.
Please make sure that you read and sign/positively tick the declaration.
8. Monitoring
This Authority has an Equal Opportunity in Employment Policy, which we ensure that we monitor to ensure that our employees reflect the community that we serve. The information provided will be treated in strictest confidence, is never available to the recruiting manager and will only be used for monitoring purposes.